Sales Management Engagements
Case 1. Sales managers did not coach
Case 2. No clear expectations of sales managers
Case 3: Implementation of Sales VP’s goals
Sales Effectiveness Engagements
Case 4: From commodity to solution sales with a Sales Playbook
Case 5: Post-merger differences in sales approaches
Sales Management Engagements
Case 1: Sales managers did not coach
Client issue: Sales managers were not coaching salespeople. Their attitude towards salespeople was “call me when you need me.” Our client surveyed their sales force, asking salespeople to rate their sales managers’ effectiveness. Interestingly, sales managers were rated very high on “my manager cares about my success,” but were rated dead-last, lower than low, on “provides the proactive coaching I need to be successful.” This lack of proactive, developmental coaching was a drag on sales productivity, and resulted in increased sales turnover.
TopLine’s Solution: We customized our Sales Management Leadership workshop. Following the delivery of a two-day “turbo” session to the company’s top 10 Sales VPs, a follow-on program was given to 350 sales managers and sales directors (24 managers per session).
Results: the following results were measured by our client:
- 99% of sales managers reported that they now “recognize people development as their # 1 priority.”
- Sales rep turnover decreased significantly, and sales productivity per rep went up 20% over the previous year.
- 95% of participants reported that they now “work from a clear understanding of our specific sale management expectations and standards.”
Case 2: No clear expectations of sales managers
Client issue: “Our sales managers don’t understand what we want them to do with their time. Our job description for sales managers is poor.” The VP of Sales sent an email to 10 sales managers asking each to reply with his/her understanding of the sales managers’ duties, and what sales managers thought the company expected them to do with their time. The VP of Sales received 10 different responses, none of which matched what the VP wanted them to be doing.
TopLine’s Solution: We facilitated a one-day “job analysis brainstorm session” where a carefully selected small group brainstormed best practices of sales managers and then repackaged these best practices into a new job description. TopLine’s “Sales Management Leadership” training program was then customized to teach the company’s sales managers the knowledge and skills they needed to perform their jobs. The training also became the forum for senior management to communicate their new expectations to sales managers.
Case 3: Implementation of Sales VPs goals
Client issue: Our client’s VP of Sales had the following set of goals for improving his sales managers’ productivity:
- Get sales managers to take a step back, and re-think how they have been approaching their leadership responsibilities.
- Help sales managers to become more proactive, less of a “fire-fighter”.
- Spend more time coaching sales reps so they are better at their jobs.
- Diagnose obstacles to a rep’s performance and put a plan in place to remove the obstacles.
- When poor sales performance persists, make faster de-hire decisions.
- Recognize and reward sales reps for their accomplishments to improve sales morale.
- Decide where to spend time so as to have the greatest impact on team sales results.
- Improve sales managers’ performance management skills.
- Provide tools that enable a more consistent sales interviewing & selection process.
- Learn a disciplined method for pre-call and post-call coaching.
- Coach the sales process for more consistent results.
- Create a personal leadership development plan so that each sales manager knows what actions he/she needs to take to show quick improvement as a leader.
TopLine’s Solution: No customization of our program was required because our client’s goals were identical to the content of our program. We have discovered that this “match” between our client’s goals and our Sales Management Leadership program happens quite frequently.
Sales Effectiveness Engagements
Case 4: Transition Sales Force from Commodity Sale to Solution Sale supported by a new “Sales Playbook”
Client Issue: A growth-oriented 10-year old telecommunications company with 350 salespeople worldwide had achieved a successful start-up by targeting a market niche with a quality product at a lower price-point. But competitors then responded by lowering their prices, so the company’s salespeople were no longer able to sell based on a lower price. This triggered a need for its salespeople to stop calling on price-focused buyers and instead sell more profitable communication solutions to core-function business executives (the end users).
In addition, the company lacked a defined sales process and had no defined process for the large-account solution sale. There was no sharing of best practices and no connection between sales strategies and the specific challenges/needs of the various decision maker types, who were commonly at different steps of the buying process. (That is, our client’s value proposition changed depending on which decision maker they were selling to.)
TopLine’s Solution: We helped the company develop a customized Sales Playbook that documented best practices for selling to each type of decision maker at each step of their buying process. This work began when we delivered a pilot program to a group of peak sales performers and sales managers. Different groups of participants focused on different decision-maker types as they learned about our model of the typical steps of buying that customers go through. The recommendations on best sales practices in each buying step for each decision maker were captured along with sales call planning tools, then made available to the entire sales force through the new Sales Playbook. The book became an integral part of subsequent sales training workshops, new-hire ramp plans, and situational coaching discussions at specific milestones during the sales process.
Case 5: Post-merger differences in sales approaches
Client Issue: Two disparate sales forces were brought together after a merger. There was no common understanding of how to sell. Because the new company recognized the importance of selling complete solutions (instead of product-pushing), and more effectively differentiating those solutions from competitors’, a search for a new consultative sales model was initiated. Eight months later they selected TopLine.
TopLine’s Solution: We delivered a pilot program, and then customized our training materials, including our Instructor’s Guide. We then delivered a “Train-the-Trainer” session, which allowed their trainers to deliver sales training sessions in the field.
Results: new hires are ramping up to expected revenue levels 30% faster, on average, and in many cases 50-60% faster is not uncommon. Existing Account Managers who attended the training also benefited. Specifically, our client found that over half of experienced salespeople who completed the training produced a “personal record sales month” within six months after completing the training.
