| Andrew - Selling is tough. Best tougher |
You can see from a brief glance around all my fellow bloggers, on the new ModernSelling.com here, that there are a lot of issues around the seemingly simple subject of Selling & Sales Management. And they only get ever more complex and involved as you start to drill into each aspect, let alone then try to keep up with all the very many changes that are swilling around the UK and Global profession, particularly now, with both the Credit Crunch recession and the internet-induced Communication Revolution playing out.
I'm Andrew Perkins (Andy when we know each other) from Miller Heiman EMEA, as you can see from that name link to my LinkedIn profile. And my job is to bring things like this hot-off-the-press Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study to your attention. We've titled this year's results "Sales Strategies for Thriving in a Post-Recession Economy". I'm expecting that you'll have a few questions about it, before wanting to spend time looking at it, and afterwards if we've done our job properly, which is why I'm here.
Let me just give you a couple of snippets from the press release via our President/CEO and the report itself though, so you can see what it covers…
"This is information that our clients look forward to seeing every year," said Sam Reese, President and CEO, Miller Heiman. "The results very clearly show where sales leaders should be prioritising their attention to produce world-class results."
Data was collected during the fall of 2010 and included about 1,700 professionals at companies in complex selling environments regarding the sales activities and performance of their organisations. The study defined a group of respondents who outperformed in areas such as opportunity creation, opportunity management, and relationship management as World-Class Sales Organisations. Representing just 6 percent of the study participants, this "World-Class" group showed 20 percent better results in several key performance metrics when compared to other study participants.
The performance metrics that improved most significantly included qualified lead volume, new customer acquisition and retention, salesperson productivity, quota achievement, and forecast accuracy.
The top 12 best practices that had the greatest influence on producing growth in these metrics are highlighted in the executive summary. The list includes best practices that have consistently appeared in prior years' study results, plus some new initiatives emerged.
- Customer focus
- Sales and marketing alignment
- Replicating the activities of top performers
- Team collaboration
- CRM confidence
- Role of social media in the sales process
In addition, the summary includes executive insights about the significance of the results and comments from several study participants regarding the greatest risks and rewards they are expecting during 2011.
So there it is, much to grapple with, and here I am. My phone number is +44 (0)1908 519615 if you prefer to talk, Executive Summary available on request, and/or fire away below…
Questions & Comments
Example Question / Comment
We've stamped out most of the obvious "bugs" now Andy, so will be starting the email broadcasts again from Monday 4th April, only limited (for now) to firstly the Registered Readers, and then the bigger sales team leaders on The Sales Direction Database.
So I hope this example of me with a Question / Comment will also demonstrate what happens when people use the LinkedIn login option, for example where my name then appears and links back to my LI profile, as will anyone else's. (Just click on my name folks, or Andy's, and you'll see).
That deters the spammers, as well as giving us all an easy way to find out who we are talking to. And let me just note that ModernSelling.com needs to be given your email address that you use for such things, so that we can send you email nudges when your discussion(s) get another reply/ comment/ question, and because LinkedIn do not release that - even though you'll be giving your permission with the couple of clicks that are required. Our normal privacy rules still apply though (e.g. you're not putting your email address into any sort of public play).
All pretty simple and convenient though, we hope, and so conducive to some great contacts, advice, discussions, and new business results - as per our "It's a New Business World" starting strap line. Please do get involved and enjoy, one and all.
Posted by Neil Warren on
Geography
Hi Andy,
I was lucky enough to go through the Miller Heimann Training Mill in the US and learned so much about the quantification of the sales process and some great metrics, but I am still a little concerned that it is very much a US centric facility and mind set. Whereabouts were your 1700 professionals based? I have a great distrust in the "one sales model works everywhere" approach- it just isn't true. What I bring is a marriage of the best of MH with my local EUMEA Market knowledge- geographic and sector based.
Posted by Ian Bennett on
Country Representation and Responses
Thank you for your comment Ian, much appreciated. I would of course be happy to share the overall study with you (I will send you a LinkedIn request if that is OK) so you can see how the study is split. In summary the 1,700 respondents are a global representation (US % responses decrease year-on-year and the International input % increases). Looking more locally 27% of overall respondents were based in Europe and we are able to produce specific country reports for the UK, Germany and Russia (as an example). I am pleased that you have been able to gain an insight into a Miller Heiman methodology. I certainly understand your comment and in fact this is one of the very reasons why we use the distribution channel that we do. The framework is global and originally born in the US, but the implementation is local and we tailor the engagement process specifically for that client, in that industry in that country and region using local, credible sales performance experts. The annual Sales Best Practices Study gives us even further insight into these areas.
Posted by Andy Perkins on
Linking both ways
Hi Andy - I also just commented on a "best practice" discussion in the LinkedIn Group, and linked it here, so reckon it'll help and make sense (for now anyway) if I hook everyone up, both ways.
The link is...
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Modern-Sales-Director-What-does-1328087.S.49728368
...although readers here will obviously have to be on LinkedIn to see it, and part of the Group to participate or contribute on there. (Thus my "for now" comment).
Hope it helps anyway - Neil
Posted by Neil Warren on
Here's a "biggie" for you Andy
(Just posted this in the LinkedIn Group, but it simply has to have a "home" out here in the open, so I thought of you and "Sales Management Best Practice)...
Is this the Shocking Statistic of The Century?
I?m just reading "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley, who you can sample (and learn to trust) via this 15 minute TED Talk...
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html
...The man has "credentials", in other words, AND he's tracking and explaining over 100,000 years of trade and how that has affected Homo sapiens in general. So I personally think you can only "ignore" this at your peril ? it IS already affecting you.
Anyway, the paragraph that REALLY grabbed my attention says this...
"In that sense 'capitalism' is dying, and fast. The size of the average American company is down from twenty-five employees to ten in just twenty-five years. The market economy is evolving a new form in which even to speak about the power of corporations is to miss the point. Tomorrow's largely self-employed workers, clocking on to work online in bursts for different clients when and where it suits them, will surely look back on the days of bosses and foremen, of meetings and appraisals, of time sheets and trade unions, with amusement. I repeat: firms are temporary aggregations of people to help them do their producing in such a way as to help others do their consuming."
So, OK, you could skim a piece like that in many an Economic Commentary in a broadsheet (now tabloid ? same way Yellow Pages is now a pamphlet), and hardly pause for thought ? or maybe think "Doesn?t affect me, I work (sell?) for Mega Plc, safe as houses, always have been, always will be."
BUT, check out that line again...
"The size of the average American company is down from twenty-five employees to ten in just twenty-five years."
Whoa! Now hang on a minute. 25 years only gets us back to 1986 ? when we launched the "first ever" independent magazine for UK-based Sales Directors and Managers (Sales Direction). And my 25 years of work since then, has also involved keeping tabs on who employed the bulk of UK sales professionals, so that trainers, IT suppliers, recruiters, assessors, motivators, lead generators and the like could also efficiently identify and access them. And at our clients' requests, we also introduced a ?cut-off? point that required that a "sensible" (or worthwhile) sales team would be comprised of 5 or more sales staff. That, in turn, turned out to infer an "average" total head-count of something like 50.
So, back to "shocking statistics", and the one that I have been watching most closely (up until I read that paragraph) was this...
"The average tenure of a VP Sales is now (2010) running at less than 2 years."
...and I was thinking that that would be "put right" whenever Corporations (who tend to employ "VP Sales") got their old-school, 20th Century, "Command & Control", "push", production-line-thinking, wheeled around to face in the "pull" direction of "Connect & Collaborate".
Maybe not though, now? Maybe we are already witnessing the wholesale collapse of those pyramid "top-down" structures ? and all the VP Sales (and Marketing) and staff who have happily been employed and worked with them, built up since the Industrial Revolution, and at spectacular pace since the last World War ? but no more?
And for me personally, therefore, does that mean that I can now safely "ignore" those self-same corporations, with their (erstwhile) big sales teams (and impenetrable IT firewalls), and go searching instead for the sales professionals (and any "employers") of the future (or "today" ? rather)?
Posted by Neil Warren on
Miller Heiman = Basic Common Sense
Here's one of "yours" Andy...
http://www.candogo.com/search/insight?i=10531
...where he did speak a bit fast, but a couple of plays had me convinced he's "on the money" too.
And any of you and yours will also be more than welcome giving us a hand with the "Bring Out Your Dead" workshop-webinars...
http://www.modernselling.com/news-and-events/webinar-corner/Dead-failing-sales-marketing-techniques-workshop-webinar-discussion-tips-series-20114005.aspx
...if you're aware of what some of these better selling and sales management practices are turning out to be.
Posted by Neil Warren on
Get Back to Real Selling
Thank you for the comment Neil. Yes, this is something that we have just started to do and there will be a series of videos being released under the 'Featured Experts'
I did just comment on the "Bring Out Your Dead" workshop discussion. I am away on that day but I will pass onto my colleagues as I am sure we can add value and input based on what we have learned.
Posted by Andy Perkins on
We can not train people for our past, we need to train for their future.
Hi Andy,
I am new to this forum and have been chatting to Neil and I believe your have a revised your organizations approach the sales process. Halleluiah!
As a Sales Coach and Mid Detox practitioner I often find individuals have, underlying emotional reasons, psychological, or behavioral, which makes them resistance to change. Maybe your finding this also? These limiting beliefs hold people back from change and as a Mind Detox practitioner I work with people from all walks of life however more recently I have found myself using this in conjunction with sales coaching.
On LinkIn I am in a discussion regarding training and am amassed at the resistance from others to change a system that does not work!
We can not train people for our past, we need to train for their future. Anyone who does a PESTEL analysis can clearly see our Political factors, Economic factors, Social factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors and Legal factors are changing and the old approach is just no longer working!
Having seen some amasing results through organisations adopting a systems thinking approach e.g Dr E Demming and John Seddon ?Freedom From Command and Control? I believe the design of the work is vital for employees to achieve great results and only once we understand the work flow can we train appropriately for today?s environment.
I am a great fan of Dan Pink ? The surprising truth about what motivates us. I believe this demonstrates that sales people need to work in an environment that is motivation therefore an environment that allows and encourages autonomy. mastery and purpose!
I would love to hear more about this new approach and how you are manage te chage!
Posted by Fiona Savage on
Is anybody interested in selling and sales management best practice?
Hi Fiona,
I think you and I have shared views before and now I found you popped up responding to Andy Perkins posting.
Has Andy sent you a copy of the study? It's free and every year there are some interesting revelations. The study promotes Miller Heiman in name so yes, its done for PR but the study does NOT push MH programmes and I am not sure MH is pushing "a new approach" as you mentioned. A number of academic institutions analyse the data because the volume is big enbough and it is not made up of MH customers otherwise there would be no survey!
Broadly speaking, I align with you that training is not always the answer. If the sales pro does not want to learn, the cost benefit is just not there. I have just been running an account management programme abroad over the last two days. I think I did OK with an international team form three continents but one guy said at the end he was not going to use the methodology I was just getting some feedback and got some nice words. This guy was quite shaken because he was looking for some confrontation but if he wasnot ready for change and I saw no point in arguing. That might have surprised him but there is no point in being confrontational
I prefer to see people like that learn in other ways and maybe get train them later.
Posted by Stephen Newman on
Following up on: We can not train people for our past, we need to train for their future.
Thank you Steve for picking this up whilst I have been out of the office and thank you Fiona for commenting and sharing your thoughts on this very interesting subject. Steve did mention to me that he had collaborated with you on another discussion.
Like Steve, I am in agreement with your core principles and thoughts, I too am surprised at that resistance to change a system that clearly isn't working, what's the famous definition of madness?!
I would of course be happy to send you a copy of the latest Executive Summary. Whilst the study is conducted by Miller Heiman, it is not focused on Miller Heiman clients, we do not use it as a revenue generator. We simply feel that it is important for those operating within sales to know what the current trends are. I will send you a network connection request via LinkedIn and as mentioned I would be happy to forward you a copy.
Posted by Andy Perkins on
Joining up the dots...
I?d just like to try and keep us all hooked up here people, to aid with the Big Picture ? and the people who can help us all to complete it. So this discussion is obviously you Andy, and Miller Heiman and this Best Practice study also just got mentioned by Bob Apollo...
http://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/68132/Miller-Heiman-What-Can-You-Learn-From-Your-Top-Sales-Performers
...who is also here...
http://www.modernselling.com/work-skills/sales-management-training/budget-authority-need-timeline-BANT-or-funds-interest-FAINT-Bob-Apollo-20113967.aspx
...and, in terms of "who" or what is the "Industry Best Practice" for UK Sales Training (a subject and a bunch of clients and prospects VERY near and dear to my own heart!), what does anyone make of Sean McPheat here...
http://www.modernselling.com/news-and-events/webinar-corner/sellers-tale-eselling-book-workshop-webinar-discussion-tips-series-20114025.aspx#441
...and what HE does, to "sell" (or is it "esell" now?) - MTD Sales Training, to end up with this client list...
http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/our_clients.html
...and with 11 Associate trainers in tow, from a standing start in 2002, as a one-man-band, and like so many hundreds of other sales trainers and consultants.
And I'm not saying that that "sales training" nails it all, far from it, because similar is also cropping up with James Potter here...
http://www.modernselling.com/work-tools/lead-generation/does-anyone-actually-sell-anything-business-social-media-LinkedIn-man-James-Potter-20114019.aspx
...and taking him all around the world, in fact. So this will probably end up being SO basic, it'll be like training sales people in 2020 how to dial a phone or drive a car. But it doesn't look, to me, as if any sales people anywhere can be encouraged to do or be "best" anything else in selling or sales management, until and unless they have a modern "suit" (LinkedIn profile) and way of communicating (the internet).
Does it?
Posted by Neil Warren on
...more Sales Management Best Practice dots, now to The Challenger Sale...
Unfortunately we cannot easily get into the Miller Heiman Alumni Group on LinkedIn Andy / All, but I just spotted a terrific couple more dots being joined up.
The question posted was...
_______________________
Anyone have opinion, thought or insight into how Challenger Profile can be incorporated into Miller Heiman?
I find these two processes extremely interesting and clearly best in class. I believe they can be integrated. I am working on understanding how I can mentally organize and articulate this.
______________________
...and the reply thus far being...
______________________
In my view, the challenger profile is well aligned with MH Strategic Selling Nicholas. But I think they are "apples and oranges". Miller Heiman SS offers a sales process for improving your position with a prospective opportunity. While the Callenger Profile offers an approach while communicating with prospective clients (through education) and thereby being a more appealing business development engagement. This "approach" is supported by data as being most effective.
________________________
And UK ModernSelling.com and Miller Heiman fans and followers can also now take up the rest of the story, using our LinkedIn profiles, and chat with one of the authors (Matt Dixon) on here...
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/From-Hunters-Farmers-Challenger-are-1328087.S.81970057
...to indeed see how these ever-changing "sales management best practice" ideas and evolutions are shaping up.
Posted by Neil Warren on
My Question / Comment Is...
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