Why Consider 'Sales Prospecting' as a Sales Management Training Course

The last thing a sales manager wants to do is to go through a certification course in 'Sales Prospecting'. They've been there and they've done that, or they'd not have been promoted to a sales manager level. After all, that's up to the sales rep. That's why they are hired on. In fact, I recently asked a Vice President of Sales in a competitive industry if he'd be open to looking at a 'Sales Prospecting System' for his sales managers his remark was "That's what we hire sales reps for. If they don't do it, we fire them and find some that will."

Well, by definition, I guess that's fair. Because if you take a look at any outside sales representative job description, you'll see experience criteria listed such as: "Excellent cold calling and lead generation experience," or "Must be able to identify Target Prospects and maintain an appropriate activity funnel," or "Must meet or exceed activity standards."

So why should a sales organization consider establishing a prospecting certification course for their Sales Managers? In order to consider this argument, let's first take a look at standard criteria within a sales manager job description:

"Responsible for managing Sales activity for new and existing Account Executives"

Now let's break this job criterion into individual elements and look at it as a professional Investor would look at a 'Business Case'. Here are some synonyms for the word 'Responsible':

o Accountable

o In charge

o To blame

o Liable

o Guilty

o Answerable

o Dependable

o Conscientious

I don't know about you, but if I understand the King's language here, I am beginning to feel I have some 'Skin in the game' as a sales manager already. Let's investigate a little further by pulling out the phrase 'managing sales activity'.

There are (2) different ways to manage. You can choose to 'Supervise' or you can elect to 'Organize'. If 100% of your sales team is 100% effective at professional prospecting; meeting or exceeding the necessary activity standard, 'supervising' will do the trick.

You're dismissed.

But to the extent that they are not is the extent you will need to 'organize', put in order a best practice prospecting system to support new sales appointment activity. (Or start over like the sales executive fore-mentioned.)

Now let's peel back the phrase 'new and existing account reps'.

In a sales manager dictionary, 'new' means 'New-hires' and 'New-hires' reflects 'Ramp-to-quota'. Simply put, the quicker a new-hire ramps to Quota the better for both parties; the new-hire and the sales manager. Both get more credit, earn more recognition and receive more commission. And what is the most important facilitator in getting a new-hire sales rep to Quota in the least amount of time?

It's making sure they secure the necessary amount of new appointments. It's the fuel in the tank. The quicker they do that, the quicker they will ramp to quota with the proper mentor support of course.

And that brings us back to the leadership choice between choosing to 'Supervise' versus electing to 'Organize'.

Here's a (1) rep 'Hard-number' example.

Average New Hires per Year: 1

Monthly Sales Quota: $7,500

Average Term Agreement: 24 months

Current Average Ramp-to-Quota: 5 months

Improve Average Ramp-to-Quota: 4 months

Average 'Sub-Quota' Revenue per Month during Ramp: $2,800

Annual ROI: $112,800

In this example, reducing the time it takes for (1) new-hire sales rep to achieve Quota by only 1 month returns back to the sales manager $112,800 in additional sales revenue.

The other and sometimes forgotten performance silo within the term 'New-hire' is sales employee turnover. Most sales employee turnover occurs with the first 8 months of bring a new sales employee onboard. My studies also tell me that 90% or more of that turnover is directly related to low sales activity; not setting enough new appointments to meet the quota ramp criteria.

Using the same model as above, let's look at what's in it for the Sales manager to promote a Prospecting system to reduce new-hire employee turnover.

Number of Sales Reps: 10

12 Month Turnover Rate: 40%

Average Salary: $25,000

Recruiting Costs/Rep: $1,000

Training Costs/Rep: $1,800

Monthly Sales Quota: $7,500

Improve Turnover Rate To: 30%

Revenue Ramp-up Costs: $60,000

Total Annual Cost: $178,533

Revenue Production Loss: $63,000

Saved Reps: 1

Annual Savings: $44,633

Reducing annual turnover for just (1) new-hire sales rep returns back to the sales manager $44,633 in additional sales revenue and recovered costs. Multiply that out by your own sales employee turnover number.

Now back to our sales manager job description criteria of "Responsible for managing sales activity for new and existing Account Executives." Let's investigate the term 'existing account managers' and what managing sales activities by 'supervising' or 'organizing' means to our career.

First of all, what percentage of your existing sales team is reaching or exceeding quota each month. Of the percentage that is not, what percentage of them are not achieving quota due to sub-par sales activity? When you uncover that sales performance number and understand the ramifications to revenue result, you will move another notch closer to your ultimate answer of 'supervise' or 'organize'.

Secondarily, what percentage of your sales reps time is spent on securing new business appointments? JDH Group clients spend on average 50% of their weekly 'hourly rate' on prospecting. For a sales rep working 45 hours per week, that's over 22 hours dedicated to front end activity. If you decided to 'organize' a prospecting system, become certified in it and help others with it, would that drive that number down? Will that allow your sales team more time to pursue higher-value, solutions-based selling opportunities?

One definition of 'Best practice' is the sum of everything everybody in your sales organization knows that gives you a competitive edge in the market place. Putting in place a 'Prospecting system' with best practice components and elements, becoming independently certified to it as a manager/leader and mentoring it throughout your sales team will ensure that nobody is left behind.

And enabling your sales team to share knowledge and insight stimulates 'Targeted' sales activity that will drive new business and help you reach your desired results more often.

Jeff Hardesty is president of JDH Group Inc., a sales performance training company based in Powell, Ohio. He can be reached at jeff@convertmoresales.com.

Calculate your sales team?s ?Sales Performance Competencies? here
http://convertmoresales.com/marketing_blitz.php

Submit your numbers for a complimentary 30-minute performance consultation with Jeff Hardesty
http://convertmoresales.com/roi_survey.php

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Sales Training Speaker Rates Sales Prospecting Training

Have you identified the key sales performance indicators that are dragging you down? I conduct Sales Performance Evaluator(TM) web-cast meetings across the country to help sales management diagnose were they are weak and were they are strong, all pointing to unique systematic training processes to gain more sales revenue in less time.

The evaluation is based on real sales performance numbers in line with revenue objectives, so it's ultimately an objective review versus a subjective approach.

My findings show that 90% of the time the sales force under the 'sales performance microscope' is not achieving enough new sales appointments to have a 'right to win' in line with their sales objectives.

Simply put, they are not putting enough logs on the fire to keep it burning.

Simply put, they are not putting enough logs on the fire to keep it burning.

Does your sales force 'put enough logs on the fire' in line with your current key sales performance indicators and your sales objective?

If they are not, you should be looking closely at what I term the #1 sales competency in sales; the conversation-to-appointment ratio.

Let's take a close look at the Conversation-to-Appointment ratio.

This is the number of conversations it takes to generate a single sales appointment. Most sales organizations do not measure, let alone emphasize or train around the "Conversation-to-Appointment Ratio." Most do not know what it means.

Consider your own Conversation-to-Appointment Ratio. I've asked hundreds of sales professionals, "What is your conversation-to-appointment ratio?

The typical answer (after a bunch of back and forth) is about 10-25 prospecting conversations will yield 1-2 sales appointments.

That's a 4-20% success ratio.

And that equates to a lot of prospecting conversations and a lot of time to achieve enough new business sales appointments each week to be successful. In fact, the sales management leaders that have gone through my sales performance Evaluator(TM) sessions spend 40%-60% of their time on sales prospecting activities and are still coming up short on their sales appointment generation barometer.

So, why is the Conversation to Appointment Ratio a core competency? First, it is a skill set that is measurable around an essential sales competency, with the objective of introducing some education or value to a specific individual or group. It initiates your selling process.

Whether you are initiating a conversation by telephone, physically cold calling, chatting in the elevator, or yelling from rooftop to rooftop, it is a critical communication skill that is essential to a salesperson's success.

Bottom line, if you're not proficient at communicating the 'Business Reason to Meet' to a business person, you'll continue to strike at home plate and never get the chance to run the bases.

Your required new appointment sets per week are a by-product of your current performance numbers and competency ratios. Your conversation to appointment ratio is directly linked to how much time you spend acquiring those appointments.

Most sales organizations measure and manage around activities such as:

- Collect 50 business cards per day

- Knock on 35 doors a day

- 'Cold call' 25 businesses a day

- Complete 100 "dials" per day

I once had a sales executive tell me he did not need any sales prospecting training because he was satisfied with his 'System' of prospecting.

That 'system' was mandating his sales reps to at least '100 dials a day'.

I asked him what appointment conversion ratio he achieved when sales prospect conversations occurred with a targeted sales prospect.

He advised me that that did not matter, the important part was 'getting in the dials' each day. That's like telling an Indy driver not to worry about the lap times... just make sure you 'get in the laps'.

You see, none of the above activities qualify as an essential core competency. Since they are not directly linked to revenue, these activities would fall under the category of data base procurement, or what I call a "Targeted Selection Process."

A target list is certainly a necessary ingredient in the sales process, but it would not qualify as an essential competency.

There are (3) sales performance opportunities that Sales Prospecting Training can measurably help your sales results.

These same sales performance opportunities can turn into sales performance issues reflecting negative factors that adversely affect a sales organization's culture and sales performance.

One is Sales Employee Turnover. There is a measurable hard dollar cost to turnover, and much of it is caused by not generating enough 'at bats' to have a chance to succeed.

Another is New-hire training. The main objective of new-hire sales training should be to facilitate the new sales hire to full sales quota by a pre-determined amount of time. But is it? Is yours? Are you able to walk a new sales employee through a step-by-step process to ramp-to-quota by month 'X'?

What about sub-par sales quota attainment? What percentage of your sales reps are achieving sales quota per month? Of the ones that are not, what key sales performance competency, if trained to effectively, would allow a higher percentage of sales reps to meet that objective more often?

Many times the key sales performance competency is setting new sales appointments; more often, more targeted and in less time.

Another way to put it is that Your Front End Activity is Directly Proportionate to Your End Sales Results.

Here is a perfect example of how it played out for a sales force of 120 reps.

After a diagnostic evaluation of their key sales performance indicators in line with the sales objective, it was determined the clearest path to improvement was to focus on setting new appointments - getting more opportunities in front of targeted sales prospects. They did it by training to an improved appointment conversion ratio so they could achieve more sales appointments in less time. The results speak for themselves.

Over an eight-month period, they increased their Conversation-to-Appointment Ratio from 8% to 80%. Their average number of new business appointments per rep increased six-fold. And they enjoyed a 507% increase in unit sales.

More sales reps reached quota more often, new hire sales reps ramped to full quota in less time and sales employee turnover due to low sales appointment activity dropped off the map.

So whether it's meeting your overall sales revenue objectives, reducing the hard-dollar cost of sales employee turnover, or ramping your new-hire sales reps to quota in less time, take a close look at your key sales performance indicators to see where your ship is leaking, and plug the main leak with targeted sales performance and sales skill improvement training.

Jeff Hardesty is a National sales speaker, Sales performance improvement consultant and the Developer of the X2 Sales System®, a blended sales prospecting training system that teaches sales professionals the competency of setting targeted C-level business appointments. Jeff can be reached at jeff@salesspeakerpro.com.

Submit your sales performance numbers and receive a complimentary Sales performance Check-up with Jeff and a 15-minute Evaluator web-cast complete with (3) Sales Performance Improvement Blueprints @ http://www.salesspeakerpro.com/sales-performance-appraisal.php

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.