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Sales Performance Management: Getting Everyone on the Same Page F Sales Performance Management: Getting Everyone on the Same Page August 2010 Peter Ostrow Sales Performance Management: Getting Everyone on the Same Page Page 2 Executive Summary While many companies are seeing a recovery from the economic downturn, Research Benchmark the distribution and pace of forward progress are not necessarily being Aberdeen’s Research enjoyed across the board by all companies, industries or geographies. Firms Benchmarks provide an in- are clearly seeking to capitalize on every competitive edge available to them, depth and comprehensive look and the human capital of their sales team represents one of the most into process, procedure, significant opportunities to grow revenue and market share by hitting quota methodologies, and more consistently. While the classic B2B sales organization may traditionally technologies with best practice be identified with an “every man for himself” mentality among reps, and identification and actionable even Darwinian managerial techniques – only the fittest survive – is there recommendations perhaps a more user-friendly way to hit sales targets year after year? Are there ways to link lagging indicators (such as turnover) to leading performance metrics (such as revenue)? Best-in-Class Performance In May and June 2010, Aberdeen surveyed 531 end-user organizations to learn about their ability to manage their sales teams effectively. Aberdeen used the following three key performance criteria to distinguish the sales teams within Best-in-Class companies: • An average 106% current overall team attainment of quota, compared to 76% for Industry Average and 22% among Laggard companies • 5.3% year-over-year increase in average deal size or contract value, compared to an 0.2% increase and 2.9% decrease among Industry Average and Laggard companies, respectively • An average 3.5% year-over-year improvement of (decrease in) sales cycle – the time from sales-accepted lead to a closed deal – compared to a 2.2% decline of (increase in) sales cycles for the Industry Average and a 7.1% decline for Laggards Competitive Maturity Assessment Survey results show that the firms enjoying Best-in-Class performance share several common characteristics, including: • Centralized repository for sales collateral, proposals or contracts • Performance dashboards/scorecards for both sales managers and reps Required Actions In addition to the specific recommendations in Chapter Three of this report, to achieve Best-in-Class performance, companies must: • Measure, share and manage to defined performance metrics throughout the sales team. Beyond setting quotas, management should address team achievements, collaboration and engagement in building and sustaining sales performance. • Drive desired behavior with incentives, compensation, and knowledge management deployments that consistently paint a clear picture of expectations – and show team members their performance against those goals in real-time. © 2010 Aberdeen Group. Telephone: 617 854 5200 www.aberdeen.com Fax: 617 723 7897 Sales Performance Management: Getting Everyone on the Same Page Page 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary.......................................................................................................2 Best-in-Class Performance.....................................................................................2 Competitive Maturity Assessment.......................................................................2 Required Actions......................................................................................................2 Chapter One: Benchmarking the Best-in-Class....................................................4 Issues at Hand...........................................................................................................4 The Maturity Class Framework............................................................................6 Best-in-Class Business Landscape.........................................................................6 The Best-in-Class PACE Model ............................................................................7 Best-in-Class Strategies...........................................................................................8 Chapter Two: Benchmarking Requirements for Success.................................12 Competitive Assessment......................................................................................12 Capabilities and Enablers......................................................................................14 Chapter Three: Required Actions .........................................................................23 Laggard Steps to Success......................................................................................23 Industry Average Steps to Success ....................................................................23 Best-in-Class Steps to Success............................................................................24 Appendix A: Research Methodology.....................................................................26 Appendix B: Related Aberdeen Research............................................................28 Figures Figure 1: Business Pressures Associated with Sales Performance Management....................................................................................................................5 Figure 2: The Best-in-Class Demonstrate Significant Year-over-Year Success ...........................................................................................................................................7 Figure 3: Best-in-Class Strategic Actions in Response to Pressures.................8 Figure 4: All for One, or One for All?....................................................................10 Figure 5: Compensation Best Practices by the Best-in-Class ...........................15 Figure 6: Performance Results Support Sales Compensation for Team-Wide Achievement.................................................................................................................16 Figure 7: Career Development Appears to be a Best-in-Class Priority ........19 Figure 8: Great Players Do Not Automatically Make Great Managers..........20 Figure 9: Sales Turnover Management by Best-in-Class ....................................21 Figure 10: Top Performers Realize Benefits Amid Turnover...........................22 Tables Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status..............................................6 Table 2: The Best-in-Class PACE Framework .......................................................7 Table 3: The Competitive Framework...................................................................13 Table 4: The PACE Framework Key ......................................................................27 Table 5: The Competitive Framework Key ..........................................................27 Table 6: The Relationship Between PACE and the Competitive Framework ......27 © 2010 Aberdeen Group. Telephone: 617 854 5200 www.aberdeen.com Fax: 617 723 7897 Sales Performance Management: Getting Everyone on the Same Page Page 4 Chapter One: Benchmarking the Best-in-Class The economic downturn has placed even greater pressure on the sales Fast Facts function, seeing its leaders tasked with increasing sales effectiveness while external forces have reduced the number of real opportunities and √ The average annual quota for Best-in-Class companies’ threatened top-line growth. Top-performing companies – those that most sales staff is $1.30M; Industry quickly learned to adapt to difficult conditions and emerge the strongest – Average and Laggards firms’ understand the need for actionable practices and data that aligns sales are $1.11M and $970k behavior with business objectives and creates best practices that allow them to rapidly adapt to changes in the market. This requires a holistic approach √ The average deal size or that not only includes productivity enhancements for the sales function, but annual contract value is potentially for key partners in marketing, finance, operations, human $388k for the Best-in-Class, and $175k for all other resources, and information technology, all of whose efforts impact both top companies; yet 53% of the and bottom line growth. Best-in-Class were small February 2010Aberdeen research conducted for the Sales Intelligence: firms (under $50M in Preparing for Smarter Selling report found that companies adopting Sales revenue) Performance Management (SPM) solutions out-performed non-users across √ Best-in-Class firms grew a number of key metrics: their revenue per sales rep by 5.1% on a year-over-year • 57% vs. 38% current team attainment of quota basis. This compares with • 51% vs. 33% of reps achieving quota 1.6% and 4.8% reductions for the Industry Average and • 30% vs. 20% win-loss rate Laggards, respectively • 1% year-over-year increase in revenue, vs. a 4% decrease Moreover, 66% of these Best-in-Class firms – those with the best performance in quota attainment and reduction of both sales cycles and non-selling time – currently deploy incentive or SPM technologies, compared to 57% of Industry Average and 50% of Laggard companies. The current research will investigate whether SPM solutions – and the best practice processes and organizational efforts supporting them – are helping these top-performing companies maximize the output of their sales team by using compensation management, consulting, incentives, location Sector Definition intelligence, SPM software/technologies
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