Almost all organizations seek top-line growth, which unfortunately often remains elusive, contends an organizational consultant.
Such top-line growth — which is growth in sales and revenues — can come from multiple sources: winning more customers who decide to purchase your products or services; developing and selling new or expanded products or services to existing customers; defining new markets products and services; opening up new geographic territories or channels of distribution; expanding the sales force; and other methods.
That’s according to author Hal Resnick, who writes and teaches about workforce issues.
Resnick, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, is president of Work Systems Associates Inc. His 30 years in organizational development and training includes work with EverBank, The Haskell Co., Lockheed Martin, Shell Oil and others. His newsletters are posted at his www.worksystems.com website.
In his recent newsletter, Resnick wrote that organizations frequently develop annual business plans projecting that this will be the year for 20-30 percent organic growth, referring to internally generated growth, and increased business generated by existing assets, as opposed to growth by acquisition of other companies.
Yet, results at the end of the year are often anemic, he said.
Major customers are lost; competitive forces have a negative impact; key members of the sales force leave; products or services do not attract the anticipated new customers; and so on.
Organic growth is a complex issue, Resnick stated, especially when sales have remained relatively flat for several years despite efforts to increase market share.
He asks: What are the barriers or constraints to growth? Is it the product? Pricing? Competitive pressures? Inadequate sales coverage? Lack of sales leadership? The commission structure? Advertising and marketing? Inappropriate sales talent? Customer service?
“The possible causes of the problem are so complex that very often leaders take their best guess at understanding the problem and then throw darts, hoping they will hit the bull’s-eye,” he wrote.
The most critical aspect of solving a problem is to first clearly and completely understand the problem.
Resnick said that while not a guarantee for success, he offered a three-tiered framework that can help an organization analyze its barriers to organic sales growth.
Sales strategic positioning
It is very difficult to successfully grow market share if the product, its positioning or its pricing is not correct, he said.
“In examining the organic growth issue the following questions should be considered by the entire senior team,” he wrote.
• What is our sales vision and to whom is our vision directed?
• What are our target markets and target customer profiles within those markets?
• What is the product and service suite that we are bringing to our target customers as the solution for their issues or needs?
• How is our product or service differentiated to give us either broad-based competitive advantage or a special niche position for our targeted customers?
• Is our pricing structure right for the value of our product and service?
• How are we reaching our target markets and customers? What is the marketing strategy?
• Are we integrating the full suite of marketing tools – including social media – available in the marketplace today?
• What is our sales coverage strategy? Are we selling through a direct sales force? Through distributors? Through manufacturer’s reps? Through Web-based sales? How are we reaching our prospective customers?
• Is our fulfillment strategy adequate to satisfy customers? Do we deliver the right product at the right time in the right way so that customers are satisfied? Does our ongoing service meet expectations?
• Have we established a program to maintain a relationship with our customer base so that we can grow and expand our service offerings?
Sales leadership
Once the product and service suite have been successfully positioned the challenge shifts to sales leadership, Resnick said.
“Assuming a direct sales force – or even a combination of multitiered sales delivery models – it is the role of sales leadership to design and implement the systems and methodologies that will establish the structure – the path – for sales success,” he wrote.
He said some of the compelling sales leadership questions include:
• What is the geographic marketplace and how shall we divide this into appropriate territories and spans of control for the sales force?
• What should be the optimal size of the sales force for the opportunities under consideration?
• If there are multiple products and services, is it better to use sales generalists who sell the full product suite or will sales specialists be more effective?
• What is the model for identifying potential opportunities and then qualifying them so that sales reps are focused on the right opportunities that have the greatest potential to generate the highest value?
• What are the core competencies needed for the sales leadership role and has the right person been selected whose skill set and profile matches those core competencies?
• What is the profile of the most successful sales rep for this type of product and service? Are well-established psychological profiling techniques being used to determine the person whose profile is most likely to be successful? (Insurance companies, for example, have developed this ability to an art form.)
• What is the time and territory management system? How can sales leadership be assured that sales reps are spending their time as productively as possible?
• Is the sales compensation system – salary, commission or bonus-based – designed to drive the desired behaviors?
Sales execution
If the strategy and leadership have been done well, the sales force should be well-positioned for success, Resnick wrote.
He offered some of the considerations that should be examined to achieve optimal sales performance.
• Will the recruitment model attract the best talent available for these positions?
• Is the screening, interviewing and selection process designed to find the best talent? It is much easier to hire for the right talent than to attempt to train inappropriate talent to fit the position.
• Is there a proper orientation, training and on-boarding process for sales reps to bring them to productivity with the right behaviors?
• Does the sales management system measure for both the right results and the right behaviors that will drive those results? Is there a coaching and corrective action program in place?
• Is the incentive compensation system designed to reinforce the right sales activities with the right customers, the right products and for maximum returns and growth potential?
• Is there appropriate recognition and rewards so that the highest performers will continue to feel valued and reap the benefits of their efforts?
An integrated solution
In conclusion, Resnick wrote that establishing a high-performing sales organization is a major challenge. He said four elements are essential.
The first element is strategic. Positioning the company and its products and services correctly in the marketplace creates the foundation for success.
The second challenge is leadership. The organization must identify an individual with the talent, skills and ability to build a sales organization and create a high-performing sales team.
The third challenge is building a high-performing sales force. Sales skills are not generic – selling conceptual solutions is entirely different from selling tangible products. Organizations must profile the skill set they need, develop the tools to find and recruit individuals who have the right profile and skills, develop them, and manage their performance for success.
The final step is to ensure that the compensation, reward and recognition systems match the desired results.
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