Posts

The 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation

/in /by

Sales force transformation can be the key to driving market-leading profits and top-line growth. But it is not for the faint-hearted, as we outline in our stories and lessons learned in our book, 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation. A sales transformation fundamentally changes how a company sells, and it radiates across the business both vertically (e.g., align to, and drive, corporate strategy) and horizontally (e.g., must include other functions). It permeates a company’s overall growth strategy, how it recruits and hires, and the types of sales conversations it has with prospects and customers.

What is a Sales Transformation?

We define sales force transformation as one that fundamentally changes the way a sales force sells. This is a big deal, and it’s not going to happen overnight. Typically, these sales transformations take longer than a year and must involve other functional areas – sales cannot succeed as an ‘island’ in the organization. Transforming a sales organization to consistently deliver insights requires new value propositions, case studies and collateral from Marketing, new competencies, skill development, recruiting profiles from HR, and alignment with Operations to refine products and services. A sales transformation is not a tweak, such as changing your sales training curriculum or implementing a new proposal generation application; it’s more like a “rewiring” of the company “house.” It’s multi-dimensional and holistic.

What are the Key Steps?

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Authors

Warren Shiver and Michael Perla are the authors of 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation: Driving Sustainable Change in Your Organization (Palgrave MacMillan). Warren Shiver is the Founder and Managing Partner of Symmetrics Group and has more than 20 years of sales, management and consulting experience. Michael Perla is a Principal with Symmetrics Group, and has more than 20 years of sales effectiveness consulting and strategic marketing experience.

Four Phases of High-Quality Business Performance Assessments

/in /by

Business performance assessments are conducted in a series of phases: Identify, Plan & Schedule, Execute, and Close-out. Associated with each phase is a collection of principles, best practices, and warning flags aiding the identification, communication, and acceptance of value-adding, self-critical performance improvement opportunities.

Assessment Phases

  • Identify Phase: The Identify Phase starts the business performance assessment process by defining the broad parameters within and by which the assessment
    will be performed.
  • Plan and Schedule Phase: The business performance assessment process continues with the Plan and Schedule Phase during which the specific assessment activities – document reviews, personnel surveys, activity observations, and individual interviews – to be performed are identified and scheduled.
  • Execute Phase: The Execute Phase is at the center of the business performance assessment process. During this phase, assessors gather and analyze data from a number of sources to identify performance improvement opportunities.
  • Close-out Phase: The Close-out Phase marks the end of the business performance assessment process. Performance improvement opportunities are captured within the corrective action program and assessment documentation is properly cataloged.

As illustrated by StrategyDriven’s Information Development Model, business performance assessments belong to the third tier of performance data refinement. Performance reports at this level benefit from human intelligence added to supporting data during: initial data synthesis, basic trend identification and analysis, multi-trend synthesis, and basic model application. It is the infusion of human knowledge and experience at these points that makes these assessments broadly integrated and highly insightful.

To learn how to maximize the value of your business performance assessment efforts:

Register for StrategyDriven’s FREE Maximizing the Value of Business Performance Assessments online training series

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Risk Management – Principles for Responding to Unexpected, Catastrophic Black Swan Events

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Risk Management ArticleBlack Swans events are rare (low probability), catastrophic (high impact) incidents that are seemingly unpredictable, go unrecognized, or are deemed so unlikely as to not reasonably warrant expensive preventive measures. There characteristics include:

Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.

Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library

Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).

Subscribe Now!

Not sure? Click here to learn more.

 Buy the Article

Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Risk Management – Principles for Responding to Unexpected, Catastrophic Black Swan Events for just $2!

Access the Article Now!

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Why have a Risk Management Program?

/in /by

Most people think of risk management as an insurance policy, the price paid to help prevent potentially negative outcomes from being realized by their company. Such a view leads to the conclusion that risk management is a business expense with a highly subjective value proposition.

We at StrategyDriven would suggest the insurance view of risk management is far too narrow. Instead, effective risk management enables a company to accelerate its business operations and to become more aggressive in the marketplace; approaches that in today’s fast paced environment is immeasurably valuable.

An analogy we use is that instead of correlating risk management to an insurance policy, leaders should think of it in terms of a high performance automotive breaking system. High performance breaks, such as those on racing cars, enable the driver to reach higher rates of speed while still maintaining the same level of safety as slower drivers whose cars have less capable breaking systems.

In the case of an effective risk management program, earlier warning of potentially adverse events occurs such that less costly adjustments can be made to avoid those risks; allowing the organization to speed its decisions and actions while maintaining the same risk profile as a company employing a less effective risk management program. Thus, an effective risk management system serves as both an insurance policy and a performance enhancer.

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

5 Ways To Improve Your Delivery Service

/in /by

5 Ways To Improve Your Delivery ServiceDelivery is a core aspect of business. Whether you’re operating out of your bedroom or you’re a corporate giant, the delivery service matters. It all comes down to the final product you deliver to your customer. The delivery aspect is tricky when you’re a small business. Packaging and posting each item yourself takes time and dedication. But, it doesn’t get much easier when you start making more sales! Things become a great deal more complicated, and mistakes become easier. Whatever size your business, you could stand to improve the delivery service. Here’s how.

1. Automated software

Our first trick is to automate everything. From the moment an order comes into your system, it should automatically produce an address label. The software should track the delivery through your fulfillment process, checking off boxes as it goes along. This way, if something goes wrong or a parcel gets lost, you know where the problem is. That software should track the package all the way to delivery (more on that later). With software systems like this, you always know where things are.

2. Choose the right logistics company

As your business grows, you’ll begin to manage increasing order numbers. At a certain point, your small operation won’t be able to handle everything. When that happens, you’ll want to consider outsourcing your delivery system. The final part of your supply chain solutions should be a reliable delivery provider. Logistics companies have the resources to go abroad with ease, and they run their deliveries like clockwork.

3. Use GPS and telematics

The most crucial part of the delivery process is monitoring and measuring. You should track every single parcel that leaves your warehouse, and know where it is at all times. If there are any problems, you can spot exactly where the last check in was. Even using expert freight management solutions offers you real-time shipment tracking and regular status updates, which can be very helpful. By doing that, you can monitor their performance. How fast are the deliveries? Could they be even faster or more reliable?

4. Keep customers updated

There’s nothing worse than keeping your customers in the dark when it comes to deliveries. Use the automated software, and the tracking facilities, to keep your customers updated. Let them know when the package is dispatched. Let them know when it’s out for delivery, and the best time to expect their driver. At the end of the day, your entire delivery process is shaped around customer satisfaction. Keep them happy!

5. Exceed expectations

Speaking of customer satisfaction, it’s your job to go above and beyond the typical delivery service. Your customers have a baseline of expectations. In other words, they expect the delivery on time. They expect the product to be safely packaged. All you have to do, is add a little extra flair. Good customer service on the doorstep will exceed their expectations. So will a creative or unique package. Or an extra note to say thank you for their service.

Your delivery system is the heart of your business. Execute it with precision, and always exceed your customer’s expectation!

Return to the Tactical Execution Forum