1. Building a High-Performance Sales Team
Kate Dunn — Director, InfoTrends

2. Agenda Assess Your Current State Build Your Plan
Coverage & Compensation
Hiring
Define Objectives, Goals and Expectations
Managing Your Team
Summary and Next Steps
Before we do a deep-dive into technology tomorrow, we need to lay some introductory groundwork. We will do a quick recap of key printing technologies you will see out in the field and the key advantages digital technologies. We‘ll see how well you have paid attention when you try to match some print samples to the output type. Then we will take a virtual tour through the print shop focusing on the people, process, and products involved in each area.

3. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN
Where Sales Fits
BUSINESS PLAN
OPERATIONAL PLANNING
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN
WORKFORCE PLANNING
SALES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Key Messages
A business plan is a set of carefully thought out Business Goals
And Strategies to reach those goals
Based on careful analysis of existing business and market data
A good plan requires that you are realistic about what you can sell profitably today and in the future.
TERRITORY PLANS
ACCOUNT PLANS

4. A Sales Management Plan
Your sales management plan helps you develop a high performance team that can deliver consistent performance. Understanding what you need, how your current team stacks up in comparison to today’s new selling approaches will help you hire the right people, on-board them successfully and give them the support they need to be successful as quickly as possible.
A thorough sales management plan includes the following.
Defining the buying and selling processes
Identifying and qualifying prospects
Assessing talent
Forming coverage strategies
Generating a sales funnel
Value proposition/sales messaging
Developing sales compensation packages and individual sales plans
Understanding the technological requirements to support the plan
Today we are focused on Finding the right people and building a process that helps them be successful, allows the company to achieve it’s goals and can be replicated as you grow and add additional sales reps.
Sales management can be defined as planning, implementing, and controlling the personnel and processes used to achieve the sales and profit objectives of the firm.

5. Assessing Your State

6. Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (December 23, 1923 - July 5, 2005)
The Stockdale Paradox
“This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
I didn’t say anything for many minutes, and we continued the slow walk toward the faculty club, Stockdale limping and arc-swinging his stiff leg that had never fully recovered from repeated torture. Finally, after about a hundred meters of silence, I asked, “Who didn’t make it out?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “The optimists.”
“The optimists? I don’t understand,” I said, now completely confused, given what he’d said a hundred meters earlier.
“The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say,‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”
Another long pause, and more walking. Then he turned to me and said, “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
To this day, I carry a mental image of Stockdale admonishing the optimists: “We’re not getting out by Christmas; deal with it!”
Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (December 23, July 5, 2005)

7. A B C What’s Your Situation?
Your sales team is a revenue machine They have the right skills and experience They are highly motivated and focus on activities that drive sales B
You have a mix of strong and weak players on your team Some require a lot of hand-holding and you don’t always have the time to give them the help they need
In the A group you have companies in this situation have sales teams that understand who they should sell to, what they should sell and why companies should buy.
They are focused, organized and are basically revenue generating machines. When the market changes they can adapt, find new ways to bring value, and easily transition to selling new things. If you are in this category you might thing you can get of the webinar now but I find that occasionally, these organizations are inherited and previous managers had a good system but as people retired or the organization scales problems start to arise.
Companies in the B group are do things a bit more by the seat of their pants. Things aren’t as clearly defined so they aren’t as productive as they could be. They may have some good reps that are doing a lot of things right and like those in the A group can adapt to changing market conditions but since the direction isn’t as clear, it’s typically because the reps themselves are figuring it out. Teams like typically have a wide disparity between the close ratios of your best reps and the rest of the team. Their breadth of participation is lower than it should be and your results are inconsistent.
Companies in the C group are sort of running amuck. They don’t have a good plan, they typically don’t have the right people, if they do find could people, they end up frustrated with the dysfunction and move on. Part of the reason is that they are typically unmanaged. Maybe your are a selling owner and with those responsibilities plus running the company there just isn’t a lot of time left to give your other sales people the help they need. C
Your sales are unpredictable Your team spends most of their time “quoting and hoping” They have little direction and are consistent underperformers

8. Step 1: Build Your Plan

9. Building Your Plan BUILDING YOUR PLAN Coach & Manage Set Goals
Build Hiring Plan
Align
BUILDING YOUR PLAN
Compensation Plan
Define Coverage Strategy
Inexperienced or uniformed sales leaders think have this flipped so their focus is managing. They ask reps what they are doing and spend all their time trying to order bully strong arm browbeat the reps into submission. Others try to kill their reps with kindness and either don’t even try or do a terrible job of holding their organization accountable.
The reality is that you have to build a strong foundations that is based on knowing what you are trying to do, why you are doing it and having a real plan to do it.
Develop a Training Plan
Perform Talent Assessment
Define the Required Skills
Define Company Objectives

10. From Your Strategic Marketing Plan
You should know this!
What to sell
Who to sell it to
Why customers need what you sell
Why customers will buy from your organization
How much you want to sell
We’re going to assume that you already know from your strategic marketing or business plan the answers to these questions.
If you aren’t clear about these things or if it’s your job to figure this out, you need another webinar! You can still learn what you need to do after you can define these things today.

11. 58% 67% Selling Processes Need To Change
There Is a Disconnect Between Buyers & Sellers
67%
of sales reps aren’t making quota
58%
is the average quota attainment

12. Not Giving Buyers What They Need
Are increasingly difficult to reach
Frequently complain that reps are woefully underprepared
See no reason to meet with sales reps
Are increasingly difficult to reach
This dramatically reduces sales productivity metrics
Frequently complain that reps are woefully underprepared and seemingly not attuned to the fact they have access to endless amounts of information and perspective prior to meeting with them
Have stopped inviting sales reps back to take the process forward
This dramatically reduces ROI on lead generation practices

13. Buyers Are: Sellers Are: Power Shifts Toward Buyer
Increasingly more educated than the seller
Already deeply aware of their problem with a well-scoped RFP in many cases
Sellers Are:
Having difficulty adding value or convincing the decision-makers to rethink their conclusions
Being forced into price- driven conversations
Increasingly, buyers are more educated than their reps, they have a deeper understanding of their problems and are already predisposed to a specific supplier. This leads to more price driven conversations. You may win but at lower margin. And more and more frequently, the rep is losing the change to drive a profitable sale even before they’ve met with their prospect.
>>> Original Slide Text <<<<
By the time the rep gets to the table
Buyers are more educated than the seller
Buyers already have a deep understanding of their problem
In many cases with a well-scoped RFP
Sellers find it difficult to add value of any kind or convince the prospect organization to rethink their conclusions
Sellers are forced into price-driven conversations

14. Differing Definitions of Value
Are increasingly difficult to reach
This dramatically reduces sales productivity metrics
Frequently complain that reps are woefully underprepared and seemingly not attuned to the fact they have access to endless amounts of information and perspective prior to meeting with them
Have stopped inviting sales reps back to take the process forward
This dramatically reduces ROI on lead generation practices

15. 14% Leads to Price Comparisons
Only 14% of customers perceive a real difference between supplier offerings AND value the difference enough to pay for it.
14%
Read some of value propositions provided earlier and compare to this list of what decision makers value:
Rep offers unique and valuable perspectives on the market
Rep helps me navigate alternatives
Rep helps me avoid potential land mines
Rep educates me on new issues and outcomes
Supplier is easy to buy from
Supplier has widespread support across the organization
Source: Corporate Executive Board

16. 4X You Need A New Kind of Rep
Customers put the highest value on salespeople who make them think, bring new ideas, and find creative and innovative ways to help their business 4X
as many decision-makers prefer to have discussions about business trends, business issues, and business insights than traditional product knowledge-driven sales conversations.
Forrester Research did a study along the same lines of decision makers to see what percentage of the time sales reps have these types of valuable conversations.
Answer: 7% according to Forrester Research. (
Source: SiriusDecisions

17. What Customers Want
Rep offers unique and valuable perspectives on the market
Rep helps them navigate alternatives
Rep helps them avoid potential landmines
Rep educates them on new issues and outcomes
Supplier is easy to buy from
Supplier has widespread support across the organization
All this research done by the CEB that became the basis of the Challenger Sale found that buyers will be loyal to reps who can do the following.

18. Insight Selling Skill Requirements
Description
Communication
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Presentation
Can present to a team of decision-makers using appropriate technologies
Understanding
A thorough understanding of common marketing objectives by channel and key communication trends impacting the customer’s communication objectives
A thorough understanding of all solutions offered by the company and the benefits that those solutions can bring to the customer
Understands the sales process dictated by the company and can demonstrate an ability to move a new opportunity from initiation to close and apply learning to additional new opportunities
Phone Skills
Can deliver a well-structured message by phone to a new contact/prospect
Research
Can research potential new opportunities and decision-makers using the Internet, LinkedIn, and other applicable means
Record-Keeping
Can keep accurate and up-to-date records of contacts and opportunities with prospects using a company-supplied technology (e.g., CRM system) or other manual means dictated by the company

19. Ricoh has People who can Help
We understand a good hire is driven by the personality and production reality of the print shop.
Ricoh Business Booster makes it easy and accessible for you to work with a trusted resource to match the right type of candidate with the current and future needs of your organization. 
Ricoh has customized services that can guide you through the process of creating a high-performing sales team.
Discover
Analyze
Plan
Deliver
Manage

20. 60% 3X Get Smart & Stay Smart!
of customer loyalty is a result of not what you sell but how you sell it. 3X
Buyers are three times more loyal to sellers who proactively bring opportunities to their attention.
Source: The Rain Group, Your Guide to Insight Selling Success, Mike Shultz & John Doerr

21. Training Isn’t Enough!
Between 85% and 90% of sales training has no lasting impact after 120 days.
DAY 1
DAY 120
Source: ES Research Group study

22. 20% sustained improvement
Coaching is Essential!
A Sales Executive Board Study found that sales representatives who received quality coaching achieved a 20% sustained improvement in performance.
Which of your sales reps will realize the greatest impact from coaching?
20% sustained improvement
Source; The Dirty Secret of Effective Sales Coaching, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson

23. LOW SKILL PROFICIENCY HIGH
Assessing Your Current Sales Team
LOW PERFORMANCE HIGH
JANE
MARY
FRED
BOB
LOW SKILL PROFICIENCY HIGH ED
Key Messages:
Let’s look at your current teams performance.
On one axis you have their performance and on the other their motivation to get better.
In this case Mary has great performance because she has some big accounts and is selling a lot of offset printing. She doesn’t want to learn new things though and isn’t interested in selling new services like cross-media or web to print.
Then there is Ed. He isn’t selling much and he isn’t highly motivated to change. You keep him around because he’s on 100% commission and you feel like he isn’t costing you much.
Then you have Jane and she is really working hard, trying to learn all of the new things but her performance just isn’t there yet.
Lastly there is Fred. Fred may even have moments of high performance that but generally he isn’t making his goals and he tries things every now and then but isn’t consistent.
Discussion Question:
What would you do with this sales force?
Where would you spend your time?

24. LOW SKILLS PROFICIENCY HIGH
Where Do You Spend Your Time?
Business Development Role
Mentoring
Empowerment
Smaller Account Opportunities
Training
LOW SKILLS PROFICIENCY HIGH
Direction
Change of Role
Happier Elsewhere
Non-evolving Role
Minimize Impact
Managers engage with poor reps because they feel they must in order to meet territory goals, and they work with their best reps because, well, it’s fun.
Unfortunately, data show that both managers’ coaching tendencies, and companies’ response, are misguided. In research involving thousands of reps, we found that coaching — even world-class coaching — has a marginal impact on either the weakest or the strongest performers in the sales organization.
The real payoff from good coaching lies among the middle 60% — your core performers. For this group, the best-quality coaching can improve performance up to 19%.*
At the end of the day, who your managers coach is just as important as how they coach.
LOW PERFORMANCE HIGH

25. Teach Managers to Coach
SALES MANAGEMENT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT SKILL SET
Set clear expectations for the amount of time that managers should spend coaching
In high-performing organizations, managers spend 25% - 40% of their time coaching
Set new expectations for sales managers
Productivity of new reps
Breadth of participation
Team developmental objectives

26. Coverage & Compensation Planning

27. During Your Transition
Change coverage strategies to reduce the impact of those not motivated to sell the new way
Reduce the size of territories for those tasked with account development
Understand the true value and opportunity of each territory
Goal: Drive breadth of participation among the sales force and a deeper penetration of the marketplace

28. Align Compensation Focus New Product or Service Transitioning to MSP
Selling Print
Rep Characteristics
High energy, emotional, and enthusiastic
Aggressive and impatient
Handles rejection well
Driven by money
Challenges the status quo
Even-tempered, analytical, logical, competitive, controlled ego
Can navigate complex and lengthy sales cycles
Negotiates well and has a high degree of business acumen
Career-oriented
Disciplined, organized, and reliable
Service- and relationship- oriented
Detailed oriented
Dependable
Compensation Type
Lower base or draw plus high % commission
Transaction based
Immediate commission
Higher % of base salary plus commission for growth and new business
Salary
Recognition
Highly visible
Promotions/bonuses for exceptional effort
Access to additional learning
Retention bonus
Non-pay-related perks
Key Messages
There are different types of sales reps. Some have a great skill set for selling a product or service that is new to the market.
Others are good for fast growth companies where early adopters of the service require business justifications that necessitate more complex buying processes. This is where cross- media and web to print are in their evolution. You could perhaps even consider VDP in the category for certain applications.
Once a product or service is established in the market, still other characteristics are necessary. VDP for employee communication and other key applications that have been in play for many years could be in this category.
Lastly once a product or service has reached the mature saturation the role of the sales rep transitions to one of responsive customer service. This is actually where most of the offset and digital print applications lie today.
Each one of these scenarios requires a different type of compensation plan.
Sometimes these exist within a single company. A printing company that is also adding marketing services actually needs multiple compensation plans.

29. The Best Plans… Are aligned with corporate objectives
Sales of New Services
Focus on Profitability
New Business
Are documented and clearly defined
Are evaluated regularly
Create accountability
Key Messages
A good plan means that each component of the sales compensation plan maps directly to a corporate objective and significantly increases the probability that it will be achieved. To illustrate, consider a sales compensation plan that supports an aggressive growth strategy. One option in these circumstances is to use a flat commission rate; salespeople earn more if they sell more. A second option is a plan which pays higher commission rates for new customers than for repeat business, and which offers attractive bonuses for exceeding quota. While one could argue that both plans are aligned with a growth strategy, the second demonstrates this alignment to a much higher degree.
It must be documented for the sales force and it should clearly define the components. In order to set and maintain expectations, rely on comprehensive documentation that is written in layman’s terms and easily accessed. It should describe payment calculations, all related administrative policies and practices, and most importantly, the process for resolving payment errors.
Active management of sales compensation provides a statistical, factual basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the program and for considering possible changes. Knowing whether, when, and how to implement a change will minimise contention and keep salespeople focused on overachieving.

30. Create a Culture of Accountability
Starts at the top of the organization
Requires focus and consistency
Is more difficult if reps see your new focus as the “flavor of the week”
Key Messages
Accountability is key for both managers and sales reps.
If your company tends to have problems holding each other accountable, your plan is likely to fail.
There are processes that you can initiate that can help to hold yourself accountable. For instance, weekly staff meetings where key data is presented can be a great way to hold sales leaders accountable if their senior management is not doing so.
Also consider other resources like peer groups that can provide a forum for accountability.

31. Build Accountability Into Your Plan
Set clear behavior and performance expectations
Define the “check up” process and timeframes
Define steps in advance that will be taken if milestones are missed
Apply the process consistently!
Key Messages
It’s important to remove the subjectivity from your plan.
It’s ok to have multiple plans but employees in the same position should have consistent compensation plans.
The salary portion of compensation plans often vary by the experience of the rep, past success and time with the company.
Great compensation plans will set clear expectations for both performance targets and expected behaviors.
Great plans also define the timeframes for evaluation and outline the “check up” procedures meaning what action can occur if the rep is not meeting sales goals.
Plans for new hires often focus on activities rather than sales in order to reinforce behaviors that lead to sustainable sales success. These are typically transitioned as soon as the ramp up period is complete.
Many companies offer modifications during the ramp-up period. They may pay a rep a larger salary while they are learning and then transition the percentage of compensation to a higher number.
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL

32. Hiring New Reps

33. Hiring: Rules of Thumb It will always take longer than you think!
Be realistic about the ramp-up time
Develop a position description first
Use multiple sources
Networking, Online, Recruiters, Employees
If you have the resources, have bench strength
Define your interview process

34. Interviewing Process Tips
Pre-set interview questions
Multiple interviews/interviewers
Schedule meeting at different times of the day
Build in ways to evaluate writing, phone and presentation skills
Use outside resources to validate your thinking
Do not hire recent college grads without a structured on-boarding process

35. Defining Sales Goals & Activity Standards

36. Be Clear About Objectives
Revenue
Profit/Margin
New Business
Retention
Key Product / Service Sales
Market Penetration
Key Messages
Your sales plan includes your goals for the year. Those goals should be at the company level and then broken down into smaller pieces which could include goals for offices, regions, at at the sales rep level.
Goals should also be set for profit or margin targets to ensure your sales are profitable.
Most companies need new business so goals for new account acquisition.
It’s also a good idea to set goals for retention. It costs more to find new customers than to keep the ones you have so even though you are focused on selling, you need to care about retention as well.
If you are trying to break into a new area, than setting specific goals for key products or services that represent your future are a good idea.
Sales people will gravitate to what they know best. Adding specific goals for new services helps the sales team learn and sell new products.
Lastly, you want to set target compensation goals which is the amount of money a rep should be making at plan and at various levels of achievement.

37. You Need to Measure Activity
Activity data helps identify training needs. A CRM System really helps.
Discussion Question
Why is it important to measure activities and not just results?
Probe for these answers:
Identifies potential short falls while there is still time to fix them.
Helps reps focus on the types of activities that generate sustained success.
Helps managers identify problem areas and provide needed training to correct.
Improves forecasting capabilities for managers
What sales activities lead to achievement of sales goals?
Prospecting – making warm calls, networking, referrals
Appointments with key decision makers
Proposals
Negotiations
Program sales
Quotes

38. Make Adjustments As Needed
Model best practices
Evaluate problem areas and adjust activities/training
If your goals are too easily reached, extend them!
Follow your accountability plan
Define measurement milestones in advance
Key Messages
Sales management should monitor their plans and make adjustments accordingly.
Isolating best practices can help uncover the right mix of activities.
If goals are too easily reached, the organisation will be resting on its laurels so to speak. Great managers can work with reps to develop extended goals that go beyond their original goals.
Sales reps can become distracted when correction is necessary causing a death spiral of sorts. One way to avoid this is to agree on the likely correction steps in advance as part of the planning process.
Another important element of the plan is to come to agreement with reps up front when the key measurements and corrections will take place. Often this is quarterly but could be monthly especially if the rep’s performance has been inconsistent in the past.

39. Managing Your Sales Team
Transition:
You’ve got a lot to do here as you monitor your strategy, keep track of performance, manage you sales funnel and train and develop your people.
You need to put some structure to how you will get this all done.

40. Your Role as the Sales Leader (1)
Skills Assessment
Value proposition
Demonstrations
Insight delivery
Proposal presentations
Training and Development
Support small group training sessions on sales skills and business acumen
Insight development
Vertical/Horizontal market knowledge
New products/services offered
Best practice sharing
Key Messages
Here is a partial list of things to assess about the skills level of your existing sales staff.
You have to think about the kind of development the team and individuals on the team need and how you can train them your team on the things that can help them improve.
Discussion Question:
What do you need to add or take away from these lists?

41. Your Role as the Sales Leader (2)
Coaching
Reinforcement of training
Continuous improvement of skills
Motivation
Planning
Reporting
Sales
Pipeline
Productivity
Personal Development
Key Messages:
Reps will forget (and you will too) 80% of what they learn in training if it is not reinforced following the training. That means they will need coaching and motivation to continuously improve their skills sets. You will also need something to measure besides just sales that indicates the training is taking hold.
Lastly don’t forget about your own personal development. What will you need to continuously improve?
Discussion Question:
What do you want to add to these lists?

42. Review Sessions Are Critical
Weekly Funnel/Forecast Reviews
What’s in and out?
What help is required?
15 mins per rep
Key Messages:
The information you need has to come from both your reps and your systems.
Discussion Question:
What would you do in a funnel/forecast review?
Probe for these answers:
Management inspects the funnel for each rep to determine:
Monthly forecast
Risk and Up Side Opportunities
60 – 90 opportunities – do activities support goal attainment?
Prospecting activities to add to the funnel
Trends – are opportunities flowing through the funnel better or worse than expected, what is stalled and why?
Integrity of the funnel – is it up to date? Is the information accurate?
Time management
Territory management – retention problems, customer complaints etc

43. Monthly Planning & Review Sessions
One on One – 1 manager and rep
Agenda Items
30 & 60 day forecast delivery vs. plan
Includes upside opportunities
Qualification criteria
YTD Actual vs. Plan
Top Strategic Suspects*
Insight to be delivered
Engagement strategy
Existing Accounts*
Resources needed
1 hour per rep
Outputs
Travel Days Schedule (2 per month)
Updated Developmental Plan
Updated Commitment Action Document
*If rep assigned new business responsibilities

44. Monthly Team Meeting Management Team and Sales Team Training Outputs
Product
Sales Skill
Best Practices/Customer Case Studies
One per rep
Lessons learned
Revised/New Insight
Presented by management
60 – 90 minutes
Outputs
Best Practices Shared
Case Studies for Marketing (includes metrics)
Process Improvement Requests
Revised/New Insight

45. Annual Planning Sessions
Reps present their strategy to achieve their sales goals
Critical Opportunity Reviews:
High risk accounts
High potential accounts
Discussion Questions:
What areas would you cover in a Territory Development Session?
Probe for these answers:
New business strategies, networking opportunities, referrals, contact strategies
What would you work with your reps on in Critical Opportunity Reviews?
Probe for these answers: Coincides with Qualification Criteria
Step of the sales cycle and is it moving?
Alignment with prospect’s buying cycle
All stakeholders identified and engaged?
Is there significant value in changing?
Have all business drivers been identified?
Who are our competitors?
What is the probability of closing?
Why should we win this, and why might we lose this?
What can we do to secure a win?
What support do you need to close this opportunity?
What questions would be answered in a Key Account Review?
What are the key business drivers affecting this account?
What is our share of the account and what opportunities for us do they present?
What is our competition doing and how can we minimise the risk?
What is the long term opportunity and what are we doing today to position ourselves for future success?
What additional support do you need to develop this opportunity?

46. Summary & Recommendations
Buying has changed forever, so your sales team must evolve for you to be successful.
Focus your efforts on core performers; moving the needle even a little can have a tremendous impact on overall performance.
Use your resources. Make training, coaching, and mentoring part of the development plans for “Role Model Reps”; seek outside resources to assist you and peer groups to hold you accountable.
New hires from outside the industry need infrastructure in the form of training, coaching, management, and specific goals.
Build a plan that lets you transition by minimizing the impact of “won’t dos” and providing support for current “can’t dos.”

47. When Can it Be Completed?
Jump-Start Plan
Steps
What Must Be Done?
Who Will Do It?
When Can it Be Completed?
Define Sales Skills Needed
Add additional skills our business requires to list provided in webinar.
Assess Existing Team Using Performance/Skill Graph
Use performance/skill graph and newly defined skills list to assess current talent; research 3rd party assessment tools.
Develop a Training and Coaching Plan
How can you help existing team and potential new hires develop the skills they need to be successful?
Analyze Compensation and Coverage Strategy if Required
Do you have the right reps focused on the right things? (see slide 19)
Does your comp plan incentivize the behaviors and activities that will determine your success?
Determine Sales Headcount Required Including Sales Hires
Assess whether company’s growth goals for 2016 are realistic given existing sales talent.
Build a Hiring Plan
Position description
Sourcing channels
Interview process
Compensation
Target dates

48. Thank you!