Senior executives and sales managers often ask us why sales improvement initiatives (i.e. motivational speakers, training, customer relationship management software, and variable compensation plans, etc.,) sometimes fail to produce desired results in spite of significant investments of time, money, and resources. Briefly stated, our answer is that the key to improving sales performance is dependent upon four fundamental elements:

1. Establishing an effective sales process and methodology
2. Integrating the necessary customer management practices and turnkey tools
3. Reinforcing the new process, practices, and behaviors within the organization
4. Understanding and managing resistance to change

An optimum selling process is simple, repeatable, predictable, and measurable. An executable sales process plus customer management practices that are aligned to the customer’s buying behavior become the foundation for overall improvement in performance, business results, and profitability. In addition, a sales process and practices should be scalable and flexible enough to accommodate short and long sales cycles, future changes in technology, new markets, and other considerations. The process should be supported by tailored turnkey sales tools and aids, an annual commitment to teaching and education, sales management reinforcement systems and audits, automation, and integrated marketing activities.

However, simply introducing an effective sales process is not enough to achieve a significant and sustainable improvement in business results. We have discovered that the development of a high-performance sales culture requires a thorough commitment from the entire organization - it must be embraced first by senior management, followed by line management, and finally by selling professionals. Senior executives and sales managers must accept overall ownership and must then reinforce the adoption of the new customer management practices and behaviors that support the use of an effective sales process. Without this reinforcement, any sales process improvement initiative will achieve lackluster results.

Many organizations fail in their quest for improved selling performance - not because they don't establish the right process - but because they don't commit to making the new process and practices work. The traditional approach has been to provide a "one-time" training program for frontline sales professionals only. Management then expects immediate results, only to be disappointed with the return-on-investment over the long term. Any immediate success derived from the initial program dissipates quickly due to lack of process reinforcement and support.

In summary, outstanding sales organizations differentiate themselves not only by "what" they sell but also by "how" they sell. The "how" is a result of establishing an executable sales process and ensuring their success through a systematic implementation where everyone on the sales and marketing team speaks the same language and uses the same tools to advance and support the organization's sales and marketing effort.

Since our founding, we have learned a great deal about how to help organizations develop a high-performance sales culture. We can help you to introduce Selling Solutions Inc.’s proprietary and proven Six Stages of the Perpetual Cycle of the Forensic Customer Management Process™ into your organization, but more importantly, we can help you to reinforce and sustain the new process and practices to improve organizational performance, business results, and profitability.

We welcome you to our Web site and invite you to investigate our expertise, experience, and services.

Regards,

Michael E. Sloopka
Practice Director
Selling Solutions Inc.