4 Simple Rules Around Sales Methodologies and Metrics

Many of our "bloggers" have reached out on this topic of sales / strategic account managment methodologies and metrics - I think what everybody is seeking in these challenging times is the "holy grail" for sales revenue improvement.

Got an idea - as a methodology let's keep it simple -took 37 years of "making the number" for me to distill sales into 4 simple rules:

1. Doing the right things (hi-value activities) effectively (know what they are for your business)
2. Doing these right things (hi-value activities) to the right people (Decision makers/influencers)
3. Doing these activities the right number of times based on historical metrics that predict success
4. Ensure that these activities are executed by the right people (professional, skilled, informed, coached and motivated)

This is methodology!

As for metrics - I have often heard "you get what you measure"!

So Coach...

• What are we measuring?
• How are we using these metrics to influence and/or change our sales behavior?

Any other ideas and/or wisdom to help us all "Make the Number" in these challenging times!

Finding the "Right" Strategic Account Manager (s) is Getting Harder!

What do you think? I was speaking with several clients lately and when they see the "job description" of a "Best-in-Class" SAM they shake and wonder where they are going to get these "top-performing" business resources - and when we do identify them how do we know they are really the right ones!

Couple of clients are looking outside the sales team for resources, some have suggested taking a "Farm Team" approach, developing a feeder system, some others have suggested recruiting and hiring like skills and from different industries - others are now incorporating assessment tools to find the "diamonds-in-rough".

Nothing worse than people challenges! And now a shrinking work force - tell all those "Boomers" to hang in there for a few more years and build up their private retirement funds! And a SAM position can be FUN!

Any ideas on what's working for you that you would like to share!