It has been 15 years since Gartner famously reported in 2001 that 50 percent of all customer relationship management (CRM) implementations were considered failures, and various studies since then affirm the fact that sales forces are still not satisfied with CRM. In fact, we work with some of the most successful sales forces in the world,… Read More
Cracking the Sales Management Code – Part 1 of 4
In this series of articles, we will introduce the research findings from the best-selling book Cracking the Sales Management Code, by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana. These foundational insights have transformed sales management thinking within global companies like GE, 3M, Tyco, and many others. In this first installment, we highlight the often ignored truth that… Read More
Cracking the Sales Management Code – Part 2 of 4
In this series of articles, we are introducing the research findings from the best-selling book Cracking the Sales Management Code, by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana. In our first article <insert link>, we revealed that there are three levels of sales force metrics, as judged by their ‘manageability’: Business Results like Percent Revenue Growth, which… Read More
Cracking the Sales Management Code – Part 3 of 4
Sales Objectives and How to Achieve Them In previous installments (see part 1 and part 2), we shared research findings that revealed there are three types of sales force metrics – measures of Sales Activities, Sales Objectives, and Business Results. We also identified five discrete sales processes – Call Management, Opportunity Management, Account Management, Territory… Read More
Cracking the Sales Management Code – Part 4 of 4
Align Your Sales Force and Reach Your Goals This is the fourth and final installment in a series introducing research from the best-selling book Cracking the Sales Management Code. In our final installment, we explain how thoughtfully selecting performance metrics creates field level alignment with C-suite targets. In Search of Organizational Alignment One of the… Read More
CRM: It’s Time to Get Out and Drive
What is CRM? A software? A database? A reporting tool? A methodology? A way of life? In in our minds, CRM is nothing more than a decision-making tool. When used well, CRM helps sales managers and their reps make important decisions such as how to spend their time, which customers to target, and which opportunities… Read More
Hey, Sales Leaders… It’s Time to Get Back to Basics
I have just completed a busy Spring season of speaking at conferences. In fact, I’ve been a pretty steady traveler since we published Cracking the Sales Management Code almost 7 years ago. In that time, I have seen the topics of other speakers evolve from sales training to sales enablement. From consultative selling to social… Read More
Imagine: A World without Sales Managers
Hello, World! We all struggle occasionally to keep things in perspective. In particular, we start to take things around us for granted — things that are so embedded in our daily landscape that we stop recognizing them as being uniquely valuable. To combat this tendency, there’s a simple reality-checking exercise I use to put things… Read More
Research Reveals Why Your Best Sellers Ignore Your Sales Process
Have you ever seen a child who’s just received the gift of a plastic toy hammer? Preferably your memory of this includes the child wearing a colorful fake hardhat and a flimsy tool belt too, but the most important image is the plastic toy hammer. What’s the first thing the child does with the hammer? … Read More
Warning: Bad Sales Management Is Costing You Millions!
Most executives today acknowledge that great sales managers are critical to a productive sales force. With great sales managers, you get effective coaching, healthy pipelines, motivated sellers, accurate forecasts, and aggressive revenue growth. In short, if you’re lucky enough to have a sales team full of great managers, life is pretty good. But what if… Read More
When Sales Pipelines Meet Sales Coaching… Imagine the Possibilities
The Cost of Sales Pipelines Sales pipelines are a big deal. In recent research, we discovered that 72% of business-to-business companies expect their managers to hold pipeline review sessions with their reps at least once per month and most often weekly. We also learned that those sessions last an average of 53 minutes each. So… Read More