The most effective way to execute and reap the benefits of a Sales Process Engineering effort is to assemble the best and brightest of your sales reps and managers into a professionally facilitated Sales Excellence Council or SEC. Beware, however, because it is a lot tougher to execute and sustain than it sounds.
The Rules
First of all, there are a few rules that all SECs must follow…
Rule number one: Members must be predominantly, if not exclusively, doers. They need to be card-carrying, responsible-for-meeting-quota reps, managers and executives. (The only partial exception is the facilitator. More on that person shortly) Staff and “outside experts” can be excellent resources, but serve the group best as guests that are invited to participate periodically.
Rule number two: Prepare yourself and other executives to hear all kinds of things you might not want to hear. Pet programs and traditions will get challenged. Sacred cows will become burgers. You’ll get an overdose of outside-the-box thinking. In other words, be careful what you wish for, especially in light of rule number three, which states…
Rule number three: Give the group power. If you inhibit the group – overtly or subtly – from implementing its programs and ideas, you just killed it. From the outset, position membership on the council as an honor, something that your reps aspire to achieve. If a person has not earned the respect of management and peers, he or she should not be nominated for membership. It is also a good idea to appoint members for a term of one or two years. That way, nobody gets burned out and “mistakes” can be removed without too much fanfare.
Rule number four: Commit to your Sales Excellence council for the long term. I apologize in advance for the coming cliché, but… Nothing valuable is easy and quick. A Sales Excellence Council is responsible for improving the toughest business process there is – finding, landing and growing those things (called customers) that pay everybody else’s salary. If your company is not constantly and forever getting better at it, at least one competitor will. Given rule number five, the long term commitment should not be a problem.
Rule number five: Set an expectation that the SEC will improve the company’s sales process so that the process itself drives an 8-12% annual growth rate. It is critical that the Council understands that this expected sales growth is incremental. In other words, 8-12% above and beyond what you would achieve due to things like a strengthening economy or new products or an acquisition. That’s a tall order.
The Tactics
There really is nothing all that complicated about running a Sales Excellence Council. The strategy of the group is to execute Sales Process Engineering. Beyond that, simply apply all of the usual meeting management guidelines. Maintain laser-beam focus on the objective, have agendas pre-published, ensure consistent participation and preparation and maintain good documentation.
A kickoff of one or two full days should consist of an emphatic statement of the objective (8-12% incremental, annual increase in sales per rep), education (regarding Sales Process Engineering, the Methodical Sales Process and the tools to be used) and the initial identification and mapping of Sales Best Practices. After that, a two to four hour monthly meeting works most effectively.
The SEC concept can be applied across a wide variety of organizations regardless of their size and nature. At its most fundamental level, it can be applied at an individual level. It can be scaled up to address a local sales team and/or one that is regional, national or global. An SEC can be fully contained within one corporation or can be sponsored by an industry association with members drawn from multiple companies. Any group with a common set of interests and target markets can work.
Technology is also important. Travel can become an expensive burden. While the kickoff meeting should be a face-to-face affair, follow up meetings can be conducted via web conferencing. In these conferences, all participants link up electronically not only for audio, but also for PC to PC communications. With these capabilities the facilitator/note-taker’s screen can be viewed by all attendees regardless of their physical location.
To get an SEC started, use of an “outside expert” to facilitate is advisable. This “SPE Czar” must have executive level sales management experience, a thorough understanding of process engineering principles, project and meeting management skills and working knowledge of the required documentation, diagramming and statistical tools. Once the group is up and running, you may decide to turn this responsibility over to one of your sales leaders or even rotate the job among the key members of the council.