When executives are first introduced to Sales Process Engineering, they naturally assume that this new approach to sales will be tough on salespeople. But, interestingly, it tends not to be. Salespeople adapt quickly. They enjoy working in an environment that’s custom-engineered to multiply their productivity. The individual who really suffers as a result of this… “The Machine > Part 2 > Chapter 11: Managing the sales function”
Most managers are excited by technology. Technology enables us to get more done, faster. And technology is practical. Concrete. It’s not about ideas; it’s about execution. This is certainly true in sales environments. It’s almost impossible to propose any initiative without prompting the question: is there software for that? In sales environments, the answer to… “The Machine > Part 2 > Chapter 10: Technology (why CRM sucks!)”
This is the title of a Harvard Business Review article that has caused a bit of a stir in sales circles. The authors divide (B2B) salespeople into five groups and argue that, of the five profiles, one significantly out-performs the others – and that one under-performs, to a similar degree. Here are the five profiles… “Selling is not about relationships”
I have a tip for you for the holiday period that’s such an awesome tip it almost qualifies as a Christmas present. Trust me: you’ll be so glad I blogged about this. A one-hour interview with a founder, every day of every work week: totally free! Every day of the (work) week, I listen-in on… “Mixergy: Christmas tip (almost a Christmas present)”
I have a few long-term clients who I love dearly but who are painfully difficult to work with! The problem is that they are creative entrepreneurs, brilliant at starting businesses – and launching new initiatives within existing ones – but challenged when it comes to building sustainable and scalable machines. Because our expertise is the… “Achieving ‘Predictable Success’ (book review)”
His full name was Dr Eliyahu Goldratt but the world knew him as Eli. He burst onto the world stage when his first book (The Goal) became a runaway best seller. The Goal went on to become one of the most-read business books of all time and Eli established himself as one of a small… “In memory of Eli Goldratt”
If it’s true that sacred cows make the best hamburgers, then we’re in for quite a feast! I’ve chosen to close Part One of this book with a frontal assault on the juiciest bovine of all: the unassailable belief that salespeople should be paid commissions. And while I’m at it, I’ll take aim at bonuses,… “The Machine > Part 1 > Chapter 6: The end of commissions, bonuses and other artificial management stimulants”
In most discussions of sales, the greater organization doesn’t rate a mention. This is more than an idle curiosity. The fact that we traditionally consider the sales function in isolation is likely to be an admission of a fundamental flaw in the design of sales – as well as the cause of many of the… “The Machine > Part 1 > Chapter 4: The machine within the machine”
Okay, perhaps evil is a bit of an exaggeration, but whenever I encounter an environment where time is tracked and billed, I see tremendous inefficiencies and value-destruction. Let’s consider why. Imagine you have something to sell – a widget, say. Tell me, for how much should you sell it? The answer to that question is… “The evil of time-and-material billing”
Alejandro Céspedes wrote to me the other day with the following question: Hi Justin Just wanted to ask if you’ve designed a way of managing the sales budget of a company. In other words, how to review if the salespeople are meeting the budget or not. Most companies are affected by the end-of-the-month syndrome, and… “End-of-the-month syndrome and three fallacious assumptions”
