Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

the largest group of respondents were individual contributors at 25% followed by frontline sales managers at 19%. That’s 44% of the respondents who typically don’t see things the same way as the C Suite (6%) or Senior Sales Leadership (2%).

Data 220

Data Hiring Compensation Quota 220

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

Author: Tim Houlihan Most incentives are paid out between 3 and 10 percent of the income earned during the incentive period. Matching Incentive to Your Corporate Culture. Track Incentive Results. Smart sales managers rely on good data to make decisions about successes and failures in their territory.

Incentive 168

Incentive Incentives Commission Territories 168

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 4, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan The latest interview between Jonathan Farrington, CEO of TopSalesWorld , and me is available here. We discussed why only 17% of all sales managers are effective at coaching and the conversation was very enlightening. DNA - They don''t have the DNA to support effective sales coaching.

Coaching 225

Coaching Sales Management Incentive Incentives 225

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

Author: Tim Houlihan The best incentives have open budgets, meaning anyone who qualifies can win. Open budgets tend to lead to improved morale due to the general ability for reps to feel like they have a chance at winning and that will lead to more sales. For an outside route-sales-driver, that might be three to six weeks.

Incentives 166

Incentives Incentive Sales Qualified Lead Territories 166

Anthony Cole Training

OCTOBER 13, 2014

Yes, the tenets for success was still based on a formula of sales steps and conversion ratios from one step to the next, but. As I write this, maybe I should change the title to “Sales Managers – Why Isn’t Goal Achievement Easy?” I have inquired about incentives and changes in overall production of a sales team.

Sales Management 204

Sales Management SME Incentive Incentives 204

Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 15, 2025

Until there is an agreed upon compelling to buy, the prospect has no incentive to enter into any qualification conversation. Informed: These are written by bonafide sales experts who know that BANT is as outdated as a horse-drawn carriage and a manual typewriter. Some suggest that it’s a great qualifying process.

Sales Process 173

Sales Process Lead Rank Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Lead 173

Understanding the Sales Force

MARCH 13, 2013

Sales Management must spend 50% of their time coaching salespeople like this: An enormous part of developing salespeople these days is helping them to differentiate themselves from your competitors. That creates urgency, and an incentive for a prospect to self-qualify. I will share the article I wrote for EcSell below.

Coaching 264

Coaching Sales Management Decision Maker Call-back 264

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

Author: Tim Houlihan Most incentives are paid out between 3 and 10 percent of the income earned during the incentive period. Matching Incentive to Your Corporate Culture. Track Incentive Results. Smart sales managers rely on good data to make decisions about successes and failures in their territory.

Incentive 136

Incentive Incentives Commission Territories 136

Steven Rosen

MAY 28, 2014

But once the task required “even rudimentary cognitive skills” a larger incentive “ led to poorer performance”. Other studies have supported these findings yet sales leaders have continued to use higher incentives to drive performance. I shared with him the research on sales mangers coaching and sales rep performance.

Motivation 319

Motivation Incentive Incentives Coaching 319

Sales and Marketing Management

JANUARY 27, 2019

Author: Brad Wilsted Note: This is part 3 in a 3-part series on the powerful role sales management plays in driving sustained revenue growth – and how companies can better leverage this critical position for improved top-line performance. Hire the right sales managers. Establish a Company Way for sales management.

Sales Management 166

Sales Management Hiring Compensation Incentives 166

Sales and Marketing Management

MAY 6, 2019

Simply sending an email announcement of your next incentive to make the reps aware of the program will not maximize results. Effective incentives are more than awareness. Sales managers are wise to use incentives to improve their results. Sales managers are wise to use incentives to improve their results.

Incentives 120

Incentives Incentive Maximizer ACT 120

Sales and Marketing Management

OCTOBER 29, 2018

You said you’ve built a lot of sales incentive programs as a manager, and, not to toot your own horn, but they have worked pretty darn well. With 20-plus years and more than 1,500 sales incentive programs under my belt, I’ve got some experience to share. The more reps, supervisors, managers, etc. it doesn’t.

Incentives 136

Incentives Incentive Lead Rank Lead Scoring 136

Zoominfo

JANUARY 24, 2025

These tools offer visibility into every stage of the sales pipeline, helping teams track performance, identify opportunities, and refine their approach. By visualizing data through intuitive dashboards and providing predictive insights, sales analytics software transforms how businesses approach sales management.

Analytics 246

Analytics Software Software Tools 246

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 2, 2014

All sales reps need coaching and guidance, but rainmakers deserve extra attention. The sales manager announces the top performers of the year. Applause resounds throughout the building as these sales champions are paraded like Superbowl winning gods across the sales floor. Drum roll, please. Want Proof?

Cold Calling 289

Cold Calling Incentive Incentives Face-to-face 289

Hubspot Sales

JUNE 11, 2019

Nothing boosts your sales team's excitement and energy more quickly and reliably than an incentive. In my years as a sales leader, I've learned the ins and outs of effective motivation. These four strategies will increase the impact of your incentives. Of course, sales managers can't show favoritism.

Incentives 140

Incentives Incentive Motivation Referrals 140

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Most sales teams are composed of three groups: The Superstars – These gifted few need little oversight or incentive. Sales Leader Prospecting Account Segmentation Sales Enablement Sales Manager Sales Manager Resources' They are your A-players. They perform year in and year out.

Segment 267

Segment Incentive Incentives How To 267

Steven Rosen

OCTOBER 8, 2021

Sales leaders agree that a highly motivated and engaged sales force drives greater performance. Many sales managers ask me how to ensure that they have a highly motivated and engaged team, and I usually ask them “WHY”? The sales manager must also be aware that each rep has different motivators.

Motivation 379

Motivation Commission Incentives Incentive 379

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Because sales managers are not coaching – still – at least not consistently or effectively. It’s simply incomprehensible that sales managers aren’t picking up the clue phone. Sales Managers don’t want to coach because it takes away from personal sales.

Coaching 341

Coaching Guidelines Margin Incentive 341

Salesmate

JUNE 4, 2021

Similarly, many other practices in sales have changed with the changing world around. One such practice is that of providing sales incentives to the salespeople. What are sales incentives? Call it what you will, incentives are what get people to work harder.” – Nikita Khrushchev . Split incentives .

Incentive 105

Incentive Incentives Compensation Motivation 105

SBI Growth

MAY 17, 2021

Most agree it’s important, some understand why, but very few sales leaders use it as a competitive differentiator. There are many factors that drive high-performance in a sales organization: talent development, enablement, and incentives, to.

Incentive 292

Incentive Incentives Competition Sales 292

Steven Rosen

JANUARY 26, 2014

Sales leaders agree that a highly motivated and engaged sales force drives greater performance. So one would naturally ask the question “how do I motivate and engage my sales force?” Many sales managers ask me how to ensure that they have a highly motivated and engaged team. I usually ask them “WHY”?

Motivation 288

Motivation Commission Incentives Incentive 288

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 29, 2012

Let’s suppose HR is fully engaged for redesign of a 2013 Sales Compensation plan. The plan looks great – equitable, in line with competition, attractive to sales. But wait – this new incentive compensation plan could flop. So, he commissioned HR to design a new incentive compensation plan (IC Plan.) What can be done?

Compensation 253

Compensation Hiring Incentive Incentives 253

SBI Growth

JUNE 29, 2013

The 4 primary characteristics that make it an accelerant to onboarding include: Competitive Environment: Top sales people are highly competitive. Incentive Compensation: Sales people are “coin-operated.” Remoteness: Field sales people are spread across wide geographies. Onboarding Goals Brought into Harmony.

Hiring 326

Hiring Case Study Lead Rank Lead Scoring 326

MTD Sales Training

NOVEMBER 24, 2011

Chances are your best sales person knows people who are as enthusiastic, hard working and determined as he or she is, and in this economy, the odds that one of those people is looking for a new opportunity are good. . Offer Personal Recruiting Incentives. Perhaps you give some small inducement for those who submit a qualified resume.

Hiring 293

Hiring Incentive Incentives Advertising 293

SBI Growth

AUGUST 13, 2013

I mentioned department-aligned efforts (HR = Talent or Learning; Marketing = Lead Generation or Sales Enablement; Sales = Sales Process or Sales Management.) Funding should come from a Process Improvement/Six Sigma center, or even a Project Management Office, if you have such. Who Should Pay?

Hiring 288

Hiring Incentive Incentives Benefit 288

Steven Rosen

DECEMBER 2, 2012

In building a Top Performers Program, sales management needs to decide what they want to reward. Many companies I work with tie their program to sales vs. objectives. Conclusion: When designing your sales “Top Performer” incentive program, it is critical that your plan is fair and equitable.

Territories 304

Territories Quota Comparison Incentive 304

Jeffrey Gitomer

MAY 22, 2011

There is an incentive for that person to maintain or improve his or her performance to stay at the top. KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Incentives and awards are economic stimuli of the first degree. In challenging economic times (how’s that for putting it mildly), sales are what will make a company recover. Sales Management.

Hiring 291

Hiring Social Media Loyalty Incentive 291

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 1, 2019

The problem is with typical sales metrics. If sales managers hold their people accountable for the number of phone calls they make, emails they send, and invitations and InMails on LinkedIn, that’s how they’ll prospect. I always advise clients against offering incentives for referral business. Forget about incentives.

Referrals 289

Referrals System Cold Calling Social Media 289

Sales and Marketing Management

MARCH 5, 2020

Author: Leeatt Rothschild Sales managers are racing to hit their 2020 goals, which are likely higher than last year’s. It’s no secret that by setting effective sales incentives and pay structures you can dramatically increase your team’s success rate. Treat your sales team. The takeaway here? 18 percent lower.

Incentive 204

Incentive Incentives Commission How To 204

Sales and Marketing Management

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Sales manager: I’d like to know what rewards the reps would like for our next incentive. Sales rep: Cash! Sales manager: Sounds good. You may be a seasoned sales manager, fatigued by trying to come up with innovative ways to motivate your reps. Are incentives obsolete? Don’t do it.

Motivation 191

Motivation Incentive Incentives Lead Rank 191

Sales and Marketing Management

APRIL 9, 2020

Sales managers rely on these made-up deadlines to generate urgency and motivation. Incentive designers have come to know this from years of their own experiences and observations. They have witnessed successes with the classic Fast Start component of incentive programs for decades. Deadlines drive activity.

Incentive 177

Incentive Incentives Motivation Research 177

The Pipeline

AUGUST 14, 2014

Examples in sales may be lead to opportunity conversions, or proposals to close. You often hear sales managers and director speak of how they are doing against their KPI’s. Or “what do you want me to do, get sales or complete the KPI’s you gave me?” Looking at it that way can be a part of potential problems.

Workbooks 288

Workbooks Incentives Incentive Distribution 288

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

As the leader of sales operations, I am sure you are working on: Updating CRM systems with new product information. Revising or building a new sales process to enable sales reps. Modifying sales reports and dashboards to enable sales managers to track new product sales. How do we drive change?

Compensation 244

Compensation Incentive Incentives Quota 244

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 13, 2014

The best way to motivate your sales reps is to believe in them. Sales managers can wreck a sales career or launch it. They can motivate reps who seem hopeless or derail the efforts of rising sales stars. Rene Zamora, a sales management thought leader and this month’s guest blogger, has a unique perspective.

Small Business 240

Small Business Small Business Sales Outsourcing Face-to-face 240

Hubspot Sales

AUGUST 22, 2018

Sales manager job description. Sales managers are responsible for helping their reps meet individual quota, getting the team to hit quota, forecasting sales and running sales reports, providing mentorship and training, recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new salespeople, and more. Sales manager requirements.

Hiring 141

Hiring Sales Management Forecasting Quota 141

Vengreso

DECEMBER 20, 2024

Today more than ever sales managers encounter both unique challenges and remarkable opportunities. As technology continues to reshape the sales landscape, to learn how to be a good sales manager, one must adapt to new demands and expectations.

Sales Management 58

Sales Management Forecasting Face-to-face How To 58

SBI Growth

MARCH 4, 2013

Dig in to these questions to be sure: Process issues: Do recruiter incentives include speed to fill or low vacancy metrics? Are Sales Managers held accountable for the use of the onboarding program? Sales Reps depend on a continual flow of quality leads to work as opportunities. That may not be the best option.

Outsourcing Services 326

Outsourcing Services Hiring Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Targets 326