Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Today I had the following email exchange: Subject: Question on Comp. We have "appointment setters" that have a quota of 16 appointments per quarter. Sales complains that the leads suck. We have the sales process dialed in and we are training on it now. I am stuck on comp.

Follow-up 232

Follow-up Incentives Incentive Sales Qualified Lead 232

SBI Growth

JULY 14, 2013

There’s no denying that in sales, talent is a key differentiator. Today’s post is about how Sales Ops can create conditions that enable success. Today’s post is about how Sales Ops can create conditions that enable success. How well have you created conditions for sales success? Huddle Around A Sales Process.

Territories 328

Territories Incentive Incentives Compensation 328

Hubspot Sales

JULY 30, 2024

Then, the game changed when I leveled up my sales email writing game with curiosity-provoking subject lines, strong body text, and compelling closing statements. Read on to hear my tactics for ending a sales email.e From there, initiating conversations and strengthening relationships with business buyers and influencers got easier.

Closing 122

Closing Quota How To Webinar Metrics 122

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Inflation can wreak havoc on many aspects of a carefully designed sales incentive program, but its direct and indirect effects are not necessarily obvious. To decide how to respond to inflation, CSOs must first understand how inflation can undermine quotas.

Quota 177

Quota Incentives Incentive Sales 177

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 10, 2013

A Sales VP called me last month. Sales Force Win Rate was flat year over year. 90% of their sales came from 5% of their sales team. Sales Force Win Rate was flat year over year. 90% of their sales came from 5% of their sales team. Quota attainment was below 35%. Poor quota setting.

Sales Qualified Lead 300

Sales Qualified Lead Compensation Incentives Incentive 300

SBI Growth

DECEMBER 29, 2013

Interviewing for the VP of Sales requires a lot of preparation. Sometimes the VP of Sales position is a great new opportunity. Throughout the interview, the VP candidate should look for these three qualities: Performance Conditions : Does the current environment allow the Sales VP to be as effective as possible? are overwhelmed.

Quota 310

Quota Penetration Incentive Incentives 310

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 6, 2013

This post is for Sales and HR Leaders planning 2014 Sales Compensation. It provides a number of common Sales Compensation complaints. Something you’ll need to go with this post is the Sales Compensation Complaint Checker. Something you’ll need to go with this post is the Sales Compensation Complaint Checker.

Compensation 293

Compensation Territories Incentive Incentives 293

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

The first monthly commission statements will soon be in your sales reps'' hands. This post is for Sales leaders and HR business partners. Read on to understand the mechanics of effective sales compensation. Erik Charles is the Principal Incentive Strategist at Xactly Corp. It answers a fundamental question.

Compensation 288

Compensation Territories Hiring Commission 288

Steven Rosen

DECEMBER 2, 2012

Many companies run Presidents Club, STAR Club and Summit programs to reward and recognise their top sales performers. 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.

Territories 304

Territories Quota Comparison Incentive 304

Zoominfo

MARCH 21, 2025

Sales is no longer about dialing faster or pitching harder. Today, it all comes down to using smarter sales coaching techniques. Using AI sales tools can help teams level up by analyzing real sales conversations, identifying what works and what doesnt. Sales teams need every advantage they can get.

Sales Coaching 130

Sales Coaching Software Software Coaching 130

Hubspot Sales

MARCH 27, 2019

In the film, Alec Baldwin's straight-talking sales manager arrives at a small business to motivate the sales team. For sales managers, "Glengarry Glen Ross" is a cautionary tale. Here's everything you need to know about setting successful sales quotas. Sales Quota. Different types of sales quotas.

Quota 143

Quota Territories Commission Forecasting 143

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

DECEMBER 19, 2013

A few weeks ago, I was talking to an SVP of sales. The SBI Sales Initiative Assessment Tool has answers. No matter what initiatives your sales organization is considering, this tool carefully evaluates them. After you download the SBI Sales Initiative Assessment Tool , you’ll need to do a little customization.

How To 303

How To Incentives Incentive Demand Generation 303

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. Focus on new product sales.

Compensation 244

Compensation Incentive Incentives Penetration 244

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 31, 2025

Referral selling strategies are the key to consistent sales growth, but chances are, your team isnt leveraging them effectively. When your reps are introduced to prospects by a trusted connection, they no longer start the sales conversation as strangers. All sales calls are hot, hot, hot. Build it into your sales cadence.

Referrals 156

Referrals Scale GoldMine Pipeline 156

Sales and Marketing Management

MARCH 27, 2019

Author: Mike DeLeonardis, President, North America at beqom Seventy-nine percent of companies say that increasing sales productivity is a strategy they’re using to reach growth targets in 2019, but actually meeting this goal may be a challenge as only 35 percent of average-performing sales reps’ time actually goes to selling.

Strategy 223

Strategy Compensation Commission Incentive 223

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. Too often, contests omit front-line sales managers?—?and

Incentives 136

Incentives Incentive Lead Rank Lead Scoring 136

SBI Growth

MARCH 31, 2013

It's a critical time of year for sales compensation. Starting now, sales leaders and HR business partners are getting the first direct feedback. Here are just a few: Direction - Sales reps may be focused on the wrong activities. Is the entire sale organization at risk of not Making the Number for the full year?

Compensation 293

Compensation Incentives Incentive Buyer Persona 293

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

When sales reps think about their compensation, the first thing they ask is “How can I make more?” Great companies attract and retain "A" level sales performers. The best sales comp plans effectively motivate and retain "A" player reps, push "B" reps toward better results and weed out the "C" players.

Compensation 288

Compensation Incentives Incentive Retention 288

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 29, 2021

Incentives are natural motivators — and sometimes, some "natural motivation" is exactly what your salespeople need to perform to the best of their abilities. That's why several companies leverage something known as incentive compensation : the practice of offering financial rewards for professional excellence. Annual Incentives.

Incentives 127

Incentives Incentive Compensation Commission 127

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

HR and Sales leaders face the challenge of maximizing the investment in sales compensation. Motivating the sales force requires careful adjustment of payout formulas, rates, accelerators, product eligibility tables and more. Overlay specialists can play an important role in supplementing the skills of the field sales force.

Compensation 257

Compensation Penetration Incentives Incentive 257

SBI Growth

MARCH 4, 2013

Plagued by Sales Rep turnover? This post is to help discover the root cause of Sales Rep turnover. It is for HR Business Partners working with Sales Leaders. Here’s a sales rep turnover example. These also relate to Sales Rep turnover. Sales success is 50% talent and 50% performance conditions. Poor Hiring.

Outsourcing Services 326

Outsourcing Services Hiring Lead Nurturing Demand Generation 326

The Pipeline

MARCH 12, 2021

Sales like most tribes being a bit more civil than antelopes, prefers the 80/20 rule, over herd mentality. I have always been fascinated by how willing sales types are to accept the 80/20. Based on CSO Insights Data, the trend is clear and continuous, quota attainment is stuck in the mid 50%. Herd mentality persists in both.

Sales Leadership 386

Sales Leadership Quota Data Sports 386

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Your Sales Strategy. It is one thing to have a sales strategy. VPs of Sales are asking the question “What have I done before?”. VPs of Sales are asking questions like: Is our Sales Process good enough? Are my Sales Managers good enough? Do This— Start with a Sales Strategy Blueprint. This is flawed.

Compensation 325

Compensation Social Media Incentive Incentives 325

Sales and Marketing Management

MAY 31, 2020

Sales teams are a particularly unique case as their compensation is likely to be highly leveraged and more sensitive to changes in the marketplace. What happens to the sales force and their commission-based structure? Do their existing quota allocations still make sense in this new world? Model Costs Accurately.

Motivation 194

Motivation Compensation Commission Incentives 194

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

Listen up Chief Sales Officer. It’s time that Sales Operations gets your undivided attention. Download the Leaders Guide to Sales Ops Enablement by clicking here. There are multiple reasons why Sales Ops needs your attention now. Sales, marketing, IT, strategy, operations and customer service. Opportunity is ripe.

Company 296

Company Hiring Buyer Persona Maximizer 296

SBI Growth

JUNE 29, 2013

Sales leaders will not Make the Number if they fail to rapidly onboard new talent. The sales environment is uniquely suited to take advantage of an innovation called “ gamification.” This post is for HR and Sales leaders who ask, "How can we accelerate the productivity of our new hires?". The Game: A Great Match for Sales?

Hiring 326

Hiring Case Study Lead Scoring Lead Rank 326

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 24, 2013

A post for Sales and HR Leaders to find root causes of Sales Manager (SM) vacancies. The Sales Manager position is the fulcrum between sales leadership strategy and sales force execution. Teams without effective sales managers lack morale and discipline. Weak sales strategy. Poor territory.

Positioning 292

Positioning Hiring Sales Management Compensation 292

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 5, 2012

This post is for Small Company CSOs and VPs of Sales. Despite this luxury, the small company sales compensation plan is usually left on the backburner. To drive the right behavior and hit your targets, your sales compensation must evolve at the same pace as your company. Are you clinging to a legacy Sales Compensation model?

Compensation 257

Compensation Company Hiring Salary 257

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 16, 2020

Here are five important steps to make your team referral sales experts. If salespeople were self-motivated, they wouldn’t need sales managers or metrics. I’ve been there—given a quota (usually without my input) and a list of client companies, and then told to “go at it” and do whatever it takes to get meetings. Sound familiar?

Referrals 328

Referrals Sales Management Hiring Scale 328

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 21, 2013

Sales Operations is responsible for creating that winning environment. 80% of its sales team was outside sales reps. The Sales Operations team moved to reorganize the group. Incentive Programs. Does your comp plan incent behaviors that will get you to your number? Resource Allocation. Talent Management.

Hiring 293

Hiring Ideal Customer Profile Margin Face-to-face 293

Salesmate

JUNE 4, 2021

Sales isn’t the same as it used to be. And with this change in technology, advancements in sales methodologies have also taken place. 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.

Incentives 105

Incentives Incentive Compensation Motivation 105

Lead411

DECEMBER 19, 2024

10 Tips for Closing B2B Deals Before Year-End: Last-Minute Strategies and Incentives Tips for Closing B2B Deals Before Year-End: Last-Minute Strategies and Incentives As the year winds down, sales teams often face the challenge of closing deals before the clock strikes midnight on December 31.

Ideal Customer Profile 40

Ideal Customer Profile Incentives Incentive B2B 40

SBI Growth

JANUARY 10, 2013

This post helps CEO’s determine where to spend money on sales to make the number. Common questions we hear from CEOs regarding sales investments include: Do we have enough feet on the street? Start by defining the current state of your sales organization. Maybe you’ve tried hiring more sales heads in the past.

Top of Funnel 282

Top of Funnel Hiring Funnel Channels 282

No More Cold Calling

JULY 4, 2013

We’re always looking for more business and for any opportunity to reach and surpass our quotas. Having such relationships in place can help you better address your clients’ needs , and sales colleagues at these companies become important Referral Sources. One industry leader I know provides strong incentives for salespeople to refer.

Referrals 244

Referrals Networking Enterprise Enterprise 244

Zoominfo

MAY 13, 2018

It’s common knowledge that working in sales is hard. Yet—what most people don’t understand is the extent to which sales pressure can negatively impact an organization. In today’s post we explain the effects of sales pressure and provide ways to mitigate this stress productively. ” ( source ). ” ( source ).

Hiring 258

Hiring Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring 258

Jeffrey Gitomer

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Where will your sales be? What's my incentive? Is my incentive strong enough to ensure achievement? pennies per day, ounces per day, calls per day, dollars per sale) and do that daily dose each day. Sales note.Don't confuse goals with quotas. A goal is a game plan to achieve and exceed a quota.

Sales Goal 190

Sales Goal Hiring Incentives Incentive 190