Why managers make you plug data into your CRM system

Remember the reps' needs when implementing CRM/SFA

In their report series apparently inspired by the British children’s TV show Magic Roundabout, analysts at Gartner (pictured, left, in researching action) just released their Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation, 2007. I got a sneaky peak inside the full report and, aside from a good overview of the vendor situation, a couple of points grabbed my attention.

Firstly, “Gartner predicts that within three years the majority of new SFA deployments will be based on SaaS.” (SaaS – Software as a Service, delivered through the web, like SalesForce.com. SFA - Sales Force Automation, basically, what most of us call CRM). If you’re not using one now, you may soon be!

The most interesting point for me though was “Finally, we see a focus on simplicity as a theme to improve adoption among salespeople”. Adoption is still a problem? I’ve long had a theory about SFA systems :

• SFA systems are implemented primarily because of what they do for management (and what they do for management is impressive, important and useful – forecasting, overviews and near-infinite breakdowns of sales data, etc)
• The sales reps’ needs and viewpoint come second

We shouldn’t be surprised that adoption is low. SFA systems’ forecasting, overviews and breakdowns of sales data fit neatly into management’s world (it’s what they’re doing already), however SFA systems rarely fit the day to day life of a sales rep. To many reps it’s a disruption and the full extent of the benefits are not immediately clear.

“The system doesn’t map onto how I sell!”
“I’m a sales rep, not a techie – I’m buried in this “System”!”
“I’m spending all my time inputting data for management – who is this system really helping?”

It doesn’t have to be this way. Management can improve SFA adoption by:

• Balancing the needs of reps with the needs of management
• Ensuring the system maps the processes used by sales reps currently (if your reps are all using different processes, God help you, go back a stage and find yourself a suitable sales process/methodology.)
• Ensuring the sales department (at all levels) is involved in the implementation/design of the system
• Once your custom system is set up, train your reps in YOUR system, rather than generic training
• Be realistic in your expectation of reps. They will only gather so much data on behalf of management.
• Sell the benefits to your reps. Publicize examples of reps who have had results because of the system
• Last but definitely not least, three key points from Aaron Ross’s excellent “Sales Machine” blog :
• Executives must lead by example, from the CEO to the sales manager
• Make the system as easy to use as possible (backing up Gartner’s observation)
• Make compensation depend on usage of the system (I expect to get flamed for this one!)
  

Make (sales) history : here, NOW!

Change the dictionary definition of “Sell” – leave a comment, pass the word on

I’m passionate about the sales profession and I am ready to take action against anything that supports the negative stereotypes about sales people.

Take the following Concise Oxford English Dictionary definition of “sell” (edited to include just the directly relevant points) :

verb 1 hand over in exchange for money. 3 (of goods) attain sales. 6 persuade someone of the merits of.

Their definition barely touches on what selling as a profession – your profession - actually is. Consider the following;

1. hand over in exchange for money.

And

3. (of goods) attain sales.

Personally, selling high value B2B services with a very quick and easy handover of new customers to the account managers, this element of the definition describes what I do for about 0.05% of my time. It’s like defining “football” as “scoring goals”.

6 persuade someone of the merits of.

This is better, but only marginally! In sales methodology “SPIN Selling” 1 out of 4 stages and in “Solution Selling” only 2 out of 9 stages deal with active persuasion.

I would say that accurately reflects the amount of time I spend “persuading”. This is like defining “cooking” as “putting things in an oven” when in fact, the activity of cooking as it is commonly understood, involves much, much more, including planning, preparation and presentation. My question is; where in their definition are the following points and activities covered?

• Lead generation
• Prospecting
• Qualification
• Discovery, understanding and development of pains/problems
• Etc, etc

By focusing on the transaction and persuasion elements of sales, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary’s definition supports the stereotypes of pushy sales people. We deserve to have our difficult and varied job conveyed and understood correctly.

I have already contacted publishers Oxford University Press (OUP) about this but was not convinced by their answer that they fully understood the weaknesses of their definition.

So more needs to be done. We, together, will make a small part of sales history - we are going to change the dictionary definition of selling.

What you need to do to get involved:

• Leave a comment with your support as evidence to take to OUP (and your ideas for a more precise definition if you have any). Leaving a comment takes seconds and requires no registration.
• Important : Send an email to every sales person you know and give them the opportunity to do the same (see suggested text below)
• Add this post/blog to any bookmarking/social networking sites/services you use
  

When we have built our case I will take it to the offices of Oxford University Press get the definition changed on behalf of the readers of SalesItch.com.

Let’s do it – take 10 seconds to show your support and get your friends to do the same. It’s the best thing you’ll do all day. Here’s the copy’n’paste email text :

Hello all

I am making sales history by showing my support to change the dictionary definition of the verb to “sell”. It takes seconds: just go to www.SalesItch.com and read “Make (sales) history today”.

Thanks


Show your support here.

Good business = good sales

Sales philosophies and actions are at the core of good business itself

When I was at school I liked the idea of being a “businessman”, with high powered meetings, travelling around meeting influential people and striking deals. Aside from setting up your own business or running someone else’s, sales is the profession closest to that school boy’s dream. Ultimately, good sales and good business require many of the same perspectives and actions.

Consider the GetAbstract summary of the book “The Definitive Drucker”. Drucker has often been called “the Father of Modern Management”, but his teachings on how to be successful in business were remarkably similar to how to be successful in sales. Consider the following 7 points that summarise his advice to business leaders:

• Be customer centric - Customers belong at the centre of all business decisions. “The purpose of a business is to create and serve a customer.” Sales people find customers, discover and develop their issues/problems (create the customer) and then design and deliver a solution (serve the customer)
• Be selective - Decide who is your customer, and who is not your customer – Sales people decide on a target market and then carefully qualify each prospect, hand-picking the opportunities to spend time on.
• Identify and deliver value - What does your customer consider value? Possibly the ultimate question for the sales person to find the answer to.
• Be proactive… - “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work” Sales is one of the most active disciplines in the modern business. As IBM's Thomas Watson said, "Nothing happens until someone sells something".
  
• … but “Don’t confuse motion with progress.” - It’s all about results.
• Ask the right questions – Ask probing questions to drill down to the essential issues.
• Look outside of your business – Strong business leaders focus on the outside world, where customers and competitors are. Just like sales do, day in, day out.

Drucker’s perspective should serve as a reminder to us all as sales professionals that we are at the core of the business.

Good business = good sales.