How to Build a World Class Sales Force in 2009

Neil Rackham, author of bestsellers such as SPIN Selling, Major Account Sales Strategy and Rethinking the Sales Force, and one of the leading minds in professional, consultative selling over the past 20 years, shares his five keys for building a world class sales force:

1. Sales supervisors are the key to successI have played a part in the reorganization and performance improvement of over 100 large sales forces. It’s my experience that whether change succeeds – and whether results significantly improve – depends much more on sales supervisors than on salespeople. When I’m working to improve the performance of a sales force, I give most attention to building competent sales supervision.
2. Fewer accounts means more sales Salespeople love to have lots of opportunities. A salesperson who has ten customers to chase feels much safer than if they had only five. As a result, many salespeople are half chasing twice as many opportunities. They don’t sell deeply enough, they don’t plan adequately and they lose business to competitors who put more resources into the best opportunities. I often find that I can get a dramatic improvement in results by taking away 20 – 30% of a salesperson’s prospects. Salespeople hate this and they argue against it – but it works.
3. Salespeople must become value creators Too many salespeople are “talking brochures”, trying to show customers how their products or services are better than competitors. This is traditional value communication selling and it no longer works. Salespeople today must move from value communication to value creation. The salesperson must add as much value as the product. This calls for creativity and problem solving. Selling is no longer about persuasion.
4. Coaching brings resultsEvery world-class sales force I’ve worked with puts great emphasis on coaching. They don’t just give lip service to coaching; they create systems and processes to make coaching happen. Yet few sales managers understand important coaching concepts, such as how skills coaching is different from strategy coaching. The best way to improve sales results is to make effective coaching happen.
5. Integrate sales and marketingI’ve been working closely with Philip Kotler, the marketing guru, to find ways to help sales and marketing work better together. When we published some of our thinking recently in Harvard Business Review, we were flooded with emails from CEO’s, Sales VP’s and Marketing VP’s from all over the world. So we know it’s an important topic and exciting new ideas are being tried out.

Would you like Neil Rackham’s help in building your world class sales force? If so, please submit an inquiry on our contact page or contact Shawn Ellis at The Speakers Group at (615) 866-2665. We would be happy to work with you.

Sales Professionals Attest to Benefits of Neil Rackham’s Research and Teaching

Jim Farrell, author of the Business Bits blog, summarizes the SPIN Selling philosophy and quotes some executives who share their personal experiences with Neil Rackham’s work in this blog post.

Neil Rackham Among 2009′s “9 Business Speakers You Need to Know”

The Speakers Group speakers bureau counts Neil Rackham among “9 Business Speakers You Need to Know in 2009” based on the relevance of his expertise in helping companies navigate the tumultuous economic climate projected to linger well into the New Year.

Q&A with Neil Rackham, “The Professor of Professional Selling”

Neil Rackham has been observing the world’s best sales forces for decades, and here he answers some of the frequently asked questions he has received from sales professionals and sales managers:

How does one become a good salesperson?

It’s not magic; it’s hard work. A few people have a natural talent for selling, but most people must practice, then practice more, then practice more. It’s just like football. You need a good coach and lots of practice at basic skills, like asking good questions.

Which motivational strategies shall a CEO apply to improve the productivity of his/her sales force?

Pay your top salespeople well. Give them lots of freedom. Create a “high performance culture.” This means that you recruit only the best. When salespeople join your company, you tell them, “Only the top performers will stay. After a year, you must prove that you should stay – we don’t prove that you should go.” And get rid of poor performers quickly. Research shows that the number one reason why a salesperson doesn’t improve is that there is another person in the same team who is doing worse. Money is an important motivator but it is not everything. Money attracts and keeps high performers. It encourages people to sell harder. But paying people more doesn’t make them more smart.

What does it take to create a strong sales force — the “dream team”?

A great sales team starts with a manager who is a great coach. Next, the salespeople must have shared values. For example, they must care about their customers. They must be truthful and they must understand their products. Salespeople are very competitive and they are not good at helping each other. To create a “dream team” their manager must encourage cooperation and caring. The salespeople must learn to help each other.

How do you generate value for the costumer?

In the past, the product generated all the value. Each company made a unique product. The job of the salesperson was to explain to the customer the product’s value. In other words, salespeople were value communicators. Today there are many competing products and they are not unique. So the product has not enough value for the customer to prefer it to a competitor. The job of the salesperson changes under these circumstances. Salespeople today must be value creators. They must be experts and they must be creative problem solvers.

How to define the objectives of the sales force to reach results? Which are the fundamentals of productivity?

In simple sales, the best productivity objectives are about activity and efficiency. So success comes from selling hard. Good salespeople make lots of calls and the more calls, the more sales. This doesn’t work in complex sales. More calls can even lead to less sales. In complex sales the best metrics are about effectiveness, not efficiency.

The image of sales people is tarnished. How can we change that perception so they can be considered by society as professionals?

Society always judges on the past, not the present. In the past, many salespeople lied and cheated. They gave selling a very bad name. But today the sales job has become professional, honest and has high standards. Society will catch up with the reality, but it takes time.

Are entrepreneurs good sellers?

Entrepreneurs are usually bad at selling. During sales calls they usually talk too much. They don’t listen to the customer. They are too enthusiastic about their products. When I’m training entrepreneurs I tell them that good selling means asking questions and listening to the customer. I tell them, “If you talk for more than one-third of the discussion, then you are selling badly.”

How do we create efficient global enterprises that make high-level sales domestically and worldwide?

A global enterprise starts with good strategy. This means that marketing and sales must work very closely together and make detailed strategic plans for each global account. In most organizations, this isn’t happening well. Another thing: most successful global companies started in one market and then expanded. As a European, I have had to break into the US market. Sometimes it’s easier to start by breaking into one geographic region or into one type of industry, rather than trying to immediately break into an entire country.

Neil Rackham with Howard Stevens on Selling in a Down Economy

Howard Stevens of The HR Chally Group recently interviewed Neil Rackham about winning strategies for selling in a down economy. Watch the video on the Chally web site here.

Neil Rackham Debunks 10 Myths of Professional Selling

Heading into the new year, Neil Rackham, the world’s greatest voyeur of professional selling, debunks 10 myths that may be preventing you and your sales force from reaching peak performance levels:

1. “Selling is selling – a good salesperson can sell anything.”
2. “To get more orders, make more calls.”
3. “Always call high.”
4. “Use plenty of open questions – they’re more powerful than closed questions.”
5. “Close early and close often.”
6. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
7. “Salespeople are born, not made.”
8. “Welcome objections – they’re a sure sign of buyer interest.”
9. “Never attack the competition.”
10. “Give the most attention to your biggest accounts.”

Do any of these sound familiar? Have you or your sales force fallen prey to any of these commonly held myths? If so, now may be the time to rethink your strategies and tactics as you set out to boost sales in 2009.