Boosting Sales Productivity - Market Management

Market Management transforms the market goals determined in Strategy Management into:

1. Clear direction for the whole organisation as to the market segments the company will address and the sales channel(s) that will be used to address them
2. Firm rules of engagement that the channels must follow
3. The solutions that will be taken to each market segment by the assigned sales channel(s).
4. Specific goals (number, revenue, references and so forth) for each solution, by channel, in each segment.

Together, these form the organisation's 'go to market' model.

Most companies use some form of deliberate market segmentation. This usually takes the form of either vertical (industry) or horizontal (product) division, with further segmentation by customer “size” and perhaps some geographic segmentation where physical 'territories' are large.

HIgh sales productivity is associated with an effective go-to-market model and sound working relationships between the sales channels.

Next post: Solution management

Boosting Sales Productivity - Strategic Management (the foundation of success!)

Strategy Management is the first link in the BusinesSPM value chain and is the basis of the value creation. By evaluating external opportunities/threats and internal strengths/weaknesses, the company determines its strategies and priorities. Market goals and organisational capability objectives are set, and necessary resources are identified and allocated.

Incisive business strategies provide sales people with the competitive advantage they need to be successful, and they drive collaboration across the company. Of course, strategies do this only if they are the correctly formulated and correctly deployed.

Unfortunately few companies use strategy in this way, but are driven by budgets and individual objectives.  Those who 'do strategy” have a Strategy Management KPD (Key Performance Driver) rating 20% higher than those who don't.

The distinguishing features of high productivity companies, with regard to Strategy Management, are:

1. Their purpose and mission are clear and realistic
2. Their purpose and mission are completely and effectively deployed and achievement is regularly reviewed.

Next post: Market Management