Casual Articles
#1 in Business Subscribe Email Print

You are here: Home > Business > Strategic Planning > Sales Organization Strategies

Tags

  • countries
  • skills
  • territorial
  • planning processminuses
  • individual skills

  • Links

  • Investing In Residential Real Estate - Factors That Influence Investing In Residential Real Estate
  • Comprehensive Immigration Reform - White House Circulates Draft Immigration Reform Principles
  • Where to Buy a Good Sony Laptop
  • Casual Articles - Sales Organization Strategies

    Is IT Offshore Outsourcing to Grow in Popularity?
    No wonder, that more and more American executives try to outsource at least one job offshore, which is constantly performed in a company.Any firm, employing it offshore outsourcing may save from 25 to 50 percent of its work force costs by means of delegating jobs to countries , where the average rate of salaries is much lower. At the present moment, most of the IT jobs are sent to India with its great number of IT specialists. The countries like China, Ireland, Germany, Russia, the Philippines, and Canada also add their share to the list of it offshore outsourcing countries. Advocates of it offshore outsourcing claim that the benefits of it offshore outsourcing outweigh the disadvantages of the activity for the USA economy.According to the Gartner report, one third of American companies, who presently use the services provided by it offshore outsourcing companies, plan to increase their it offshore outsourcing budget by 50% next year.Although highly lucrative for domestic businesses, it offshore outsourcing has a negative impact on the increasing number of unemployed people. Several American states inten
    her own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses How do You Know When To Change Your Marketing
    When you put an ad in a magazine, send out a sales letter, or put up a web site, you want results. You want your prospects to contact you and to buy from you; you hope to get a flood of calls and sales.If your marketing isn't generating the results you want, then it's time to change your marketing strategy! Don't expect to improve your results using the same strategy.Here's an example. A search engine positioning firm I work with was having trouble generating leads. Yes, in spite of their superior ability to put their site at the top of the search engine listings and do the same for their clients, they were hardly converting any of their site visitors into leads and then clients. They were getting well over a thousand visitors a week to their site and generating at best a single inquiry per week.Think about this for a minute. Most people assume that getting your web site to the top of the search engine listings will solve all their web marketing problems. The reality is that it doesn't matter how many visitors you get to your web site (or how many s.ales letters you send or ads you place,) if you aren't generating leads and converting them to

    Sales Organization Strategies It was 3000 BC. Tribal club seller Og ran into stone knife salesperson Ur down at the local watering hole. After the mandatory exchange of grunts and dinosaur claws, talk turned to the best way to set up a sales group. Five thousand years later, CEOs are still debating. Everyone has an opinion, very few people get to start off with a clean slate, and often things “just happen” rather than result as part of a long term strategy.

    Companies struggle with the right strategy for their sales department. The internet, cell phones, instant connectivity, and massive blasts of technology change the landscape – yet, the strong personalities within the sales organization resist change or (at best) put their own personal spin on the issue.

    Let’s explore the pluses and minuses of the most common of business-to-business sales organizations. Warning - consultants are famous for providing just the right answer, but in this equation “one size does not fit all”. The answer lies in understanding your position and migrating to the best future.

    For the next four minutes – let’s assume there are six sales organizational strategies:

    • Geography based
    • Technology or industry segmentation based
    • Sales built around individual skills
    • Account assignment driven territories
    • Hybrid Organizations with Specialists
    • Matrix sales organization
    Geography based We all know the story of the traveling salesman – armed with an order book, pencil, and a pair of freshly shined shoes – these guys worked a territorial route. (If it’s Tuesday, this must be Pittsburg.) Last week, a new salesperson shared, “My dad worked a territory. And, I am proud to say, I was the first woman in our company to be given a territory of her own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses

    Spying, Security and the Psychology of Secrets
    A Fortune 100 director willingly passes confidential board room chatter to the press; a CEO slips into using any means available to plug the leak; private eyes are seduced from keyhole peeking into alleged criminal impersonations hoping to impress a big client, and a phone company clerk is flustered or pressured into releasing confidential call records.What were they thinking?The actors in the unfortunate events at Hewlett-Packard most likely weren't thinking at all, and in fact may have been acting under the direction of their hard-wired personality preferences - traits which, in the absence of discipline or policy redirection, and in the presence of a personality-driven and divisive environment, hijacked the director's recognition of his fiduciary responsibilities and common sense. The devil didn’t make them do it, their psyches did. It could happen to anyone.It should be noted the authors have no special knowledge of the people and events that have taken place at Hewlett-Packard since May of 2005. We are simply observing, as is the rest of the business community, and expressing those observations as an expert in corporate intelligence gath
    long term strategy.

    Companies struggle with the right strategy for their sales department. The internet, cell phones, instant connectivity, and massive blasts of technology change the landscape – yet, the strong personalities within the sales organization resist change or (at best) put their own personal spin on the issue.

    Let’s explore the pluses and minuses of the most common of business-to-business sales organizations. Warning - consultants are famous for providing just the right answer, but in this equation “one size does not fit all”. The answer lies in understanding your position and migrating to the best future.

    For the next four minutes – let’s assume there are six sales organizational strategies:

    • Geography based
    • Technology or industry segmentation based
    • Sales built around individual skills
    • Account assignment driven territories
    • Hybrid Organizations with Specialists
    • Matrix sales organization
    Geography based We all know the story of the traveling salesman – armed with an order book, pencil, and a pair of freshly shined shoes – these guys worked a territorial route. (If it’s Tuesday, this must be Pittsburg.) Last week, a new salesperson shared, “My dad worked a territory. And, I am proud to say, I was the first woman in our company to be given a territory of her own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses Expressing You! Bringing Your Presentation to Life
    Whether you are an investor, entrepreneur, employee, self-employed or unemployed the ability to present yourself and your ideas powerfully has never been more important than in today’s dynamic information age. Speaking well can influence other’s views, close a deal, motivate your team, enhance your business, and elevate your reputation.Many people get jitters speaking in public. Lilly Walters author of “Secrets of Successful Speakers” says 75% of stage fright can be reduced by rehearsal and preparation, 15% by deep breathing, and 10% by mental preparation. Thorough preparation alleviates anxiety and ultimately provides a consistent structure for achieving extraordinary results.PREPARECreate template presentations before you need them. If you use power point, keep text to a minimum with only one idea, no more than six lines per slide, large, readable, and consistent fonts. Most business people prefer little to no slide animation. Summarize often. Never read from your slides/flipcharts and always face your audience. Remember, you are the star not your visual aids.Customize for your audience. Go to websites and printed materials to gaare famous for providing just the right answer, but in this equation “one size does not fit all”. The answer lies in understanding your position and migrating to the best future.

    For the next four minutes – let’s assume there are six sales organizational strategies:

    • Geography based
    • Technology or industry segmentation based
    • Sales built around individual skills
    • Account assignment driven territories
    • Hybrid Organizations with Specialists
    • Matrix sales organization
    Geography based We all know the story of the traveling salesman – armed with an order book, pencil, and a pair of freshly shined shoes – these guys worked a territorial route. (If it’s Tuesday, this must be Pittsburg.) Last week, a new salesperson shared, “My dad worked a territory. And, I am proud to say, I was the first woman in our company to be given a territory of her own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses The Use of Attraction Will Empower Your Sales Team
    We have all had the experience of feeling an instant connection or bond with someone after just a few seconds of being in their presence. This is the Law of Connectivity. We have probably all met someone whom we instantly did not like and did not want to be around. This is caused by a lack of connectivity and usually takes only a few seconds to manifest itself. The Law of Connectivity states that the more we feel connected to, part of, liked by, or attracted to someone, the more persuasive they become. When you create an instant bond or connection, people feel comfortable around you. They will feel like they have known you for a long time and that they can easily relate to you. When we feel connected with someone, we feel comfortable and understood; they can relate to us and a sense of trust ensues. When we come in contact with someone of the opposite sex, the attractiveness concept is magnified. Attractive females can persuade men more easily than unattractive ones, and attractive males can persuade females more easily than unattractive males can. We see obvious examples of this all around us. At conventions and trade shows, large corybrid Organizations with Specialists

  • Matrix sales organization
  • Geography based We all know the story of the traveling salesman – armed with an order book, pencil, and a pair of freshly shined shoes – these guys worked a territorial route. (If it’s Tuesday, this must be Pittsburg.) Last week, a new salesperson shared, “My dad worked a territory. And, I am proud to say, I was the first woman in our company to be given a territory of her own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses Lead Generation: Prospecting Is Its Own Reward - Not!
    Raise your hand if you've tried typical display ads in the newspaper or magazine. How about a nice yellow pages ad? Hmmm. What about sponsoring a local sports team and getting your company name on some banner in the outfield?Can you quantify, with accuracy, how much you spent on each of these lead generation devices and the direct result of their use measured in new customers and sales?How about another question - Why did you select those particular marketing methods? (My guess is you read about it, was told about it, had it recommended to you or some other business was doing it and you figured that was a logical step.)The problem with copying other businesses is that maybe they're copying someone else who in turn is copying someone else who, as it turns out, is copying the marketing of a business on the brink of bankruptcy.I'm of the mind that business owners are IN BUSINESS to make a profit. And I believe each and every marketing effort should BUILD the brand, customer base and of course, the bottom line.So what's a business owner to do? THINK!Don't spend money here and there HOPING it'll drum up business. Invest the tiher own.”

    Pluses She felt good because in her mind – she owned something. Ownership is a key strength of a geography based organization. A new business opens and there is no question as to who should begin prospecting. Referrals flow more naturally. Travel can be minimized (with the right planning). If distribution or reps are used – territories are a natural extension of the planning process.

    Minuses Not all territories are created equal and this creates issues with metrics of sales people and relative skills. Personality issues or conflicts between key customers and sales people fester over time. Managers face issues “Gerrymandering” of sales territories and border squabbles between sales people.

    Technology / industry segmentation basedDomain knowledge developed as a buzz word in the later 1990’s. Sales organizations who pursue value-add or consultative sales strategies find industry based selling to be a natural consideration. The salesperson targets in on a single industry or technology segment – they become part of the industry, attend association meetings, and subscribe to the trade publications of their segment – they speak the jargon of their chosen industry. In short they become their customer (almost).

    Pluses Industry segmentation in the sales force provides a vehicle for matching product knowledge to customer base. Market segmentation allows customer-centric tuning of the entire sales process; sales person skills, customer support structure, marketing style, and value proposition adapt to the buying preferences of each segment. Because communications and prospect definition is easier, companies with strong marketing organizations love segmentation.

    Minuses Travel and logistics overlap add to the inherent costs of an industry segmentation approach. Sales Managers find it difficult to balance out sales responsibilities in small sales teams. Shifting accounts to even work load or cover in case of health or injury issues grows more difficult. Expansion plans may require multiple paths of thought.

    Organized by skill factor Hunters and farmers – my first boss broke sales people into two categories.

    HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
    <a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/44452/casualarticles-Sales-Organization-Strategies.html">Sales Organization Strategies</a>

    BB link (for phorums):
    [url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/44452/casualarticles-Sales-Organization-Strategies.html]Sales Organization Strategies[/url]

    Related Articles:

    Compare The Cash Back Deals Before You Go Shopping

    Employee Performance - If You Want the Best, Get Personal!

    Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms

    Bookmark it: del.icio.us digg.com reddit.com netvouz.com google.com yahoo.com technorati.com furl.net bloglines.com socialdust.com ma.gnolia.com newsvine.com slashdot.org simpy.com shadows.com blinklist.com