SalesNote )
May 2009
In this issue
  • Playboox Webinar, 6/10
  • Sales Trends Update
  • Effectiveness Rule #4
  • Quotation
  • Sales Aside...

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    Good At-Bats in a Down Market
    As the year moves along 2 issues are clear: we're in a down market but deals are happening. Some sales organizations are struggling, it's certainly tough for all, but there are signals of business progress and signed deals. Some companies are even thriving.

    But whether struggling or thriving, there are still fewer deals out there that are being worked. To use a baseball analogy, salespeople have fewer at-bats these days; fewer chances at the plate. Like a skilled ballplayer, better handle the at-bat carefully - take the right pitches, foul off appropriately, don't chase bad balls. Take the good swings when you see the right pitch coming.

    We're observing that in times like this sales organizations need more effectiveness rather than efficiency. Sales tools and technologies that streamline process and make things run faster or easier are not nearly as valuable as sales tools and sales technology that drive salespeople to do the right thing, very well, every time, like a great at-bat.

    Are salespeople in your company taking their best swings at every at-bat?


    		Playboox Webinar, 6/10

    Playboox Your Playbooks Webinar - Wednesday, June 10th @ 8:30am PDT
    Playboox.com is an on-demand application integrated with Salesforce.com but ultimately CRM agnostic. Now design and implement online and hardcopy sales playbooks that salespeople can utilize to more successfully manage every phase of the sales process for specific leads, opportunities and accounts. It's like having your best coach or sales trainer with the rep every step of the way.

    Playboox increases the likelihood that your reps are going to say, ask and do the right things at the right time. Increase perfomance in key sales metrics:

    • Lead Conversion
    • Shortened Sales Cycle
    • Deal Win Rate
    • Quota Attainment
    • New Hire Ramp-up

    MXL Partners' Mike Griego and Playboox' Dan Zamudio will discuss and demonstrate this exciting new technology addressing an old problem. Join us June 10th at 8:30am for a free 1-hour Playboox Your Playbooks Webinar to learn more and see a powerful demonstration.

    		Sales Trends Update

    Takes More Time and Effort to Close
    Over the past 4 years the time required to execute the steps of the sales cycle and get to "yes" has increased 20% for deals with cycles greater than 4 months. So says research conducted by CSO Insights in their 2009 Sales Performance Optimization report.

    Likewise the number of calls it takes to close a deal has increased over this period. As discussed earlier, it's important to make the most of each "at-bat." With many of these calls today now done on the phone and with webcast technology, all the more important for sales managers to coach, mentor and implement sales call quality.

    • 1-2 Calls - 9%
    • 3-5 Calls - 41%
    • 6-9 Calls - 30%
    • 10-15 Calls - 11%
    • 15+ Calls - 6%
    The situation has most likely gotten worse since this field research was completed. Nevertheless, good data to benchmark against your own length of sales cycle and number of calls to closure.

    		Effectiveness Rule #4

    Rule #4 - It's All About Your Customer
    ...The best companies get this right. When I worked for IBM early in my career it was ingrained in all of us that the customer came first. IBM is a world-class engineering and manufacturing company. It's a world-class sales, service and support organization. Across every plant and field branch office, make no mistake that all efforts evolved around ultimately satisfying customer wants and needs. From my perspective, at IBM, Sales is King, but the Customer is number 1.... I've never forgotten how that priority permeated the culture of the organization. While there was a healthy respect for our own products, sales prowess and service reputation, there was an almost reverential feeling toward our existing customers and prospects.... (excerpt)

    Michael Griego, MXL Partnters' founder/president and sales consultant and trainer to Fortune 500 firms and leading Silicon Valley technology firms, has reduced the keys to sales effectiveness to 42 rules in his forthcoming book 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness. This book, to be released in September 2009 by SuperStar Press, applies modern fundamentals to sales and sales management efforts in arenas of technology enterprise sales and non-technology sales.

    		Quotation

    Excellence: an Act or Habit?
    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
    - Aristotle

    		Sales Aside...

    Jeremiah's Promise - a Hope and a Future
    Jeremiah's Promise is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of those youth who "age out" of the foster care system at age 18 and who would otherwise face homelessness, poverty and hopelessness.

    There's a Poker Night Fundraising Event, Saturday, May 30th in Los Altos. Support a good cause and help prepare former foster care youth for a life of independence through education, mentoring, counseling and career guidance.

    Quick Links...

    Phone: 650-279-3467
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