Where to look for a C21 sales model

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Where to look for a C21 sales model?
Ian Helps, Invensys Process Systems

• 2nd International Sales Research Symposium
• Cranfield Management Research Institute, Monday
  2nd June 2008

The contents of this presentation are the
personal views of the author and do not represent
those of Invensys
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Sales has an image problem
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Yet sales is the engine room of growth

• THE business function spending most face time
  with customers
• Tasked with delivering growth through orders
• Capable of providing rapid revenue growth
• Absolutely mission critical for any company

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Executive Clients know what they want from
suppliers

• Proactive and relevant innovation
• Collaboration
• Unlock your cupboards
• Help us drive value to our customers
• Be authentic
• Elevate the customer experience

• Source Gary Kunath / Summit Group presentation
  to SAMA Paris European Conference 2008

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However, sales delivery of this is the exception

• 90 of sales people are a complete waste of
  time .no 95 are

Source Consalia Consulting research on Selling
Complex Solutions at the Global and Local Level
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How can this have happened?

• despite the sales mantra of solutions not
  products
• and despite the increasing adoption of
  client-centric account management programmes
• and despite 70 of organisations continuing to
  invest in sales methodology and skills
  enhancement (ESR research)
• TAS Index Global Sales Effectiveness Benchmark
  Study 2007 shows that in 50 of companies
  globally, less than half of the sales team
  achieves its sales targets
• And 30-40 of sales effort is spent on pursuits
  that were no hopers (95/5 Sales Training)

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Do we need to break from a cycle of addiction?
Sales has a poor image
Management research focuses on marketing, not
sales
Sales people laid-off after 2 poor quarters
No root cause analysis of what drives sales
growth
Sales growth lower than expected
Companies stick with quota-driven sales models
Client-focussed solution selling is the exception
Sales competency and recruitment models are flawed
The rise of procurement to counter dysfunctional
sales techniques
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Lets revisit what clients want

• Proactive and relevant innovation
• Collaboration
• Unlock your cupboards
• Help us drive value to our customers
• Be authentic
• Elevate the customer experience

• Winning suppliers are building around these
  values
• With people, processes, systems and technology to
  support
• Strategic account management is a key bridge to
  this world
• Is it enough or do we need a new paradigm for C21
  sales?

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Maybe we need a breakthrough
Reality

• Sustainable Business Breakthroughs

Business as Usual
Breakthroughs
Crisis
Possibility
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So how to find it?

• We know there are known unknowns that is to say
  we know there are some things we do not know. But
  there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we
  don't know we don't know."

Donald Rumsfeld, US Defense Secretary
We need to surface and understand the unknown
unknowns in sales and develop a new agenda
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How to move forward?

• Some humility, dialogue and generous listening
  between clients, sales practitioners,
  consultants and academics
• A research agenda that digs deep into sales,
  psychology, personal values, co-creation of value
  with the client, leadership..
• A combined commitment to re-invent sales for the
  21st Century