Sales Turnaround

Through this program we work directly with owners, presidents and the senior management team to develop and refine management processes. Our specialty and our reputation are rooted in our ability to customize service, which provides the foundation every strong sales team needs to succeed. Focus, accountability and structure form the core of this foundation. Investing in the development of strong management systems and processes is one of the best investments any sales organization can make. Following is an outline of the areas we focus on.

Phase One

Assessment Stage – Data gathered & Gap analysis

  • OMG assessments: Evaluate current processes, management and staff – A cornerstone of SGS’s service is the assessment of management, staff and sales processes. These customizable assessments give us the required baseline data to identify strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, strategies and skills and to prioritize on areas that will yield the highest return on investment.
  • Interviews with management and staff – As part of our in-depth analysis we conduct interviews with management and select staff members to gain additional insight into your business and to clarify developmental needs.
  • After the analysis we will present you with our findings in a management report, including our suggested plan of action to move your business to the next level of success and establish a high-performance sales team. Sample OMG management assessments

Phase Two

Strategic Action Plan – Prioritize process & people development needs

  • Identify process strengths and weaknesses – We do a SWOT analysis on existing processes; recommend changes and the implementation of new processes where there are critical gaps. Specific goals and metrics will be outlined on the projected improvements of the results that the company should expect when taking corrective actions.
  • Identify people strengths and weaknesses – We perform an analysis of people in their current roles – determine best fit, identify performance and coaching issues and suggest recommended action.
  • Evaluate leadership skills to implement change – We look at leadership’s current impact on the business and make recommendations in line with the assessed results.
  • Create action plan – We prioritize the agreed-upon actions and outline the steps, responsiblities and timelines.

Strategic Market strategies – The right message to the right people

  • Target market & customer – We very often find that companies focus on customers and markets that are unprofitable. This restricts internal resources, sales capacity and capital, which could be better invested. Clearly identifying your target market and focusing all your potential on your ideal market can make a huge difference to bottom-line results.
  • Market rationale – Is your market message clear, unique, focused? Does it offer a desired solution to your potential clients? Does it set you apart from all your competition? Does it clearly state what value and benefit you provide? Clarity on your approach to the market will increase sales results.
  • Evaluation / Alignment of company goals, vision and mission – Once there is clarity on your target market and the value you bring to the market does it align with your company goals, vision and mission?
  • Communication strategy – How will this be communicated to your staff, clients and partners? We often see great plans fail without a communication process to that invites staff buy-in. People are much more supportive of change when they are included in the decision and allowed to contribute.
  • Compensation review – Evaluate if your plan helps you recruit and retain top sales performers while discouraging weak performance. Is it aligned with your company goals, so when your sales staff is happy and making money so are you? Review the benefits of a compensation plan that drives bottom line-results. Compensation shift

Phase Three

Process/systems development

  • Customize processes to fit current structure, logistics and people. – Every industry and company has different needs and abilities which must be taken into account as processes are developed. This collaborative effort considers the availability of resources, people, data and logistics to build effective processes.
  • Accountability process – managing with data – Clear goals and metrics must be established which are used as a base for performance. First develop goals for the company, then for each of the salespeople. The individual goals are specific and align with company goals. Depending on the needs of the company they may include such things as activity, pipeline, revenue, new customers, customer retention and gross margin. Once expectations are agreed upon the manager can easily track data that will assist in managing for performance.
  • Hiring Process – Getting the right people on the bus – We develop a more predictable hiring process customized to your needs that will indicate the expected performance of new recruits. We also show you the benefits of having an ongoing recruiting process even when no vacancies exist. Recruiting sales aces
  • Sales Process creation – A customized sales process is developed based on the needs of the market, company and staff. Understand that a potential customer subconsciously or consciously needs to move through different stages in the buying process, which is why a sales process is important. The sales process is to efficiently identifes qualified prospects and comfortably and effectively assist them in making a decision. Coaching and training
  • Lead generation – Finding qualified customers requires a focused effort, high activity, consistent communication, clear message, ability to leverage technology and a strong process. The ability to do this quickly and efficiently is one of the most important skills to become a high performing salesperson.
    How full is your pipeline? How predictable is the conversion of your pipeline to business? Do you have a lead-generation system supplying quality leads? Do you have a system to manage and communicate with your leads? This covers the basics of filling and managing your pipeline. Lead Generation

Phase Four

Management development phase

Most managers are working under very tight time constraints. Our goal is to quickly identify areas that need enhancement and to focus our efforts specifically where the manager would see the fastest return.

  • Accountability – We show you how to build an accountability process with performance metrics that lead to optimum conditions for success.
  • Coaching – Coaching provides everyone with the best opportunity to reach their full potential and is essential to provide a high-performance team.
  • Motivating – Finding your employees’ real motivators will identify the drivers to success. Retain your best performers, move the middle third to the top and place your bottom third on performance improvement. Management focus

Train the Trainer

  • Optional service – to get managers ready to take over skill training – Sometimes budget constraints prevent companies from sending everyone on staff to training. We equip managers with the time and passion with customized content and specific skill transfer training to make them effective trainers.

Phase Five

Staff Development phase

  • Coaching and Training – – We are passionate about the profession of selling and believe that success requires a high level of specialized skills. We customize training based on the current sales aptitudes and requirements to deliver better results in less time.
  • Performance Management system and review – – Employing a proper performance management system ensures that accountability is entrenched — it clearly is linked to company goals. Regular reviews ensure that positive feedback takes place, great performance is recognized and celebrated and under-performance is addressed through a performance-improvement program.

Process implementation

  • Communication – Fear makes people resistant to change. Our hands-on communication with your staff and other departments that facilitates change is vital to ensure a successful rollout. A planned communications strategyencourages faster staff buy-in to change and quicker results for the company.
  • Coaching – reinforcement phase – Skills improvement – Without a coaching process, less than 10% of concepts introduced in training will actually turn into behavioral change. Well-defined coaching and reinforced processes produce change in behavior and improved bottom-line results.
  • Activity monitoring – A leading indicator of performance is how the sales rep prioritizes activities and the amount of activity produced. In longer sell cycles one can effectively predict sales results by monitoring activity.
  • Attitudinal change – Evaluation of the attitude changes are required as challenges are faced and market conditions change. This needs to be considered in coaching and training efforts. Coaching & training

Phase Six

Reassess and refine

  • Monitor key metrics and continuously improve processes – A sustainable high-performance sales team requires that the management take the time to regularly review key indicators (every 3-4 months), see what’s working and fix what’s not. Improvement is continuous, and vital, to maintain a high-performance sales team.