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Sales Execution Trends 2014

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Introduction

• 24 years Sales & Marketing Executive• Author of Sales Execution Trends • Research focused on quantitative and

qualitative aspects of sales, marketing and buyer trends

#SalesExecution

Agenda

• Today’s Selling Environment• Research Highlights • Most Important to Executive Management • Key Sales Objectives For 2014• Top Challenges Facing Sales Organizations • Areas for Improvement • Sales Execution Technology Evolution • Conclusions

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Selling Then & Selling Now

ThenLess Informed Buyers

Product Focused

Individual Decision Making

Go-To-Market Models

Relationship Based

NowMore Informed Buyers

Business Outcomes Focused

Team Decision Making

Go-To-Customer Models

Return on Investment Based

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Selling Then & Selling Now

Vendor Selling Process

Coverage Models

Demonstrate Product

Build Relationships Over Time

Feature Differentiation

Propose & Quote

Customer Buying Process

Precision-oriented - Simplification

Aligned Objectives – Understand Business

Gain Access – Validate Problem

Successful Meetings – Decision Patterns

Build Shared Vision – Path to Success

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Today’s Selling Environment is Tougher…

Doing More with Less

Slide 6

Further Complicating Selling Environment

60%

of buyer’s journey completed before ever interacting with sales

90%

Selling content is never used in selling because sales can’t find the right

resources

58%

Pipeline ends up in “no decision” (stalled) because value has not

been effectively presented

88%

of missed opportunities were because sales

couldn’t find resources

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Sales process not adaptable

Lack of alignment to buyer stages

Salesforce not agile

enoughInconsistent sales

methodologies

x

misaligned to buyer stages not presenting right value can’t find resources poor performance

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Research Highlights

Key Findings:• Global Shift from Maintenance

Mode to Growth Mode as Economies Improve

• Two-Thirds of Organizations Expect to Grow Sales Team in 2014

• Sales Execution Challenges and Complexity in Sales Cycle Hinder Achieving Goals

• Majority are Not Confident in Sales Organization’s Ability to Transform and be More Agile

Sales organizations NOT performing to full potential

Sales Execution top 5 corporate priority

50%

90%

Scattered content and resources

Inconsistent in sales execution

42%

53%

Lack of consistent sales process

Limited visibility into what’s not working

34%

41%

Surveyed Sales Professionals Around the Globe on their Key Objectives & Top Challenges in the Coming Year

Executive Management Viewpoint

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Shortening sales cycles

Greater visibility

Increasing deal sizes

Improving overall quota attainment

Increasing win rates

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Most Important to Executive Management

2014

94%

87%

83%

82%

75%

Top Sales Objectives

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Increase reorder & renewal rates

Reduce ramp-up time for new sales people

Reduce sell cycle time

Optimize deal size via up-selling & cross-selling

Improve customer loyalty & satisfaction

Increase sales effectiveness & performance

Increase penetration into existing accounts

Capture new accounts

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Top Sales Objectives for 2014

2014

58%

#2 Increase

Penetration into Existing

Accounts

#1 Capture New

Accounts

46%

25%

20%

20%

14%

7%

6%

Priorities – Growth Mode Companies

Capture new business

Accelerate sales onboarding & ramp up time

Support new product launches

Increase existing account

penetration

Growth Mode Drivers

Slide 11

12

plan to expand sales team

between 10%-30%

Growing Sales Organizations Key Priority

Challenges and obstacles for ramping new sales teams:• 87% of training is forgotten within

weeks when not embedded in selling process

• 58% of new sales rep time is spent not selling

29%

7-12 months to effectively

onboard new reps

40%

Priorities – Fix Mode Companies

Better communicate

value in selling process

Make selling resources more accessible and

aligned to buyers

Make sales process more

consistent

Improve top rep retention

Improve customer retention

Visibility into what’s not

working

Fix Mode Drivers

Slide 13

Top Challenges Facing Sales Organizations

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13% Unadaptable Sales Process

16% Poor Sales & Marketing Alignment

20% Difficulty

Establishing ROI

24% Common Sales Process Across Organization

33% Difficulty

Presenting Differentiation

33% Sales Cycles

Too Long

Not Achieving Quota

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Inability to find selling content or resources

Selling content not tailored to specific selling situation

Selling content and resources not aligned to buyer stages

Sales burdened with tasks & spend less time selling

Sales unable to effectively communicate value

Opportunities end up as no decisions

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Why Sales is Not Achieving Quota

Most Likely Likely

Areas for Improvement

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Effectively Present Value

Providing Content Specific to Selling Situation & Buyer Stage

Differentiate From Competition

Generating Winning Proposals and Personalized Selling Documents

Clearly Understand Customer's Buying Process

Identify and Gain Access to All Decision Makers

Conducting Thorough Needs Analysis

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Top Areas That Need Improvement

Needs Improvement

Reasons Why Actions Not Closing Gap:

More Training

however, 87% is forgotten within weeks

More Sales Reps

9 mo avg ramp up time

58% of time not selling

More Content

70% are halfway to decision

before Sales is engaged

The Gap in Sales Execution Remains

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Strategy

Sales Execution

Typical Actions to Close Gap:

• Disconnected activities• Misaligned with buyer

stages• Not specific to each

selling situation• Can’t keep up with rate

of change• Value not presented

• Buyers more savvy• Sales process more complex• Reps have not transformed

Gap

Sales Execution Technology Evolution

• Typically stand-alone point solutions for smaller problems

• Tools for tactical sales support

• Muted prioritization

• Helpful, but not focused on sales execution or closing business

• What’s missing is framework that leverages existing investments to actually guide sales behavior

CoachingPersonalized orOnline

Data FeedsAdded layer of customer information

TrainingDidactic in nature, but needed

Valu

e to

Sal

es L

eade

rs

Business Impact

Content PortalInternally or externally generated

Common siloed investments - sales training, support, and enablement

Sales SupportPoint solutions of nice-to-have tools

ProposalsCentralized content for proposals, RFPs, etc.

CRM (SFA)Centralized account &opportunity information

Marketing (MA)Lead generation & campaign execution

CollaborationLightweight social toolsfor sharing

Buyer Types & Decision Emotives

Level of Involvement

Leve

l of I

nflue

nce

Influencer(s) Decision Maker

Executive Sponsor Evaluator(s)

Low High

Low

Hig

h

(to validate options)D

(to solve a problem)

C

(to institute change)

B

(to achieve results)A

Vision for Effective Sales Execution

• Connect process, content, & resources aligned with buyers

• Streamline sales complexity into interactive, repeatable process

• Identify what’s working, what’s not, in order to make best practices repeatable

Need to Guide Sales Teams Through Each Specific Selling Situation & Align to Buyer Stages

Dynamic Sales Execution

Framework

Sales Analytics Layer

Contextual Data Layer From CRM

Sales Rep

Buyer

Reliance on CRM to answer strategic questions and drive sales process is like driving a car without a steering wheel.

CRM

20

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Conclusions

60% planning to

expand sales team 10%-30%

58% Sales

organizations NOT performing to full potential

90% Limited visibility into what’s not

working

88% Sales Execution top 5 corporate

priority

29% 50% 41% 90%

Key Takeaways

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Link training, coaching,

reinforcement, and other

resources directly into selling process

Align teams, processes,

content, and resources

specifically to buying processes

Leverage existing

investments by bridging them in

an integrated selling process to

drive sales behavior

Download full report:http://info.qvidian.com/SalesExecutionTrends2014

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About Qvidian

• 15 Year Proven History• Loyal Customer Base • 1,200+ Customers• 100% Cloud-based• End-to-End Solution• Constantly Innovating

Customers increasewin rates by 28% and improve productivity

by 40%.

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Contact

• North America: +1 513-631-1155• Europe: +44 (0) 870-734-

7778

#SalesExecution #Qvidian

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