Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance

I read a lot of books. It used to be about 50 a year, but now I read a lot more summaries and fewer full books, cover to cover. I especially read books about business, sales, training, organization development and performance improvement. I say that as a precursor to my statement that Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana's book, "Cracking The Sales Management Code" is one I read cover to cover recently and it is currently one of my top three choices for books on sales management and sales performance improvement. Frankly, I wish I had written it. I could cite endless examples why, and will share a few, but the primary reason is the message they deliver about the under-developed yet critical sales function ("under-developed" is my term, meaning that the management model and business practices haven't evolved and matured to the degree that other disciplines have), and the largely overlooked and mismanaged role of frontline sales manager. It mirrors much of my own experiences over the past 25 years and I often found myself nodding my head or cheering to myself at many parts of the book. Think those are some strong statements? Ask yourself these questions: - What criteria is used in most organizations for promotion from sales rep to sales manager? (Most often, it's great sales results with the very best sales reps being promoted into roles for which they don't have the competencies.) - How often do sales managers receive practical, helpful training and reinforcement on how to be a great sales manager? - What training do most sales managers receive on interpreting selection assessments, conducting behavioral interviews, running and judging sales simulations, or utilizing other great hiring/selection methods? - When was the last time you saw sales managers trained on exactly what their reps were being trained on, before the reps were trained? - How do you use sales managers to reinforce and support rep training, to ensure new skills transfer from the learning environment to the real-world? - What training exists to help new sales managers read and diagnose organizational reporting, to understand what activity or skills gaps might exist in their reps/team? - How are most sales managers taught to diagnose the root causes of underperformance, once the reporting highlights an issue, and to close the gap and solve the root cause? - What diagnostic or coaching models are commonly taught to sales managers? And are those same models used in their development as well? Sure, some organizations have great answers to these questions. But let's be honest... many don't. What's odd and sad, is that when you discuss these things around a conference table, everyone always nods their head, like they're great ideas. But so few seem to be executing well to elevate the role of sales manager and drive growth through them. In the book, one of the headings says it very plainly. "It's the Sales Manager, Stupid." Frontline sales managers are the key to real sales performance growth and rep success. Cracking this code, for your organization, is simply vital to maximizing sales efforts. In the rest of the book, the authors take you on the journey they made while cracking the code through their research and work with clients. Their cogent explanation and differentiation between Business Results, Sales Objectives and Sales Activities made me cheer. Their Building Blocks of Control laid the foundation for the oft-cited but rarely-implemented "accountability." Their Troubleshooting Guide is a great job aid/performance support tool to help you keep in all in mind. And the book contains one the best collection of possible sales metrics, organized by type, that I've seen in print. I truly enjoyed this one and recommend it highly. I should also offer that the forward by Neil Rackham, while only a handful of pages, is worth the price of the book, in itself. This is not to diminish the detailed, clear and insightful work of the authors, but Rackham added some great value and clarity, right out of the box. The authors continued that trend, straight to the end. Buy the book and read it. You won't regret it. And use it as the fuel to start a relentless focus on building logical and data-driven methods, systems, processes, resources and tools to develop and support sales management, to drive growth and sales success in your organization. Crack the code, and grow your company. It's the Sales Manager, Stupid. ;-)

This book was a great read not only because of the information, but because of the layout and wording. The author was straightforward with the information adding on piece by piece every chapter. He thoroughly explained all the terms not too complexly, but also not too simple. The only thing I really found wrong with this book was the fact that it was repetitive. Though this was no problem for me; it made it to where it was an information refresher and I personally liked that. Though this can be a problem for others who do not like this style of writing. Anyone looking to gain a better understanding of sales management should read this book. It not only talks to you about managing a sales force, but more importantly what approaches to take to form a more effective sales force (such as processes and metrics). There are not too many books out there on sales management, so it is definitely nice to have one and people should take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about it.

Nice reading. A very practical book is full of insights regarding the sales management & performance of the sales teams & operations.

Step 1: Carefully define the Business Results you want to achieve. Typically: a. Revenue b. Value of weighted pipeline c. Customer satisfaction Step 2: Choose the sales process(es) and associated Sales Objectives most likely to help salespeople in distinct selling roles achieve their desired business results. Processes include: (note: MCO = market coverage objective; SFO=sales force capability objective; CFO = customer focus objective; PFO = product focus objective) 1) Territory management process (when you do not have time to adequately make proactive outbound calls to every prospect and customer in your territory) a) Percentage of market opportunity covered [MCO] b) Percentage of target accounts contacted [MCO] c) Revenue from new customers [CFO] 2) Account management process (when you mainly pursue multiple deals over time with a smaller set of individual customers) a) Percentage of customers called [MCO] b) Revenue growth in existing customers [CFO] c) Customer retention rate [CFO] 3) Opportunity management process (when individual sales are complex and involve multiple calls) a) Deal win/loss ratio [SFO] b) Length of sales cycle [SFO] c) Average deal size [CFO] d) Revenue by product [PFO] 4) Call management: process (to improve the effectiveness of individual customer interactions when individual calls can greatly affect the outcome of the deal) a) Number of meetings held [SFO] 5) Sales force enablement processes a) Time to productivity [MCO] b) Undesirable attrition rate [MCO] c) Sales person skill/competency index [SFO] Step 3: Select the Activities to manage day-to-day to ensure you (directly) meet the chosen objectives: (note: many Activities directly impact multiple Sales Objectives) 1) Territory management (note: usually done by sales operations) a) Number of accounts per rep b) Number of calls made per account per rep 2) Account management a) Account plan usage (remember to involve customers in the process!) b) Number of interactions per account (ex: calls scheduled 120 days before renewal) 3) Opportunity management a) Adherence to opportunity planning process (relatively unused) b) Utilization of proof-of-concept resources such as engineers or executives 4) Call Management a) Call plan usage (relatively unused) – esp. objective, opening, buyer motivation, questions to ask, objections to handle, etc. b) Number of calls logged in CRM 5) Sales force enablement (note: usually done by sales operations) a) Training investment per FTE b) Number of reps per manager c) Frequency and quality of coaching (ex: via periodic surveys of reps) More great insights: 1) Sales success depends on the caliber of first-line managers who should be continuous improvement experts, rigorously tracking progress against the goals they set. They control Activities to help (directly) meet Sales Objectives which in turn drive desirable (but wholly unmanageable) Business Results. Hence, training and enablement are more important for sales managers than they are for salespeople. 2) “The specific sales processes you need in your sales force are determined by the nature of each individual selling role.” “Generally speaking, we see a trend toward sales forces having a greater number of more specialized selling roles. Management long ago began to separate “hunters” from “farmers,” but the number of boxes on the frontline org chart continues to grow. From industry specialists, to product experts, to sellers who serve niche markets, the roles we find in sales forces are becoming more diverse in nature and more narrow in scope. This not only makes the seller’s tasks easier to master, it also reduces the management challenge of hiring, developing, measuring, and compensating complex roles.” 3) “If your salespeople are being asked to do too much, it’s quite possible that they’re really doing too little.” 4) “If you don’t support your desired behavioral changes with new metrics, tools, and skills to reinforce and measure the change, your sales force will quickly revert to its previous state.” 5) “Our own approach to change management can be best described as comprehensively minimalist.” “you must focus your efforts on the critical few Sales Activities that will directly affect your Sales Objectives and Business Results.” 6) “Assign quantitative values to your A-O-Rs.” 7) “Sales force metrics should be reported on a need-to-know basis.”

After you read a dozen or so books on Sales and Sales Management they all start to seem the same. Not so with "Cracking the Sales Management Code." Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, and one of the industries pioneers and luminaries, says "there is an acute shortage of good books on sales management." This is not a good book - it is a great one. As Neil points out, sales management needs to change from the antiquated model of the 3S: Selection, Strategy, and Skill to the 3M model: Management, Metrics, and Methodology. The key, however is the right 3M elements. We're drowning in data and metrics. Mr. Jordon humorously notes that "data has become the fast food of managers" and that "visibility to an action doesn't mean control over it." You can't manage a number and the typical management response when the numbers aren't good are "do more." Mr. Jordan offers a structure to align Business Result (endgame) with Sales Goals, along with the right management, metrics and methodologies for effectiveness. Most sales managers have no training or support when they get the job. However studies prove that first line managers have the greatest impact on sales results. So sales management, as opposed to leadership, needs to know how to do their jobs - what to measure, how to coach, and how to align activity with the desired results. That is what this book helps managers to do. This book lays out real Sales Force Enablement as the proper structure of Territory, Account, Opportunity and call Management. SFE is not CRM or Carrot/Stick management. Mr. Jordan lays out how to structure a team, lay out a call pattern, what and how to not only measure the correct things - but how to impact them positively. I have not read a better book on sales management. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book very much... I thought the authors did a great job of suggesting a specific framework by which you can define, track and manage activities that have direct impact on outcomes... Too much of our profession consists of making decisions based on what everyone "thinks" is best but not really going through the intellectual and analytical exercise of validating those assumptions in the modern environment and in a changing market.

The biggest take away is the AOR framework in which a systematic approach yields more control in a simple way. I encourage anyone who seeks to get their arms around sales efficiencies to buy this book.

After months of searching for a solid way to measure and manage sales performance we finally found "Cracking the Sales Management Code". The book is based on the author's extensive research and reveals a new framework for how to make sure your sales performance is trimmed and delivering the results the company is looking for. The authors take us through three categories of metrics; Results, Objective and Activities. Far to often we as companies focus on the top- and bottomline (eg. hit sales quota of $2MM this year) and start looking for ways to tell our salespeople how to do this (sometimes just as "best of luck - let me know if you need anything" or "you need to make more cales this week!"). However the authors tell us that we must not forget to determine the Objectives (the "how are we going to get the results", as for example "more repeat customers", "more referrals", "focusing on Fortune 100 companies only") to understand what Activities will lead us to these, and further on to reach our business Results. The point is to manage what can really be managed and the authors show us that only the Activities can really be managed which is why we need to make sure we're doing the right thing. The framework is solid and gives the sales manager a new approach as for how to think about managing reps. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone in sales (from the seasoned manager/director to sales reps) to understand how to measure the right things and make sure you're not trying to manage stuff that can't really be managed.