What is Your Sales Effectiveness Strategy?
Maybe I’m just irritable because after Sunday there will be no more football for 6 months, but I was really disappointed by some research regarding CRM program activity and investment for 2006. According to a January 18 posting on the CRM Buyer site, much of the CRM activity for Sales Effectiveness (according to a survey of chief sales officers) was focused on sales management. Hasn’t anybody been paying attention? By definition, Sales Effectiveness initiatives are supposed to improve sales effectiveness! That means the effectiveness of the people who sell not the people who manage the people who sell. What’s up with this?
Yes, I admit that I am anxious about the Super Bowl and what Rex Grossman is going to do. But, gosh darn it, we have got to start focusing on sales people performance and stop giving so much budget to better sales management reporting.
The research that I have come across on this topic has produced virtually identical findings. SFA and CRM programs that focus on the effectiveness of the individual sales rep provide better results including adoption, improved business capabilities and bottom line ROI. Programs that focus primarily on sales reporting, forecasting, and sales management accoutrements tend to fair worse.
Sales managers, please don’t get upset with me. I don’t mean to make it difficult for you to get these things you want. But, I think the thing that is most important is better sales, and investing correctly in CRM will get that for you.
Go Bears!