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Here is a selection of our latest published Articles and News Releases on sales training, sales performance improvement and the Sales Activator® system.
9/10/2006 Sales Performance Blog:
Read and comment on our latest observations, insights on sales performance improvement issues and related rantings.
 Pharmaceutical Sales Management Magazine
Quarter 2, 2006.
"Performance Traps - Common Barriers to Sales Success"
A look at the critical issues which prevent sales teams from achieving sustainable sales results - with particular reference to pharmaceutical sales teams.
30/5/2006 Why Sales Training Fails:
Sales organisations of all types spend a huge amount on training their sales people each year. Research shows, however, that most training has little impact in the long term. Here we look at what needs to be done to make sure training works - and the new
generation of training approaches.
20/3/2006 Major Study Reveals Five Critical Issues For Business Leaders To Achieve Sustainable Results.
A recent study by The Sales Activator® into 2,663 sales organisations globally has identified 5 critical issues facing sales leaders today. The results show that the vast majority of sales efforts are not achieving sustainable results. The study reveals the
five critical issues sales leaders must address to ensure ongoing improvements.
Press Centre: Articles
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30/5/2006
Why Sales Training Fails
Summary: Sales organisations of all types spend a huge amount on training their sales people each year. Research shows, however, that most training has little impact in the long term. Here we look at what needs to be done to make sure training works - and the
new generation of training approaches.
If you’ve ever wondered why your sales teams struggle to consistently achieve sales targets despite investment in sales training, development and management, you’re not alone.
Despite their best efforts most organisations are failing to achieve their full potential from sales training due to four main reasons;
1. Most sales training has at best a short-term effect on performance because of a failure to consistently implement, apply and reinforce what is learnt.
2. Sales managers (often top sales achievers themselves) lack a proven methodology to be truly effective at getting top performance from their sales team.
3. Salespeople often find it difficult to maintain the correct balance between prospecting, presenting, negotiating, closing and client nurturing which can lead to sales ‘feast and famine’ and lost opportunities.
4. Sales leaders and managers find it hard to run sales meetings and sales training sessions that are relevant, motivational, and impactful for both highly experienced and inexperienced salespeople at the same time.
So how do sales leaders address these critical issues of skill and knowledge if 'traditional' sales training approaches simply can't offer the level of flexibility and interaction needed to embed learning? The answer lies in designing and providing a new
generation of development toolkits which sales managers can use with their teams. These toolkits can give the manager total flexibility to address the specific development needs of his or her team based on the situation at the time. In addition, they should
provide the opportunity for a high degree of team interaction as well as best practice learning materials which can be delivered in a fun, energetic and bite sized fashion.
Global oil giant, Shell, amongst others, is at the forefront of using such systems to empower their field sales managers using a new system called 'The Sales Activator®' (www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk). The creators of The Sales Activator® say it has been
specifically designed to address the critical shortcomings of 'traditional' sales training. It's a self contained system which gives the sales manager the tools, framework and learning content to take charge of their sales team's development on an ongoing basis.
Commenting on Shell's experience of using The Sales Activator® to overcome the weaknesses of sales training, Elza Muller - Learning and Development Manager at Shell - says; "People learn without realising and get the added benefit of learning from additional
input from delegates who have years of experience. It can be done as and when there is a team meeting - no extra resource is required. The coaching role can be shared across teams, within teams spreading the skill of coaching [and] the business manager is
present dealing with the system and context issues around training."
ENDS.
Nigel Thompson is Managing Consultant of Thompson Strategy Works (www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk ) sales training and sales performance improvement specialists.
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20/3/2006
Major Study Reveals Five Critical Issues For Business Leaders To Achieve Sustainable Results.
Summary: A recent study by The Sales Activator® into 2,663 sales organisations globally has identified 5 critical issues facing sales leaders today. The results show that the vast majority of sales efforts are not achieving sustainable results. The study
reveals the five critical issues sales leaders must address to ensure ongoing improvements.
Millions of pounds have been spent investigating and pursuing ways to grow sales, and no wonder; after all, sales are the lifeblood of any organisation. Yet only a handful of companies have been able to grow their sales steadily not just in good times, but in
lean times too, and in the face of ferocious competition.
Nigel Thompson of www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk who is promoting the research said, "The vast majority of companies we studied that haven't achieved sustainable results, fell foul of a number of common mistakes. In contrast, the few that have consistently
grown their sales have succeeded because they have found creative and imaginative ways to avoid them.
The five most critical issues uncovered by the research were;
Issue 1: A poorly defined sales process that wasn't being followed by frontline sales teams which dilutes sales revenues.
Issue 2: Lack of essential skills, which leads to below average performance and consequently below average sales results.
Issue 3: Failing to focus salespeople's activities which reduces efficiency and consequently reduces results.
Issue 4: Allowing self-limiting beliefs to constrain salespeople's performance which limits sales revenues.
Issue 5: Failing to choose and develop a Sales Leadership team that nurtures and develops their salespeople's potential which, in turn, decreases sales results.
The results of this research have been compiled into a report entitled "The 5 Most Dangerous Issues Facing Sales Directors Today", and is full of practical solutions and insights that provides an essential read for every Sales Director.
In addition, the research has pioneered the creation of a new sales team development solution to directly address these issues called The Sales Activator® (www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk) and is currently being used by many leading sales organisations
globally.
The research was carried out by The Sales Activator® in partnership with Nightingale Conant and studied 2,663 organizations across the US and Europe. To receive a copy of the full research paper visit
www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk
ENDS.
Contact: For more information or more insights into this topic. Email: nigel[at]thompsonsw.co.uk Other helpful information can be found at: http://www.salestrainingsystems.co.uk
About the Author:
Nigel Thompson is Managing Consultant for The Sales Activator®, a sales team development toolkit designed for sales teams. The system is currently being used by some of the world's top sales organisations to increase sales performance.
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"Performance Traps - Common Barriers to Sales Success"
Pharmaceutical Sales Management Magazine
Quarter 2, 2006.
Millions of pounds have been spent investigating and pursuing ways to grow sales, and no wonder; after all, sales are the
lifeblood of any organisation. Yet only a handful of companies have been able to grow their sales steadily not just in good times, but in lean times too, and in the face of ferocious competition.
The Sales Activator®, in partnership with Nightingale Conant, recently conducted careful research amongst 2,663 sales
organisations from Europe and the U.S., designed to identify the barriers that prevent organisations from achieving continual sales growth.
The vast majority of companies that have been less successful than the few superstars we found, fall prey to a number of common
mistakes. In contrast, the few that have consistently grown their sales have succeeded because they have found ways to avoid these same traps.
Issue1
A Poorly Defined Sales Process That Dilutes Sales
Revenues
As the development of a more consultative sales approach within the UK pharma industry grows, then so does the need for a well
defined and understood, stage by stage sales process. Increasingly, competent salespeople are counted upon to channel their own activities into the areas that they believe will produce the biggest and quickest wins. But, left to their own devices, salespeople
generally don’t develop and pursue a formal plan for moving a prospect interaction forward toward a sale. Instead, with so many prescribers and influencers to see, they rely more on instinct. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that key stages in the sales
process are overlooked – often leading to resistance, objections and, inevitably, lost sales.
When their efforts don’t pay off quickly, even capable salespeople tend to get discouraged. They may spend longer hours struggling
to meet their sales quotas, working less efficiently. The details of what goes wrong differ for each salesperson, but the net result is always the same: wasted time which fails to produce high quality sales and consequently, increased cost of sales.
Solutions:
For sales leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, this means either critically reviewing or developing a comprehensive, realistic
and step-by-step outline of what salespeople are expected to do. Involve top performers and enlightened customers in identifying current best practice and refining the process. Critically, align CRM, sales
management systems and compensation structures with the process for maximum results. It’s only when such an outline is in place that sales management is in a position to monitor the sales force’s activity, progress and results. Only then is the stage set for
transformational performance improvements.
Issue 2
Lack of Essential Skills Which Leads to ‘Below Average’ Performance and
Consequently ‘Below Average’ Sales Results
This gradual shift in emphasis from traditional detailing to consultative problem solving is bringing with it the need for new and
improved sales skills.
With an ever growing body of research highlighting the difficulties in gaining effective detailing time, GP’s are increasingly
only granting access to those reps who are able to create dialogue, trust, and credibility with their customers and who demonstrate the desire to build a mutually beneficial relationship.
But traditional training isn’t necessarily translating to increased sales competence and improved sales results. Companies are
therefore, unsurprisingly, becoming more reluctant to continue supporting lengthy, upfront training programmes.
So, what’s going on? How should a Sales Director reconcile the fact that many organisations today provide less upfront training
for their established sales staff than in years past with the increasing importance of staff development?
Solutions:
The lengthy initial training for new hires that once was the norm was well suited to a world in which the market and sales cycle
were both reasonably stable. In today’s more dynamic business environment, development and training are more important than ever before but must be delivered in smaller and more frequent chunks, with less disruption to the daily flow of salespeople’s work and
tied more closely to subtle shifts in the marketplace.
Yet training alone does not guarantee peak sales performance. This can only come from a careful blend of training, mentoring and
effective, ongoing coaching from front line sales managers who can find effective ways of highlighting and sharing best practice among the team.
Issue 3
Failing to Focus Sales Reps’ Activity Which Reduces Efficiency and Consequently Results
Frequently there are two main dangers that even experienced reps can fall into in terms of activities;
First, they simply aren’t doing enough and secondly, but equally important, salespeople often aren’t clear about how to target and
prioritise the prescribers most likely to have a genuine need for their product. Many reps will take any opportunity to see a GP or other prescriber regardless of opportunity likelihood or value.
Salespeople who lack a disciplined, future-oriented plan for prioritising their selling activities, often find themselves spending
more time attending to ‘accessible’ potential prescribers rather than those that will develop their business effectively.
Solutions:
According to Jon Parton, Director of Global Branding at AstraZeneca, “Rather than merely targeting high volume physicians, reps will need to analyse physician
behaviour, demographics, and attitudes to segment the markets and target those most loyal to the brand, friendly toward reps, and responsive toward certain messages.”
Those organisations who have been able to get increasing performance improvement from their sales teams have developed solid
methods of qualifying and rating prospects based on opportunity, and have taken time to help reps focus their selling time on the typical 20% of those available who can deliver 80% of the results.
Issue 4
Allowing Self-Limiting Beliefs to Constrain Salespeople’s Performance Which Causes a Reduction in Sales
Results
A hugely overlooked area of sales force development, limiting beliefs impact directly on sales results. In addition, the concept
of ‘transference’ shows that the salesperson’s state of mind is often instantly transferred to their prospect/customer, influencing in a powerful way the outcome of a sales call.
This means that the challenge for organisations is to constantly create a highly resourceful state in their salespeople. This is
extremely important because when salespeople lack belief in themselves, their product, or their organisation, it can not only lead to serious bouts of ‘call reluctance’ but they unconsciously transmit their attitude to prospects in a variety of subtle and
sometimes overt ways.
Yet while most sales leaders grasp the concept of activity management, skills and knowledge development, far too many feel
powerless to help their salespeople turn their negative beliefs into positive ones.
Solutions:
The good news is that beliefs do change. Given the right opportunity and environment, sales team colleagues can exert a hugely
positive influence in overcoming negative beliefs. In addition, the sales manager or coach has a vital role to play in positively and constructively challenging limiting beliefs as they surface and building the self-worth of each individual member of the team.
Those organisations who have found practical and effective ways to tackle beliefs and are able to change their reps’ self-limiting
beliefs into empowering ones have found an unbeatable path to success.
Issue 5
Failing to Choose and Develop a Sales Leadership Team That Nurtures and Develops Their Sales Reps’ Potential
Arguably the single biggest influence on the performance of any sales team is the team manager. Yet the single most common mistake
that underperforming organisations make is promoting their number one sales rep into the role of sales manager, thereby depriving themselves in a single stroke of their best producer and hamstringing their salesforce with an ineffective manager. The skills
required for managing, coaching and developing sales teams are totally different from those for selling. As a result, it’s not uncommon to find newly promoted sales managers who regret having taken a management position and may even leave to get back into sales.
In addition, the majority of sales managers say they do not have sufficient time to train and develop their sales teams. They are
so focused on sales results and so accustomed to achieving success through their personal pursuit that they overlook their greatest potential source of power: the power to increase sales performance by developing their people.
Even when they do recognise the importance of developing their representatives, many sales managers find that they lack the skills
and resources to do it effectively. To make things worse, most sales teams consist of a number of individuals with differing levels of experience and ability, so the whole issue of team development becomes too daunting to contemplate.
Solutions:
Successful sales leaders look for management candidates who can demonstrate an ability to help others strategise, work effectively
with customers, and build their self-confidence.
Training and development is structured to help build critical coaching skills within sales management teams.
Finally, innovative coaching resources and toolkits for sales meetings provide a wonderful opportunity to offer appropriate team
development.
The most successful Sales Directors of all bend over backwards to make sure that the development resources they give their
managers are easy to use, are designed to appeal to and engage salespeople regardless of experience level, and, above all, can be used in manageable pieces so that sales teams can absorb, share and implement new ideas.
Summary – top tips from the experts:
Develop a comprehensive, step-by-step consultative sales process. Involve top
performers and customers and align CRM, sales management processes and compensation structures for maximum impact. Use training, mentoring and coaching in bite sized chunks to share best practice and
develop consultative sales skill. Develop and embed an objective, realistic method of evaluating and rating customers
and prospects based on strategic value. Train sales managers to spot limiting beliefs in salespeople and create the
opportunities for colleagues to reinforce empowering beliefs in each other. Recruit and develop effective people-centric sales managers. Critically, build their
coaching skill and provide innovative and easy-to-use resources for developing the team during regular sales meetings.
Further reading:
“The Five Most Critical Issues Facing Sales Directors Today…” The Sales Activator®
Nigel Thompson is founder and Managing Consultant of Thompson Strategy Works, providers of The Sales Activator® coaching
and development system.
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Telephone: 01455 268 190
Email: info[at]thompsonsw.co.uk
The Sales Activator®
Thompson Strategy Works
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