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Most Organizations Can Readily Grow Their Sales By SimplyRedeploying Their Sales Organizations
The reason that this is possible is that most are misapplying their resources.
By Bill Young
When we assist clients in redeploying their sales resources, we measure how effectively they are deployed before beginning the process. It is rare that they have not found their resources out of balance; that is, they are deployed to interact with the wrong accounts by at least 15% or more. The net effect is; if your firm has 500 salespeople and it is out of alignment by 15%, it is losing the resources of 75 of those salespeople. Redeploy them and you will gain the equivalent of 75 free sales resources.
Indicators of a Probable Misaligned Sales Organization. The following are indicators of a sales organization that may present a large productivity gain if it is redeployed:
- The newly created sales organization is the result of multiple sales organizations folded together hurriedly, with little customer or workload analysis.
- There is a major new strategic direction and the sales deployment has not been measured to see how well it aligns with the new strategic direction.
- A customer and workload analysis was conducted more than three years ago.
- Sales territories were created based upon sales history and not upon potential.
- There are more than 50 sales territories and they have been aligned using only a manual process.
Multiple Sales Organizations Folded Together. New sales organizations that are the result of multiple organizations being put together in a hurried fashion are usually out of alignment. The reason they are out of alignment is that their designs are based upon internal considerations, such as previous sales assignments or compensation systems instead of customer potential and the strategic sales roles needed by its combined customers.
We have worked with clients who have these types of organizations and they represent the very worst of sales alignments. We have seen organizations of this type - out of alignment by over 30%.
Major New Strategic Directions. Companies regularly change strategies and often those strategic changes are dramatic. If those strategic changes affect the roles of the sales organization, the types of customers they call upon, and the amount of time spent in calling on those customers, there is a high probability that the sales organization needs to be re-aligned. Failing to do so will potentially cause the sales organization to be an impediment to the implementation of the sales strategy.
Our observations of these types of sales organization shows that their misalignments are in the range of 15%.
Customer and Workload Analysis Took Place More Than Three Years
Ago. Sales organizations sometimes properly execute a redeployment effort, but fail to periodically re-do the redeployment process. They fail to realize that customer's potentials change and their deployment needs to be periodically assessed. The deployment process should not be looked upon as an event, but instead as a process.
These organizations are most often out of alignment by approximately 5% to 10%.
Sales Territories are Designed by Sales History. Many sales organizations' territories are designed by sales history, often for compensation reasons. This is mistake. Sales territories should be designed based upon sales potential. Territories designed upon sales history can exhibit the very worst of alignment problems.
This type of misalignment, when corrected, will produce productivity gains of approximately 15% or more.
Fifty or More Sales Territories are Manually Aligned. It is impractical to try to realign sales territories of more than 50 by a manual process. There are software applications, such as AlignStar, that enable the manager to easily deploy hundreds of sales resources. Without the use of such a tool, it is not possible to consider all of the best possible solutions as quickly and effectively. It is for this reason that most large size sales organizations that understand the benefits of aligning sales resources by workload and potential, use an optimization software application.
This type of misalignment will usually create a 15% or more productivity gain.
Recommendation. Organizations are striving to find ways to grow their sales. A relatively easy way to achieve sales gains is through the redeployment process. It will often produce 15% sales productivity gains or more, all at no additional cost. If you find that you have any of the above alignment opportunities there will never be a better time to take advantage of them.
Copyright © 2001 Young & Associates, Ltd.