Research Report Salesperson Developmental Priorities · Research Report: Salesperson Developmental...

Research Report

Salesperson Developmental Priorities

Research underwriter

March 2017

Copyright © 2017 by the Sales Management Association. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2017 the Sales Management Association. All rights reserved.2

First published March 2017.

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Research Report: Salesperson Developmental PrioritiesThis document has been prepared by The Sales Management Association for use by its members. The Sales Management Association has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to its members. This report relies upon data obtained from many sources, however, and The Sales Management Association is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Its reports should not be construed as professional advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. Members requiring such services are advised to consult an appropriate professional. Neither The Sales Management Association nor its programs are responsible for any claims or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in their reports, whether caused by The Sales Management Association or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recom-mendation made by The Sales Management Association.

Descriptions or viewpoints contained herein regarding organizations profiled in this material do not necessarily reflect the policies or viewpoints of those organi-zations.

About The Sales Management AssociationThe Sales Management Association is a global, cross-industry professional organization for sales operations, sales effectiveness, and sales leadership pro-fessions. We provide our members with tools, networking, research, training, and professional development.

Our research initiatives address topics relevant to practitioners across a broad spectrum of sales effectiveness issues. Our research is available to members on our site at www.salesmanagement.org.

In addition to research we publish best practice tools, archived webcasts, and expert content. Visit our website at http://salesmanagement.org to learn more.

Integrity Solutions develops excellence in sales performance, coaching, leader-ship, and customer service to help clients win and keep more customers. The firm maintains a specific focus on motivation drive, attitudes, values, and beliefs. Core solutions are grounded in values, trust, and ethics. Integrity Solutions has more than 45 years’ experience developing innovative, practical learning and training engagements for organizations in healthcare, financial services, energy & utilities, manufacturing, and many other industries. Visit them at integritysolutions.com.

Author Robert J. KellyChairman Sales Management Association

Copyright © 2017 the Sales Management Association. All rights reserved. 3

Research Report: Salesperson Developmental Priorities

Contents

1 Research Summary 5

2. Salesperson Characteristics Prioritized and Emphasized in Sales Training 6

2.1 Salesperson Characteristics’ Rated Importance 6

2.2 Salesperson Characteristics’ Rated Emphasis in Training 7

2.3 Allocating Importance and Emphasis Percentages to Salesperson Characteristics 8

2.4 Adjusting for Sales Force Size 9

3 Salesperson Training Topics 10

3.1 Salesperson Training Topics’ Importance 11

3.2 Salesperson Training Effectiveness by Topic 11

3.3 Improvement Priorities by Salesperson Training Topic 12

4 Correlating Training Effectiveness with Business Outcomes 14

5 About the Research 16

5.1 Research Approach 16

5.2 Research Timing and Scope 16

5.3 Research Underwriters 16

6 Respondent Demographics 17

6.1 Firm Size 17

6.2 Job Role 17

6.3 Firm Performance 18

6.4 Sales Force Size, Structure, and Management Span of Control 19

7 Appendix 20


Research Summary

Two questions underlie every firm’s efforts to build a successful sales force: “What qualities make salespeople successful?” and “How do we develop these qualities?” This research identifies how organizations answer these two fundamental questions. Most importantly, it investigates the alignment between management’s priorities (suggested by the first question), and the training investments organizations make in salespeople (in response to the second). The research further focuses on two broad salesperson capability categories: the first includes capabilities often addressed in training, such as product knowledge and selling skills, and the second includes qualities typically considered more intrinsic, such as motivation and self-confidence.

Organizations value both sorts of salesperson capabilities highly. When considered alongside “product knowledge and selling skills,” most firms (84%) rated “attitude, achievement drive, and belief in their own ability” (a set of capabilities we refer to collectively as “achievement drive”) of equal or greater importance as determinants of ultimate salesperson success. Yet achievement drive garners substantially less sales training emphasis than product knowledge and selling skills.

As a salesperson development topic, achievement drive suffers from both an emphasis and an effectiveness gap. Among all salesperson training topics, those associated with achievement drive, including salesperson motivation and salesperson confidence, receive among the lowest effectiveness ratings from respondents, who also rate them among the most important. These two topics constitute the most important training improvement priorities, based on these factors.

Significant sales performance advantages accrue to the firms most effectively developing salesperson motivation and confidence. Our research correlated 20% improvement in firm sales objective achievement from firms most effective in developing salesperson motivation drive, 17% for firms effective in developing salesperson belief in what is sold, and 15% improvement for firms most effective in developing salesperson confidence.

1


Salesperson Characteristics Prioritized and Emphasized in Sales Training

Our research first looks at two broadly defined groupings of salesperson characteristics: achievement drive, product knowledge, and selling skill. Firms value both characteristic groups highly; almost half (48%) weight them equally in importance, while more than one-third (36%) consider achievement drive more important than product knowledge and selling skills (16% assert the opposite). Yet despite its acknowledged importance, sales training programs under-emphasize achievement drive. Just 21% of firms emphasize achievement drive over product knowledge and selling skills in sales training, while almost twice that number (39%) put greater training emphasis on product knowledge and selling skill.

2.1 Salesperson Characteristics’ Rated Importance

2

2.1 On average, firms rate achievement drive as more important to salesperson success than product knowledge and selling skills.

Salesperson Characteristics’ Importance Ratings

Average Firm Rating

Achievement Drive

Product Knowledge and Selling Skill

Other

9.2

8.6

6.4

N=205 Firms

0 10Extremely important

Somewhat important

Not at all important

987654321

Importance Rating

Respondents rated the importance of three broad categories of salesperson characteristics, based on their overall impact on salesperson performance. Judged most important (based on


average firm ratings) is achievement drive. This category is rated 9.2 in importance on a 0 to 10 scale, where “10” is “extremely important” and 0 is “not at all important.” The corresponding rating for a salesperson’s product knowledge and selling skill is 8.6. (“Other” characteristics are rated 6.4 in importance.)

2.2 Salesperson Characteristics’ Rated Emphasis in Training

2.2.1 Firms give less training emphasis to achievement drive, despite its higher importance rating.

N=205 Firms

0 10ExtremelySomewhatNot at all

987654321

Importance or Emphasis Rating

6.5

7.4

6.1

Importance Emphasis

9.2

8.6

6.4

Salesperson Characteristics’ Importance and Emphasis Rating

Average Firm Rating

Achievement Drive


Other

Despite its acknowledged importance, achievement drive is less emphasized in respondents’ sales training programs, which put greater emphasis on product knowledge and selling skill. Respondents rate achievement drive degree of training emphasis 6.5 on a 10-point scale, where “10” is “extremely high emphasis” in firm training initiatives, and “0” is “no emphasis at all.” Product knowledge and selling skills’ 7.4 emphasis rating also lags behind its rated importance (8.6), though to a lesser degree. “Other” training topics are rated as having training emphasis in roughly equivalent proportion to judged importance (its training emphasis rating of 6.1 compares to rated importance of 6.4).

Thirty-six percent of firms consider achievement drive more important to salesperson success than product knowledge and selling skill, yet just 15% give achievement drive greater sales training emphasis. Though 48% of firms consider both equally important, only 40% give the two topics equal emphasis.



Product knowledge and selling skill is more highly emphasized in 39% of firms, though only 16% consider it more important than achievement drive.

2.2.2 Eighty-four percent of firms rate achievement drive of equal or greater importance than product knowledge and selling skills, yet are more likely to emphasize product knowledge and selling skills in training.

Firm Allocation of Importance and Training Emphasis to Salesperson Characteristics

Percentage Distribution of Firms

Achievement drive

Product knowledge, selling skills

Equally Weighted

N=178 Firms

Which is More Important? Which is More Emphasized in Training?

36%

16%

48%

21%

39%

40%

2.3 Allocating Importance and Emphasis Percentages to Salesperson Characteristics

In a separate set of questions, respondents were asked for a slightly different perspective on the central question of how firms’ training emphasis aligns with their prioritization of salesperson characteristics. Respondents allocated percentages (summing to 100%) to the importance their firm places on the three salesperson characteristic clusters, and, separately, for the emphasis given each cluster in sales training.

These percentage allocation responses similarly highlight achievement drive’s diminished emphasis in training, given its relative importance. When averaged across all respondent firms, product knowledge and selling skills’ importance is given a 46% allocation (suggesting that on average, respondents estimate that product knowledge and selling skills constitute 46% of everything important for salesperson success), achievement drive is allocated 41%, and other 13%. Corresponding results for training emphasis show 56% of sales training focuses on product knowledge and selling skills, just 26% on attitudes and achievement drive, and 18% on “other.”

Salesperson Characteristics Prioritized and Emphasized in Sales Training


2.3 When averaged across all respondent firms, product knowledge and selling skills’ importance is given a 46% allocation (suggesting that on average, respondents estimate that product knowledge and selling skills constitute 46% of everything important for salesperson success), achievement drive is allocated 41%, and other 13%. Similar allocations for training emphasis suggest product knowledge and selling skill is overweighted in emphasis, while achievement drive is underweighted.

Percentage Importance Percentage Emphasis

Product Knowledge and

Selling Skill46%

Other13%

Achievement Drive41%

Product Knowledge and

Selling Skill56%Other

18%

Achievement Drive26%

N=205 Firms

Salesperson Characteristics’ Importance and Emphasis

Average Percentage Allocation

2.4 Adjusting for sales force size

Larger firms put somewhat less emphasis on achievement drive and self-confidence as salesperson success criteria than do smaller firms. This becomes apparent when responses are indexed based on sales force size (i.e., by weighting each firm’s response in proportion to the firm’s share of total salespeople directly employed by all participating firms). Importance ratings adjusted for sales force size are 8.3 for achievement drive, 8.7 for product knowledge and selling skill, and 5.1 for other.

However, achievement drive’s diluted training emphasis is more apparent in larger firms. When adjusted for sales force size, emphasis ratings are 6.3 for achievement drive, 8.1 for product knowledge and selling skill, and 5.1 for other. Percentage allocations reflect a similar disparity between importance and emphasis, suggesting this misalignment is more pronounced in larger sales organizations.

See Appendix for data weighted for sales force size.



Salesperson Training Topics

Our research next considered a finer-grained portfolio of salesperson qualities that could serve as specific training topics. Among those respondents ranked most important are customer knowledge, delivering customer insights, and customer solution development. These are followed closely (within a few tenths of a point) by topics related to achievement drive; these include a salesperson’s belief in what is sold, confidence, and motivation.

Firms are least effective in training these later topics, including motivation drive and confidence. Just 60% of firms consider themselves effective in training related to salesperson confidence, just 57% for motivation drive. These two topics represent management’s most important improvement priority, given their high importance and relatively diminished sales training effectiveness.

3

3.1 Customer knowledge, customer insights, and customer-based solution development rate highest in importance as training topics.


Ratings Indexed to Sales Force Size

Rating of Importance

Customer knowledge

Deliver customer insights

Customer-based solution development

Deep belief in what is sold

Motivation drive

Confidently asks for commitment

Confidence

View of “selling” aligned with personal values

Collaborative

Adaptive communication

8.5

8.4

8.2

8.2

8.1

8.0

7.9

7.4

7.2

7.0


Extremely Important

Somewhat Important

7654321 1098

N=205 Firms


3.1 Salesperson Training Topics’ Importance

Respondents rated a range of sales training topics on their importance to overall salesperson success. All 10 topics received at least a rating of 7.0 on a scale where “10” is “extremely important” and “0” is “not at all important.”

Customer knowledge is considered most important, with an average rating (indexed to sales force size) of 8.5; adaptive communication style is considered least important with a rating of 7.0.

3.2 Salesperson Training Effectiveness by Topic

Respondents also provided similar ratings of their firms’ effectiveness in training salespeople on the same list of topics.

3.2.1 Among the largest gaps in training topic effectiveness and importance are those associated with achievement drive, including confidence and motivation drive.

Customer knowledge




Motivation drive


Confidence


Collaborative


8.5

8.4

8.2

8.2

8.1

8.0

7.9

7.4

7.2

7.0

Salesperson Characteristics’ Rating of Importance and Effectiveness


Ratings of Importance/Effectiveness

Not at all Extremely Somewhat

7654321 1098

N=205 Firms

Importance Effectiveness

7.2

6.7

7.4

7.0

6.0

7.0

6.2

6.5

6.0

6.1



Firm Effectiveness in Sales Training by Topic

Percentage of Firms

Customer knowledge






Confidence

Collaborative

Motivation drive


63%

62

59

55

49

48

48

47

45

39

N=205 Firms

3.2.2 Fewer than half of firms are “effective” (7 or higher on a 10-point effectiveness scale) in six of ten salesperson development topics.

Effectiveness ratings significantly lagged importance ratings in each of the 10 topic areas. Firms are least effective in developing salesperson motivation drive (“An inner drive to ‘go the extra mile’”) and in training salespeople to be collaborative (“collaboratively negotiating concerns and objections”); both topics’ effectiveness ratings average 6.0 (on a 10-point scale where “10” is “extremely effective” and “0” is “not at all effective”). Firms are most effective in training salespeople in customer-based solution development (“linking solutions to customer’s stated needs to drive greater acceptance”), rated 7.4, and in developing customer knowledge (“understanding the customer’s challenges, needs, and priorities before recommending solutions”), rated 7.2.

3.3 Improvement Priorities by Salesperson Training Topic

An “Importance-Effectiveness” matrix helps to visualize relationships between each topic’s importance and effectiveness ratings, using an x-y scatter plot. Effectiveness ratings are assigned to the vertical y-axis, and importance ratings to the horizontal x-axis. The two axes intersect at the respective mean

Salesperson Training Topics


reported value for each scale (7.9 for importance and 6.6 for effectiveness; both are 0 to 10 scales). Each category is thereby forced into one of four quadrants, as illustrated in the chart below.

Salesperson Characteristics Importance and Effectiveness Matrix


N=205

5.6

7.6

6.9

y = 6.6

8.9

Effectiveness

Importance


Customer knowledge

x = 7.9

Confidence


Collaborative Motivation drive




View of “selling” aligned with

personal value

3.3 The lower-right quadrant contains training topics executed with relatively low effectiveness, yet considered highly important. Elements in this quadrant are management’s most important improvement prioritiesCategories ranked above average in importance are sorted on the right half of the chart; those ranked above average in effectiveness are forced to the top half of the chart. Two topics appear in this quadrant: motivation drive, and confidence. The upper-right quadrant represents topics with relatively high ratings for both importance and effectiveness. In relation to other categories, respondents will likely sustain focus in them. Five topics appear in this quadrant.Topics in the lower left-hand quadrant are relatively less important, and performed less effectively than others. In resource-constrained environments, firms are apt to reduce or outsource support for elements in this quadrant. Topics in this quadrant are an aligned view of selling consistent with personal values, collaboration, and adaptive communication.The upper-left quadrant includes categories of relatively lesser importance, executed with relatively high effectiveness. Items in this quadrant are typically monitored to ensure continued effectiveness. For this analysis, no topics occupied this quadrant.



Correlating Training Effectiveness with Business Outcomes

Our analysis compared firms effective in training specific salesperson capabilities with their peers that are less effective in training the same topics. We found positive correlation between training effectiveness and firm sales achievement. All topics researched showed some positive correlation, and overall sales performance variance ranged between 5% and 20% improvement.

4

4.0.1 Firms that excel in developing salesperson motivation, belief in what is sold, and confidence show the greatest correlation with firm sales objective achievement.

Variance in Firm Sales Objective Achievement Based on Sales Skill Training Effectiveness

Variance in Firm Sales Objective Achievement

Motivation drive


Confidence

Collaborative




View of “selling” aligned with personal value


Customer knowledge

20%

17

15

14

13

12

8

7

6

5

N=205 Firms

Performance variance reflects the difference between firms with an effectiveness rating of “7” or higher (on a 10-point effectiveness scale) for each skill, and firms with ratings of ”6” or lower.


Firms effective in training salesperson motivation drive showed the greatest change in overall sales performance: a 20% improvement over their peer firms less effective in training this capability. Two other topics also showed correlation with improved growth of 15% or more – training a “deep belief in what is sold” (17% improvement) and confidence (15% improvement).

4.0.2 Firms that excel in developing salesperson motivation, belief in what is sold, and confidence show the greatest correlation with firm sales objective achievement.

Percentage of Firms in “High Performing”

Effectiveness Category1

Their average firm sales objective

achievement2

Other firms’ sales objective

achievement2Variance

Motivation drive


Confidence

Collaborative




View of “selling” aligned with personal value


Customer knowledge

26%

32%

28%

21%

25%

19%

25%

26%

38%

37%

4.98

4.84

4.83

4.84

4.79

4.79

4.62

4.59

4.53

4.52

4.15

4.15

4.19

4.25

4.23

4.27

4.29

4.29

4.28

4.28

+20%

+17%

+15%

+14%

+13%

+12%

+08%

+07%

+06%

+05%

N=205 Firms

Sales Achievement Correlated with Salesperson Training Topic Effectiveness

Salesperson Training Topic

1 Firms in the “High Performing” category are those with effectiveness ratings of 8 or higher on a 0 to 10 scale, where “10” is “Extremely Effective” and “0” is “Not at All Effective.”2 Sales objective achievement is rated on a scale of 1 to 7, where ”7” is “Far Exceeded Objective” and “1” is “Far Underachieved Objective.” For all respondent firms, sales objective achievement averaged 4.37.



About the Research

5.1 Research Approach

This study aggregates participating firms’ responses to a web-based survey. The Sales Management Association developed the survey and recruited participants from our membership and broader audience of sales managers and sales operations professionals. In exchange for participating, we offer respondents advance copies of the detailed study report.

Before reporting results, we eliminate invalid or ineligible responses, and sometimes contact respondents to clarify their responses. Survey results are only reported in aggregate, and never in a way that would compromise the identity of any single respondent. All individual respondent data are treated with strict confidentiality.

5.2 Research Timing and Scope

This research represents summarized data from 205 participating firms, directly employing more than 118,000 sales professionals. Data was collected between November 2016 and February 2017. Respondent demographics and descriptive information is summarized at the end of this report.

5.3 Research Underwriters

This study was made possible in part through the underwriting support of Integrity Solutions. The Sales Management Association underwriters provide annual financial support to The Sales Management Association. Underwriters may suggest research topics, participate in ongoing research projects, and encourage participation or otherwise promote research initiatives.

5


Underwriters are not involved with research administration, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or report development, unless explicitly noted in the report. Also, unless noted, underwriters do not pay a research-specific fee or directly commission research initiatives.

The Sales Management Association is grateful for the support underwriters provide to our research efforts.

Respondent Demographics

6.1 Firm Size

Two hundred five participating firms ranged in size from small to very large. Twenty-eight percent of respondents’ firms had annual revenue in excess of US$100 million; 5 percent were firms with annual revenues in excess of US$10 billion.

6.2 Job Role

Respondents are predominately sales operations and senior sales leaders in their firms. Twenty-four percent of respondents are first-line sales managers (i.e., they directly manage salespeople). An additional 32% percent are senior sales leaders, managing sales managers. Nine

6

6.1 Forty-three percent of respondent firms’ annual revenues exceed US$100 million; 16% exceed US$1 billion.

Respondents’ Firm Revenue

Percentage of Respondents

$10 million to $100 million

38%

$1 million to $10 million

19%

$100 million to $250 Million

13%

$1 billion to $10 billion

11%

More than $10 billion

5%

$250 million to $1 Billion

15%

N=205 Firms


percent are in management positions non related to sales.

6.3 Firm Performance

Sixty-eight percent of respondent firms met or exceeded firm sales objectives in the preceding 12 months, and 70% met or exceeded profit objective in the same period. Respondents were asked to rate their firm’s achievement of profit and sales objective based on a seven-point scale (“1” for far underachieved objective, “4” for met objective, “7” for far exceeded objective). We use this performance rating approach in order to normalize company performance across large and small firms, and high and moderate growth sectors. Twenty-four percent of respondents rated profit objective achievement in the highest two categories (“6” or “7”); 25% of firms rated sales objective achievement in the highest two performing categories.

Respondents’ Job Role

Percentage of Respondents

Management (Non-Sales)

9%

Sales Manager (SM)

24%

Senior Sales Leader

(Manages SMs)32%

Sales Operations

35%

N=205 Firms

6.2 Most respondents are management-level sales or sales operations leaders.

Respondents’ Sales Objective Achievement


Firm Performance

1 2 3 5 64 7

40

30

20

10

0

Far Exceeded Objectives

Achieved Objectives

Far Underachieved Objectives

N=205 Firms

6.3.1 Sixty-eight percent of respondent firms met or exceeded firm sales objectives in the preceding 12 months.

Respondent Demographics


6.3.2 Seventy percent of respondent firms met or exceeded firm sales objectives in the preceding 12 months.

6.4 Sales Force Size, Structure, and Management Span of Control

Respondents firms have an average of 107 sales managers and 576 salespeople; when calculated in aggregate, management span-of-control is 5.4.

Corresponding median values are 55 salespeople per firm and 7 managers per firm.

Respondents’ Profit Objective Achievement


Firm Performance

1 2 3 5 64 7

40

30

20

10

0

Far Exceeded Objectives

Achieved Objectives

Far Underachieved Objectives

N=205 Firms

6.4 Respondents firms have an average of 107 sales managers and 576 salespeople.

Number of salespeopleMin10th percentile25th percentileMedian75th percentile90th percentileMaxAverage

Total

28

2055

250780

20,000576

118,036N=205 Firms

Number of sales mgrs.-137

2590

10,000107

21,985

Sales Force Size



Appendix

Larger firms put somewhat less emphasis on achievement drive and self-confidence. This becomes apparent when responses are indexed based on sales force size (i.e., by weighting each firm’s

+

A.1 After weighting responses for sales force size, product knowledge and selling skill is weighted slightly more important than achievement drive.

A.2 Despite its acknowledged importance, sales training in most firms underemphasizes achievement drive.

8.7

8.3

5.1

N=205 Firms

0 10Extremely important

Somewhat important


987654321

Importance Rating


Rating Indexed to Sales Force Size


Achievement Drive

Other

0 10ExtremelySomewhatNot at all

987654321

Importance Emphasis

8.7

8.3

5.1

8.1

6.3

5.1

N=205 Firms

Importance Rating


Achievement Drive

Other

Salesperson Characteristics’ Importance and Emphasis Rating

Rating Indexed to Sales Force Size


A.3 Firms tend to over emphasize product knowledge and selling skills in sales training, while under-emphasizing salesperson achievement drive.

Percentage Importance Percentage Emphasis

product knowledge and selling skills

51%

Other12%

Achievement Drive37% product

knowledge and selling skills

64%

Other15%

Achievement Drive

21%

N=205 Firms

Salesperson Characteristics’ Importance and Emphasis Percentage Allocation

Responses Indexed to Sales Force Size

response in proportion to the firm’s share of total salespeople directly employed by all participating firms), as shown in 2.1.2. Importance ratings adjusted for sales force size are 8.3 for achievement drive, 8.7 for product knowledge and selling skill, and 5.1 for other.


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