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Secrets of Winning Sales Organizations from Miller Heiman’s 2007 Sales Best Practices Study

Strategies for Complex, Business-to-Business Selling

Complex, Business-to-Business Selling: Secrets of Winning Sales Organizations from Miller Heiman’s 2007 Sales Best Practices Study. Copyright © 2007 by Miller Heiman, Inc. Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of the report may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher.

PublisherMiller Heiman, Inc.10509 Professional Cr., Ste 100Reno, NV 89521877-678-3389www.millerheiman.com

Research PartnerM3 Planning, Inc.465 Court StreetReno, NV 89501775.747.7407www.m3planning.com

AcknowledgementsPresident & CEO, Miller Heiman: Sam ReeseEditor-in-Chief: Dario PrioloManaging Editor: Jennifer VodehnalCreative Director: Bret PoinierAssociate Editor: Judith HepburnResearch Analysts: Howard Olsen, Erica OlsenWriter: Louis Greenstein (Executive Summary)Contributing Experts: Robert B. Miller, Damon Jones, Richard Blakeman, Bill Golder, and David Pearson

To learn more about how you can benchmark your company against the activities of the Winning Sales Organizations in this report and industry peers, please contact us at www.millerheiman.com/benchmark or 1-877-678-3389.

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In This Study 8Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Study Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Organization of Survey Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Performance Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Population of Study Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Executive Summary 10 Top Five Activities of Winning Sales Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Top Five Perception Gaps Between the C-Suite and Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About the Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Miller Heiman Executive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Activities of Winning Sales Organizations 16How to Read the Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Participant Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

D.1: Which job title most accurately refl ects your current position in your organization?

D.2: What industry does your company primarily operate in?

D.3: Where are the majority of your employees in your company based?

D.4: How many full-time salespeople are currently in your sales organization?

Customer Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

1.1: Our customers require formal ROI calculations before making purchasing decisions.

1.2: We know why our customers buy from us.

1.3: On a regular basis, we must signifi cantly discount in order to win.

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Creating Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2.1: Our salespeople have formalized business plans to help drive their focus.

2.2: Sales and Marketing are aligned in what our customers want and need.

2.3: Our sales force is very effective at selling new products/services.

2.4: We have a formalized value proposition that is very compelling to our prospects.

2.5: We consistently utilize comprehensive prospecting plans.

2.6: We track all interactions with our prospects.

2.7: Our customers understand the full breadth of our capabilities.

2.8: Our salespeople are experts in our products and services.

2.9: Our salespeople focus on solution-led selling as opposed to product-led selling.

2.10: We always follow a standardized process to qualify opportunities.

Managing Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

3.1: We have a disciplined process that is continually utilized to review all large deals.

3.2: We always hold people accountable for winning large deals we pursue.

3.3: Our sales leadership always knows the status of active large deals.

3.4: Our organization utilizes processes and tools to share information among teams pursuing large deals.

3.5: We have an established procedure to know when to stop investment in large deals.

3.6: We always know what key individuals in prospect fi rms think of our proposed solution.

3.7: In each deal, the issues of key individuals involved are always systematically identifi ed.

3.8: In a large deal, we always gain access to key decision makers.

3.9: To help us navigate large deals, we always develop infl uential internal supporters.

3.10: We clearly understand our customers’ issues before we propose a solution.

3.11: We have clearly identifi ed the strengths and weaknesses of our competitive position.

3.12: Win or lose, we get accurate feedback on all proposals from our customers.

3.13: When we give price concessions, we always get comparable value in return.

3.14: Our salespeople can clearly explain our terms, conditions and pricing.

3.15: We are never blind-sided by a loss of a signifi cant deal.

3.16: We always review highly-resourced deals that are lost.

3.17: Our salespeople stay connected with our customers through the fulfi llment process.

Managing Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4.1: We always review the results of our solution with key clients.

4.2: We never get blind-sided by the loss of a strategic account.

4.3: In the case of a major event we have an established plan to protect our interests in strategic accounts.

4.4: We jointly set long-term objectives with our strategic accounts.

4.5: We have relationships and dialog at the highest executive levels with all our strategic accounts.

4.6: We regularly engage our strategic accounts in our product and business planning processes.


People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

5.1: We have enough sales and support people to achieve our revenue objectives.

5.2: We use web-based assessments to support hiring decisions.

5.3: We know why our top performers are successful.

5.4: We are never blind-sided by the departure of a high-performing salesperson.

5.5: We continually measure the improvement of our salespeople.

5.6: Our training and development programs are aligned with the needs of our people.

5.7: We have a systematic orientation process for all new hires.

5.8: Our performance review process helps improve the sales force’s job performance.

5.9: Our HR department truly adds value to our sales organization.

5.10: We have open and honest communication between our sales managers and our salespeople.

5.11: We proactively terminate poor performers.

Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6.1: Our sales compensation policies are aligned with our business objectives.

6.2: We have the technology and tools to maximize our productivity.

6.3: Our CRM system greatly improves the effectiveness of our sales organization.

6.4: Our sales performance metrics are aligned with our business objectives.

Management Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.1: We regularly benchmark our performance and productivity against external peer groups.

7.2: We leverage the best practices of our top performers to improve everyone else.

7.3: Our executive leadership is actively engaged in our sales process.

Performance Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

PI.1: Compared to last year, our average account billing has:

PI.2: In terms of revenue, how well is your sales organization currently performing compared to last year?

PI.3: Compared to last year, new account acquisition has:

PI.4: What percentage of deals must your salespeople discount to win the opportunity?

PI.5: Our average cycle time is…

PI.6: What was the turnover of your sales force last year?

PI.7: On the average, how long does it take to fi ll a sales rep. position in your organization?

PI.8: How long does it take to fully ramp up your new salespeople?

PI.9: For our business unit, the average dollar, amount of each sale closed is:

PI.10: Our typical deal requires us to persuade how many people?

PI.11: On the average, how many days a year does your organization invest in training?

PI.12: On the average, what is the ratio of product/service training to sales skills training in your organization?


Next Steps: Benchmarking 59Miller Heiman-Sales Benchmark Index Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Selling and Sales Management Best Practices Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Operational Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Compensation Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Objectives and Research Procedures 61Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Research Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Survey Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Time Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

In Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Strengths of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Terms of Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

About Miller Heiman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63



Introduction

As the heart of any successful business, sales organizations are under constant pressure to perform. Identifying areas where improvements will make the greatest impact on performance is a key initiative for sales leaders. By looking at the activities of Winning Sales Organizations, companies can arm themselves with valuable insights to incorporate in their strategies to improve.

Scope

• Identify activities where Winning Sales Organizations are outperforming the competition

• Prioritize activities to improve the effectiveness of the sales organization

• Provide insights on the trends facing sales organizations in 2007

Highlights

The 2007 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study is the fourth annual effort to determine the broad challenges currently facing the sales industry. The respondents included in this report are limited to those who are selling in what Miller Heiman has defi ned as a complex selling environment; Those who are required to infl uence multiple decision-makers in what is typically a long sales cycle. Looking at the sales organization in seven main areas, study participants were asked to respond with their level of agreement regarding 54 critical sales activities.

Organization of Survey Questions The sales activities included in this study have been grouped in seven areas as shown in fi gure A.

• Customer Behavior• Creating Opportunities• Managing Opportunities• Managing Relationships• People• Reinforcement & Support• Management Execution

This Sales System framework shows the key components

Miller Heiman Sales System ™

Figure A

In Th is Study



of a sales organization. The survey questions that provided the data for this study all fi t within one of these areas.

Performance Gaps

We analyzed the data to identify areas where Winning Sales Organizations (WSO) are outperforming compared to all other organizations in the study.

While WSOs are performing best overall in the area of Managing Opportunities, with an average of 27.5 percent agreement in all 17 activities in this group, the largest gap between WSOs and all other organizations is in the area of Management Execution.

Performance gaps between Winning Sales Organizations and all other organizations are ranked as follows:

All results shown in this report are based on results

from participants who are involved in a complex selling environment. This criteria was selected to allow for more specifi c analysis of the challenges in this area so we can provide greater value to our clients and other companies who operate in a similar environment.

Respondents include only those in the complex, business-to-business selling environment.

• Sales cycle of one quarter or more• Must infl uence four or more decision makers

Population of Study Respondents

The comparisons provided in this report include Winning Sales Organizations compared to all other sales organizations in the study.

Winning Sales Organizations are defi ned as:

• 20 percent or more growth in average account billing• 20 percent or more growth in revenue compared to

last year• 20 percent or more growth in new account acquisition

Winning Sales Organizations

• 183 respondents qualify as WSOs (representing 178 companies)

• 7 percent of all respondents• Complex sales only

All Other Sales Organizations

• 2,331 respondents • Complex sales only

% in Agreement

Rnk Element WSO All Orgs Diff.

1 Management Execution 23.1% 13.7% 69%

2 Managing Relationships 24.6% 15.9% 55%

3 Reinforcement & Support 26.4% 17.7% 49%

4 Creating Opportunities 26.8% 18.0% 49%

5 Managing Opportunities 27.5% 19.2% 43%

6 People 19.4% 13.8% 41%

7 Customer Behavior 23.2% 19.2% 21%



Executive Summary of the 2007 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study


Over the past four years, Miller Heiman has been surveying sales professionals from thousands of companies around the world, collecting and analyzing data, and learning why some sales organizations consistently outperform others. The study, in which more than 13,000 have participated to date, includes sales representatives, managers and executives involved in complex, business-to-business sales. It is considered the world’s largest ongoing study of complex business-to-business practices and performance.

Our fi ndings have helped many organizations revisit their sales strategies and reset their sights on practices that keep Winning Sales Organizations (WSOs) on top. (For our study, we defi ned WSOs as organizations with greater than 20 percent growth in revenue, new customers, and average account billing when compared to the previous year. WSOs represent about 7 percent of all respondent organizations.)

By comparing themselves to WSOs and to their peers, sales organizations can learn about strategy, processes, skills and other practices that will propel them toward WSO-like results.

This year, in addition to examining best practices of WSOs, we looked at the perception gaps between sales representatives, sales managers and executives at all organizations. As you’ll see, in some cases these three groups have remarkably different perceptions of the sales process, the buying process and the often-disparate relationship between sales and marketing. In addition to reporting data on the perceptions, we’ll share a number of action steps from a panel of Miller Heiman executives

on how any sales organization can close the gaps, impact sales performance and achieve stronger results.

Strategies of Winning Sales Organizations

What are WSOs doing more often and better than other sales organizations?

1. When we give price concessions, we always get comparable value in return.

Forty percent of WSOs – but only 20 percent of other organizations surveyed – say that when they give price concessions they always get comparable value in return.

According to Miller Heiman co-founder Robert B. Miller, there’s nothing wrong with discounting per se, but only if you get something of value in return. The problem with most discounting is that salespeople often do it just to get the sale. “Strike a balance,” Miller advises. “Make price concessions a quid pro quo – and never, ever discount unless you get something of equal value in exchange.” Otherwise it’s lose-win, not win-win.

We have found time and again that top sales organizations know when they should be talking about price concessions, and when they shouldn’t. On the other hand, less successful organizations tend to discount too early because they’re afraid of losing the deal – and they don’t have a good grasp on a solution for the customer.

As big companies sharpen their buying processes, WSOs are fi nding new ways to differentiate their



products and services – and get comparable value in exchange for price concessions. Successful methods include:

• Getting payment in advance• Extending the length of the contract from three to

fi ve years – or extending it indefi nitely• Stocking three items of shelf space instead of one• Stock more and/or different SKUs• Reducing service levels, such as making help desk

available fi ve days per week vs. 24/7• Eliminating a service from the contract – a service

that costs you real money or manpower; for example, charge a fee for each service call instead of including service in the contract

• Charging extra for delivery, installation or consulting

And never underestimate the importance of differentiating yourself by truly understanding your customer. Customers place great value in vendors who put effort into “getting” their business.

2. We always know what key individuals in prospect fi rms think of our proposed solution.

WSOs are nearly twice as likely as other organizations (35% v. 18%) to know what key individuals in the prospect fi rms think of their proposed solutions.“This is a striking result,” says Richard Blakeman, a

Miller Heiman sales vice president. “Even though the gap is large, it should be concerning to all that only one-third of all Winning Sales Organizations have this specifi c knowledge of their proposals to customers.” Prospective customers think of proposals in the context of their organization’s needs – what they are trying to accomplish, fi x or avoid. And if a sales team doesn’t understand or even know their prospect’s opinion of a proposal, it seems even less likely that they understand the prospect’s concept of success or even where their prospect is in the buying cycle.

When salespeople use a systematic approach – such as Miller Heiman’s sales process – the proposed solution will specifi cally address the customer’s problem. The proposal will be aligned with the issues learned by questioning, probing, exploring and gaining knowledge about the customer.

Bottom line: know the customer well. When you think about the customer, don’t think about the organization, but the individuals and each of their perspectives. Of course, fi nding out who the decision makers are (likely about a half dozen, but there may be up to 30) can be a daunting task. That’s why it’s always a good idea to fi nd a coach inside the prospect company – someone who wants you to win. Then, use your coach to help you identify the key decision makers and their perspectives on what needs to be accomplished, fi xed or avoided.



3. We consistently utilize comprehensive prospecting plans.

While 41 percent of WSOs say they consistently use comprehensive prospecting plans, only 21 percent of all other organizations say they do.

“There’s a tendency to work on existing customers, not prospects,” says Miller Heiman president & CEO, Sam Reese. “Even Winning Sales Organizations focus on the things right in front of them.” Reese notes that over the last fi ve years some sales professionals have come to believe that prospecting is a job for marketing, not sales. “It’s hard to stick to structure and process,” says Reese. “But you have to keep your funnel full at all times. And like it or not, that means prospecting.”

Blakeman believes that part of the sales representative’s aversion to planning comes from endless annual cycles of account or territory planning, which create reports that sit on shelves instead of being practical or actionable. For planning to take hold as a discipline, there must be a clear identifi cation of WIIFM – What’s in it for me? The sales rep receives the strongest WIIFM through two metrics: personal income growth and client success. Planning should be reinforced by management sales leaders who ensure that both the sales process and resources support individual and sales team success.

Our research suggests that top-performing sales professionals actually describe their ideal customers in their prospect plans. Then they go out and search for prospects that match the ideal, enabling them to qualify more leads and close more deals.

4. We have an established procedure to know when to stop investment in large deals.

WSOs are much more likely to have a process for knowing when to stop investing in a large deal. According to our survey, only 15 percent of most organizations have such a process, compared to 29 percent of WSOs.

It’s understandable that even so few WSOs know when to walk away from a large deal. Miller calls this a huge blind spot for most sales managers. “The dictum of No RFP shall go unanswered is not a good idea,” he says. All too often, by the time an RFP lands on your desk, it’s already too late – and your proposal will only be used for comparison purposes. Proposals take time, energy and money. Don’t invest in the ones where the customer doesn’t fi t the template. “If you didn’t spec it,” says Miller, “don’t bid it.”

“Sales reps are competitive,” agrees Damon Jones, Miller Heiman’s president and managing director of international. “They don’t want to give up. But you can’t win every piece of business, and not every customer is ideal for you.”

Jones suggests getting a good understanding of what your ideal customer looks like by writing out four or fi ve bullet points with both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Create more detailed criteria based around their decision-making process. This will help you understand whether or not you can win.

We’ve found that WSOs know when to admit they’re losing and that it’s time to walk away.

5. We regularly benchmark our performance and productivity against external peer groups.

While 23 percent of WSOs report that they regularly benchmark themselves against outside organizations, only 12 percent of all other organizations do so – a signifi cant gap!

While sales organizations routinely measure progress related to internal production goals, it is not a complete analysis of performance. Measurements are relevant only when external benchmarking against peers is added. For example, in good market conditions, internal statistics may confi rm meeting 150 percent of quota – a substantial gain – while competitors may be achieving 250 percent of quota. This casts an entirely different light on whether an organization is over- or under-performing.

“Benchmarking against peer groups has been a common practice to drive improvement for nearly every other functional area,” says Dario Priolo, Miller Heiman’s executive vice president of corporate development and the architect of the research project. Priolo says that by establishing robust standards, “we’re hoping to give sales and business leaders new opportunities to drive performance improvement.”

The critical path forward should be simple:

• Choose a small number of key metrics to measure• Create an internal baseline on those metrics• Make a commitment to measure consistently over time

without changing the defi nitions or metrics• Report on the metrics• Create improvement plans based on the results



Perception Gaps Between the C-Suite & Sales

The 2007 Miller Heiman Best Practices Study highlighted several notable perception gaps between sales representatives, sales managers and the C-suite. Here are the top fi ve, along with perspective, commentary and advice from our Miller Heiman executive panel on how to close them:

Perception Gap #1 – Our leadership is actively engaged in our sales process.

This is the number one area of disconnect, with 78 percent of executives yet only 49 percent of managers and 43 percent of sales representatives agreeing. Bob Miller says that an effective sales process always defi nes executive involvement with strategic accounts in clear and concise terms. Without such clarity, for example, a CEO who feels that his sales force always has access to him may believe he is “engaged in the sales process,” but his sales force may not agree.

Miller recommends developing an executive call plan for strategic accounts. Executives shouldn’t go on every sales call, and they shouldn’t only go when there’s a problem.

There are other ways a communication breakdown may lead to this perception gap. The C-suite may not always report which accounts they’re personally attending to. Or, it might be a matter of defi nition: a CEO may feel that visiting the top account once a year means he’s involved.

Perception Gap #2 – Sales and marketing are aligned in what our customers want and need.

While 45 percent of C-level executives agree with this statement, less than a third of sales representatives (27%) and sales managers (30%) agree. Reese says that bringing sales and marketing together is critical. “Sales is on the front line,” he says. “They may not know the value marketing brings to the table. C-levels know that marketing is all about accelerating the sales cycle, but salespeople don’t always see it.” Reese says since the executive level knows what sales and marketing are each doing, it should make sure each knows what the other is doing.

When sales and marketing are aligned, says Miller, there is accurate messaging and higher quality leads. Marketing is about positioning, about brand integrity and not necessarily about lead generation (as many salespeople believe). Sales is about getting results, about closing deals. While they share the same ultimate goal, their strategic plans will differ. Miller recommends aligning the two functions by having

each create its own strategic plan, but having them create their plans together – with the big picture in mind.

Perception Gap #3 – Our CRM system greatly improves the effectiveness of our sales organization.

In our survey, 31 percent of executives, 21 percent of managers and 19 percent of salespeople agreed with this statement. Why the gap? Jones says that most CRM systems are designed and created as a management tool.



“Reps feel CRM doesn’t help with sales,” he says. “Reps don’t want to share information.”

For the C-suite, Jones advises being clear on what you expect from your CRM system. “It provides intelligence, visibility; it can help make decisions,” he says. “It won’t close business, it will just count it.” He says sales representatives can make CRM work for them by using it to plan, track, follow up on sales calls and maintain customer information. There are a lot of sales representatives who feel that the CRM system is there to monitor them. They see it as big brother. But they don’t understand that for the C-suite, it’s a way to gather and use information for making decisions.

This too goes back to the WIIFM principle. The WIIFM for the C-level is consistency, management control, discipline and fact-based decision making. These values are far less meaningful to the sales representative, compared to a CRM implementation focused on helping the sales representative close more business.

Perception Gap #4 – We are never blindsided by the loss of a signifi cant deal.

Only 20 percent of the C-level respondents agreed, while 32 percent of sales representatives and 24 percent of sales managers said they were never blindsided.

Sometimes when an executive asks a rep how a deal is going, the rep – afraid to deliver potentially bad news about a sale that is not going well – says, “fi ne, fi ne.” When executives and managers get this response, they should probe a bit, and ask follow-up questions. Sales professionals who know their customers’ decision-making process and match their solution to what the customer wants to accomplish, fi x or avoid don’t often feel blindsided when they lose a deal.

“It comes from not knowing where the customer is in their buying process,” says Miller. “And it comes from focusing only on the selling process.” Miller stresses the importance of knowing the customer’s business, their buying process, who the players are and what they’re thinking about. When you’re thorough, there will be fewer surprises.

Perception Gap #5 – Our HR department truly adds value to our sales organization.

In our survey, this question was met with low agreement across the board. C-level respondents saw the most value (16%), followed by sales managers (15%) and sales representatives (11%).

We don’t see this as an indictment of HR, but as a sign that HR may not have a thorough grasp of the complexities and nuances of the sales process. Most salespeople know that selling is different from other company functions, and that sales training has its own conventions, standards and subtleties.

“HR should support sales process training, but it should be delivered by the sales department,” says Miller. “Our experience suggests that a thorough understanding of the nature of the sales process, born of experience, is necessary in order to deliver sales training that resonates with salespeople and impacts their performance. We recommend that rather than providing direct sales training, HR should support the sales department’s training program. And C-level executives need to make sure that the sales leaders know they are responsible for developing their people – and that HR is there to support them.”

Priolo points out that HR should be tuned in to understand the sales leaders’ issues in order to apply its expertise in providing solutions in the people space with what the sales leader is trying to accomplish with his team. A perennial and expensive sales team problem is the cost of turnover, and the resulting increase needed for each salesperson’s quota in order to hit revenue targets. The sales leader may not be familiar with hiring and coaching strategies and tools. “When HR brings talent-related resources and expertise to the table to help the sales leader execute,” he says, “the true value of HR is realized in the sales space.”

About the Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study

Miller Heiman’s annual research study of sales practices, success metrics, and Winning Sales Organizations is recognized as the largest continuous research project dedicated to sales performance in the world. Sales leaders benefi t from the resulting trends, insights, and best practices revealed by our research. Even more signifi cantly, the research results support benchmarking exercises that enable companies to understand how they compare to their peers and how they can better identify areas for improvement.

Since the study was launched, more than 13,000 sales professionals have participated. Our formal research projects combined with our day-to-day business relationships with sales leaders and sales professionals enables us to continually validate and refi ne our thinking in the real world.



Miller Heiman’s research focuses on complex, business-to-business sales which, for this study, we’ve defi ned as having sales cycles longer than one quarter and more than four decision makers infl uencing the outcome. Over 6,000 sales professionals participated in the current study, representing 19 industries including technology, healthcare, business services, telecommunications, fi nance and manufacturing. Respondent companies are located in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, the Middle East and Africa.

Miller Heiman Executive Panel

Sam ReesePresident & CEOSam has led Miller Heiman to its position as the foremost thought leader and innovator in the strategy, process, and skills training which drive sales performance. During

Sam’s tenure, Miller Heiman expanded product offerings and e-learning initiatives and amassed a partner network of world-class sales consultants who implement the company’s sales system for clients, which include Fortune 500 companies.

Bob MillerCo-Founder of Miller Heiman, Inc.Bob developed the initial Strategic Selling® program and has continued to add new content and relevant sales courses, all of which were incorporated into Miller Heiman,

Inc. After divesting his ownership interest, he continues to work full-time with Miller Heiman today in a consulting and advisory capacity, focusing primarily on product development.

Damon JonesPresident & Managing Director of InternationalDamon has developed an extensive network of partners and sales consultants worldwide to support rapid growth in the

multi-national expansion of sales solutions. He also has been instrumental in establishing a strong international presence for Miller Heiman.

Dario PrioloEVP of Corporate DevelopmentDario oversees global marketing, product management and business development at Miller Heiman. He is a seasoned executive with extensive experience leading global

alliances, commercializing intellectual capital and research, and building high-impact brands in professional services.

Rich BlakemanSales Vice PresidentRich’s experience combines sales and marketing executive leadership with consulting assignments at senior levels of global industry-leading fi rms. He has led the

deployment of sales processes and practices including compensation and incentives, benchmarking, global sales automation, value proposition development, account planning, executive sponsorship and training.

16

Activities of

Learn about our Sales Benchmarking Products and Services: www.millerheiman.com/benchmark


The following charts illustrate that Winning Sales Organizations are performing better in every activity. The areas that we found to be of great interest are where there are large gaps in agreement between the Winning Sales Organizations and the other organizations who participated in the study. There are also areas that are notable for the low levels of agreement from participants across the board. There are several areas identifi ed within this study where there is room for improvement for all sales organizations.

Sales leadership needs to get closer to the status of big deals. When annual revenue objectives can be made or

missed as the result of a handful of key deals, executive involvement is critical. Knowing when to stop investing in prospective business is just as important as knowing what business to pursue. WSOs are twice as likely to have a plan for stopping investment in big deals, but this is a huge area for improvement for all organizations. Even at the WSO level, only 29 percent of these top-performing organizations report that they have an established procedure for when to walk away from a big deal. Cost of sales is one metric that can be used to quantify improvements made in this area.

WSOs AllWSOs All

% ∆=

We know why our customers buy from us.

QuestionPercent difference

between WSOs and all other organizations’

responses**

In other words, WSOs are 29% more likely to know why their customers buy

from them.

** Difference =(WSO – All)/All

% of respondents not agreeing

% of respondents agreeing

Not agree = • Strongly disagree • Disagree • Somewhat disagree • Somewhat agree

Agree = • Agree • Strongly agree

How to Read the Charts.

Winning Sales Organizations



All

D.1 Which job title most accurately refl ects your current position in your organization?

Participants in this study include a broad range of titles, industries, sales force size, and geography.

• Ten percent of all study participants hold executive titles including president, GM, and C-level; and 42 percent hold sales leadership titles including sales VP, director, sales manager, and sales operations.

• Industries with the greatest percentage of participation include technology & software (22%), healthcare (11%), business services (10%) and consulting & professional services (10%).

• Sales force size ranged from single digits to over one thousand

• This is a global study, 27 percent of participants are based outside of North America.

• The study was not limited to Miller Heiman clients. We actively pursued participants for the study from a variety of databases through marketing partnerships and paid placement.

Demographics

Participant



D.3 Where are the majority of your employees in your company based? (Entire company – not just your division.)

All

WSO

All

WSO

D.2 What industry does your company primarily operate in?

All

WSO

All

WSO



D.4 How many full-time salespeople are currently in your sales organization? (Entire sales organization – not just division)

All

WSO

All

WSO



Customer Behavior

Success starts with how salespeople interact with their customers. Winning Sales Organizations are very customer-oriented and externally focused. They know their customers intimately and they clearly understand their reasons for buying.

There is a distinct relationship between two of the activities in this section: understanding why customers buy and the need to discount to win business. Today, customers see

the role of the salesperson as a true differentiator. Customers want salespeople to solve problems. If you are truly interested in your customer’s business, it shows. In doing so, you’re differentiating yourself from your competitors and you’ve taken the fi rst step toward reducing price pressures.

1.1 - Our customers require formal ROI calculations before making purchasing decisions.

WSOs AllWSOs All

% ∆=



1.2 - We know why our customers buy from us.

1.3 - On a regular basis, we must signifi cantly discount in order to win.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

WSOs AllWSOs All

% ∆= -

Note: This is the only question in the survey where a low percentage of agreement is positive.



The best sales organizations create opportunities very well. They develop consistent criteria for the types of accounts and opportunities they want to pursue, and walk away from those that aren’t a good fi t. They understand what customers are trying to accomplish, fi x, or avoid before offering solutions. When they present a solution, they differentiate based on their unique strengths, and they gain commitment to keep the sale moving forward. They get to senior-level decision makers and have strong, persuasive dialogue at this level.

One example of where Winning Sales Organizations have

distanced themselves from their peers, yet there is still a signifi cant opportunity to improve, is having a formal value proposition that is compelling to prospects. Forty-one percent of WSOs do not have a formal value proposition. And, 65 percent of all other organizations are defi cient in this area. This has a signifi cant impact on the ability of an organization to create new opportunities.

Creating Opportunities

2.1 - Our salespeople have formalized business plans to help drive their focus.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



2.2 - Sales and Marketing are aligned in what our customers want and need.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

2.3 - Our sales force is very effective at selling new products/services.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



2.4 - We have formalized value proposition that is very compelling to our prospects.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

2.5 - We consistently utilize comprehensive prospecting plans.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



2.6 - We track all interactions with our prospects.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

2.7 - Our customers understand the full breadth of our capabilities.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



2.8 - Our salespeople are experts in our products and services.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

2.9 - Our salespeople focus on solution-led selling as opposed to product-led selling.



2.10 - We always follow a standardized process to qualify opportunities.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



Winning Sales Organizations also effectively manage opportunities through to close. This involves developing and executing a strategy necessary to win complex deals. They effectively assign resources to the opportunity, identify the key players in the decision making process, understand their issues, and infl uence them to support their solutions. Then, they manage the fi nal negotiations and ensure sound delivery of the solutions.

An area of concern in this category is a lack of understanding about what key individuals in prospect organizations think about the proposed solution.

Only 35 percent of Winning Sales Organizations said they agree with this statement. This leaves the sales organization vulnerable to either losing the sale outright or being easily displaced by a competitor. In the complex selling environment, there are multiple people who infl uence your ability to close business and maintain a relationship with the account. It is imperative that you understand if the objectives of these individuals are being met.

Managing Opportunities

3.1 - We have disciplined process that is continually utilized to review all large deals.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.2 - We always hold people accountable for winning large deals we pursue.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.3 - Our sales leadership always know the status of active large deals.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.4 - Our organization utilizes processes and tools to share information among teams pursuing large deals.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.5 - We have an established procedure to know when to stop investment in large deals.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.6 - We always know what key individuals in prospect fi rms think of our proposed solution.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.7 - In each deal, the issues of key individuals involved (in prospect fi rms) are always systemati-cally identifi ed.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.8 - In a large deal, we always gain access to key decision makers.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.9 - To help us navigate large deals, we always develop infl uential internal supporters.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.10 - We clearly understand our customers’ issues before we propose a solution.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.11 - We have clearly identifi ed the strengths and weaknesses of our competitive position.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.12 - Win or lose, we get accurate feedback on all proposals from our customers.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.13 - When we give price concessions, we always get comparable value in return.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.14 - Our salespeople can clearly explain our terms, conditions and pricing.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.15 - We are never blind-sided by the loss of a signifi cant deal.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



3.16 - We always review highly-resourced deals that are lost.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

3.17 - Our salespeople stay connected with our customers through the fulfi llment process.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

Strategies for Complex, Business-to-Business Selling: Results of 2007 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study



Winning Sales Organizations also manage relationships extremely well. Once they identify their strategic accounts, they treat these accounts like corporate assets. They invest in their largest, most strategic accounts in the same way they invest in their own people. They understand their business, engage in joint planning, make focus investments that add value to their client’s business and ensure their mutual success. They build solid business partnerships that can’t be easily displaced by competitors.

The responses in this section suggest consistent, sizable gaps between WSOs and other organizations. Additionally,

both groups had a strong percentage of answers in the “disagree” category indicating that there are signifi cant opportunities to improve. Establishing relationships at the executive level and involving strategic accounts in business and product planning processes show a low percentage of agreement and a large gap between WSOs and other organizations. WSOs are doing better in these areas, but even these top-performers should consider the potential impact of improvement.

4.1 - We always review the results of our solution with key clients.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

Managing Relationships



4.2 - We never get blind-sided by the loss of a strategic account.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

4.3 - In the case of a major event (social, economic, etc.), we have an established plan to protect our interests in strategic accounts.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



4.4 - We jointly set long-term objectives with our strategic accounts.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

4.5 - We have relationships and dialog at the highest executive levels with all our strategic accounts.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



4.6 - We regularly engage our strategic accounts in our product and business planning processes.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



We’ve just described how Winning Sales Organizations go about interacting with customers. Now we’ll describe what they do internally to enable their sales organization to be successful. Winning Sales Organizations know their people extremely well and what differentiates higher performers. They have distinct processes and tools for ensuring they have the right people in the right roles, and understanding their current capabilities and areas for future development.

WSOs are 77 percent more likely to know why their top

performers are successful. This is a key component for being able to replicate the activities of top performers, bringing on new hires who are more likely to become top performers, and reducing the likelihood of unexpectedly losing the most productive members of the sales force. Training and development programs in Winning Sales Organizations are 55 percent more likely to be aligned with the needs of their people.

5.1 - We have enough sales and support people to achieve our revenue objectives.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

People



5.2 - We use web-based assessments to support hiring decisions.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

5.3 - We know why our top performers are successful.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



5.4 - We are never blind-sided by the departure of a high-performing salesperson.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

5.5 - We continually measure the improvement of our salespeople.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



5.6 - Our training and development programs are aligned with the needs of our people.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

5.7 - We have a systematic orientation process for all new hires.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



5.8 - Our performance review process helps improve the sales force’s job performance.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

5.9 - Our HR department truly adds value to our sales organization.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



5.10 - We have open and honest communication between our sales managers and our salespeople.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

5.11 - We proactively terminate poor performers.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



Winning Sales Organizations clearly reinforce and support important processes and polices needed to drive consis-tency. They know that even the most compelling business processes won’t stick in an organization if they are cum-bersome to adopt. And, they carefully think through key change initiatives to maximize their success. For example, this could include introducing technology to enable pro-cess change or aligning compensation plans to reinforce desired behaviors.

Not surprising in this category, CRM is not viewed as a pro-ductivity aid by the vast majority of the survey respondents,

regardless of WSO-Status. One of the biggest management chal-lenges in increasing the value of CRM is securing better customer information. Salespeople pos-sess a wealth of knowledge about customers, but much of it is not shared through CRM systems. To encourage information sharing and elevate the role of CRM in increasing sales force effectiveness, the system must fi rst be perceived as a valuable business tool to aid decision-making and accelerate sales.

6.1 - Our sales compensation policies are aligned with our business objectives.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

Reinforcement & Support



6.2 - We have the technology and tools to maximize our productivity.

6.3 - Our CRM system greatly improves the effectiveness of our sales organization.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



6.4 - Our sales performance metrics are aligned with our business objectives.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



Lastly, we fi nd that the very best sales organizations rigorously execute their strategy. They benchmark themselves against other organizations and constantly strive to get better. They create metrics, track against these metrics, and use the information to support decision-making. Leadership and management buy into the metrics and use them to drive accountability.

One question in this section is highlighted in the Executive Summary as the number one area where there is a difference in opinion between the C-suite, sales leadership, and the fi eld. The statement, “Our executive leadership

is actively engaged in our sales process,” resulted in agreement with three-quarters of the WSOs. But when we reviewed how various title-levels responded to this question, we found that 78 percent of executives agreed, yet only 49 percent of managers and 43 percent of sales representatives agreed. This data should serve as a reminder that it is important to clarify what it means to be “engaged” and defi ne what executive activities are most effective in winning business.

Management Execution

7.1 - We regularly benchmark our performance and productivity against external peer groups.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



7.2 - We leverage the best practices of our top performers to improve everyone else.

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=

7.3 - Our executive leadership is actively engaged in our sales process

WSOs AllWSOs All

∆=% ∆=



How Winning Sales Organizations Succeed

Performance Indicators

PI.1 - Compared to last year, our average account billing (or average purchase per customer) has:

All

WSO

All

WSO

The fi rst three charts in this section include the criteria we chose for determining Winning Sales Organizations. Only 7 percent of the study participants met all three criteria, but a higher percentage were able to reach the 20 percent growth mark in individual categories.

• 13.9 percent met the criteria of growing average account billing by more than 20 percent

• 19.9 percent met the criteria of growing revenue by more than 20 percent

• 15.6 percent met the criteria of increasing account acquisition by more than 20 percent



PI.2 - In terms of revenue, how well is your sales organization currently performing compared to last year?

All

WSO

All

WSO

PI.3 - Compared to last year, new account acquisition has:

All

WSO

All

WSO



PI..4 - What percentage of deals must your salespeople discount to win the opportunity?

WSO: 21-30%All: 41-50%

All

WSO

All

WSO

PI..5 - Our average cycle time is…

All

WSO

All

WSO



PI..6 - What was the turnover of your sales force last year?

All

WSO

All

WSO

PI.7 - On the average, how long does it take to fi ll a sales rep. position in your organization?

All

WSO

All

WSO



PI.8 - How long does it take to fully ramp up your new salespeople?

All

WSO

All

WSO

PI.9 - For our business unit, the average dollar, amount of each sale closed is:

All

WSO

All

WSO



PI.11 - On the average, how many days a year does your organization invest in training?

All

WSO

All

WSO

All

WSO

All

WSO

PI.10 - Our typical deal requires us to persuade how many people…



PI.12 - On the average, what is the ratio of product/service training to sales skills training in your organization?

All

WSO

All

WSO



BenchmarkingNext Steps

While benchmarking has been in vogue for years as a continuous improvement discipline, it is still relatively new to sales. Some of this comes from a lack of common language, defi nitions, and metrics across sales organizations, and some from a historical aversion or inability to measure top line revenue infl uences to the same degree as other cost-centric functions measure and benchmark. The critical path to moving forward has to be simple, not complex:

• Choose a small number of highly relevant metrics to measure

• Create an internal baseline on those metrics, with a commitment to measure consistently over time without changing the defi nitions or metrics

• Identify external benchmarks to compare performance and create goals

• Report on the metrics and making them visible• Create actionable improvement plans based on the

result

Miller Heiman-Sales Benchmark Index Reports

Miller Heiman-Sales Benchmark Index Reports include three essential components for benchmarking sales effectiveness in a complex, business-to-business selling environment:

1) Selling and Sales Management Best Practice Benchmarks

2) Sales Operations Benchmarks3) Sales Compensation Benchmarks

The selling and sales management best practices draw from the 2007 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study.

The operational and compensation benchmarks draw from an information repository of over 200 leading success indicators and proprietary forward-looking metrics compiled by Miller Heiman strategic alliance partner, Sales Benchmark Index.

Best Practice Benchmarks

• Customer behavior• Creating opportunities• Managing opportunities• Managing relationships• Talent management• Reinforcement and support• Management execution

Operational Benchmarks

• Annual quota• Sales productivity per sales rep• Sales deal size• Sales growth rate• Proposal to close conversion rate• Annual turnover rate• Ramp time to full sales productivity• Sales lead generation source• Cost of sales• Return on sales

Compensation Benchmarks

• Sales Director• Sales Manager• Strategic Account Executive / Manager• Sales Representative



• Account Executive / Manager• Inside Sales• Sales Engineer / Specialist• Sales Assistant / Support• Sales Operations / Effectiveness• Sales Training

Industries

1. Business Services2. Construction3. Consulting and Professional Services4. Energy5. Finance & Insurance6. Healthcare7. Hospitality & Food Service8. lndustrial & Chemical9. Manufacturing10. Media11. Pharmaceuticals12. Technology & Software13. Telecommunications14. Transportation15. Wholesale

Here are just a few examples of metrics you might consider comparing against your organization:

• 40% of salespeople did not hit their number last year

• Only 25% of sales reps sell enough to cover their costs

• Cost per lead is up 21% while lead conversion rates are down 33%

• Entertainment costs are 3% of sales expense budget while training costs are only 2%

• 90% of sales organizations have administration staff but only 60% have sales operations staff

Source: Sales Benchmark Index

Miller Heiman-Sales Benchmark Index Reports can help you establish the right metrics, compare your performance against peer groups, and establish a development plan that will produce measurable results

Learn more about how Miller Heiman can help you measure your organization against Winning Sales Organizations and industry peers at: www.millerheiman.com/benchmark or 1-877-678-3389.



Objectives & Research

Objective

To obtain a clear understanding of the complex selling environment, its challenges, and trends.

Research Method

The survey was designed as exploratory research to collect primary data using a structured design. Formal statistical procedures were employed to analyze the data. Such procedures included exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and frequency analysis.

Survey Instrument

After the broad issues and metrics were reviewed and discussed with key informants, the instrument was subjected to a pretest. The fi nal instrument contained seven challenge sections with a total of 54 closed-end questions based upon a 7-point Likert scale for responses of Strongly disagree, Disagree, Somewhat disagree, Neutral, Somewhat agree, Agree, Strongly agree. Twelve metric questions were added to this study. Finally, four demographic questions were included.

Time Frame

Data was gathered from September 27, 2006 to October 27, 2006.

Population

Responses were solicited globally from sales professionals who are currently or have been in contact with Miller

Heiman. The population was not limited to current or past clients. It also included solicitations for participation from the databases of eight external companies including Selling Power Magazine, JustSell.com, ISMM, Synygy, SMEI, Business 21, Targeting Learning, and Hoover’s.

Respondents

The large number of responses to this survey adds to previous years’ momentum and continues to be one of the most comprehensive and statistically useable research efforts on sales effectiveness done to date. The substantial number of responses received was from a broad cross-section of industries, positions, and company sizes. Respondents included in this report are only those who are in the complex selling environment, defi ned as needing to infl uence more than four people in the sale and a sales cycle of longer than one quarter. The responses were as follows:

• 5,523 total responses

• 2,514 responses meeting the criteria of “complex selling environment”

- C-Suite: 260 are C-Level Executive, President/GM

- Sales Leadership: 1,064 are Sales VP/Director, Sales Manager, Sales Operations

- Sales Force: 981 are Sales Reps, Business Development, Account Management

- Other Respondents: 209 are from training, marketing, human resources, and customer service.

Procedures



• Company Size:

- 49 percent of the respondents are from small businesses, less than 24 full-time salespeople

- 35 percent from mid-sized sales organizations, 25-499 full-time salespeople

- 15 percent from large organizations, more than 500 full-time salespeople

• 19 industries were represented, with the top being Business Services, Consulting & Professional Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing.

The survey is considered a worldwide study with respondents from the following regions:

• 72 percent from North America• 17 percent from Europe/ Middle East/ Africa• 5 percent from Asia• 3 percent from Australia• 2 percent Global/ Worldwide• 1 percent South America

The study is comprehensive of the sales industry and was not limited to Miller Heiman customers.

In Depth

There were a number of data-soliciting campaigns for this research project. In the fi nal analysis there were a total number of 2,514.

The resulting data is statistically valid with reliable results and implications. The information enables Miller Heiman to gain in-depth understanding and insight into the attitudes and preferences of the sales industry. Please see the demographic data for detailed information.

Data Analysis

Upon receipt, all survey responses were initially reviewed by Miller Heiman staff and then subsequently cleaned and coded. A database was developed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 13.0). Survey data was entered for analysis. The fi rst phase of data analysis employed Factor Analysis (using principal component method). Factor Analysis is a technique that addresses the problem of analyzing the structure of the interrelationships among a large number of variables. Based upon this step a data reduction, if necessary, can be achieved which allows for summarization of the data and subsequent interpretation. Also the structure of

each Challenge area was assessed for the viability of the underlying descriptors supporting the overall challenge. In all instances the KMO and Reliability of each factor was assessed and found to be acceptable for data processing.

Strengths of the Study

The strengths of this study include its large and extremely diverse overall sample and its timeliness in assessing the current issues facing sales organizations. In addition, this is the fourth year for the study during which the inherent structure and descriptors have been further solidifi ed.

Terms of Use

Copyright © 2007 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. All content of this report is protected by international copyright law. No part of this report, whether text, diagram, chart, or other illustration, may be (i) reproduced in any form, in any media or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, electronic scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system; or (ii) utilized for any business purpose including, but not limited to, conducting any consulting; or (iii) summarized, abridged, translated or modifi ed in any manner without express written authorization from Miller Heiman’s Legal Department.

You are also advised that Miller Heiman will aggressively enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law.

Prior to the execution of any business decision, you are advised to consult with your advisors and other professionals as appropriate. The information contained in this report should not be used as a sole source of information on which to base business decisions. Neither Miller Heiman, Inc., its affi liates, or content providers shall have any liability for business decisions based upon, or the results obtained from, this report. Nothing contained in this report is intended to be, nor shall it be construed as investment advice.



About Miller Heiman

For nearly 30 years, Miller Heiman has helped thousands of companies, their salespeople, and executive teams overcome the most signifi cant challenges that affect sales productivity and top-line growth.

We help our clients move beyond treating symptoms by applying The Miller Heiman Sales SystemTM and our world-renowned benchmarking database to diagnose the root cause of their issues. Because we have the tools, data and experience, we can move much more quickly than traditional consulting fi rms from diagnosis and validation through implementation and results.

Typical sales performance problems we solve include:

• Improving Sales Force Productivity • Managing Sales Talent • Transitioning from Product-led to Solution-led Selling • Winning High-value, Complex Deals • Shortening Sales Cycles • Improving Sales Forecast Accuracy • Evaluating and Integrating Sales Forces

Pre-and-Post Merger • Protecting and Growing Strategic Accounts

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