When looking to hire sales representatives, there are three areas to evaluate in candidates, traits, skills and knowledge. This note looks at the traits you should look for. Sales representatives are the primary point of contact into your company for your customers. Customers also tend to buy from people they know and like. As a […]
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Global vs Local – Sales and Territory Management
Posted by David Wallace on May 25, 2021
A global sales management framework balances corporate home office responsibilities with local office responsibilities in four areas: culture, strategy, metrics and sales/territory management. Previous posts have highlighted culture, strategy and metrics. Now, let’s look at sales/territory management in the context of a global effort. Sales/Territory Management Corporate The corporate home office (or an office in another […]
Read MoreAre Your Revenues Growing… or Stagnating?
Posted by David Wallace on May 19, 2021
As companies grow, what’s made them successful in the past does not necessarily drive success in the future. I find companies reach an inflection point where, if they continue doing what has gotten them to where they are today, customers become harder to find, sales take longer to close and revenue growth slows. To recharge […]
Read MoreGlobal vs Local – Strategy and Metrics
Posted by David Wallace on May 17, 2021
When creating a global sales management framework, a company must balance corporate home office responsibilities with local office responsibilities in four areas: culture, strategy, metrics and sales/territory management. Last week I posted on balancing your corporate culture versus a local culture. Today, we take a brief look at strategy and metrics. Strategy Corporate Guided by […]
Read MoreSales Cultures – Global vs Local
Posted by David Wallace on May 10, 2021
When creating a global sales management framework, a company must balance corporate home office responsibilities with local office responsibilities in four areas: culture, strategy, metrics and sales/territory management. Let’s look at balancing your corporate culture versus a local culture. Corporate Culture Corporate culture is key to defining a company. Certain aspects of corporate culture are […]
Read MoreThe Global Sales Management Framework
Posted by David Wallace on May 3, 2021
The challenge businesses face today is how to maintain standardization and consistency across their global sales organizations while providing local sales management teams the autonomy they need to drive sales and meet goals in their local markets. Our recommendation: Create a global sales management framework that balances corporate home office responsibilities with local office responsibilities […]
Read MoreGlobal Sales Management: Balancing Corporate Control with Local Autonomy
Posted by David Wallace on April 27, 2021
Technology and the speed of communications are driving global sales down to the local level. With the increasing speed of communications, information moves in near-real time between corporate home offices and local offices around the globe. Information also moves at light speed between local sales offices and customers, as well as within and between markets. […]
Read More4 Types of Selling
Posted by David Wallace on April 14, 2021
In my experience, there are four types of selling – transaction, relationship, solution and partnership. What type does your sales team engage in? Transaction Selling Transaction selling works well with simple, commodity products. Since the product is generally available from multiple sources and is indistinguishable from competitive products, the sale is made on price and […]
Read MoreWhy Territory Planning?
Posted by David Wallace on April 9, 2021
Many sales reps and sales managers extoll the importance of territory planning. They toss around phrases like “know your territory,” “understand your customers” and, my personal favorite, “plan your work and work your plan.” However, despite the lofty talk, territory plans are rarely documented and less frequently reviewed and adjusted during the year. What are […]
Read MoreElement 2: Create Your Sales Organization
Posted by David Wallace on December 21, 2020
Over the course of my career building and managing sales organizations, I identified 8 keys to effective sales management. I’ve recently published them in my new book, The Sales Executive Handbook: 8 Essential Elements of Sales Management, available on Amazon. Each week for 8 weeks, I am presenting one of the elements. Element 2: Create Your […]
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