Eight sales disciplines to reach your revenue potential.
Revenue generating executives perfectly blend strategy and execution. They first ask themselves, “Am I doing the right things?” And they answer this question by gaining a deep understanding of the corporate strategy, and the functional strategies. These exceptional executive leaders begin with context. Studying emerging best practices, they assess their team’s abilities. Evaluate whether you are doing the right things by doing a deep dive into SBI’s How to Make Your Number in 2018 
. Each functional strategy includes a set of questions to evaluate if the strategy in question is a problem. Further drill-downs include phases within a proven Revenue Growth Methodology, to find out if you’re doing the right things.
Scott Tapp is an exceptional revenue-generating executive. I interviewed Scott, the Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing, and Field Operations at PGi. Scott shared his secrets to flawless sales execution. It’s an eight-step process.
1. Hierarchy of Objectives
How does Tapp cascade high-level corporate objectives into the field? “I look at alignment in two critical ways,” he explains. “First, we apply constant communication; and second, we align compensation that drives behavior to help us execute our key goals.”
2. Daily Progress Tracking
Objectives must be converted into KPIs that can be reported to keep track of daily progress. PGi looks at up-time indicators, service levelers, and care and support KPIs.
3. Daily Behavior
“I expect the sales line managers in the field to be communicating, coaching, and driving their reps’ activity on a daily basis,” says Tapp. Constant process improvement allows their sales team to know exactly what they’re doing every day of the week.
4. Weekly Sales Meetings
During a weekly call, the PGi sales leadership team discusses recurring themes from the previous week and drives some type of training around them. This creates understanding and strategic alignment across the sales team.
5. Monthly Sales Meetings
“We’re now broadcasting monthly reports and scorecards from each product level into our functional groups,” Tapp explains. With that information he can better drive execution, and understand where to invest resources for continued success.
6. Quarterly Business Reviews
How does the company rapidly iterate its strategy at the corporate level based on feedback? For Tapp, it’s all about the customers. “Our goal is to make sure our customers are actually coming up with the ideas that we drive into our organization.”
7. Annual Planning Process
Each year, the organization develops an annual operating plan. PGi starts with key themes and topics. From there, they look at execution to drive the operating plan.
8. Multi-year Strategic Planning
The organization also must decide on big strategic issues over the long term. During this multiyear strategic process, Tapp and his team determine their reason for existence. And who they want to be when they grow up.
Have expectations gone up and left you wondering if you can make your number? Here is an interactive tool that will help you understand if you have a chance at success. Take the Revenue Growth Diagnostic test and rate yourself against SBI’s sales and marketing strategy to find out if:
- Your revenue goal is realistic
- You will earn your bonus
- You will keep your job
