What if a call center worked just as well as hundreds of sales reps on the street? That’s the question raised by BNet Pharma after AstraZeneca disbanded almost all of its in-person sales force for the stomach drug Nexium and replaced it with telephone support.
A few years back, in a piece in the Harvard Business Review, it was stated that an 8% improvement in the productivity of your existing sales team will result in the same sales growth as if you were to add 27% more reps. I am sure the numbers may have changed in the three years since it was published, the underlying reality has not. In fact what has changed is the ability of organizations and managers to add headcount, in the post-Lehman Brothers-era, cost restraint is the overriding mantra. So with the added stress and demands on the average sales rep and team, the question becomes how to achieve this productivity without distracting the team or breaking the camel’s back.
Sales coaching is the management No. 1 activity that drives sales performance. The only problem is that managers have not been taught how to effectively coach. Coaching is a skill… read more →
Do you want to increase your sales performance? Transforming your sales managers from good to great coaches can have a dramatic impact on sales. In fact, sales’ coaching is the… read more →
Sales coaching is the No. 1 management activity that drives sales performance. The only problem is that managers have not been taught how to effectively coach. Coaching is a skill… read more →
In my last post I told you about my lunch with a VP of sales who was frustrated because the members of his sales management team were focused so exclusively… read more →
I recently had lunch with a highly successful VP of Sales. He explained that he was frustrated with the members of his sales management team, who he felt were… read more →
It’s Q1 and your sales are down, what can you do? I faced a similar situation in Q1. As VP of Sales of a Canadian pharmaceutical organization, we faced… read more →
Meet Jane. Jane is an experienced and successful district sales manager who could work in any industry and for any company. In fact, there are many Jane’s in all… read more →
Common sales management challenges. I want to thank those of you who have shared their thoughts on “How to coach the self doubter?” We all know self doubters… read more →
