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SALES OPERATIONS LEADER’S TOOLKIT

Success in the First Year

Part 2

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Well done!

You made it through Q1 & Q2.

Now,finish the year

STRONG!

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Q3: SET THE DATA ANCHOR PROJECT

To start a custom Data Anchor Project, follow these 6 steps

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STEP 1: ZERO IN ON DATA

Sales Operations leaders face two common fundamental issues:

1. Ensuring data quality2. Making data

meaningful

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Step 2: Profile the DataDATA PROFILING means understanding the sources of your data:

spreadsheets, sales aids, manual input and other systems from the sales force.

Take an inventory of your data that includes the following information:• Where does the data reside?• What is its format?• Is there duplication with other data

sources?• Where and how is it collected?• Which sources are the most reliable?• What information do reps, mgrs., and

sales executives use?• What information do they lack?• Test to see if your metrics are valid for

Average Cycle Time, Average Deal Size and Pipeline to Quota Ratio

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• Identify potential complications with the data

• Are the data fields mapped correctly?• For example, what is meant by “Customer”

or “Account” in each data source, and are these meanings the same from one source to another?

• Ensure there is no duplicate information between objects (Accounts, Opportunities, and Contacts, etc…) and fields (State, City, etc…)

• Ensure the data efforts are driven by the enterprise’s business needs for customer insight, NOT by the availability of information.

• Begin with the desired customer insight and work backward to understand what data must be collected to enable useful analysis to be performed.

The Impact of Big Data on Sales Operations• The amount of data collected is growing exponentially. • The tools available are incapable of converting this enormous quantity

into useful information. • The only way to effectively manage the flow of data is to carefully select

the relevant inputs.

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Step 3: Control the DataDATA CONTROL ensures the right users have access to the right information, and

it also means blocking or limiting access as necessary.

Identify best practices to cleanse your data:1. Fix data that’s highly visible and

frequently used, such as addresses and emails. Remove any duplicate data.

2. Place a filter at all customer interaction points, especially the Web.

3. Use validation rules to alert users when data records are incomplete or don’t conform to data quality standards.

4. Provide managers with automated exception reports/dashboards.

5. A complete Customer Data Integration solution includes: linking, grouping, customer recognition and hygiene.

Step 4 – Integrate the Data

• Access your applications to determine which one will serve as your master record for the synchronization process.

• For a true 360° view of your customers, you must integrate your order entry and fulfillment applications with your CRM.

Step 5 – Boost the Data• To understand what data is valuable, survey your sales and

marketing users to see what data they rely on.• Provide links to internal information about your customer’s

behavior and buying patterns.

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Step 6: Monitor the Data

Create reports & dashboards to monitor

data quality.

Appoint a series of “data quality stewards”

to oversee the entire flow of information

Stewardship should be placed as close as

possible to the initial point of data capture.

Adopt an ongoing quality program

Use Workflow, Validation Rules, and CRM tools to enforce

critical business processes

You must have a centralized process for

mass data loads and data-cleansing

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BAD DATA IS BAD FOR BUSINESSYour Data Anchor Project will help you

maintain high-quality data.

You can’t rely solely on technology.

Leverage the features of your CRM system.

Supplement them with watchfulness, sound processes, and solutions from third party providers and professional services organizations like Sales Benchmark Index.

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Q4: DISENGAGE AUTO-PILOT

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This is the time for significant

process improvements

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When deciding which processes to improve, consider

these 5 Areas:

Forecasting

Sales Aids

Sales Training

Sales Process

Sales Prospecting

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Process Improvement Best Practices• Sequence your Improvement Effort into Phases.

• Sales Operations is a cohesive set of processes and technologies, not a single, all-inclusive system.

• Anticipate outside Influences• The events that have the most profound and negative impact on your

sales and operations planning are those outside of your control.• Data You Have vs. Data You Need

• A Key to successful Sales Operations is clean, current, and accurate data.

• Bridge the Organizational Divide• Many Sales Ops Leaders are frustrated by internal tensions between

departments, particularly Sales and Marketing

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Refer to this list to understand each resource that you

may tap into.

Identify the people who you will need

to engage and begin to cultivate

relationships now.

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Oceans of Opportunity: Year 2 and Beyond

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Your first year as leader of Sales Operations was an educational experience

You demonstrated the ability to lead successful projects, achieve process improvement goals, and sustain the gains.

As a key contributor on the senior leadership team, your sales mgrs have profited from

your initiatives.

The VP of Sales counts you as a trusted advisor and is ready to

expand your role!

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As you prepare for Year Two, it’s time to create a roadmap for the future.

Your first year work has created a solid ROI. You can now

reasonably request the dollars and human resources to tackle

more ambitious projects.

What new course should you steer?

The answer lies in a new

SALES STRATEGY

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A Sales Strategy is an operating plan for your sales force.

It is the balance and interaction between the following building blocks of sales force effectiveness:

• Account Segmentation• Lead Management• Sales Process• Channel Management• Sizing & Structure• Sales Infrastructure• Talent Management• Territory Design• Quota & Compensation• Sales Performance

Management

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SEEK INSPIRATION

The ability to identify and define problems is a skill unique to the Sales Operations role.

• Solicit input from sales reps via an Expert Panel

• Look for bottlenecks, redundancies and time wasters

• Where do errors and defects repeatedly occur?

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SELECT THE RIGHT PROJECTS

As project ideas surface, begin to evaluate them

The Quick Win Assessment Tool we used in Q1, is useful for selecting the right project.

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• Include a business case in your plan for the coming year – consider both time and human capital

• Look at how previous projects won funding approval and learn from their best practices

• Whatever you choose will require a positive ROI. Learn how your organization calculates one.

Winning sponsorship for your programs also means raising money to implement them

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Develop a calendar for the next 18 months

The dates should be specific in the early months and general after 9 to 12 months

It’s difficult to be certain, but you must start somewhere

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The Sponsor says ‘YES’Once you have done your homework, and begin to

review these ideas with the VP of Sales, expect to be asked the following questions:

• What is the impact of solving the problem?• How much will it cost?• How disruptive will this be?• How soon will we see results?• Are there other problems we should fix first?

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Like all change initiatives, the success of your projects will be a function of how well the new behaviors are

adopted and ingrained.

The Effectiveness (E) of your initiative is the function of the Quality (Q) of the work done multiplied by the Adoption (A)

If Adoption is zero, it destroys the value of the work done, even if the quality of the work was excellent

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You have proven you are now ready to replicate the successes you had in Year One,

but this time at a higher level

A strong adoption and reinforcement process will help you to sustain

the gains and propel you forward to more

success!

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Learn More

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