Different Year, Same Objectives for Sales Teams April 02, 2007
By Julia Chang
Year over year, sales executives' goals remain relatively the same, but they have yet to determine how to effect results that are better than just average, according to the annual Sales Performance Optimization Survey conducted by CSO Insights, a sales-effectiveness research firm. In 2007, chief sales officers pinpointed increasing revenues, increasing sales effectiveness, and increasing market share as their top three goals, the same as in 2006. The only newcomer to the top 10 objectives this year was optimizing lead generation, which debuted at number four. However, executives surveyed also indicated that the various measures they were using to meet these goals weren't exactly producing standout results.
Here's where sales forces are stalling:
* 57 percent of reps are making quota, but 43 percent are still under quota.
* Just over 9.6 percent of companies said their customers consider them a "trusted partner," the highest level of relationship. Almost half said they are viewed as a vendor.
* 26 percent of companies say they are experiencing a significant positive impact from their CRM systems.
* 27.8 percent of companies say it takes more than a year to get new sales reps ramped up.
* 53.2 percent of companies say their ability to properly qualify and prioritize prospects needs improvement.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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