I’m on the road all this week. (In fact, I’m writing this on a plane from Minneapolis to Kansas City.) There’s not enough time to for me to write a long, thoughtful blog post. But I don’t have to. I’ve written enough of them here on this subject already—two year’s worth—just in case you’re interested.
I’ve been saying again and again that sales performance is continuing to decline. CSO Insights just published their 2009 Sales Performance Optimization report and the results validate my position. I’m not happy I was right. Not at all.
It’s not that I’m so smart. Anyone who thought about it could see it coming. You take what in many companies is an organization short of strategy, discipline, process, measurement, leadership and productivity, give them insufficient and ineffective marketing and other support, layer in a significant recession, and there you have it.
It doesn’t have to be this way. I can prove that. I just came from attending the annual sales awards dinner held by a major client who simply blew away their 2009 targets, recession and all. We’ve got lots of other examples of companies that wouldn’t stand for the situation they were in, took appropriate action, and never looked back.
OK, I can’t help it. I have to give you my opinion on the biggest single thing that can be done to fix this situation:
MEMO
To: CEOs, COOs, GMs, COOs, Boards of Directors, Investors, Presidents, and Business Owners
From: Dave Stein, CEO, ES Research Group, Inc.
Date: February 3, 2010
Subject: Declining Sales Performance
Demand that your sales organization be run like the business it should be. Now.
