Building Blocks, Close Up! - Spotlight on the Sales Management Operating System (smOS)

Hello, Enablers!  

Guess who’s back?! It’s me, and the Building Blocks, Close Up! newsletter, with yet another Friday edition! 

Following up on last week’s focus on removing barriers to FLSM engagement, we’ll closely examine why it makes sense to adopt a Sales Management Operating System to avoid the pitfall of a free-for-all sales culture. 

As always, we’ll share the latest update on the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement course and we want to understand what makes you tick by posing our question of the week. 

Enjoy! 

Sales Manager Enablement and The Sales Management Operating System 

So many sales organizations operate with frontline sales managers “doing their own thing.” It reminds me of the times I spent watching my step-daughter’s Pee Wee/youth soccer games when she was growing up. She played in an all-girl league, and wherever the ball rolled, the ponytails followed. It took a few seasons until the coaches could corral players into actually playing their positions.

I should clarify that I don’t think all sales organizations are quite that uncoordinated. But in many companies, well, it is a free-for-all.

We often accept this as “the way we do things around here” (which is a simple way to describe organizational culture). Managers each have their individual personalities, their own approaches and know what they should be doing, right? If they turn their (relatively) accurate forecast in (relatively) on time, and they are (somewhat close to) hitting their team quota, we’re doing okay, aren’t we?

I think the more appropriate question is, “Is this the best we can do?”

Think about the state of the sales profession as a whole. Quota attainment has been trending downward for at least seven years. In multiple B2B buying studies over the past few years, buyers report higher-than-ever dissatisfaction with seller behavior. We know that coaching is one of the most powerful levers for improving performance, yet in coaching surveys, managers say that they coach far more often than reps report receiving coaching. And we all know how dreadfully inaccurate many forecasts are. We can do better.

Here’s a pro tip: the best-performing sales management teams work cohesively as an aligned, well-oiled machine. Yes, of course, everyone has their distinct style and flair. But the best get into an aligned operating rhythm of activities and meetings and execute using agreed-upon best practices. This is why I guide clients to adopt a sales management operating system.

Adopt a Sales Management Operating System (smOS)

The Sales Management Operating System, or smOS, is a (majority) subset of the fuller Sales Management System. The smOS is a series of proven-effective management practices that will help your managers:

• Master the sales process and supporting sales methodology that apply to your customer lifecycle
• Ensure the appropriate management activities are in place, executed with best practices, and repeated in the proper cadences
• Ensure the appropriate meetings are in place (team and individual), executed with best practices, and repeated in the proper cadences
• Master sales analytics and diagnostic methods to identify areas to focus and determine root causes
• Understand how to determine the best solution for a performance issue (both the solution type, such as field training, feedback, coaching, or something else) and the solution content (the mindsets and skill sets that will address the issue and improve performance)
• Implement practical field training and sales coaching models (with the right skills training to deliver them)
• Get into a rhythm for sales performance management that fosters a growth mindset, creates a culture of coaching, and cultivates ongoing performance improvement

So, the smOS is part of the more extensive Sales Management System, but is definitely the system’s heartbeat. The exact management activities and meetings vary based on your industry, company, products, business models, and go-to-market plans. The activities and meetings shown in the diagram are merely examples and not suggested to be suitable for your organization. These are things that should be determined by your senior leadership team, especially including your most senior sales/revenue/commercial leader.

Clarity on Sales Performance Management

The term “Performance Management” typically refers to the periodic appraisal of employee performance with feedback, goals and objectives, and often, employment development plans and career pathing. “Sales Performance Management,” however, is much broader. 

SPM is variable in this system, since it’s meant as a catch-all bucket for what you haven’t already included in other areas of the Sales Management System (such as the Activities section of the smOS or the Sales Coaching Framework), but often includes the activities shown in the above diagram.

Where there is overlap, I think if it this way: if it is primarily an activity for the front-line sales manager and should be done in a regular cadence, I default first to including it in the Activities section. If not, I keep it in the SPM bucket.

I understand that the variability creates some level of complexity, but I have always believed that:

I hope that resonates with you, as well.

Some Parting Thoughts on the smOS

I make no claims for being psychic, but I have implemented multiple sales management systems with smOSs, and I know what questions eventually surface. I’m often asked whether this can be overdone, and sometimes, I’ve been challenged about whether I’m trying to create an "army of robots," all doing the same things the same way. Allow me to address both of these questions proactively.

Can this be Overdone?

Yes, of course, it can. Almost anything taken to the extreme can be detrimental. Indeed, don’t try to avoid disciplined execution, but you also don’t need to be locked into things mindlessly, either. Use good business judgment.

Am I Trying to Create an Army of Robots?

For this, my answer is, “No, and…”

• No: I especially don’t want to create an army of mindless robots. I don’t want to overdo it, as mentioned. I don’t want to suspend good judgment, and I certainly don’t want to remove managers’ experience or personality from the equation.
• And: At the same time, I want sales leaders – and hopefully their organizations – to create a repeatable, replicable path to success for both the front-line sales managers and their sales teams. A well-designed, well-implemented operating system will do that.

Does this System Produce Great Results?

If we know ineffective systems can derail good performers, we need to get great systems in place. We need talented managers operating in similar ways, in similar patterns or cadences, using proven-effective practices to get the best results possible. The genuine critical question is, “Does this produce great results?” That answer is unequivocal; “Yes! It does!”

Sales Manager Enablement Resources  

• Blog Post: How a Sales Management Operating System Can Transform Your Results (Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group)
• Blog Post: How Sales Enablement & Sales Managers Can Partner to Drive Results (Mike Kunkle on SPARXiQ)
• PDF/Slides: The Sales Management System Walk-Through (Ungated, Mike Kunkle)
• Book: The Cadence of Excellence: Key Habits of Effective Sales Managers (by Matt McDarby)
• Book: Building a Winning Sales Management Team: The Force Behind the Sales Force (by ZS Associates)
• Book: Sales Manager Survival Guide: Lessons from Sales' Front Lines (by David Brock)
• Book: The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness: 10 Essential Strategies for Leading Your Team to the Top (by Kevin F. Davis)
• Book: Sales Management.Simplified (by Mike Weinberg)

Building Blocks Course Update

Have you ever sat through an on-demand training course that just featured poorly designed PowerPoint slides and a voiceover that sounded like it was recorded underwater? 

We’re well aware that the quality of online learning experiences matters, especially since the number of on-demand learning resources has skyrocketed during the recent pandemic. 

One of the insights that has emerged in our conversations with enablers is that content experiences are no longer only compared within a category (such as sales enablement training). Content experiences are now compared across categories, meaning that the Building Blocks course effectively will be compared with the most polished and well-designed educational content each course member will have consumed in their lifetime. 

That’s why, in addition to the lessons we have designed based on The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement intellectual property, we're now attempting to maximize the production value of the video content as much as possible, within the boundaries of our available resources (and while working to keep the learning experience affordable).

And that leads us to our...

...QUESTION OF THE WEEK!

What has been your best online learning experience in the past? (Not limited to sales enablement.) 

And what made it "the best" from your perspective?

Please let us know in the comments below or InMail Felix Krueger or myself for confidential responses!

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Did you learn something new reading this newsletter? If you did, consider sharing it with your favorite enablement colleague, subscribe right here on LinkedIn, and check out the upcoming Building Blocks of Sales Enablement course.

Until next time, stay the course, and Make an Impact with Enablement!

Mike