Digital
Disruption - The Threats and Opportunities
The digital revolution has created a flurry of business
opportunities, but has also presented a more complex and well-informed buyer.
Customers today have access to a treasure trove of information which greatly
influence their buying decisions. Sweet talking - though a great trait to have
as a seller, won't impress much, unless there is that valuable insight about
the customer and what could influence them to buy. Sales organizations are
beginning to see the need to adapt to these threats to stay relevant.
The focus is on sales optimization by aligning selling to
purchasing interests. This is possible only when there is relevant, reliable
and readily available data. Here-in lies the opportunity for sales performance
applications than can mine and churn volumes of information from varied sources
to give that extra bit of perspective and trait when selling
Feeling the
Pinch
With shrinking IT budgets, companies today are aggressively
pursuing a cloud strategy. Service based models for software and applications
are the new normal. This keeps the customer interested and the product vendor
committed. There is also a pressing need to be modern, technologically relevant
and also adhere to governance, auditing and other compliance standards.
Modern Sales Performance SaaS systems are technologically advanced, high on
standards and also drive better selling while simultaneously freeing up
internal IT costs by eliminating infrastructure and administration hassles and also reducing the dependence on individuals for maintenance and support
Get 'SMAC'ed
The four 'disrupters' of the digital world - social, mobility,
analytics and cloud have shaken the SPM market like never before. SMAC has
changed selling dynamics. It has had a profound effect on what and how to sell
to whom. SMAC has empowered buyers with all they need to know about what they
intend to buy. It is therefore so much more significant for sellers to get
'SMAC'ed to improve operations and get closer to the customer with minimal overhead
and maximum reach.
Today's selling models are built upon data fed by the customers themselves. Tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices create a dynamic framework for data. Cloud-based solutions enable mobility. Data analytics reveal insights and opportunities for optimizing sales performance.
And so, there's an escalating
demand for sales performance management software with mobile and social
capabilities, integrated and real time Business Intelligence (BI) through cloud
deployments. This fundamental development is throwing up new players in the SPM
segment who are threatening the old order and creating a niche for themselves
in this market
Inspire and Incent
Businesses thrive on profits and every strategy is intended
to drive them higher. To get the sales force to rake in those profits, it's
imperative to have a sales incentive plan that inspires and rewards salespeople
for profitable selling. The right behavior needs to be inculcated by making it
easy for the sales reps to understand what needs to be done and then motivating
them with accurate and timely monetary and non-monetary benefits.
The perspective brilliance can be achieved by automating
the sales-compensation processes and providing real-time insights into actual
performance. That requires a comprehensive sales performance management (SPM)
solution to inspire and incentivize profitable selling.
Yes They Can!!!
The modern SPM solutions help inspire sales reps and
managers alike.
Sales reps can
- Understand what they're required to do
- Keep a real-time tab on their progress
- Raise and resolve disputes effectively.
Managers can
- Set the right expectations
- Use gamification to instill the competitive spirit and embed best practices in every rep's day
- Measure performance across sales teams
- Identify leaders and laggards
- Motivate those that need a helping hand and inspire the high-performers to greater heights
Complexity -
no more a wet blanket
Businesses are growing fast but are changing even faster.
The changes to sales geographies, sales demographics, performance measures and
compensation structures are so rapid that SPM solutions need to be nimble to
adapt.
Spreadsheets can no longer keep a business operating at
digital speed. They also do not address the complexities of the sales
organization itself, including employee churn, promotions, territory
re-alignments, unaligned quota targets, incorrect data and more.
The clamor for real time integration and data migration is getting louder too.
Modern SPM applications are expected to address all these
complexities without having to customize/extend them or then rely on third-parties
to fill in the gaps. The more the gaps, lesser the likelihood of success.
Customers are ready to go the extra distance and spend the extra bucks to
replace their existing SPM applications if they are found wanting on
flexibility, agility and alignment.
It's all
about Winning
Of late, there is widespread acceptance about the benefits
of sales performance management software and services among the users. The
vertical flavors add to the excitement.
PM makes it easy to analyze behaviors and
thereby helps in devising tailored performance plans to help both the leaders
and laggards succeed. It enables real-time performance assessment and provides
instant feedback. It helps managers to get the right mix of winning teams and
foster healthy competition in driving up sales.
There is the tough customer to deal with and a motivated
competition to beat. Since it's all about winning, the need of the hour is a
comprehensive, feature-rich, flexible and aligned SPM solution. An effective
SPM system is intended to plan, motivate and reward right. The better it does
that, the greater are the chances of its adoption.
Go after SPM!!!
The sales performance management market is segmented
By geography: North America (NA), Latin America (LA),
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific (APAC);
By solution: Sales On-boarding, Sales Training,
Territory Management, Quota Management, Sales Incentives, Sales Coaching, Sales
Appraisals and Gamification
By deployment options: Public Cloud, Private Cloud,
Hybrid and On-premise
By service type: Consulting, Implementation,
Training, Support and Managed Services;
By industry: BFSI, retail, healthcare, IT and
telecom, manufacturing, energy and utilities, travel and hospitality,
transportation and logistics, media and entertainment, and others.