Organize into dynamic modular worldwide organizations (dissolving rigid value chains),
React "on demand" to client requests rather than seeking a relationship as large scale transactional suppliers,
Enter "access" relationships where companies temporarily "buy access" to facilities rather than purchasing them,
Find success to be determined by the value they add to the total value network rather than just one customer.

Many CEOs today worry about their sales to key accounts. In spite of having spent much time and effort on initiatives promising to "manage key account sales better," ranging from information I.T. systems, sales training, reorganizations, to re-sizing management and reorganizing support functions, profitable sales to key accounts seem to be more and more difficult to improve.

Pre-globalization approaches to managing sales base their sales management models on the assumption of fixed hierarchical structures of customers and suppliers. As a consequence, management models mirror these assumptions in sales organizations by structuring them hierarchically in geographic areas, products, territories and/or profit centers. This works best when the responsibility to create sales is given to one specific unit, such as the sales organization or sales force. As long as this unit faces hierarchical structures on the customer side, it can deliver growing sales results.

Today, "classic" management theories no longer give the answers needed. The basic rule is that the more complex and dynamic the customers’ value added networks, the less traditional, hierarchical leadership models cope. They are simply not able to respond to requirements from these networks without significant and often insurmountable internal conflict.

LEADING SALES ORGANIZATIONS WITH A SYSTEMS APPROACH: SALES SYSTEM MANAGEMENT (SSM) <TOP>

Business executives now must realize the urgent need to innovate their approach to sales. Not doing so turns "classic" sales management into the prime obstacle for healthy business growth.

In one sentence: top managers must learn to lead sales with a systems approach rather than as an organizational unit - very much like they are managing manufacturing and logistics already today "as business systems".

THE SALES SYSTEM, DEFINED <TOP>

To do so top managers need to base their sales leadership on the assumption that:

Sales is the business system

which generates our company's sales.

It consists of

every process, policy, function, department and person having influence on how much our company sells.

From this definition it follows that

the sales system contains much more than the "sales departments" - it includes anyone inside the company whose decisions have impact on sales (for example: human resources, finance, product design) - as well as the "sales eco system" (for example: customers, customer's customers, opinion leaders, and service suppliers to sales),
beyond sales processes it contains the body of policies which govern process performance,
the sales system is understandably one of the largest, complex and most difficult to lead system in a company.

(Click on picture for full size view)

Three "classic" assumptions must be replaced to change the mindset from "classic" to "sales system" management:

"Classically" we see "sales" as an organization unit. Instead, we must view sales as a company-wide system, understanding that every process, policy, function, department and person that influences how much a company sells is an integral part of that system.
"Classically" we see the task of sales management as "setting tough goals, cutting costs and motivating sales people." Instead, we must understand the task of sales management to be system leadership – and specifically break constraints at all levels of the sales system.
"Classically" sales professionals are responsible for sales results. Instead, we must shift ownership for sales growth to top management. Top management is responsible for creating the policies that constrain the sales system. Thus, they must be responsible for resolving constraints that hinder sales growth.

LEADING SALES WITH A SYSTEMS APPROACH <TOP>

Leading sales with a systems approach (sales system management, SSM) consists of five responsibilities - each of them very challenging and requiring high level management competence:

Deep understanding of the system - it's structures, interrelations, interactions and prime performance indicators,
Setting the goal for the system - the overall goal and necessary conditions for achievement,
Finding the constraints which keep the system from reaching the goal,
Planning how to resolve the constraints (operational planning)
Leading the execution of the operational plan.

MORE ABOUT LEADING SALES WITH A SYSTEMS APPROACH (SALES SYSTEM MANAGEMENT) <TOP>

Our book UNBLOCK THE POWER OF YOUR SALES FORCE! offers an introduction to sales system management and demonstrates SSM with DELTA T-Selling, a simple and powerful SSM methodology for leading key account sales, product sales and "total enterprise" sales.

Our book LEADING KEY ACCOUNT SALES ORGANIZATIONS offers more reading about the impact of value networks and a self test for sales managers to assess readiness for sales system management, opportunities to improve and an estimate for the sales increase achievable by moving to leading sales with a systems approach.

Our SEMINARS for top managers offer you the opportunity for personal learning, contact and discussions.

Our LINKS and KEY BOOKS page.