measurement Archives

The secret life of revenue within industrial organizations (and why salespeople don’t generate it)

I’m not joking. The following is precisely how most executives within industrial organizations conceptualize revenue. Q. Where does revenue come from? A. From salespeople. Q. How do salespeople generate revenue? A. Um. From relationships. This conception of revenue is not even vaguely correct. And, unfortunately, this fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of revenue leads to… “The secret life of revenue within industrial organizations (and why salespeople don’t generate it)”

The folly of the organization-wide, unified workflow

If your business is any more complex than a lemonade stand, it’s likely that you do not need (and should not have) a unified, organization-wide workflow. But what you should have are unified inboxes within each department.

Fuelling Growth: The abundance of leads in industrial sales

This article was first published on Thomasnet.com. You can read the original here. Your salespeople are NOT short of leads! If you hear a crazy idea often enough, there’s a danger that you’ll come to passively accept it — particularly if it’s on the periphery of your primary interest area. Some of these ideas (think, astrology)… “Fuelling Growth: The abundance of leads in industrial sales”

Revenue Should Always Be the Responsibility of Operations, Never Sales

This article was first published on Thomasnet.com. You can read the original here. If you make revenue the responsibility of your sales department, you will handicap the growth of your organization. If you want your organization to grow, operations should be responsible for revenue and your sales department should focus exclusively on new business. Before… “Revenue Should Always Be the Responsibility of Operations, Never Sales”

This business is growing at a predictable 20% per year. So why does the board want to shut-down its growth engine?

An introduction to unit economics (and to a drunk and his car keys) This business is growing at a predictable 20% per year, but you can’t see that from the chart of top-line revenues below. You can’t see this growth if you look at a profit-and-loss report or a cashflow analysis either. Consequently, the board… “This business is growing at a predictable 20% per year. So why does the board want to shut-down its growth engine?”

The Machine > Part 2 > Chapter 10: Technology (why CRM sucks!)

Most managers are excited by technology. Technology enables us to get more done, faster. And technology is practical. Concrete. It’s not about ideas; it’s about execution. This is certainly true in sales environments. It’s almost impossible to propose any initiative without prompting the question: is there software for that? In sales environments, the answer to… “The Machine > Part 2 > Chapter 10: Technology (why CRM sucks!)”

The Machine > Part 1 > Chapter 6: The end of commissions, bonuses and other artificial management stimulants

If it’s true that sacred cows make the best hamburgers, then we’re in for quite a feast! I’ve chosen to close Part One of this book with a frontal assault on the juiciest bovine of all: the unassailable belief that salespeople should be paid commissions. And while I’m at it, I’ll take aim at bonuses,… “The Machine > Part 1 > Chapter 6: The end of commissions, bonuses and other artificial management stimulants”

The evil of time-and-material billing

Okay, perhaps evil is a bit of an exaggeration, but whenever I encounter an environment where time is tracked and billed, I see tremendous inefficiencies and value-destruction. Let’s consider why. Imagine you have something to sell – a widget, say. Tell me, for how much should you sell it? The answer to that question is… “The evil of time-and-material billing”

End-of-the-month syndrome and three fallacious assumptions

Alejandro Céspedes wrote to me the other day with the following question: Hi Justin Just wanted to ask if you’ve designed a way of managing the sales budget of a company. In other words, how to review if the salespeople are meeting the budget or not. Most companies are affected by the end-of-the-month syndrome, and… “End-of-the-month syndrome and three fallacious assumptions”

Customer surveys: data, yes; intelligence, no

Late last night I was in conference with a potential client in South Africa (I’m in Australia, right now). Towards the end of our conversation, he asked if I thought much market intelligence could be gleaned from customer surveys. I answered (almost instinctively), data, yes; but, intelligence, no. When pressured for a more coherent answer,… “Customer surveys: data, yes; intelligence, no”

Tag Archives: measurement