ADAPTING TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO THE DISCIPLINE OF SALES LEAD MANAGEMENT

Sales TQM Page 1 ADAPTING TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO THE DISCIPLINE OF SALES LEAD MANAGEMENT PREPARED BY KEITH D. BURWELL SVP SALES, KALEIDICO Sales TQM Page 2 Executive Summary All too often, organizations will continue to drive the notion that somehow sales personnel are to be measured qualitatively in the short term and by revenue output in the long term. The idea that we should utilize standardized processes for manufacturing and technology, yet sustain a laissez-faire method of management towards our sales teams is not only antiquated but has been detrimental to the well-being of our economy as a whole. This paper will examine many TQM (Total Quality Management) techniques as they are applied to the manufacturing discipline, their purpose, and how they can translate to increased productivity as well as sustainable, quantitative measurements in sales organizations within any vertical market. Sales TQM Page 3 What Hath Poor Sales Performance Wrought? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American productivity increase since 1949 has decreased steadily. While this means we are still improving how we work, we are steadily losing ground. A popular study done by America Online and Salary.com several years ago backs up this data by indicating the amount of time wasted by age group each day of work per individual. Year of Birth Time Wasted Per Day 1930-1949 0.50 hrs. 1950-1959 0.68 hrs. 1960-1969 1.19 hrs. 1970-1979 1.61 hrs. 1980-1985 1.95 hrs. Source: Salary.com While these are simply correlating data, it is an indication that our economy is sorely underutilized and its performance is struggling as we move from a majority of blue collar manufacturing production to an increasingly large sales workforce. Most of the great strides in performance measurement and Lean Manufacturing techniques have unfortunately not been translated from vertical market to vertical market as it is, by and large, two separate societal groups that comprise professional sales versus manufacturing. Sales TQM Page 4 In many sectors of the American economy, we have seen massive off shoring and outsourcing of manufacturing jobs that have found new employees around the globe, leaving many individuals skilled at performance measurement without an outlet. Meanwhile, generations of American youth are growing up and taking jobs that are traditionally sales focused as we become a heavier retail and services oriented economy. Therefore, the idea of productivity and performance measurement has unfortunately escaped much of our emerging workforce. In order to effectively raise the productivity of the American sales sector, it is vital to begin to properly apply these traditional manufacturing techniques to our sales teams and organizations. It is no longer enough to simply measure monthly or quarterly sales revenue and haphazardly adjust budgets accordingly. Sales TQM Page 5 The State of Most Sales Teams The typical sales organization has been the pointy end of the economic spear in many companies. To continue the analogy, when dull they get sharpened through layoffs and cutbacks of poor performers and in strong sales periods they are the ones that are looked to for the production of revenue and are rewarded as such. As long as the spearhead continues to provide dinner, the spearhead stays intact. Unfortunately, it often takes a misstep by the sales group—a missed quarter, a blown projection, or a lost deal to suddenly and backwardly attempt to repair the damage. Current methods of “control” are often the equivalent of dialing a thermostat left to right without seeing the temperature- simply a guess based on instinct and feelings. This has resulted in the unnecessary raising of marketing budgets, reduction of staff, pointless and often unobtainable sales goals, as well as alarmist reactions translated into inflated budgetary projections, allowances, and cutbacks. Roaming targets set by worried sales executives simply translate to longer hours on the sales floor, an over anxious (and ... - tailieumienphi.vn