V Force Profiler

The sluggish economy has made its toll, even on Google where he has recently reduced the size of its sales force. Other companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Apple and Sun Microsystems have also reduced their sales forces. Re-sizing the sales force creates a cascading effect on the sales force and customers. My experience shows that when such a change occurs in the area, turnover and morale of the sales force are at risk because of broken relationships between sales professionals and their clients.

Three key issues must be addressed when scaling the sales force:

1. Do you have many sales professionals?

2. Are sales professionals covering the right accounts?

3. Sales professionals are located in the right places?

The following proven, the process of the real world can be used to answer these questions:

1. Create database

The process begins with a data model with elements including characteristics of account, representing the transfer of sales, revenues, margins, volume, potential, account profile and sales calls.

The next step is to perform the data model with the customer and prospect. Then, the database should be segmented. There is a wide range of methods for determining reportable segments based on the characteristics of account, for example, the definition of the industry, products, services and purchasing behavior. The foundation of segments will affect the following stages of the deployment process of sale.

Once the database has been cleaned and segmented, estimation of potential is the next step. Most companies can collect actual revenues or margin account level, but the potential is generally not available. You can hire the sales force to estimate the potential at the account level, or you can use a "mechanical" process. One route is to estimate the specific expenditure at the national level, during the debate in the industry and level of company size (the number of employees or annual turnover). Then you can estimate the potential at the account level. Another way to realize the potential of account is more accurate using expenditure at a geographic level, ie spending in Atlanta, which may be different than San Francisco. In some sectors such as pharmaceuticals, there is data that can identify the exact level of expenditure account. Another option is to take advantage of the customer database. customer characteristics should be included in the database such that segments of the industry, the number of employees and annual sales at the account level. On the basis of such customer characteristics, the estimators are established on the basis of accounts from high segment. This estimator is then used as a proxy for the potential for all customers and prospects with similar characteristics.

Once you have the potential at the account level, a deeper level of understanding of the market can be gleaned. For example, you can analyze the market shares by product and industry and develop implications for the deployment of current sales.

The next step is to create profiles of account. Account profiles are often based on the size and potential customer segments. Profiles can also be based on factors other than the "size" of the procurement process, for example, the range of products, contracts, etc. For example, all accounts that are over 10 million dollars annually in potential are Jumbo account profile in the retail segment.

Then, the workload can be defined in terms of account profiling. The workload is an approach based on the activities and forms the basis for sizing the number of sales missions. The workload is defined as the number of sales calls per period needed to support customers and prospects. The workload is separated by clients and prospects. There are several sources of information for structural design workload: a survey of sales force.