Sales Models and CRM

What is a Sales Model?

A sales model is an operational description of the prerequisites, circumstances, actions, and rules that together fully describes a sequence of events in a sales process, from the conception of an idea to the signing of a contract.

•	Prerequisites Do we have a solution that fit the prospect? Does the prospect have a need? Is the prospect in a buying process? DOes he have any money? Are we able to deliver?

•	Circumstances Who are we competing against? Do we have time and resources to conduct the sale?

•	Actions What can we do to improve our position? Who should we talk to? Who should we listen to? Where should we engage or disengage?

•	Rules What are the things we simply have to do in order to move forward? What are the criteria for not disengaging the sales process?

When we use the term operational it is to emphasize that a good sales model should give guidance in any combination of prerequisites, circumstances, and actions. However, the real world is rarely perfect, and no sales model has the answer to every question, and a sales model itself surely is not the guarantee for success.

But it need not necessarily be a guarantee. Most anyone working in sales will be so far from working the optimal way, that even small adjustments will have significant positive impact. An if you should be one of the talented who is working efficiently, then a sales model (and your input to the sales model) can help ensure your colleagues' success

Advantages:

•	A good sales model can be a strong support for the unexperienced sales representative.

•	A good sales model can be an inspiration to the highly experienced sales rep (for whom experience sometimes gets in the way)

•	A good sales model facilitates the cooperation between sales rep and sales manager

•	A good sales model gives you much better possibility to evaluate the possible outcome of a sels project

•	A good sales model gives you a better way to gradually improve your sales process and mode of operation over time

How are Sales Models Used and Supported in ChannelCRM?

ChannelCRM is a CRM system and not a sales model. But the CRM system is made to make the sales model operational because it:

•	Makes it visible where in your sales cycle (according to your sales model) you are for each of your sales projects

•	Guides you towards the next constructive move

•	Assesses the probability for success for your sales project

•	Establishes a common understanding of the state of the sales project throughout the organization

•	Collects data that will make it possible to improve the sales model to serve you product/market/customer mix situation better

There are two areas in ChannelCRM that are important to implementing your sales model in the system:

1.	Scoring Projects

2.	Activities

Scoring

The idea behind scoring is that a sales project can register a number events or facts about the project or customer - did they happen or not? Are they satisfied?

Some examples:

•	Does the prospect have a need?

•	Does the prospect have a budget allocated?

•	Can we identify a time pressure??

•	Do we know the sponsor?

•	Do we have a dialogue with the sponsor?

•	Do we know who signs the contract?

•	Do we know the formal and the informa buying criteria?

•	Do we know our competition?

•

...

Each sales model has it own scoreboard or qualification questions. Some are extremely detail oriented, some are more general. Some are primarilay concerned with questions relating to the prospect, some are oriented towards you.

If you spend a little time building the scorbaord that reflects your sales model/sales process and if you make sure it contains exactly the things that you know are of relevance to your successful sales campaign, then the degree to which your scoreboard has been checked off will determine the likelihood of success.

We have seen customers use the checkpoints in their sales models one by one in the scoreboard, and we have seen customers define the main stages (eg. suspect, prospect, qualified, working prospect, committed prospect, signed), keeping numerous qualifying questions offline. It is up to you as to determine what way of working fits your sales model and your customer buying cycle. When using common sense the sales model approach will surely help you.

In ChannelCRM the scoreboard is created under the Administration menu. The scorebaord is not a thing you want to change too often and the changes you make will take effect all over the system.

To enter values into the scoreboard can be done both from the project window and from the acitivy window (if the activity is connected to the project). Therefore it is easy to register changes in the scores.

ChannelCRM will automatically and immediately calculates the weighted forecast (the compound probability for the scores checked times the forecast value). You - and everyone with access to the forecast module can immediately observe the changes. Hereby you are sure that the forecast is always updated for everyone and you are not relying on different sales reps judging whether a case has a 60 or 70% probability.

Activities

Since you can register all activities that has to do with a specific sales project in ChannelCRM, you can utilize that the the activities themselves are an indicator of the status/progress of your sales project. You may say that the scoreboard gives you the helicopter view of a sales project, but the activities gives you the details and the documentation: It is fine that we know the decision maker, but when did we meet with him last time face to face? Who did so and what happened? Did we follow up and have we planned for the next activity with the decision maker?

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