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New Miller Heiman Research Shows How Winning Sales Organizations Increase Revenues, Size and Number of Accounts

Five Key Differentiators of Winning Sales Organizations

RENO, NV -  March 29, 2006  -   According to key findings in recent Miller Heiman research, five factors set superstar sales organizations apart from their peers. In response to changing buyer behavior, all sales organizations are struggling with major challenges in discounting, demand for additional services for the same price and talent management. More than three quarters said the buying process has become more difficult year over year. Companies reported:

• Decline in closed deals in relation to opportunities.
• Lack of an effective process for hiring qualified sales professionals.
• Increase in turnover.
• Decline in those making quota.

Winning sales organizations performed better in all areas and were able to withstand buyer pressure while building a greater revenue stream.

The Miller Heiman 2006 Sales Performance Study addressed the challenge of identifying what sets winning sales organizations apart. “We wanted to find out what key sales performance issues are facing sales organizations,” says Miller Heiman COO Damon Jones. “Then we wanted to know what the better organizations are doing differently.”

Only eight percent of research study respondents were designated as Winning Sales Organizations (WSOs). These WSOs met three criteria involving significant year-over-year increases in:

• Revenue
• Average account billing (revenue per customer)
• Acquisition of new accounts.

Sales challenges hit organizations indiscriminately. However, Winning Sales Organizations have started to address the issues and share common strategies for handling sales opportunities, managing talent and gaining company alignment in support of sales.

1. WSOs know how to create opportunities
   
   WSOs have a proactive, disciplined and highly structured approach for knowing when, where and why to focus sales efforts. They are able to identify the ideal customer and what motivates customers to buy. These sales organizations achieve better close ratios, experience shorter sales cycles and less discounting.
2. WSOs’ sales forces have a strong track record of winning approval from senior- level decision makers
   
   These organizations tailor their approach to make the most impact with the executive’s decision making style and adapt their plan when multiple decision styles are involved. They are able to identify and control influences that can delay or kill the deal.
3. WSOs excel at managing relationships and deploy resources across all parts of the organizations when it comes to strategic accounts.
   
   WSOs take the long view and look beyond current revenue to grow long-term relationships, which bring measurable value to the customer. They know their customer’s business inside and out and track changing business requirements of each account. They deploy internal resources across the organization to develop opportunities more quickly and more often than non-WSOs.
4. WSOs have demonstrated a better ability to have the right people in the right places, coaching and leveraging internal expertise.
   
   These organizations avoid the enormous cost of employee turnover and do a superior job of identifying the success competencies of the organization’s top performers and leveraging these for hiring decisions and coaching.
5. WSOs excel in managementcontrols
   
   These companies adopt a common sales process that extends beyond sales to other functional departments including marketing, finance and product development. WSOs stand out in their ability to align all departments to identify strategic accounts and to promote a clear understanding of each unit’s role in supporting strategic initiatives. Senior level executives in WSOs continually promote and participate in the company’s sales process.

“More than ever, sellers must understand their customers’ business and proactively propose solutions  that create mutual value. Those that merely push products or wait for a call from the purchasing department seriously risk being commoditized,” said Dario Priolo, Miller Heiman’s Executive V.P. of Corporate Development. “The research findings are a valuable tool for companies to benchmark their practices and enables them to focus on the areas that provide the greatest impact.”

The next study, which collects data during the final months of 2006, is open to those who qualify for WSO status and for those who wish to be included in the general study. Those who would like to join the respondent group for the 2006 Sales Performance Study can access registration on www.millerheiman.com.

For the past three years, Miller Heiman has undertaken a comprehensive annual research study of sales practices, success metrics and Winning Sales Organizations, with more than 7,000 sales professionals participating.

The 2006 study included approximately 2,200 senior sales leader, sales managers and sales representatives worldwide. The study is comprehensive of the sales industry and not limited to Miller Heiman customers.

About Miller Heiman: The Sales Performance Company

Miller Heiman is the proven leader and innovator in sales execution with more than 30 years of helping businesses grow profitable sales by increasing their close rates, lowering the cost of sales and reducing the length of the sales cycle. The company’s common framework of easily repeatable methodologies, combined with a tradition of research and thought leadership, helps firms of all sizes win complex sales. Miller Heiman is a worldwide leader in sales performance with programs in 20 languages and corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. For more information, visit www.millerheiman.com.