Sales Training Article: How to Rescue 2013

Sales Training Article: How to Rescue 2013:

Sales Training Article: The Big Deal Review and How It Will Rescue Your 2013

By Greg Alexander, Sales Benchmark Index (SBI)
41% of b2b sales organizations missed the Q1 revenue target.
Historically, 90% of companies who miss the first half, miss the year.
If you missed Q1, you need a monster Q2 to save 2013.
Those who missed Q1 tell me a big deal pushing killed them. In fact, the #1 reason for the miss was the delay of a big deal.


CEOs and sales leaders don't know why big deals push. I pressed them for answers last week. They don't know. Some are in denial and think they know, but they don't. The more self-aware leaders admit to not knowing the reason big deals push.
An incomplete understanding of why big deals push is a big problem.
The solution to this problem is the Big Deal Review Tool. Here it is.
The benefit of performing a Big Deal Review is real. It will prevent any big deals from pushing out of Q2.
The Big Deal Review will identify the Q2 at risk big deals. This allows you to apply corrective action early in the quarter. There is still time to affect the outcome.
Each Big Deal is scored on a scale of 0-100. A score of 100 represents a likely push. A score of 0 represents a likely close.
The attributes used to score each deal represent the top reasons deals push. The source and veridcation of these attributes comes from our win/loss practice. We perform dozens each quarter directly with the prospects.
A Special Offer for SBI Blog Subscribers
If you are a subscriber to the Sales Benchmark Index (SBI) blog, we have an offer for you.
Get your "must win deal" reviewed by a big deal strategist. Download The Big Deal Review Tool. Fill out the checklist on page 5. Return it to Christina. She will schedule you for a free 30 minute session with an expert from SBI. Our big deal strategist will score your deal on a scale of 0 - 100. The score will be accompanied with recommendations that might prevent a push. These recommendatins will be reviewed with your directly. The telephone consultation takes 30 minuntes and might help make Q2.
This offer expires on April 30th, 2013.
If you are not a subscriber to this blog, you can subscribe here. We publish an un-gated sales and marketing best practice daily. 365 days per year. You can read our blog without being a subscriber right from our homepage. However, from time to time, we like to thank our subscribers by offering them something a little extra. The Big Deal Review is an example of such an offer. If you feel these special offers are valuable, please subscribe.
A few additional thoughts:

1. 41% of B2B sales forces missed Q1. But, this will not be reflected in the Q1 earnings announcements when they come out. How come? The over assignment of quota. CEOs made the Q1 number but their sales forces did not. The practice of over assigning quota has gotten out of control and needs to be reigned in.
2. 90% of companies that are behind the number at the end of Q2 miss the annual revenue target. Why? The sales cycle in a complex sale is between 6-12 months. This makes it very difficult to make up for a big delta in the second half of the year.
3. The 80/20 rule in B2B sales is very real. 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your accounts. Big accounts do big deals. They don't have the time to negotiate dozens of small transactions. They will aggregate their spend and award it to a small number of vendors. This results in the big deal. These big deals make or break the year.
Get focused on your Q2 big deals right now. We will be watching 4th of July fireworks in a blink of an eye.
Author: Greg Alexander, Sales Benchmark Index (SBI).

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