Our recent Global Sales Challenges Survey highlights the biggest problems facing sales leaders today. One of them is the rise of procurement – but at a higher level, the problems with procurement stem from a lack of early executive engagement; ‘selling’ after the RFP has been received; and most importantly, the inability of the sales person to quantify their actual business value. Fortune 500 performance on developing a ‘value calculator’ (value quantification tool) is the lowest scoring area in the survey. The three biggest sales capability gaps can be summarised as: 1. Lack of early involvement (before the RFP) and influencing executive decision makers 2. Changing behaviour of sellers from information providers into value creators 3. Quantifying the value created and demonstrating a tangible ROI. These high level challenges run across all Fortune 500 companies in the sample.

1. Interim Update – Global Sales Challenges Survey Andrew Moorhouse – August 2011

3. What is the biggest challenge your sales organisation faces today? Global Sales Director, Fortune 500 Firm “ Our biggest challenge is moving from saying we sell solutions to understanding what a real solution is for the customer. Our sellers don’t have the financial acumen or the ability to go beyond a technical conversation and quantify the real business value, not just technical performance.”

7. Paula Gildert Procurement Director, Novartis “ If you can’t quantify your value – don’t be surprised at the failure of the buyer to recognise it.”

11. Appendix – the full data

12. Importance 4.7 Aligning the sales and contract management process to shorten sales cycles 4.9 Using a ‘lifetime cost of ownership’ sales strategy 5.0 Developing individually tailored development programmes 5.0 Shortening the sales cycle 5.0 Improving numerical reasoning / financial acumen in salespeople 5.0 Harnessing new technology to improve sales productivity 5.0 Getting compensation right 5.2 Developing a ‘value calculator’ tool to document actual value created 5.2 Winning business when on the approved supplier list 5.3 Getting the distribution channel(s) right 5.4 Applying a structured diagnostic / discovery approach to identify customer challenges 5.4 Improving negotiation performance 5.5 Helping uncover problems the customer does not even know about 5.6 Deploying an effective process for recruiting 'good' salespeople 5.6 Speaking the language of C-level executives 5.6 Improving the effectiveness of sales coaching 5.6 Defining a rigorous process for identifying the right opportunities to pursue 5.7 Aligning the sales process with the way the customer wants to buy 5.8 Influencing procurement: getting them to recognise your differentiation 5.8 Influencing the RFP specification before it is issued 5.9 Building a financial case (ROI) for the person that makes the buying decision. 5.9 Cross-selling: getting more business from existing customers 6.0 Transforming sales reps from information providers ’into ‘value creators’ 6.2 Getting involved earlier in the customer's decision making process 6.2 Moving from ‘vendor’ to partner / trusted advisor status 6.2 Gaining access to executive decision makers 6.3 Expanding client relationships and becoming a trusted advisor 6.5 Identifying new ways to add value for the customer

13. Performance (worst to best) 4.7 Speaking the language of C-level executives 4.7 Winning business when on the approved supplier list 4.7 Moving from ‘vendor’ to partner / trusted advisor status 4.8 Cross-selling: getting more business from existing customers 5.0 Expanding client relationships and becoming a trusted advisor 4.6 Identifying new ways to add value for the customer 4.5 Aligning the sales process with the way the customer wants to buy 4.3 Getting the distribution channel(s) right 4.3 Gaining access to executive decision makers 4.3 Helping uncover problems the customer does not even know about 4.3 Improving numerical reasoning / financial acumen in salespeople 4.1 Improving negotiation performance 4.1 Harnessing new technology to improve sales productivity 4.1 Getting compensation right 4.0 Developing individually tailored development programmes 4.0 Deploying an effective process for recruiting 'good' salespeople 4.0 Influencing procurement: getting them to recognise your differentiation 4.0 Applying a structured diagnostic / discovery approach to identify customer challenges 4.0 Defining a rigorous process for identifying the right opportunities to pursue 3.9 Improving the effectiveness of sales coaching 3.9 Shortening the sales cycle 3.9 Aligning the sales and contract management process to shorten sales cycles 3.8 Getting involved earlier in the customer's decision making process 3.8 Transforming sales reps from information providers ’into ‘value creators’ 3.6 Influencing the RFP specification before it is issued 3.5 Using a ‘lifetime cost of ownership’ sales strategy 3.4 Building a financial case (ROI) for the person that makes the buying decision. 3.4 Developing a ‘value calculator’ tool to document actual value created

14. Biggest capability gaps 0.5 Winning business when on the approved supplier list 0.6 Aligning the sales and contract management process to shorten sales cycles 0.8 Improving numerical reasoning / financial acumen in salespeople 0.8 Speaking the language of C-level executives 0.8 Getting compensation right 0.9 Developing individually tailored development programmes 1.0 Getting the distribution channel(s) right 1.0 Helping uncover problems the customer does not even know about 1.1 Aligning the sales process with the way the customer wants to buy 1.1 Harnessing new technology to improve sales productivity 1.2 Cross-selling: getting more business from existing customers 1.2 Improving negotiation performance 1.2 Applying a structured diagnostic / discovery approach to identify customer challenges 1.3 Using a ‘lifetime cost of ownership’ sales strategy 1.3 Expanding client relationships and becoming a trusted advisor 1.3 Moving from ‘vendor’ to partner / trusted advisor status 1.5 Shortening the sales cycle 1.5 Improving the effectiveness of sales coaching 1.5 Deploying an effective process for recruiting 'good' salespeople 1.6 Defining a rigorous process for identifying the right opportunities to pursue 1.6 Developing a ‘value calculator’ tool to document actual value created 1.7 Gaining access to executive decision makers 1.8 Building a financial case (ROI) for the person that makes the buying decision. 1.8 Influencing procurement: getting them to recognise your differentiation 1.9 Identifying new ways to add value for the customer 1.9 Transforming sales reps from information providers ’into ‘value creators’ 2.1 Influencing the RFP specification before it is issued 2.1 Getting involved earlier in the customer's decision making process