Aberdeen Group releases report on sales performance management

The Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hankes Company that provides fact-based research and market intelligence delivering demonstrable results, recently announced the publication of new research reports, including “Sales Performance Management 2012: How the Best-in-Class Optimize the Front Line to Grow the Bottom Line” by Peter Ostrow.

The report shows that 83 percent of the sales representatives in best-in-class, top performing organizations reached their annual quota in the last year. This, compared with 51 percent of industry average firms and 22 percent within Laggard companies which reached their quota in the last measured year.

“While many organizations are seeing a recovery from the economic downturn, the distribution and pace of progress are not being enjoyed by all companies, industries or geographies,” Ostrow said. “Firms are seeking to capitalize on every available competitive edge, and the potential of higher achievements among the human capital of their sales team represents one of the most significant opportunities to grow revenue and market share by hitting quota more consistently.”

The Sales Performance Management 2012 Report also found that best-in-class companies reported a 23.1 percent average growth on a year-over-year basis in terms of corporate revenue, compared to 7.2 percent for industry average firms and a 5.9 percent decline recorded by Laggard companies.

Also, best-in-class companies succeeded with a 9.7 percent average improvement on a year-over-year basis in average deal size, compared with 1.9 percent for industry average firms and a 0.4 percent decline among Laggard companies.

“While the classic B2B sales organization may traditionally be identified with an ‘every man for himself’ mentality among reps, and even Darwinian managerial techniques – only the fittest survive – is there a more user-friendly way to hit sales targets year after year?” Ostrow wrote. “Are there ways to link lagging indicators (such as turnover) to leading performance metrics (such as revenue or sales staff development)?”

The Aberdeen Group also released new research reports on marketing effectiveness, customer management, service management, manufacturing, and retail and banking research practices. The “Enterprise Asset Management in 2012: A Data Driven Predictive Approach to Maintenance” was authored by Nuris Ismail, senior research associate for the Aberdeen Group.

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