New Study: Aligning Sales Team Behaviors with Business Objectives Ranks High among World-Class Sales Organizations

RENO, Nev., May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The ability to measure and calibrate the behaviors and activities of salespeople is a defining attribute of World-Class Sales Organizations according to the latest findings from the Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study. Miller Heiman, a leading sales performance consulting firm, recently released the results from its 10th annual study of selling and sales management best practices in the complex, business-to-business selling environment.

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"Aligning metrics and compensation with the organization's business objectives creates momentum," said Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer of the Miller Heiman Research Institute. "It is surprising how many organizations do not have this kind of alignment in place to enable their sales teams to better focus their efforts."

Two questions included in the study that revealed a significant gap between World-Class Sales Organizations and others in how behaviors are managed include aligning sales compensation policies with business objectives and aligning sales performance metrics with business objectives. The responses to both questions were strikingly different between the two groups.

More than nine out of 10 World-Class Sales Organizations, 93 percent, align both compensation and sales performance metrics with business objectives, compared to fewer than half, 38 percent and 42 percent respectively, of overall study respondents.

This study defined an exclusive group of respondents that outperformed all other study participants in areas such as opportunity creation, opportunity management, relationship management, and enablement activities as World-Class Sales Organizations. Representing a three-year low of fewer than 5 percent of the study participants, data from World-Class Sales Organizations revealed a 25 percent gap in year-over-year growth when compared to other study participants in measurements including customer retention, average account billing, and quota achievement.

Study methodology and additional insights are available in the Executive Summary of the 2013 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study. www.millerheiman.com.

More on this topic can be found in a recent blog by Joe Galvin: "Conscious Calibration" http://www.millerheiman.com/blog/Miller-Heiman-Blog/

About the Miller Heiman Research Institute
Miller Heiman Research Institute is a research organization dedicated to improving the performance and productivity of complex B to B sales organizations. We help members develop and hone sales strategies by providing thought-leading research, critical analysis, benchmarking against world-class sales organizations and customized insight to their strategic issues through our advisory services. Through our extensive research into the best practices, strategies and decision frameworks of World-Class Sales Organizations, we help our clients apply these insights to their organization through published research, keynotes and presentations as well as analyst inquiry. For more information, visit www.millerheiman.com/research_institute.

SOURCE Miller Heiman Research Institute