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com The Weekly Business-to-Business Forum
Recession Rx: Start with Sales Management
John Haskell (aka Dr. Revenue®) | B2B contributors
The news is overflowing with stories of failing businesses. A near-
ly 100-year-old company has decided to close its doors. The current
owners, fourth-generation brothers, blame “the economy.” Howev-
er, their great-grandfather survived the crash of ’29 and the Great
Depression, and dad survived the craziness of the ’60s. But, they
decide to give up.
When times get tough, the first place to seek answers is within the
sales team. When looking at the sales force, start at the manage-
Business Plans are Nothing … Business Planning is Everything
John Baker | B2B contributor
Dwight Eisenhower, when contemplating the Herculean effort to
plan for Operation Overlord (the code name for the invasion of Nor-
mandy and northwest Europe during WWII) said, “Plans are noth-
ing. Planning is everything.” His considered view was that while
both are necessary, plans by their very nature are nothing but stat-
ic documents, yet planning is a responsive and dynamic action that
brings focus to uncertainty.
In business, planning is just as vital, especially when things are
rapidly changing and the economy seems to be in constant flux.
With the market in less-than-perfect shape and so much uncertain-
ty in the air, many business leaders forego the discipline of estab-
lishing a business plan under the assumption that it is a waste of
time. The most essential reason to write a business plan isn’t to set
a course of action, but to provide a management tool to use in the
present, as well as the future.
Business planning is fraught with misconceptions; the biggest is
assuming that the planning process needs to be complicated and
burdensome. A sound business plan only needs to address four
questions:
Where are we? The plan should clearly define the financial, envi-
ronmental and market realities facing the business. This should not
be addressed in the overly technical language of an MBA, but rather
with straightforward words that uncompromisingly define the busi-
ness’ health and competitive position. It is imperative that the plan
has its foundation in what is real, not something once assumed or
U.S. Institutional Investors Boost Ownership of U.S. Corporations to New Highs,
Reports The Conference Board
Pension Funds Make Growing Investments in Hedge Funds
Dr. Carolyn Kay Brancato and Stephan Rabimov | B2B contributors
Institutional investors have, once again, topped their previous
record ownership levels in the largest 1,000 U.S. corporations, The
Conference Board reports today in the latest edition of its Institu-
tional Investment Report.
Data on institutional investor ownership in the largest 1,000 U.S.
corporations show that institutions have substantially and consis-
tently increased their holdings from 1987 with an average of 46.6
percent of total stock to an average of 61.4 percent of total stock by
2000 and then rising to an unprecedented 76.4 percent of corpora-
tions by year-end 2007. Concentration of ownership in the largest
25 companies also tops all previous data when measured by the
numbers of companies that have the largest institutional owner-
ship. For example; In 1985, no company had institutional owner-
ship of 60 percent or above, but by 2007, 17 companies had insti-
tutional ownership of 60 percent or above, including six with insti-
tutional ownership of 70 percent or above.
Latest available year-end 2006 data show that total institutional
investors – defined as pension funds, investment companies, insur-
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ment level. Begin by asking yourself three questions, and then con-
sider the methodology behind them:
Question #1: Is the Sales Manager managing the
sales force aggressively?
Having an aggressive sales manager is important because
aggressive, smart leadership motivates and inspires sales people
in tough times. If your sales manager has not been acknowledged
as a really aggressive personality who manages every element
related to the sales force, how can your business survive in this
tough environment?
In a tough economy, there is a real premium on efficien-
cy. Your sales manager must impact the way your field
salespeople work with customers. In most cases, call
reports are more fiction than fact. The key is to get your
salespeople to create a “Call Guide” to organize, drive and
support their sales efforts.
Question #2: Is the sales manager working with
a well developed sales and marketing plan to
drive his team’s efforts into “crash mode”?
Moving into “crash mode” is the first step to surviving the
recession, and the key here is to identify ways to find and
close business quickly and effectively. A written marketing
and sales plan is vital. Without a well-conceived and well-
supported plan, the sales force is working with one hand
tied behind their backs.
The sales manager should create a “book” for every ter-
ritory. The sales manager must proactively drive the devel-
opment of individual customer plans to achieve the sales
goals. Salespeople have to be trained to use their sales tools.
Benchmark now for future growth and success.
Top management and in-the-trenches marketing and
sales management need benchmarks. However, most small
and mid-size companies cannot afford big, sophisticated,
expensive studies. The good news is that these big, expen-
sive and slow-to-obtain studies are useless, and simple, fast,
benchmark analysis is available. A simple survey conduct-
“hoped for.” Someone reading this section of the plan should, with
clarity, understand the strengths and weaknesses of the business, and
have a sense of the company’s potential given the current reality.
Hint: The best way to lose any enthusiasm in your business plan
is to make this section a complex, statistical death by numbers
dissertation. Readers care nothing about your plunging ROI, but
care intensely about what that means to your business. Use only
those financial matrices – pick three to five – that truly explain
how your business is performing.
Where are we going? The plan should spell out the intentions for
the business in the coming years; what does the organization want
to accomplish? This section of the plan is a statement of business
aspiration, balanced by the reality set forth in section one of the
plan. This section of the plan allows the reader to understand the
potential of the business in three ways:
Financially: Why should one invest in us?
Externally: Why should clients and prospects do businesses with us?
Internally: Why should employees work here?
Hint: Abstract vision statements are as credible as Britney
Spears speaking at a parenting conference. The best plans are
insightful because they balance bold market aspirations with
commonsense business acumen.
How will we get there? The plan should set forth the imperatives
of the business; the tasks that are absolutely non-negotiable in
terms of achieving success. By definition, this section not only
defines a critical path for the business, but it also identifies the
ance companies, banks and foundations – controlled assets totaling
$27.1 trillion, up from $24.4 trillion in 2005. Their 2006 level rep-
resents a ten-fold increase from $2.7 trillion in 1980.
The equity market value of total institutional equity holdings
increased from $571.2 billion in 1980 (or 37.2 percent of total U.S.
equity markets) to $12.9 trillion (or 66.3 percent of total U.S. equi-
ty markets) in 2006. This represents a historic all-time high in the
amount of total U.S. equities controlled by these institutional
investors.
Pension funds continue to account for the largest block of insti-
tutional investor assets, with $10.4 trillion or 38.3 percent of total
2006 assets under management. Within the pension fund category,
state and local pension funds – which tend to be the most activist
in terms of exerting corporate governance pressures on companies
– have grown more rapidly than other types of pension funds such
as corporate pension funds.
Pension Funds Make Growing Investments in Hedge
Funds
As of September 2007, some $1.8 trillion in assets was estimat-
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ed by your own sales force can reveal vital information. But, even
better, a survey done by a professional interviewing company by
phone or in person will reveal even more.
Get your information from the people who count.
In most businesses the number of customers who actually make
a difference is very small. If you have 20 sales territories, there are
probably fewer than 20 customers in each territory who contribute
the bulk of that territory’s sales. Why not survey the top five in each
territory? You will be surprised how much you learn and how fast.
Question #3: Would you bet your life on your sales
manager? (You are!!!)
The sales manager is often times your point person for recession
survival, so it’s important you trust them with your life – and your
income! Now is the time to review the sales manager's performance,
in writing and in-depth. This is not an exercise tied to a compensa-
tion review; in fact, compensation should not be a part of this
review at all.
The person who manages, drives and controls the producers must
be up to the task. The best way to assure that he or she is with you
through thick and thin is to analyze skills, organization and results
now and every 30 days from now on. This may sound like micro-
management, and to be honest, it is! Salespeople hate paperwork.
Salespeople hate accountability. Salespeople hate to be criticized.
Salespeople hate to be managed. Micro management is the only way
to guarantee your company’s success.
If you are a leader of your company, the Rx to survive the reces-
sion is to get yourself into the middle of the sales and marketing sit-
uation now, and stay there!
John Haskell, aka Dr. Revenue®, is a Professional
Speaker, Seminar Leader and Marketing and Sales
Consultant. As a former CEO/COO of divisions of
Fortune 500 companies and as President of The Pro-
fessional Marketing Group, Inc., he consistently
demonstrates the value of written marketing and
sales planning. Please visit www.drrevenue.com or e-
mail drrevenue@drrevenue.com.
important, but non-essential objectives. After reading this section of
the plan, the reader should know not only what keeps the leaders of
the business up at night (i.e. achieving their imperatives), but also
what lengths they are willing to go to for a good night’s sleep.
Hint: Want to break down organizational silos? Make sure each
employee knows where his or her job fits within the critical path
outlined in this section. If not, he or she is not fully a part of the
team.
Are we on track? The plan needs to define what success looks
like and how it is measured. The plan should clearly define who is
accountable for which measure, when measurements will be taken
(i.e. monthly, quarterly, etc.) and the corrective actions to be taken
in the event of a deviation from plan. The best business plans are
evergreen; they are constantly referenced and regularly amended.
You should understand how success is defined and measured.
John Baker is author of the newly-released book,
“READY Thinking – Primed For Change.” As a lead-
ership expert, speaker and founder of READY Think-
ing, LLC, John has helped hundreds of organizations
achieve success by adopting a practical framework of
thinking during times of change and opportunity.
He has over 20 years experience as a senior execu-
tive with companies including American Express and Ameriprise
Financial, specializing in sales, client loyalty and customer service.
For more information, e-mail JohnBaker@ReadyThinking.com or
visit www.ReadyThinking.com.
ed to have been managed by about 10,000 hedge funds worldwide.
This represents an increase of 23.6 percent in hedge fund assets
and 5.8 percent growth in the number of funds since 2006. Of these,
more than half are domiciled in the United States.
Based on an analysis of data from Pensions & Investments, the
report also finds more and more pension funds are investing in
hedge funds. As of September 30, 2007, 62 out of the largest 200
defined benefit pension plans invested in hedge funds compared
with only 48 the year before. The majority are “public” state and
local funds; of the 62 funds investing in hedge funds in 2007, 37 are
state and local or “public” pension funds (which invested $59.6 bil-
lion out of a total $76.3 billion for all funds) while 25 are corporate
pension funds (which invested $16.7 billion out of a total $76.3 bil-
lion for all funds).
The Conference Board operates as a global independent mem-
bership organization working in the public interest. For addition-
al information about The Conference Board and how it can meet
your needs, visit our website at www.conference-board.org.
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