Brainstorms: great ideas we have seen implemented and the results these ideas have delivered.

Brainstorm Article Archive

Use Sales Compensation to Achieve Sales Force Alignment   (April 2007)

by David J. Cichelli, SR Vice President

Well designed sales compensation plans can help achieve sales force alignment with strategic sales objectives.

As a powerful communicator and aid to sales management, the sales compensation program provides clarity and focus to sellers efforts. The key to sales compensation effectiveness is the selection of the right performance measures.....  View more

A New Channel Model to Improve Mutual Profitable Growth   (February 2007)

by Linda Mahoney, Vice President

An effective Business Partner channel helps companies expand their market presence, enter new markets, accelerate the introduction of new products, and bring value to targeted customers. Additionally, some companies view Business Partners as an attractive variable cost resource (costs tend to align with revenue). Many leading companies have found the Business Partner channel to be such a strong growth accelerator that they leverage this channel to capture the majority of their revenue......  View more

Solution Selling...it has its limits   (January 2007)

by Michael R Miller, Vice President

We enjoy hosting the Chief Sales Executive Forum, which always inspires management innovation. When we launched the first Forum years ago, the number one innovation topic was solution selling. In the most recent Forum, another message was clear: solution selling has become the de facto standard sales strategy among large industrial and technology companies. Some of our large technology clients believe that solution selling saved their sales forces after the 2000-2001 technology crash....  View more

PATHS TO PRODUCTIVITY   (November 2006)

by Gary S. Tubridy, Senior Vice President

Why productivity? Our 2006 Benchmarking Survey of large sales organizations tells us that their revenues are expected to grow an average of 9.5% in 2006. Yet, while achieving this aggressive target, the ratio of expense to revenue is expected to decrease by 4.5%.

The successful sales executive will learn to do more with less and will know how to build and run a highly productive organization. In an age when average Chief Sales Executive ...  View more