Today I received a request for all of my articles to date which reference Objective Management Group's Sales VP/Director Assessment.  I conducted a quick search and found - what?  None!  Out of nearly 1,000 articles, I hadn't referenced OMG's Sales VP/Director Assessment even once!  I'll fix that right now.

Unlike our sales and sales management assessments, which are usually performed as part of a sales force evaluation at the request of an executive, most VP assessments are requested by the VP's themselves.  There are some pretty interesting components to it, so I'll discuss some of the more intriguing ones here.

Compared with a sales management assessment, where the sales manager must be tactical, the VP must be more strategic, so we have a Strategic Thinking dimension.  Our VP assessment also integrates a component of our Leadership Assessment, the Key Management Dynamics, where we can determine how well the VP has developed the Strategy Style, one of the nine Leadership Styles which we measure.

We also measure and identify the sales VP's tendency to default to any of eight competencies over the others when they need to grow revenue.  It becomes interesting when a VP scores high in one competency but defaults instead to a different competency (one where they scored lower) to drive revenue.  And isn't it powerful to finally be aware of that, learn why, and change?  When sales leaders default to a competency that isn't their best, they can become frustrated when the desired changes and revenue do not occur.  Not only that, when they aren't aware of a skill gap in the competency they chose, it can alienate sales managers and salespeople.  For instance, when a sales leader scores high in Coaching and low in Motivation and chooses to fire up the sales team to grow sales, it will not work as effectively as if coaching had been chosen.

When VP's request this assessment, they can use it as a self-coaching tool or as a coaching road map by an outside sales leader.  But more than a self-development tool, it explains the strengths which are supporting sales leadership excellence, points out the weaknesses which may be responsible for not driving sales and growing salespeople (at their current or prior companies) to achieve their fullest potential.

If you are interested in getting yourself evaluated as a Sales VP or Director, just send me an email and I'll make sure that one of my experts contacts you ASAP.

CEO's are much more likely than Sales Leaders to pay companies in the sales development space for help, yet Sales Leaders are much more likely than CEO's to attend workshops, seminars and briefings.  (Speaking of events, if you are in the Washington DC area, I'll be speaking to a small group of CEO's over breakfast on June 26 at the Park Hyatt.  If you would like to attend, drop me an email and I'll arrange for you to be included!)

Why is that?  

CEO's typically want the help - right now - while Sales Leaders want to learn what they need to do and then do it themselves.  Sales Leaders haven't been trained to provide sales force evaluations and sales and sales management training, develop sales methodologies, selling models, custom sales processes, etc. They don't usually have the skills to effectively do this work and it shouldn't be in their job descriptions, yet many attempt it just the same.

Homeowner landscaping is a good analogy.  Many homeowners take care of their own lawns, plant their own shrubs, trees, and flowers, and maintain their beds and trees.  They get it done and it looks OK, but if you compare their properties to one professionally maintained by a full-service landscaping company (as opposed to a guy who just happens to have a truck and a tractor), you can see the difference.

Consider this algebraic formula:

Sales Leaders are to Homeowners as Sales Development Experts are to Professional Landscaping Companies.  

Both can do it, but one does it much more effectively, efficiently, with more resources, better results and you can see the difference.  With property, it improves curb appeal and increases the resale value of the home or building.  In the case of the sales force, it improves performance, increases revenue, and you can see the impact on EBITDA.  It increases the value of the company.

What jumpstarts sales performance?  Here are the first 30 which I thought of.  Is it:

1. Improved Selling Skills? 
2. Change in Attitude?
3. More Intensity? 
4. Written Goals?  
5. Effective Targeting?  
6. Stronger Motivation
7. Stronger Desire?
8. More Pride?
9. More Determination?
10. Tenacity?
11. New Sales Talent?
12. Training?
13. Coaching?
14. Assessments?
15. Tools?
16. Accountability?
17. Competition?
18. Killer Product?
19. A Sale?
20. Buying Incentives?
21. Performance Incentives?
22. Optimized Sales Process?
23. Better Sales Methodology?
24. Improved Sales Model?
25. Effective Sales Management?
26. Ultimatums?
27. Deadlines?
28. Better Demos?
29. Professional Proposals?
30. Economy?