Formalizing the Sales Support Function

1. Formalizing the Sales Support Function FORMALIZING THE SALES SUPPORT FUNCTION HOW-TO GUIDE

2. 2 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide At the highest level, the Sales Support function is responsible for ensuring that the Sales and Marketing departments have the tools, resources, and systems they need to achieve current and future sales revenue targets. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Director of Sales Support job description to formalize the role of sales support in your organization. HOW-TO GUIDE Formalizing the Sales Support Function Director of Sales Support Responsibilities Facilitate Deal Closing manage multi-region opportunities by building and managing project specific sales teams, and provide support to facilitate opportunity conversion. Direct and Manage regional Sales Operations and Application Managers to efficiently support the sales and marketing departments. Analyze Business Processes and collaborate with Senior Account Managers, Sales and Marketing Directors, Technical Support, and Operations to identify opportunities to streamline processes and measure results of activities. Implement and Maintain enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and provide support for sales, marketing, and customer service. Develop Sales Support Metrics to track and report on performance and productivity of the tech- nical sales support team. Build a collaborative environment by emphasizing teamwork. Develop and Communicate sales support strategy to management team. Develop and Impement comprehensive strategies, systems, tactics, metrics, budgets, resource requirements, and action plans to grow and support sales revenue targets and future growth targets within a specified geographic region. If you are serious about CRM or winning multi-region deals, you need a formalized Sales Support function. Assess your current level of effectiveness, and if necessary, hire an experienced Director of Sales Support who can optimize this process. Bottom Line 2 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide At the highest level, the Sales Support function is responsible for ensuring that the Sales and Marketing departments have the tools, resources, and systems they need to achieve current and future sales revenue targets. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Director of Sales Support job description to formalize the role of sales support in your organization. HOW-TO GUIDE Formalizing the Sales Support Function Director of Sales Support Responsibilities Facilitate Deal Closing manage multi-region opportunities by building and managing project specific sales teams, and provide support to facilitate opportunity conversion. Direct and Manage regional Sales Operations and Application Managers to efficiently support the sales and marketing departments. Analyze Business Processes and collaborate with Senior Account Managers, Sales and Marketing Directors, Technical Support, and Operations to identify opportunities to streamline processes and measure results of activities. Implement and Maintain enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and provide support for sales, marketing, and customer service. Develop Sales Support Metrics to track and report on performance and productivity of the tech- nical sales support team. Build a collaborative environment by emphasizing teamwork. Develop and Communicate sales support strategy to management team. Develop and Impement comprehensive strategies, systems, tactics, metrics, budgets, resource requirements, and action plans to grow and support sales revenue targets and future growth targets within a specified geographic region. If you are serious about CRM or winning multi-region deals, you need a formalized Sales Support function. Assess your current level of effectiveness, and if necessary, hire an experienced Director of Sales Support who can optimize this process. Bottom Line

3. 3 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives STEP 1 - Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Sales Support Effectiveness Survey Evaluates Success Download the accompanying Sales Support Effectiveness Survey to evaluate your current maturity in this area. V I E W R E S O U R C E Sales Support Effectiveness Survey 3 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives STEP 1 - Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Sales Support Effectiveness Survey Evaluates Success Download the accompanying Sales Support Effectiveness Survey to evaluate your current maturity in this area. V I E W R E S O U R C E Sales Support Effectiveness Survey

4. 4 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Not all organizations require a formal Sales Support function. If you have requirements in the areas of CRM, multi-region sales oppor- tunities, collecting sales metrics and bench- marks, and reporting, there is a good chance that you would benefit from this function. Action Plan STEP 2 - Determine Your Needs Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives Do You Need the Sales Enablement Readiness Assessment? Sales Enablement Readiness Assessment V I E W R E S O U R C E 4 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Not all organizations require a formal Sales Support function. If you have requirements in the areas of CRM, multi-region sales oppor- tunities, collecting sales metrics and bench- marks, and reporting, there is a good chance that you would benefit from this function. Action Plan STEP 2 - Determine Your Needs Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives Do You Need the Sales Enablement Readiness Assessment? Sales Enablement Readiness Assessment V I E W R E S O U R C E

5. 5 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Formalize Job Description Action Plan STEP 3 - Formalize Job Description Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives Seek Out the Right Candidate for Your Next Hire Use Demand Metric’s customizable Director of Sales Support job description to outline what you are looking for in a candidate and the requirements of the position. V I E W R E S O U R C E Director of Sales Support 5 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Formalize Job Description Action Plan STEP 3 - Formalize Job Description Assess your Effectiveness Determine Your Needs Interview Candidates Set Goals and Objectives Seek Out the Right Candidate for Your Next Hire Use Demand Metric’s customizable Director of Sales Support job description to outline what you are looking for in a candidate and the requirements of the position. V I E W R E S O U R C E Director of Sales Support

6. 6 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Interview Candidates You may wish to hire internally for this role, as deep knowledge of company processes, strategy, and methods are essential for success in this position. Complete a fair, open hiring process, and select the candidate who is best for the job. Important skills include busi- ness analysis, sales and marketing operations, communication, and system support. STEP 4 - Interview Candidates Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Set Goals and Objectives Action Plan Determine Your Needs Assess Candidates with the Interview Evaluation Matrix Interview Evaluation Matrix V I E W R E S O U R C E 6 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Interview Candidates You may wish to hire internally for this role, as deep knowledge of company processes, strategy, and methods are essential for success in this position. Complete a fair, open hiring process, and select the candidate who is best for the job. Important skills include busi- ness analysis, sales and marketing operations, communication, and system support. STEP 4 - Interview Candidates Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Set Goals and Objectives Action Plan Determine Your Needs Assess Candidates with the Interview Evaluation Matrix Interview Evaluation Matrix V I E W R E S O U R C E

7. 7 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Set Goals and Objectives Once you have selected your Director, complete an initial meeting to set and docu- ment the goals and objectives for the year. Be sure to discuss how efforts will be measured upon performance review. Action Plan STEP 5 - Set Goals per Objectives Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Determine Your Needs Set Goals and Objectives for Measurable Results Sales Enablement Plan Playbook V I E W R E S O U R C E 7 Formalizing the Sales Support Function How-to Guide 1 2 3 4 5 Set Goals and Objectives Once you have selected your Director, complete an initial meeting to set and docu- ment the goals and objectives for the year. Be sure to discuss how efforts will be measured upon performance review. Action Plan STEP 5 - Set Goals per Objectives Assess your Effectiveness Formalize Job Description Interview Candidates Determine Your Needs Set Goals and Objectives for Measurable Results Sales Enablement Plan Playbook V I E W R E S O U R C E

8. Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 100,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries. Offering consulting playbooks, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction, and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence — thus boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit www.demandmetric.com About Demand Metric Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Join Linkedin Group © Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 100,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries. Offering consulting playbooks, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction, and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence — thus boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit www.demandmetric.com About Demand Metric Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Join Linkedin Group © Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.