The Sales Growth Imperative: How World Class Sales Organizations Successfully Manage the Four Stages of Growth

Book excerpt: Can you handle SUCCESS? With business growth come great things—larger market share, increased revenue, happy shareholders. However, sustaining revenue growth is seldom easy. Sales departments must quickly and seamlessly change sales strategies and tactics to grow sales. Unfortunately, sales departments are often ill-equipped to make the right changes at the right time. At long last, a solution to this common problem is at hand. It’s called the Sales Growth ModelTM. Created by David Cichelli and his team at the Alexander Group, a leading sales effectiveness consulting company, the Sales Growth Model explains how to keep sales results improving during all phases of market maturity. In The Sales Growth Imperative, Cichelli uses his game-changing approach to help you anticipate impending challenges and take the right action, enabling the growth to continue— and the sales department to flourish. He shows you the four stages of business growth and illustrates the challenges of each one: STAGE 1: START–UP Growth at an accelerating rate Challenges: adding additional selling capacity STAGE 2: VOLUME GROWTH Growth at a declining rate Challenges: finding new customers, keeping current ones, and launching new products STAGE 3: RE-EVALUATION Little to no growth Challenges: price management and cost reduction STAGE 4: OPTIMIZATION Profitable revenue growth Challenges: new value proposition, reaching new markets, and specialization As growth rates change, new sales solutions are necessary. You need to anticipate and execute your own successful sales strategy accordingly. Don’t let growth become an obstacle to success. the culmination of 30 years of experience consulting for such companies as FedEx, Verizon, American Express, HSBC, and Starbucks, the Sales Growth Model is the only way to ensure smooth sailing through the surprisingly troubled waters of success. “David’s expertise regarding compensation and sales effectiveness is clearly articulated in The Sales Growth Imperative. This book outlines effective tools that can be used at each stage of your business growth.” —Bruce Dahlgren, Senior Vice President, Managed Enterprise Solutions, HP Imaging and Printing Group “Interested in growing your sales? David Cichelli has crafted a comprehensive guide marketing professionals can use to understand and work effectively with their sales teams. . . . If you are in marketing and need to work with your sales force, get this book!” —John L. Graham, Professor of Marketing, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine