Sales inefficiencies can be turned into growth opportunities by creating an integrated data-driven strategy

Varicent, the leader in sales performance management (SPM), has unveiled new, pivotal research in partnership with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services revealing that misaligned sales processes – such as fragmented territory planning, quotas and incentive compensation – are often significant barriers to revenue growth. It also provides expert advice on how to overcome these revenue risks.

The new report, “Breaking Down Silos to Boost Sales Performance and Drive Growth” features insights from Deloitte, Celonis and PepsiCo revenue leaders. It stresses the need for an integrated sales performance management approach to close the costly gap between sales potential and actual results. According to findings, fragmented go-to-market processes and rigid systems often lead to missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and revenue loss.

“Less than 50 per cent of sales teams meet their quotas, even with tremendous effort and increased investments in CRM and sales enablement tools,” says Marc Altshuller, CEO, Varicent. “If fundamental elements such as territories, quotas and incentive compensation are not aligned from the start, teams struggle to reach their targets. This report is a wake-up call for any revenue leader looking to drive consistent growth and outpace the competition.”

Growing doubts in go-to-market strategies

Confidence in growth plans is falling rapidly. The quarterly CEO Value Creation Pulse survey by SBI Growth Advisory, shows that just 52 per cent of CEOs were confident in their revenue plans in the Q2, 2024, dropping from 68 per cent just one quarter earlier. With external pressures mounting, many organizations find their current go-to-market strategies can’t keep up with rapidly evolving business demands.

Closing the ROI gap in sales investment

Organizations invest an average of 8 per cent of revenue in their sales teams, a massive expense for most. Yet, many sales teams continue to underperform, revealing a significant gap between investment and return. When sellers are not set up for success, costs continue to increase from turnover, coverage gaps, long sales cycles, customer attrition and more. Ultimately, revenue opportunities are often missed.

Achieving agility with integrated SPM

“When SPM processes aren’t integrated, multiple systems create more handoffs and increase the risk of error,” says John Waldron, Director of Total Rewards, PepsiCo. “Aligning and mapping granular data across these systems is essential but challenging. Having a holistic and integrated system doing all these things provides a lot of value."

With rapid shifts in today’s market and competitive environment, effective SPM requires a cohesive, AI-powered system that unifies key go-to-market functions. An integrated data-driven revenue performance engine that integrates all key go-to-market processes. It enables sales teams to respond quickly to changes, reduce inefficiencies, and ultimately, drive growth.

“Dynamism and constant change have always been characteristic of the sales function. Now market conditions are more variable, meaning sales plans need to be modified and adapted more frequently than ever before,” said Alex Clemente, managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.

To learn more about overcoming critical sales misalignments and empowering teams to hit their targets, download the full Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Briefing Paper Breaking Down Silos to Boost Sales Performance and Drive Growth: https://www.varicent.com/info/sales-performance-management-software

About Varicent^TM

Varicent delivers market-leading SaaS software solutions that empower revenue leaders to drive growth. Its solutions are designed to help customers design, amplify, and optimize go-to-market strategies that create a connected path to revenue. Organizations worldwide leverage Varicent’s solutions to set smart goals and territories that maximize revenue potential, use AI-driven insights to make proactive commercial decisions, and create incentive programs that amplify the sales strategy and achieve revenue goals. To learn more about Varicent, visit www.varicent.com.

Varicent, Varicent and design, and Symon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Varicent in the USA, Canada, and other countries.

About Harvard Business Review Analytic Services

Harvard Business Review Analytic Services is an independent commercial research unit within Harvard Business Review Group, conducting research and comparative analysis on important management challenges and emerging business opportunities.

Seeking to provide business intelligence and peer-group insight, each report is published based on the findings of original quantitative and/or qualitative research and analysis. Quantitative surveys are conducted with the HBR Advisory Council, HBR’s global research panel, and qualitative research is conducted with senior business executives and subject-matter experts from within and beyond the Harvard Business Review author community. Email us at hbranalyticservices@hbr.org.

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