Jump-Start Growth by Sharpening Sales Force Focus

By The Boston Consulting Group

By rethinking the most important aspects of the sales process and pulling the right levers, managers can make even high-performing sales forces more productive—and increase the revenue and profits of the business by 10 to 15 percent.

We measure sales-force effectiveness (SFE) by looking at the gross profit per sale, after subtracting all selling costs. In our opinion, a customer-centric approach and a focus on achieving business objectives are critical to success. While we recognize that direct B2B selling is occurring more and more in a multichannel environment, the traditional sales force is still a very effective way to generate demand.

Every company will have a different starting point and a different end goal when it comes to increasing sales force effectiveness. Some businesses will seek to continually refresh their sales capabilities; others will aim for a longer-term…