The Number Game – Perform or Perish?

Having been into Sales for over a decade now, I blogged about “ABC of Sales” - Always Be Closing, I am tempted to write about my thoughts on “NUMBERS aka Sales Quota” which in sales is a familiar term and we live eat breathe our quota or numbers. I got tempted to write about by looking at some real life trends, and some thoughts I read and compiled from what sales gurus said.

I read an article which says over the past four years, sales quotas have risen nearly 33 percent, yet the percentage of representatives making their quota has fallen by 25 percent: A bad omen for companies, and perhaps a worse omen for the reps that depend on their sales to earn their keep.

The statistics comes from the Birgade Group, a Sales Strategy firm based out of Hudson. The report states that on an average, only about 50% of sales reps made their quota, and more than 42% of the companies reported that less than 50% of their reps were meeting or exceeding their quota. Such situation reflects the weakness at the TOP of the organization; a CEO should ensure that the organization has a well oiled sales process.

First very important thing is to ensure that the organization has a sales process, proper territory allocation, balanced offerings for sales people to sale, good backend support system and a fair and justified sales quota. This shall help in running a well oiled sales process, with good systems to support to track the progress and ensure things do not fall off the crack.

Second very important thing is to understand the human part of a sales guy and have figure out a best way to interact with them so that messages are passed, be it good or bad, but motivation levels and zeal to achieve is kept intact.

Third most important part is the incentives, rewarding structure. Remember the line “No Risk No Reward” thus if a sales guy has risked his career to an unpredictable compensation structure, only with the fact is that if he Kicks some Asses, he gets Big Mullah!!! The mullah should be really great, for him to keep his motivations to fire!!!

Let’s look at some scenarios of Sales Quota Failure and their aftermath. Read On

Break Ke Baad!!!

Its been 2 years that I blogged anything, you may call self exile, sabbatical or busy with other things, whatever you may, but I am back and would like to share my thoughts, learning, special experiences, new interests etc....


Things unfold as we move on, but today I just want to break this exile so a small one!! In last 2 years, I have taken up photography, bigger responsibility at work, father of a 2 yr old baby girl, traveled to many places, learned a lot of new things, put on some weight, did a lot of social work by being the secretary to my apartment complex !!!


Its been 2 year Good Bad Ugly... and will share them as we move on. So keep following me!!

My First Timers ...

In my small career of 8+ years, I have been instrumental in getting into roles which I call “First Timers”, in short, to start from a clean slate. I have enjoyed every stint of the same with equal enthusiasm and valued a lot of learning. Be it a dot com start up way back in 2000, when the wave of dot com reached the pinnacle and had a free fall, or to be part of a green initiative in eLearning for a large SI, or instrumental in setting up an events & promotion cell for large private university, which had a bunch of guys who traveled like crazy to meet all college students for a mission “Catch them Young, help them Grow” for some effective niche courses and other management related stuff, or to enter a virgin and tough market like Eastern India, with software giant’s services, and go all out to sell services at crazy prices, further to manage a GRC business for a India, for an Australian MNC foreign and now to lead the SI & Services Business for a Korean electronic giant’s Consulting & Solutions group for India. Read On...

Ahana - My Daughter!!

Its really been a long time that I started writing, but its not by choice but by events that had caught me busy in these couple of months. I was blessed with a daughter on 10th Feb 09 and we named her Ahana. This is my lifes most eventful happening till date and I am tell you nothing brings more smile than holding that tiny winy piece of life in your arms. 

She is a bundle of Joy, you can spend hours just watching her and holding her. Her smile, her way of knowing people, her ever growing wisdom, be it in communicating, knowing people and understanding comfort. 

Today she is in Kolkata I Miss her very much.

Laptop Fiasco!!

It was horrifying at the Delhi Airport!!! 

Apart from the dreaded thought that flights get cancelled due to the fog during this time of the year, it was more to what I had expected!! Long ques to get boarding passes, even longer ques to check in, and it smeemed everybody in airport is in a hurry to miss the flight, and above all this when you realise that some one else as taken your laptop and left your at the X-ray table at the security check in is one's wildest nightmare!! I just experience it last weekend. 

In midst of all the confusion, and to figure out the process to raise an incident log, I missed my flight. Imagine a person, lifting a HP laptop instead of a Dell, how ridiculous it can be? Announcements were made, heafty security personals ran here and there, without knowing what was the next step!! The laptop had NO identification!! Luckily I had one in mine, and the only source to get it back was some one would call me when he saw it. 

My boarding pass was cancelled, and I was horrified to go through the entire "QUE" process again. Had to raise some voice, to get some assistance and importance, to skip through the process quickly to board the next flight back home. Meanwhile I handed the Dell laptop to the Airport terminal manager, and left my contact details, incase some one enquired. 

Boarded the flight in hope that some one would call me soon enough and I would have to figure out a way to get back the laptop. What worried was not the cost of the stuff, but the importance of it. Huge data and scheduled meeting and presentations next week kept me worrying. 

Next day at 11AM, I got a call and boy o boy, my lappy was partying in Goa!! It was in safe hands and they promised to give it back on Monday . Some one carried the same from Delhi and I went to the airport to collect it. 

Lessons Learnt 

- Always have a name tag on your laptop. Companies to insist and they have a reason for it. 

- Always have a power up password. Thats important. 

- Keep data back ups and also encrypt important information on your laptop. 

Happy New Year 2009!!

The new year started with a bit of strange dreams!! I am still trying to interpret them, but unsuccesful, rather not able to remember them completely!! May be a Gajhni Syndrome or a New kind of hangover!!??!!

The way a new year starts, I had a similar one, from the time I woke up. Replying to SMS's and calling up near & dear ones to exchange wishes. Quick bath and a rush to RamKirishna Mission. Thats a tradition, I have been following for sometime now. 

Three Things I did today 

- Dished out a nice prawn curry

- Created a cover page for our campus newsletter 

- Wrote my 1st one this year at aRgHaYa's!! 

Wish you all a Very Happy Safe and Prosperous New Year!! 

Keep Reading!! 

Reputation Risk – How critical is it today?

Reputation Risk, protecting your brand and the fear of loosing ones credibility is one of the most important aspect of today's business. With the advent of technology, Internet, and the so called information age has opened the doors for information to flow freely. In a way, it brings in transparency, with the business fraternity in terms accurate news and information on the other, it brings with itself the Risk of letting out too much. 

To find out my reading of India Inc and their thought on risk management. Read On