Execution in Business Sales Process

Sales Call Execution: In FMCG Context Sales Call Execution refers to the structured process of engaging with a retailer, distributor, or customer during a visit to achieve specific sales objectives. It is critical in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, where frequent and well-executed sales calls drive volume, visibility, and market penetration. Here’s a structured breakdown of Sales Call Execution in FMCG: I. Key Elements - Objective: Drive sales, ensure product availability, increase visibility, and strengthen relationships. - Participants: Sales representatives, retailers, and sometimes area managers. - Frequency: Typically daily or weekly, depending on the sales route or territory. II. Activities A sales call in FMCG involves several key activities: 1. Preparation - Review past performance data (sales, inventory, payments). - Prepare necessary tools: order forms, product catalogs, promotional material. 2. Engagement - Greet and build rapport with the retailer or customer. - Understand their needs or issues (Eg. Stock-Outs, Competitor Activity). 3. Sales Pitch - Highlight product features, promotions, or new launches. - Recommend SKUs based on their sales history and customer preferences. 4. Order Taking - Secure commitments for stock replenishment or new products. 5. Merchandising - Arrange products on shelves or displays as per company standards. - Place promotional materials (Eg. Posters, stands). 6. Payment Collection Address outstanding invoices or collect payments if applicable. 7. Feedback Gather insights on market trends, competitor activities, or challenges faced by the retailer. III. Measurement To ensure effectiveness, specific metrics and standards must be met: 1. Preparation - Sales reps must carry all necessary tools and materials. - Familiarity with the route and account history. 2. Activity KPIs - Number of calls completed per day. - % of targeted accounts visited (coverage). 3. Sales KPIs - Order value per call. - Volume sold (SKUs per retailer). - % increase in sales compared to the previous period. 4. Merchandising - % compliance with planograms. - Shelf space or visibility achieved. 5. Customer Satisfaction - Net Promoter Score (NPS) from retailers. - Timely resolution of complaints or issues. IV. Evaluation Regular assessments ensure that sales call execution aligns with business objectives. 1. Performance Reviews - Weekly or monthly analysis of KPIs. - Evaluate against sales targets and coverage goals. 2. Audits - On Ground evaluations to check merchandising compliance. - Mystery shopper programs to validate in-store execution. 3. Feedback Systems - Conduct retailer or distributor surveys. - Use CRM tools to analyze data from calls and refine strategies. 4. Training and Development: - Identify gaps in execution (Eg.Weak product knowledge, poor relationship management). - Regular training on sales skills, product updates, and negotiation techniques.

90% of revenue leaders are looking in the wrong place for revenue growth. • It’s not more pipeline. • It’s not more headcount. • It’s not your tech stack or AI. It’s seller skill execution. And only the best CROs treat it like the revenue lever it actually is. Last week, we analyzed the before & after of a customer using pclub.io. We mapped their skill adoption → behavior change in Gong → revenue outcomes. • Not opinions. • Not “usage data.” • Not vanity metrics. Actual deal outcomes. Here’s what the data showed us: • Discovery skill execution +44% • Deals with those skills closed at 20% • Deals without them closed at 6% • Average deal size +$29K • Sales cycle dropped 136 days → 76 days Total lift: $800,000 in incremental annual revenue. Now, pause and think about this: This same team used 12 other sales tools. Not one of them delivered a measurable impact on revenue. Not one. But skill transformation? That delivered a 20X ROI. So let me say this loud enough for those in the back: Today's sellers are drowning in tech. And starving for what actually puts money in their pockets: Revenue-generating skillsets. We’ve stuffed our reps inside bloated tech stacks, dashboards, AI assistants, forecasting tools, and engagement platforms. But we never fixed the thing that moves revenue: • How well they sell. You can’t “software your way” out of weak selling. You can’t automate your way into C-Suite conversations. You can’t dashboard your way into creating real champions. In a world where everyone has the same tools, the same sequences, the same ICPs, and the same noise… Skill execution is the final unfair advantage. This is the new revenue stack. And leaders who ignore it will get outperformed by those who operationalize it.

Hey Salespeople: Here is a mapping of MEDDPICC to sales process exit criteria as outlined in John McMahon's outstanding book The Qualified Sales Leader: 1. Discovery a. Scheduled next meeting b. Email to the prospect that outlines: -> Identified Pain (I) -> The players involved (Ch, Dp, E) -> Desired business outcome (M) -> Next step in the process (Dp) 2. Scoping a. Champion identified (Ch) b. Generate 3 documents: -> Cost justification with the as-is and to-be metrics (M) -> A PoV plan that directly correlates to the PoV criteria and preliminary cost justification (Dc, Dp) -> A preliminary pricing proposal which is a price quote based on the preliminary cost justification (E, M) c. Competition and Competitor’s Champion identified (Co) 3. Economic Buyer Meeting Held meeting to confirm the following for the validation event (i.e. PoV) -> Customer’s priority to buy (I, M) -> Intent to allocate funds to make the purchase (E) -> Business-level decision criteria (Dc) -> Product differentiators (Dc) - including weighting and scoring of each criteria 4. Validation Event (PoV) Complete successful PoV (Dp) 5. Business Case and Final Proposal Presented business case face-to-face with economic buyer with the final results of the validation event (E, M) 6. Negotiate and Close Signed contract (P)

There are NO shortcuts in Enterprise Sales. Period. Tell your CEO. Tell your board. Rush your $400K deal—and it collapses. Guaranteed. Here are 8 ways you’re failing upmarket running it like SMB (and why slowing down actually closes deals faster): 1. Cut Corners? Execs Will Kill it in 5 Minutes You spent months, heck, maybe years. Execs need just one 5-min hallway chat to kill your deal. DON’T skip steps—build a bulletproof business case: unignorable problem, rock-solid ROI, strategic, risk mitigation. Or say goodbye. 2. Procurement Smells Desperation Your champion says, “EOY close works, thanks for the discount!” Procurement? They’ll squeeze more, introduce extra steps, and question your credibility if you seem desperate. Stop discounting. Stop pressuring. Bring the best deal. 3. Fast POCs = Endless Evaluations This is Enterprise graveyard. Quick, poorly planned POCs drag deals indefinitely, or worse—fail to achieve solution fit. Take the time to set explicit success criteria, time frames, and stakeholders involved upfront. Treat the POC like a mini-project with regular check-ins and outcome tracking. 4. Skipping Stakeholders = Going to Court w/o a Lawyer Getting to the CxO, isolating the Tech Buyer…feels like hard work? It is, but Ent Sales isn’t Vegas—don’t gamble. Engage stakeholders EARLY. Map their needs, concerns, and build separate threads. Multi-threading is your insurance policy. 5. Security Sees Your Rush as a Threat Their timelines and concerns always come first. Pressuring will only raise red flags: “What loopholes are they pushing past us?”. Provide docs proactively, run calls early, and treat them as allies, not obstacles. 6. Legal Has NO Quota Legal doesn't care about your quarter-end. They're there to kill risk, not help your sales quota. Start legal reviews early, surface red flags ASAP, and don’t leave it to legal teams to run—orchestrate the process. Easy = Faster. 7. Rushed Discovery = Dysfunctional Buying Groups Fast disco stacks risk—time bombs waiting to explode when new stakeholders are looped in. The more you involve them early and co-create a compelling problem statement together, the faster everyone rallies to make a deal happen. 8. Rushed Next Steps = More Steps Booking quick next steps? Good luck. You’ll soon face endless unexpected steps that go around in circles. Slow down—create a clear Mutual Action Plan. Lay out future steps explicitly, confirm buy-in, and execute intentionally. —— Enterprise deals dragging 18 months? Not because you aren’t pushing hard enough— But because you’re pushing TOO HARD. Shortcuts just leave you chasing hidden stakeholders. Or juggling endless surprise steps. You CAN'T 'hack' Enterprise Sales. Solid case. Consensus. Processes. All take time. So go slow. Build it right. And watch it fly. Slow IS fast. P.S. We built Aligned to help manage the complexity of Enterprise Sales. 100% FREE Deal Room used by 40k sellers. Try it: https://lnkd.in/d_49kHZE

SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) process. Part-1 The standard end-to-end process in SAP SD is known as the Order-to-Cash (O2C) cycle. It covers all business steps from receiving a customer's order to collecting the payment for the delivered goods. Here is the step-by-step flow of the O2C process: 1. Pre-Sales Activities (Optional) This phase involves managing initial customer contacts and tracking potential sales. Inquiry: A customer's request for information about products or services, such as price and delivery dates. It does not have any legal or financial obligation. Quotation: A legally binding offer sent to a customer, valid for a specific time, which includes defined prices, quantities, and terms. 2. Sales Order Processing This is the core step that triggers the entire sales process. What happens: A sales order is created (e.g., using transaction VA01) when a customer agrees to the quotation or places a new order. Key Actions: Customer and material details are recorded. Pricing is automatically determined. An Availability Check (ATP) is performed to see if the material is in stock and can be delivered on the requested date. Credit Check: The system verifies the customer's credit. 3. Shipping & Transportation This phase covers all logistic activities, from preparing the goods to sending them to the customer. It is triggered by the sales order. a. Create Outbound Delivery: What happens: A shipping document (Outbound Delivery) is created (e.g., VL01N), which authorizes the warehouse to prepare the shipment. It contains details about the shipping point, quantities, and delivery date. b. Picking: What happens: Warehouse staff physically pick the goods from their storage locations based on the delivery document. c. Packing (Optional): What happens: The picked goods are packed into appropriate shipping containers (boxes, pallets), and handling units are created. d. Post Goods Issue (PGI): What happens: This is the most critical step in logistics. By posting the goods issue (e.g., VL02N), the company legally transfers ownership of the goods to the customer. System Impact (Key Integrations): SD: The status of the delivery document is updated to "completed." MM (Inventory): The stock quantity of the material is reduced. FI/CO (Finance): The system posts the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), which is an expense, and updates the inventory asset account.

How do we analyze GTM Metrics to optimize revenue growth? How do we translate metrics into execution? Let's use Close Rate as an example. - Say it's all over the place - Some reps close 15% of deals - Others are closing 85% of theirs In the image below, we have anonymized data from a real customer, from one of their sales teams. What do we do with this information? 𝟭. 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 - There's likely a lack of process - In this example it's the sales process - We meet w/ CRO and revenue leaders - We ask about their process, if documented - We ask if it's baked into their systems, reporting These reps most likely do not have a process So, we would work to build the process for them To make sure reps are closing the deals they should And not chasing the deals they shouldn't be chasing 𝟮. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 - Next we look at training - Are reps trained on the process? - How often are we training them on it? - What training do we need to provide them? - What training do we need to provide managers? 𝟯. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Now we have to drive execution - This starts with our reporting cadence - Are managers reviewing pipeline regularly? - Do they know what to look for in each deal? - Are they holding their reps accountable for it? This makes or breaks performance Our team can have the best process They can know exactly how to execute That doesn't mean they will actually do it If we want to see results we need to monitor execution carefully. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 - The above is a prerequisite - For any type of planning we have - Our Annual Plan requires improvement - Better Close Rates, more pipeline, rention - Etc, etc, etc. This doesn't happen just by writing the plan. We need to run through all these steps to drive it. In other words, we need to "operationalize" our plans. Anything I missed? Anything you'd add to this? 🤔 We're going to break this down more in tomorrow's 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://bit.ly/49RCm0h Download the high-res image there as well. ✌️

NEW MED REP: the account purchased my product but no one uses it! What happened??🧐 If you think getting a “yes” is the finish line, think again. In medical sales, closing the deal is just the beginning. EXECUTION is where your reputation is made—or broken😬 When a physician or hospital exec says, “Yes, I want your device,” the clock starts ticking. You’ve fought through months (or even years) of stakeholder meetings, objections, and back-and-forth. But a deal without flawless execution is a failure waiting to happen. EXECUTION = delivering results while navigating setbacks: -logistics delays🚚 -staff buy-in👨🏼⚕️ -second-guessing from your customer😑 A botched execution doesn’t just stall adoption—it destroys trust. And in medical sales, trust is EVERYTHING. So how do you execute flawlessly? 3 Rules for Flawless Execution 1️⃣ Jump the Pitfalls 🏃 -Predict challenges and strategize solutions -Plan for the worst -Proactively address resistance 2️⃣ Clear the Path 🚜 -Simplify adoption and remove barriers -Train end-users until they feel confident -Make it EASY for your customer to succeed 3️⃣ Observe & Troubleshoot 🕵️ -Monitor every step -Resolve problems FAST—before they snowball -Empathize—change is tough, especially in healthcare Execution isn’t glamorous, but it’s the difference between being a one-time vendor and becoming a trusted partner. What’s your #1 tip for ensuring flawless execution? Let’s hear it below! 👇 🙋♂️ Follow me, @Brendan Kane, for tips to crush your interviews and level up your sales career. #MedicalSales #SalesSuccess #SalesExecution #HealthcareInnovation #TrustinSales

I’ve been in sales for a long time. And if you’ve ever sold anything, you know this moment: You crush a prospect meeting. The conversation is flowing. Everyone’s engaged. Then… you run to the next meeting. And the follow-up? Late. Rushed. Incomplete. Or worse—never sent. We just got an unsolicited testimonial at Zocks that stopped me cold. An advisor won business against three other competitors for one simple reason: His follow-up email went out almost immediately after the meeting. It was incredibly detailed. Clear action items. No dropped balls. That follow-up closed the deal. This is what I want every advisor to pay attention to when evaluating AI tools: ✔ It frees up time ✔ Reduces pressure on staff ✔ Integrates with your existing tech ✔ And now—it helps you win business This isn’t about shiny tech. https://lnkd.in/gxshW2gm It’s about execution. And execution wins. If your follow-up isn’t helping you close… It might be costing you more than you think.

🚀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 🚀 Last week, we talked about building a strong strategic plan. But let’s be honest: Even the best plans fail without 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here’s how we turn ideas into results: 1️⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗽” • Ever seen a team nod in a meeting, then do the opposite? 🤷♂️  • Fix it: Translate lofty goals into daily behaviors. Example: If “customer obsession” is your mission, reward employees for solving 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁—not just hitting sales targets. 2️⃣ 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 • Strategy dies in spreadsheets. Let frontline teams own their part. • Example: When a major retailer let store managers customize   layouts for local holidays, sales jumped 20%. 🎉 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗛𝗶𝗻𝘁: 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴) • Track 2-3 KPIs that directly tie to your vision. • Bad metric: “Website traffic.” • Better: “Repeat customers who discovered us through our app.” 4️⃣ 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀 • Progress fuels momentum. Did your team nail a small pilot? Shout it out! 🎤 • Burnout happens when the finish line feels too far. 🔥 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 • What’s your biggest execution hurdle? (Mine used to be overcomplicating metrics!) • Share a brand that nails execution—what can we learn from them? #RetailLeadership #ExecutionMatters #TeamEmpowerment #RetailStrategy P.S. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀... 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 😉