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Date: 15-Aug-1991 11:44am EDT
From: Robert Hughes
VP.ACCOUNT.SALES AT A1 at SALES at MRO
Dept:
Tel No:
Subject: SPECIALIZATION 1
For several months, most of the management team has heard us discuss the
concept of specialization, the need for it, and some proposed solutions.
This rather lengthy memo is intended to capture our current thoughts on
specialization and to provide you with as clear an indication as we can as
to what our expectations are.
The questions we will answer are:
- Why specialize?
- Specialization - what's the bottom line?
- What's a specialty?
- How are specialists to be organized?
- Can you give me an example of how this might work?
- Is there a model for the number of PSSTs within an
Account Group?
- How is the "value added" of a specialty measured?
- Can I have more than one specialty?
- How do we pick our specialties?
- What can I do in a remote territory?
- Are there guidelines for what PSSMs are called?
- What percent should be specialized in a product or
service?
- What's the Performance Plan and measurement for a
specialist?
- How would we measure non-quantitative products/services?
- Who pays for specialist in a PSST?
- What is the career path for specialists?
- How do we start?
- Who do I give feedback to?
I will tell you up front that the intention to create specialists is a
"stake cast in hard concrete". The implementation plan for specialization
is a "stake cast in soft concrete". In other words, you have the
opportunity to influence the implementation. We welcome any constructive
feedback. Use the VAX Notes U.S. Sales and Service Conference, or write to
us directly @MKO.
Why specialize? We consistently get feedback from our customers, our
consultants and advisers, and even our own individual contributors that the
lack of technical competence on the part of our sales and support
organization frustrates our customers and, indeed, slows down the sales
process considerably.
We see increased evidence of this lack of knowledge in increased levels of
sales support and use of sales support in call situations where sales reps
should be able to handle very basic objections.
We see customers and prospects frustrated by their inability to get timely
responses to the most basic of questions around our direction, product
capabilities, etc. We see this lack of responsiveness impacting sales. We
are told time and again that the ability to respond quickly and act
knowledgeably in front of the customer is key to our success in the '90s.
No one doubts the truth of that statement. In your own personal life you
can relate to the frustration you experience when you shop and deal with
"clerks" who are not capable of explaining the capabilities of their own
in-store products, let alone comparing those products to competitive
products. You find that on any purchase over $100 you ultimately end up
knowing more than the sales person. You question the value of those sales
people. You would like to find a way to go around them and deal directly
with the manufacturer. All things being equal you tend to shop at the store
with more knowledgeable clerks.
Part of the situation we find ourselves in is a result of having 30,000+
product options. Part of it is because of lack of attention on our part.
Part of it is because we haven't made it a priority. All that is about to
change.
Specialization - here's the bottom line. Everyone in the Account Selling
Team organization will have a speciality. It will be spelled out on the
Personal Performance Plan that each of you is in the process of filling out.
It will be tracked. To simplify it for you, specialization is a key skill
set to be reviewed as we downsize our Account Selling Team organization.
Any evaluation of the relative merits of one individual over another will
include an evaluation of their specialty. Specialists will be more valued
than generalists.
What's a "specialty"? In this account based organization, we are trying
hard to let the definition of specialization be left up to the Account
Selling Team. We'd like you to specialize in those products or services
that are important to your Account Selling Team Business Plan. This puts
the onus on each of you to work together to develop "one plan" and to lay
out the specialty requirements on the Account Selling Team.
It's possible that the collective members of the Account Selling Team (AST)
may choose to specialize in a wide variety of products, services, support
tools, and processes. It could well be that "leasing" expertise is
important on that AST and therefore, a specialty is required. Being able to
explain and demonstrate the "account workbench" and a variety of AST support
tools may be a specialty important to your customer and therefore, required
on your team. Being an expert in "Pathworks" may be a specialty required as
a result of your business plan, etc., etc.
Obviously, we will give you some suggestions and guidance as to specialties,
but the first cut (as proposed through your Personal Performance Plan), must
be yours.
Traditional product, application, and service specialties around the key
technologies and business directions of our corporation are acceptable and
encouraged.
How are specialists to be organized? To repeat, all members of the Account
Selling Team Organization will have a specialty. The Account Selling Team
Organization is as follows:
A. Leaders of the Account Selling Team Organization are Account
Sales Vice Presidents. (They will each have a specialty,
e.g., Bob Hughes is focusing on PCs, Al Hall on production
systems, Dick Doerr on worksystems, the Industry Portfolio
AVPs more than likely will focus on a strategic application
within their industry, etc.)
B. Account Group Managers report to Account Vice Presidents.
(AGMs will have a specialty.)
C. Within each Account Group the Management team is called
either Account Manager(s) (AM) or Product and Services
Support Manager(s) (PSSM). (Each manager will also have a
specialty.)
D. Account Managers are organized around either a piece of an
account, a single account, or a set of accounts. All of the
individual contributors in the Account Managers portfolio
will have a specialty. The account management structure in
an Account Group is referred to as the Account Team (AT).
E. Product and Service Support Managers (PSSMs) will be
organized around the key product, service, and application
integration sets that are important to the Business Units of
the company. All of the individual sales and support
specialists in those teams will have a specialty. The product
and services support structure in an account group is
referred to as the Product and Services Selling Team (PSST).
F. Both ATs (through the Account Manager) and PSSTs (through the
PSS Manager) "work for" an Account Group Manager.
G. A typical Account Team organization will be predominately
budget carrying sales reps with the balance of the resources
comprised of sales support, EIS support and customer services
support specialists. These specialists will be dedicated to
either a division of an account, one account or a predefined
account set.
The Product and Services Selling Team will be predominately
product and service technical specialists, with the balance
comprised of sales specialists.
It is expected that the PSSTs will not have any specific
account affiliation. They will be in support of existing ATs
and will be encouraged, by their Account Group Manager, to
prospect and sell outside of the identified focus of the
Account Team.
Here is a simple organization chart:
REPS & SPECIALIST
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AM/PSSM
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AGM
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AVP
Give me an example of how this might work? Okay. I am an AM with eight
people on my team. Four of them are sales, two are customer services
specialists, two are sales support specialists. All eight, plus myself,
have a specialty. Two of us have a workstation specialty. We carry the
workstation product budget for our Account Set. We help our teammates out
on any workstation issues within our Account Set. We make sure that we keep
current on workstation developments within Digital, and we are capable of
selling our workstation products within the Account Set. One of our sales
support specialists is an expert on CAE. She is capable of differentiating
the CAE vendors and how Powerframe integrates the environment. Once the
workstations have been competed for successfully, she is capable of helping
us implement the application and fine tune it within the Account Set once it
has been installed.
Alongside this Account Set Manager is a PSSM. Her specialty is the Desktop.
Within her team are workstation specialists, Pathworks specialists, PC
specialists, and whatever other product or service specialities are
particularly unique to the desktop environment. We count on this team to be
even more expert than the specialists in the Account Set. They will be
expected to have a broader range of knowledge of Digital and competitive
products, more technical skills, and more depth on our offerings are
expected. Here's where we should find the specialists on any newly
announced product or technology from Digital that we cannot afford to spread
across all Account Sets. Here's where we should find the expertise to
"train the trainers". These people should be so good that they are in
demand not only across the Account Sets within an Account Group, but across
Account Groups. They should "know no borders".
Is there a model for how many PSSTs we should have within an Account Group?
Rather than give a fixed answer to that, let's look at the issue a little
differently.
All 6500 members of the U.S. "Account Selling Team" organization will have
specialties. It is up to the AM, (through the One Plan) to identify the
business skills requirements for her Account Set. If he or she can afford a
full time dedicated specialist on an account set, they should do so. If
they can't afford a full time specialist, they should clearly spell out the
requirement and integrate it into the business plan for the PSST.
Most Account Managers will quickly figure out that it is cheaper, (and
hopefully more profitable) to buy the level of specialization they need than
to own it all themselves.
With that in mind, let's talk about a direction: Today, approximately 90%
of our sales and support resources are dedicated to Account Sets, while 10%
are dedicated to specialty teams.
In this year's plan, (assuming all 100% of us are specialized) we expect
that approximately 50% of the sales support, customer services, and EIS
specialists will be in PSSTs, while the other 50% should be 100% dedicated
to an Account Set. In FY'92 we are looking for a minimum of 30% of our
management team in PSSTs and 70% on accounts, with the expectation that over
time we will move this to 50-50.
How do we measure the "value added" of a specialty? We are somewhat
concerned that the attitude among some managers is ... "I won't do this
unless I am measured on it and know how I am rewarded on it". First, you
should become a specialist because it is important to you, to your personal
growth, and to your success with your customer. People always feel proud of
themselves when they know something. If you must always ask for help on the
most basic of questions, you don't feel good about yourself. Therefore, do
it for yourself. That is the most important "value added".
Secondly, "value added" can be measured in some fairly simple, and also some
fairly complex, ways. At its simplest level you should be recognized within
your peer group as being the "expert" in whatever you decided to specialize
in. People within your peer group should seek your advice on something as
simple as how to configure a standard system, or to prepare a quote for
something as complex as how to fine tune IO channels in a distributed OLTP
environment. Whatever you choose - be the best at it. Your peers and your
customers will recognize your value. That's important enough.
You need to call out your specialty on your Personal Performance Plan so
that we can prepare training plans to support your specialty. We will want
to make sure that you attend training on your specialty; are added to
specialization distribution lists, and keep current. That will add value.
Over time we will put together benchmark and competency testing so that you
can assess how well you are progressing in learning your skills. You will
remember the basics of that were presented to you at Brown University and
most of you felt good about your ability to quiz yourself and improve your
skill set.
You should be able to give a nominal presentation on your specialty, and
give a demonstration if it is a demonstrable product or service.
People shouldn't laugh when you tell them what your specialty is. They
should nod their head because you have given some evidence that you know
what you are talking about.
When a PCU or IBU manager visits the account group, your AGM should be able
to call on you as a representative of the entire account group. You should
be able to speak knowledgeably of the product or service and to offer
constructive criticism on how to get better.
If you have chosen a specialty for which there isn't a PCU or IBU, you
should feel emotionally committed enough to that specialty and feel strongly
enough about it that you can present the case for putting a corporate focus
together.
Can I have more than one specialty? ABSOLUTELY!! We don't have enough
Field resources to be expert in all the company's products or services. As
a matter of fact, we both know that customers want to buy solutions.
Anytime you can combine a workstation specialist with a key application and
present a total solution, (or at least piece of a solution) to the customer,
you are better off. The obvious risk is that the more you try to learn the
less expert you will be in any one thing. So keep it to a reasonable few.
Desktop specialization may be fine at the Account Set level, but not
appropriate for anyone other than a PSSM. Members of the PSST might want to
focus on the components of the Desktop!
How do we know what specialties to pick? The answers should be driven by a
combination of what you know your customers need and what you know of the
company's product and service plans. The first is derived from calling on
the customer and asking them, the second is derived from the advice packages
presented to you during the course of the year in the One Plan process.
What do I do if I am in a remote territory? Be creative! If you haven't
got enough resources to create both Account Management Sets and PSSTs,
figure out how to combine them. Everyone that's in that remote territory
should have a specialization and be part of an integrated training plan. Do
the best you can. Be sure to spell out, to the best of your ability, the
skill set you will need from outside your remote geography so that PSSMs can
plan on it.
Are there any guidelines for what PSSMs should call themselves? Yes there
are, and they continue to evolve. The U.S. Marketing Organization will
distribute a book called the PSST Handbook. In it you will see some higher
level descriptions of specialization for managers (though I would not call
it an all inclusive list). For example, it talks about a Desktop PSST and
describes the components within the Desktop. It describes AIE PSSTs. You
may want to broaden that, based on your headcount situation to a broader
services PSST.
You may have enough resources and business plans that you can create an
Environmental Products PSST. This is one example of a point product
specialty that may be very hot in your market. You may become an
Outsourcing Specialist within a Services PSST. The combinations are endless
- it's up to you to decide the best combination for your Account Group.
What percent of our people should be specialized in any one product or
service? Again, it depends on what's required to help you execute your
business plan combined with what you know of the company's business
strategy. For example, if you are in an Account Group that focuses in on
hundreds or thousands of cross-industry accounts, your specialty model might
closely mirror the product and service forecasted business plan for the U.S.
For example, if 15% of our business is expected to come from workstations,
and 25% from the Desktop, you should consider at least 15-25% of your people
specialized in one or more of these products and services.
On the other hand, if your Account Group focuses in on electronics and
technology companies, the ratio of specialists in high technology products,
including workstations, might be 50% or greater - because that is key to
your success within these accounts.
What's the Performance Plan and measurement for a specialist? I can share
with you our current thinking at this time. Everyone on the Account Selling
Team has a quantitative business goal equal to the sum of the business in
that Account Set. It is expected that your plan to develop your specialty
will be reflected in the qualitative portion of the Personal Performance
Plan and evaluated as part of your overall DEC100 attainment criteria.
The PSSM manager(s) for the Account Group will carry the entire business
goal for that product or service specialty on the quantitative section of
his or her Performance Plan.
For example, the Account Group may be fortunate enough to have multiple
PSSTs. One of these may be the Desktop PSST. The manager for this Unit
will carry the entire business goal for the Desktop products across the
Account Group in support of all the blue line business plans in that Account
Group.
In this case, in the quantitative section of her Personal Performance Plan,
she may have a requirement to sell 1000 workstations, 5000 PCs, 3000
Pathworks connections, etc. These same numbers should be reflected on the
back of the goal sheet of the previously mentioned Account Selling Team
members. Any number short of that total has to be made up by direct
prospecting and selling on the part of the individual contributors in the
Desktop PSST.
What do we do if our product or service cannot be made into Units? An
example of that might be systems integration services. It is expected that
you will find an increasing need for SI specialists, PSS specialists, CSS
specialists, and other Service Specialists that cannot be afforded on each
and every account selling team. We've got more work to do here, obviously.
We could count the number of contracts. We could take the dollar value of
these contracts and make every $1000 equal to one unit. We could define it
by revenue, etc. We have a variety of options. Let's figure out the best
thing to do.
Who pays for specialist in a PSST? As stated previously, the majority of
specialists will be funded by the red line Account Manager as part of the
development of his or her One Plan. It is anticipated that most Account
Managers will discover that it is more effective and efficient to buy the
required expertise from a PSST than to fund them 100% for their own
dedicated use.
There may be some specialization required that's not funded through the
Account Managers. The Account Group Managers should propose this spending
as part of their business plan proposal to their appropriate AVP. This
should be treated as a cost to be billed out to Account Managers as they use
it. This is a safety valve to ensure that Level 2 managers have the ability
to keep skills on board that they believe will be required in their account
portfolio.
What's the career path for specialists? First of all, if it isn't clear by
now - if you don't have a specialty, there is no career path.
For some time now, we have not placed the value on specialists that we have
on generalists. In some cases, not all, it's been a place to put people,
not a place people want to go. This absolutely, unequivocally has to
change. And it will change.
We will start by making everyone in the selling team a specialist. The best
of the best, those with rare skills that can't be supported on just one
Account Manager's NMS, will become part of the PSST organization, and
available across account sets.
The best of our Account Managers should look at the PSSM job, Sales Training
jobs, and selected IBU/PCU jobs as career paths. These are ways to become
broader in your knowledge of the company's offerings prior to aspiring to a
Level 2 job. Simply stated, over time, the best account managers should
become PSSMs.
It is clear we have much work to do here to encourage this kind of behavior
in the Account Groups. Once we get our expenses in line and begin to make
our revenue commitments, we expect to be able to hire selectively. It is
our intention that the majority of new hires into the selling team
organization will be brought into the PSST organization. There, we expect
them to learn a specialty and to "prove their value added" to the
organization. At that point, they may have the option of moving into an
account selling team and taking that specialty with them, or adding more
breadth and depth to their specialty and continuing on as part of the PSST
organization.
Members of the PSST organization will come from a variety of product,
service, and sales organizations. They all blue line to the Account Group
and red line into their functional specialty. For example, Customer
Services specialists should have the freedom to choose between careers in
Customer Services, Sales, or any other function for which they are
qualified.
An increasing focus on technical competence and testing will help us all
assess the overall quality of our organization, and this will have an impact
on who is promotable and who isn't.
How do we start? Start by declaring your specialty on the Personal
Performance Plan. We are going to look at these each week. We will
summarize them, and give you feedback as to the number and type of
specialists. Expect some suggestions on how to consolidate specialists into
more appropriate PSS Teams. We expect to give you considerable latitude and
flexibility in the organization, based on the headcount in your particular
geography.
Who do I give feedback to on how to make it better? Use the VAX Notes US
Sales & Service Conference to offer constructive feedback, or write
personally to Bob Hughes, Manager Account Business Units, @MKO; Steve
Mahoney, Manager Sales Quality, @MKO; Bob Schmitt, Manager Sales Support
Quality, @MKO; Len Bizzarro, Manager Customer Services Support Quality,
@MRO; Steve Thomas, Product Specialty Market Development, @MRO.
Specialization Pays! It shows up in reduced requests for support. It shows
up in a sales reps ability to answer more questions, quicker. It shortens
the sales cycle. It makes your customers feel better about you and more
willing to pay for your "added value". It gives you a competitive edge in
the marketplace. It makes you feel good because you know something that all
your peers don't. It makes you more marketable in the corporation. People
listen to people that know what they are talking about.
Bob Hughes
8-14-91
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