State of Readiness | Michael Webb; President @ Sales Performance Consultants, Inc.

Video Version

About the Podcast

I have known Michael Webb for several years.  He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Operational Excellence Society almost since its inception and led the Operational Excellence Society Chapter in Atlanta. 

We start the podcast by discussing the application of operational excellence and continuous improvement principles to sales and marketing activities.  Paris made note of the challenges due to the personality-driven nature of sales and getting salespeople to document processes and how there might be a natural conflict between the human-empathetic side of sales with the data-driven needs of management.

Michael explained how sales processes can be defined through engaging salespeople to determine what drives value for customers.  This allows processes to be measured and improved.  To this end, defining what is of value operationally is important and discussed how processes should focus on creating value rather than only eliminating waste.

Michael highlighted how statistical analysis can be applied to sales activities like lead qualification when processes are defined properly.  This brings more science to sales.  And regarding management needs, Michael emphasized processes should serve salespeople but allow enough standardization for effective management and fostering opportunities for coaching.  Striking a balance when it comes to documentation is ideal; harvesting only the information that is of value and minimizing the narrative form of documentation (nobody reads it anyway).

Towards the end of the interview, Michael overviewed his books, including Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way which shows how Six Sigma principles apply to sales, and Sales Process Excellence which earned a Shingo Research Award and provides a textbook on improving sales processes.

And finally, no interview would be complete today without some commentary on where AI is going and its impact on sales and marketing processes and personnel.  To this end, we both believe that human interaction will remain important for establishing trust and empathy.

About Michael Webb

Michael Webb is an internationally known author and management consultant.  He brings data-driven management approaches to sales and marketing organizations.  Before starting his own consultancy firm, Sales Performance Consultants, Inc., he held roles in sales, sales training, and sales management for IMPAX Corporation, PCT Incorporated, Rockwell Automation, and others.

When exposed to production improvement methodologies (e.g., Six Sigma, and Lean) he saw parallels to B2B sales production.  He pioneered ways of helping sales teams distinguish value from waste.  He also created ways for sales teams to develop operational definitions.  These enabled continuous improvement in sales productivity, forecast accuracy, and other metrics.

His approach recognizes the critical role beliefs play in the behaviors of sales and marketing people as well as customers.  He engages front-line salespeople, managers, and executives as well as cross-functional teams.

His 2006 book, “Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way”, earned 4.5 stars on Amazon and sold more than 21 thousand copies.  And his 2014 book, “Sales Process Excellence” earned the prestigious Shingo Research Award in 2015.  His articles range from sales quality and process to reducing waste and capitalizing on customer value where they draw on his extensive experience working with direct and channel sales and marketing teams of large and small companies.

Author of: 

• Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way: In Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way, Michael Webb shows how to blend marketing and sales efforts with the cutting-edge methods of Six Sigma to boost their bottom lines.
• Sales Process Excellence, 2015 Shingo Award Winner:  In 'Sales Process Excellence', Michael Webb traces sales and marketing problems to their root causes in traditional management methods, such as pushing product, setting quotas, and trying harder while doing the same things over again.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljwebb/
Company: Sales Performance Consultants, Inc.
Title: Senior President
Website: https://salesperformance.com/
Year Founded: 2002
About: Sales Performance Consultants, Inc., collaborates with B2B executives to extend operational excellence to sales and marketing.  Clients systematically increase revenue, loyalty, and margin while wasting less time and money.