How to Drive Translation Sales

Transcription

1 How to Drive Translation Sales Improving Sales Performance from the Top Down By Doug Lawrence and Nataly Kelly

2 How to Drive Translation Sales By Doug Lawrence and Nataly Kelly ISBN Copyright 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America. Published by: Common Sense Advisory, Inc. 100 Merrimack Street Suite 301 Lowell, MA USA No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission requests should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Suite 301, 100 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA , , info@commonsenseadvisory.com. See /en/citationpolicy.html for usage guidelines. Trademarks: Common Sense Advisory, Global Watchtower, Global DataSet, DataPoint, Globa Vista, Quick Take, and Technical Take are trademarks of Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information is based on the best available resources at the time of analysis. Opinions reflect the best judgment of Common Sense Advisory s analysts at the time, and are subject to change.

3 How to Drive Translation Sales i Table of Contents Topic...1 Why We Wrote This Report... 1 Who Should Read This Report... 2 Planning...3 It Starts at the Top: Clarify Your Corporate Strategy... 3 Many LSPs Focus on the Wrong Part of the Sales Funnel... 3 No Corporate Strategy? Ask Yourself These Questions... 4 Use Your Strategy to Create Measurable Financial Objectives... 6 Create Financial Goals that Your Sales Team Can Help You Achieve... 6 Develop a Comprehensive Translation Sales Strategy... 7 The Eight Critical Questions for Defining a Sales Strategy... 7 Next, Look at How Your Sales Are Achieved Today... 9 Evaluate Your Company s Past Sales History Determine the Maturity of Your Sales Organization Know Your Company s Focus: Production or Sales? Before You Set Sales Targets, Scrutinize Your Industry Mix Option #1: Expand Presence in Existing Vertical Markets Option #2: Move Swiftly into Compatible Sectors Option #3: Break into Completely New Industries When Setting Translation Sales Targets, Use Your SMARTS Execution Before You Start Hiring, Know the Ingredients of a Stellar Sales Team Determine What Role Your Sales Manager Will Play Where to Look and Where Not to Look for Sales Reps Decide Whether You Want Rock Stars or Newbies Make No Assumptions during the Selection Process The Truth about Translation Sales Territories How to Maximize Revenue from House Accounts When to Transition New Business to House Accounts Structuring an Attractive but Fair Compensation Plan Guidelines for Setting Translation Sales Quotas How to Establish Commissions for Translation Salespeople When to Use Bonuses and Other Forms of Recognition Consider Rewarding Salespeople Based on Profit Instead of Revenue Final Considerations for Profit-Based Incentive Payments Use Evaluation Metrics and Performance Reviews How to Manage Lackluster Performance The Most Common Reasons Translation Salespeople Fail Make Sure to Motivate Individual Team Members Properly Implications Use Localization Maturity Levels as a Segmentation Method Now that You ve Charted Your Course, Get Ready to Drive About Common Sense Advisory Future Research Applied Research and Advisory Services Copyright 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

4 ii How to Drive Translation Sales Figures Figure 1: The Top of the Translation Sales Funnel Is Often Overlooked... 4 Figure 2: The Five Stages of LSP Sales Organization Maturity Figure 3: Vertical Market Selection Varies Depending on LSP Focus Figure 4: The Six Major Models of Translation Sales Territory Division Figure 5: Profit-Based vs. Revenue-Based Commission Structures Figure 6: Localization Maturity Model Levels Tables Table 1: Corporate Strategy Questions and Measurable Financial Objectives... 6 Table 2: Characteristics of Production-Oriented and Sales-Oriented LSPs Table 3: Sample Translation Sales Objective Using SMARTS Criteria Table 4: Translation Sales Roles and Relationships to Selling Process Table 5: Pros and Cons of Hiring Translation Veterans and Newbies Table 6: Pros and Cons of Sales Territory Division Options Table 7: Options for Transitioning New Translation Business to House Accounts Table 8: Lows, Highs, and Average Quotas for Translation Salespeople (in US$) Copyright 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

5 How to Drive Translation Sales 1 Topic Why We Wrote This Report Many translation companies wrestle with the question How do we boost our translation sales? After all, sales performance can make or break a provider. In an industry of suppliers founded by language professionals, translation business owners often lack knowledge about how to sell. Because of this common phenomenon, simplistic advice abounds in the industry ( Just hire more salespeople! Charge your clients more! Sell to anyone who will buy! ). Worse yet, suggestions that companies should manage their salespeople from the bottom up, focusing narrowly on sales metrics, are doomed to place language service providers (LSPs) on the fast track to failure. It s every company s worst nightmare to miss its revenue targets due to poor decisions about sales strategy. Yet, it s a nightmare that often comes true. In our many research studies, consulting engagements, and sales workshops, we ve witnessed countless blunders. It isn t enough to pay top-notch recruitment firms and hire supposedly seasoned translation sales veterans. We ve seen LSPs invest and subsequently lose as much as half a million dollars in 12 months due to such failures. In fact, we ve observed several such examples in the past year alone, with companies in varying size ranges. Some can afford to make those mistakes. But for most, it s too great of a risk to take in the first place. Specialized training is of essential importance for translation salespeople. However, in our many years of delivering translation sales training, we ve observed a common trend: Even the most well trained, highly capable sales team is destined for lackluster performance if the strategy that guides it is flawed. The good news is that there s plenty that LSP business owners can do. In this report, we provide you with a guide to developing a translation sales strategy, so that you can minimize your risks and maximize your chances of translation sales success once and for all. We also propose an entirely new way of segmenting the market that is highly specific to the translation industry by identifying the localization maturity levels of your customers. Copyright 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

6 2 How to Drive Translation Sales Who Should Read This Report This report is essential reading for various groups: Business owners and founders. If you established the translation company or are a current owner, chances are you re still involved at some level in setting the strategic direction for the company. You may also be carrying out the role of sales manager. While sales may not be your favorite topic, this report will help you understand the link between your overall corporate strategy and your company s sales performance. You ll glean plenty of insight from this report into past mistakes and future prevention measures. If you re selling your company or planning to do so, this report is even more critical for you. It will give you insight into the questions that investors and potential buyers may ask you, and how they will view your corporate and sales alignment. Investors and LSPs shopping for acquisition targets. In the past year, we ve fielded a wave of inquiries from investors and companies interested in buying translation firms some of whom come from within the industry, and many of whom are in other fields, such as business process outsourcing or technology. If you re buying or investing in an LSP and you ve been scratching your head, wondering why its sales numbers do not seem to line up with its corporate strategy, this report will help you understand how the company may have evolved over time, and where the problems lie. It will also enable you to get into the mind of the typical LSP and help correct poor practices. Dedicated sales managers. Even if you work in larger LSPs with more structured sales departments, this report will enable you to ask the right questions to higher-ups in order to ensure that your work is completely aligned with overall corporate strategy. This report will also give you insight into how other companies may organize their sales teams differently. Single-language vendors and regional-language vendors. If you don t know where to begin selling to buyers directly, this report will provide you with a clear orientation of how to organize your activities and get started. In addition, anyone involved in sales in an LSP will find value from reading this report. Whether you work as a project manager, technical consultant, salesperson, account manager, departmental manager, executive, or owner, this report will help you understand how you fit into the overall corporate strategy and how you can best support your sales team. Copyright 2011 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.