{"id":289,"date":"2006-09-08T10:51:04","date_gmt":"2006-09-08T15:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/?p=289"},"modified":"2006-09-08T10:52:02","modified_gmt":"2006-09-08T15:52:02","slug":"does-six-sigma-have-a-place-in-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/09\/does-six-sigma-have-a-place-in-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Six Sigma Have a Place in Sales?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An article on Six Sigma in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sellingpower.com\/html_newsletter\/sales\/article.asp?id=2575&#038;lid=SP479025&#038;nDate=September+5%2C+2006\" target=\"_blank\">Selling Power&#8217;s newsletter<\/a> caught my interest. We are all quite familiar with Six Sigma in manufacturing and engineering, but Six Sigma and sales? It seems a little far fetched. The article is based on Michael Webb&#8217;s (founder of Sales Performance Consultants) sales process which is broken down into 5 steps. Webb contends that Six Sigma &#8220;applies science to the art of sales to consistently improve results.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>The 5 steps are:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Step #1: Define<br \/>\nStep #2: Measure<br \/>\nStep #3: Analyze<br \/>\nStep #4: Improve<br \/>\nStep #5: Control<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Interesting. There was a link to his website so naturally I clicked on it and poked around a bit. I came across an article titled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salesperformance.com\/article_details.aspx?id=WhatsWrong\" target=\"_blank\">What&#8217;s Wrong with Six Sigma?<\/a> in which Webb discusses why Six Sigma is an effective method for impacting sales &#038; marketing. He makes some great points that I would like to share with you.<\/p>\n<p>First, Six Sigma characterizes business problems through precise identification of data and facts. It translates these measurements into mathematical, cause-and-effect relationships. This drive for hard facts ties every project to a measurable result, ideally on the financial statements. He goes on to say that the Six Sigma tool kit is not yet complete. Because it is rooted in manufacturing, Six Sigma&#8217;s tool kit is heavily weighted toward statistical validation of sampling techniques and design of manufacturing experiments. Where as in sales and marketing, the core process involves intangibles and transforming people&#8217;s behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Webb gave this example which I thought illustrated his point nicely:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Suppose the belief that &#8220;sales is a numbers game&#8221; drives a sales office to generate a large number of quotes, which end up not closing. An inexperienced team might jump too quickly into process definition and measurement work. However, lean techniques (which focus on work flow and value to the customer) might lead the team to ask why the process is set up that way in the first place and ask these questions:<br \/>\nWhat value is a quote to a customer who is not likely to buy anyway?<br \/>\nHow might we find more likely prospects before we go through the effort of generating quotes?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If any area in business needs a scientific method to improve operations and results, sales and marketing needs to be put at the top of the list. He contends not only will you be able to ask the following questions about your organization, but have a measurable answer for each one.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Don&#8217;t know which 50% of your marketing expense is generating a return? Now you have a way of finding out whether you are getting bilked.<\/li>\n<li>Can&#8217;t tell which prospects have the best chance of leading to sales, and which ones are probably giving you a ride? You can learn the characteristics of each set of prospects, and have salespeople spend more time with the former and less with the latter.<\/li>\n<li>Is your sales force blocking attempts to measure activities and results? If so, they are protecting something. You might not know what, but now you have a way to find out.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An article on Six Sigma in Selling Power&#8217;s newsletter caught my interest. We are all quite familiar with Six Sigma in manufacturing and engineering, but Six Sigma and sales? It seems a little far fetched. The article is based on Michael Webb&#8217;s (founder of Sales Performance Consultants) sales process which is broken down into 5 steps. Webb contends that Six Sigma &#8220;applies science to the art of sales to consistently improve results.&#8221; The 5 steps are: Step #1: Define Step #2: Measure Step #3: Analyze Step #4: Improve Step #5: Control Interesting. There was a link to his website so naturally I clicked on it and poked around a bit.&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/09\/does-six-sigma-have-a-place-in-sales\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sales-management","category-sales-techniques"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-4F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":593,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/01\/3-step-to-remember-names\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":0},"title":"3 Steps To Remember Names","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"January 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I am simply awful at remembering names which is a real drawback when working in sales. JustSell.com offers some quick tips to help improve your memory when meeting new people: 1 - Give full attention 2 - Repeat the name 3 - Make an association Follow the link and you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Communication&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Communication","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/communication\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1624,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/06\/fourth-quarter-comeback\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":1},"title":"Fourth Quarter Comeback","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We have been talking to many of our customers and have seen a consistent trend among our small sample size - Q4 is going to be a good quarter.\u00a0 Of course, that doesn't do much for the last few days of this quarter and Q3, but it is a good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Economy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":984,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/06\/accelerate-the-on-ramping-time-frame\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":2},"title":"Accelerate The On-Ramping Time Frame","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"SellingPower.com has released their monthly sales management newsletter which is usually filled with insightful articles. How Long Are Ya\u20ac\u2122 Gonna\u20ac\u2122 Be New Here? is a client study on one company's efforts to shorten their sales ramp time. One of the universal problems all sales managers face is getting new hires\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hiring Salespeople&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Salespeople","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/hiring-salespeople\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1086,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/07\/top-4-suggestions-for-new-sales-managers\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":3},"title":"Top 4 Suggestions For New Sales Managers","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"SMT (Sales & Marketing Training) has an article in its recent newsletter that surveyed its members for advice they would give to new sales managers.\u00a0 The author has provided the top 4 pieces of advice: Assessing talent is a first step Coaching the \u20ac\u0153coachable\u20ac\u009d spending appropriate time on those individuals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Assessing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Assessing","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2071,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2009\/07\/stupid-sales-moves\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":4},"title":"Stupid Sales Moves","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Funny article from Saleshq.com: While working my way through college, I sold vacuum cleaners. Trying to close a sales call, I asked the prospects if I could use their phone to call my boss and see if I could get them a better price. Of course, I already knew what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Anecdotes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Anecdotes","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/anecdotes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/06\/chopping-down-trees\/","url_meta":{"origin":289,"position":5},"title":"Chopping Down Trees","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Monster.com has an amusing, quick-read article about sales demonstrations gone horribly wrong. The example is predictable, but funny nonetheless. Hidden inside this article is a reference to a tremendous Abraham Lincoln quote: Abe Lincoln once said that if he had eight hours to chop down a tree, he would spend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sales Techniques&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sales Techniques","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-techniques\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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