5 Tips That Will Make Your Program Management Rock

5 Tips That Will Make Your

Program Management Rock

1. AUTOMATE YOUR PROGRAM TRACKING

2. TRACK ALL PROGRAMS – BIG & SMALL

3. GIVE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

4. PROVIDE SELF-SERVICE ACCESS

5. PARTNER WITH AN EXPERT

AUTOMATE YOUR PROGRAM TRACKING

of spreadsheets

have errors.”– RAYMOND PANKO

What We Know About Spreadsheet ErrorsJournal of End User Computing, 2008

WHY AUTOMATE ?

Simply put - a ‘spreadsheet only’

process can create some major issues.

“88%

AUTOMATE >> Reduce your reliance on spreadsheets

Stop wondering whether you are looking at

the most recent version of that spreadsheet.

Or worse, finding out you were updating it at the

same time as one of your colleagues (oh, fun!).

You know spreadsheets are inexpensive.

And yes, familiar.

But you also know they

are labor intensive.

Your time can be

better spent.

“I want to be an Excel Jockey

when I grow up.”

-Said no one. Ever.

Without spreadsheet “administrivia” you can start

doing the cool stuff you really want to work on to

help your company (and your career).

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Reducing your reliance on spreadsheets actually creates more

trustworthy data. Plus, it frees up time so you can be more strategic.

“Data quality problems

cost U.S. businesses more

than $600 billion a year.”

– The Data Warehousing Institute

WHY AUTOMATE ?

Data quality issues are costly.


>> No more error-prone data entry

Spreadsheet errors can be really hard to spot and

tracking them all down wastes a ton of time.

Think about the time, money and effort you’d save if

your program data was completely trustworthy.

No, really think about it.

No more copy/paste “uh-ohs.”

No more macros and formulas.

No more trying to reverse-engineer someone else’s spreadsheet logic.

Automation is sounding better and better, right?

Keep spreadsheets

for what they were

designed to do —

manage an ad hoc

process, not an ongoing

business critical one.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Program management is too critical of a business process to rely

only on spreadsheets, which can be riddled with errors.

“To stand still is to fall

behind. ”– Mark Twain

WHY AUTOMATE ?

You need to keep up with growth.

Better yet, drive it.

AUTOMATE

>> Reduce your reliance on spreadsheets


>> Stay one step ahead

Beverage Alcohol distributors have a lot on their plate.

You’re dealing with new market and consumption

trends, but also growth and consolidation.

Now we know you’re savvy, but be honest - can your

existing program management process keep up?

But even growth can create some challenges.

So, what happens when you grow (and fast).

Who doesn’t love growth?



>> You’ve got more programs, which means bigger spreadsheets.





>> You have new territories, which means increased workload.





>> You have new territories, which means increased workload.

>> You hire more sales reps, which means additional oversight.


See?

Things are getting

heavy again.

(okay, we admit it…we just liked this

image and wanted to use it again.)

So, when things are complex –

either for good reasons

(like growth)

or bad reasons

(like manual processes)

- we miss opportunities.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Embrace growth (and it’s challenges) but evaluate whether your

current program management process is really capable of

positioning you for success by identifying opportunity.

“The top business pressure for

Finance is the demand for

more information, faster.”

– Aberdeen GroupImproving Revenue Operations: Efficiencies and Innovation Lead the Way, May 2014

WHY AUTOMATE ?

Give your colleagues (and your boss)

what they need.




>> Track more programs

Unless you have super human math skills, we’re pretty

confident in declaring this:

You can’t track ALL your programs without automation.

Let’s be real. Sales reps tend to focus on the big fish

that get them to their number faster. But little fish can

be quite satisfying too.

So, why not

track all your

programs, not

just the big

ones?

That sounds nice, right?

Everybody…

Working together...

All your programs...

No spreadsheets.

Kumbaya.

Cases

Accounts Sold

New Accounts Sold

Recurring Accounts Sold

Placements (or PODS)

It’s totally possible. Promise.But to do this right you need to keep in mind that

programs can be designed A LOT of different

ways. Make sure your program management

process can account for any of these attributes:

New Placements

Recurring Placements

Dollars

Brand Points

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Don’t leave money on the table. You really can capture revenue

from every program - big and small. Just take into account the

different ways programs are designed.

We get it. Your program goals and payouts are

wicked hard to manage.(we’re from Boston, we can’t help it - this is how we talk).

And we know you’re thinking – it’s too hard, it will

take too much time. Well, not if it’s automated.

WHY AUTOMATE ?





>> Reduce time and resources needed

Manual

No Goal

Percent Distribution

Percentage Increase

Just make sure you know what you want to base your

calculations on – there are many options:

Calculate goals

and payouts automatically.

Program Goal

Program Goal Spread

Quantity Increase

Enter all programs in one place.

Access historical data in a central repository.

Congrats - you are now fully equipped to design

smarter, more profitable programs.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

When automating – the devil is in the details and the business

rules around them. By understanding the details up front,

automation can save time, resources, and your sanity.

Update daily.

Automation gives you

the ability to keep a

close eye on daily

performance.






>> Deliver trusted information on time

Nobody likes a grumpy boss – and the last question you

want to field is “Hey, are these numbers right?”

(insert heavy sigh here)

You want your sales reps (and your boss) to

have confidence in the numbers you’re sharing.

You can help your sales reps meet their

goals with timely, accurate reports.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Winning teams are built on trust. Trust is built by sharing accurate

data where and when your sales reps need it.

TRACK ALL PROGRAMS – BIG & SMALL

Determine

where more

effort is

needed and

how much.

TRACK ALL PROGRAMS>> Sharpen your sales focus

Stop wondering if your intuition is leading you in the

right direction.

Use data to build a fact base. You can argue with opinion.

You can’t argue with accurate, trustworthy data.

Monitor the performance of your suppliers,

brands, and programs.

So you know exactly where to focus your attention.

Identify

the highest

margins.

When margin detail

is available by

account, brand, and

program type...

You can zero in on key performers and boost the bottom line.

Use that insight to drive sales by

showing reps where to best

allocate their time.

Capture more revenue.

Your more profitable

suppliers might not be

your biggest.

Be attentive to all suppliers.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

When margin data is readily available you can capture more

revenue and focus time building profitable relationships with the

best suppliers (not just the biggest ones).

PROVIDE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

“We all need people who will

gives us feedback. That’s

how we improve.”– Bill Gates

WHY IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK?

Teams improve with timely feedback.

Boost your

forecasting

capabilities.

How do you do it?

With timely data and a

comprehensive view

of performance.

IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK>> Help reps meet sales goals & quotas

Well, first you need the ability to

shift a reps’ selling focus on the fly.

And you need to be able to

focus on at-risk programs

earlier in their lifecycle.

Give programs the attention they need before it is too late.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Meet sales goals and quotas more frequently with visibility into

the numbers. Motivate reps to maximize their performance.

IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK>> Help reps meet sales goals & quotas

>> Produce results

Improve sales management

and effectiveness

With a holistic view ... gain a real-time

understanding of the state of the

business and each rep’s performance.

Determine which sales reps are

rocking it and who needs help -

across programs, suppliers, and

brands.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Discover which reps, programs, and customers need attention to

meet sales goals. When reps meet goals the company wins.

PROVIDE SELF-SERVICE ACCESS

“Self-service data discovery

software is going to be a top

need for businesses in the

year ahead.”– Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business

Intelligence and Analytics Report,February 2014

The stuff competitive advantage is made of…

WHY SELF-SERVICE ACCESS?

SELF-SERVICE ACCESS>> Provide fast and simple visibility

across the organization.

What if your sales team had all of the information they

needed, when they needed it, where they needed it?

Self-service, when built on the right foundation is a

beautiful thing.

The right foundation

starts with applying

your business rules.

The key to self-service is mastering the business rules.

Only then can you

deliver the right

information to the

right people at the

right time.

With the business rules in place you can self-serve by

delivering role-based reports and dashboards.

A decrease in

report requests.

Productivity rises

as report

requests fall

away.

Another benefit to

self-service?

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Develop a proactive, data-driven culture by enabling self-analysis.

No more waiting for data.

PARTNER WITH AN EXPERT

EXPERT>> Make the complex simple.

If you feel like you need

help – that’s okay.

This is complex stuff.

But do yourself a solid -

demand a deep understanding

of your industry.

Place high value on a proven track record of

success in the Beverage Alcohol Industry.

Require technology that ‘s specifically designed to meet

your program management challenges.

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

Don’t make a rookie mistake – getting program management right

is too important to work with anyone but an expert.

Meet

Program Advisor™

We really can help you with all

of this stuff. Seriously.

AUTOMATE YOUR PROGRAM TRACKING

>> Reduce your reliance on spreadsheets





>> Deliver trusted information on time

TRACK ALL PROGRAMS – BIG & SMALL

>> Sharpen your sales focus

GIVE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

>> Help reps meet sales goals & quotas

>> Produce results

PROVIDE SELF-SERVICE ACCESS

>> Provide fast and simple visibility across

the organization.

PARTNER WITH AN EXPERT

>> Make the complex simple.

Program Advisor™

Automated tracking of all programs

based on your business rules with easy,

self-service access for Sales, Marketing,

and Finance.

Learn more:

• 781.229.9111

• [email protected]

• www.dimins.com

• @DI_tweet

AUTOMATE – TRACK ALL PROGRAMS – SELF-SERVICE ACCESS - EXPERTS

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dimins.com/

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5 Tips That Will Make Your Program Management Rock