Book SummaryCracking the Sales Management Code, by Jason Jordan

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Cracking the Sales Management Code

In Cracking the Sales Management Code, Jason Jordan presents a comprehensive framework for sales management. He introduces the Activities-Objectives-Results (A-O-R) system, which is a group of related metrics that link Sales Activities to sales goals and outcomes. Jordan argues that sales managers can affect Activity metrics by overseeing sales procedures. They can't directly control Sales Objectives; instead, they must influence them by directing Sales Activities. Sales Objectives serve as guideposts for daily selling activities of sales teams.

Jordan is a...

Cracking the Sales Management Code Summary The Core Principles of the Sales Management Code

According to Jordan, managing sales requires a shared framework and terminology to oversee the actions that enhance sales success. He believes it's important that those managing sales more deeply comprehend the basic operations present in every sales force. There should be a shared approach to sales that sales managers learn, similar to how accountants are taught GAAP and engineers learn total quality management. Without it, those managing sales have to improvise.

(Shortform note: Total quality management is a management approach in which every department in a company is responsible for improving its processes to ensure the company delivers high quality to customers. The idea is that if every department is constantly improving, the company as a whole will improve.)

In this section, we will discuss the foundational tenets of effectively managing sales, including the role of sales managers, principles of disciplined management of sales, and how to implement a structured methodology for overseeing sales.

Foundational Tenets of Effective Sales Management

The High-Leverage Role of Sales Management

Those in charge of managing...

Cracking the Sales Management Code Summary The Activities-Objectives-Results Approach

In the following subsections, we’ll discuss how to define the A-O-R components, apply A-O-R for sales management and measurement, implement A-O-R, and use it for managerial control.

Defining A-O-R's Components

Jordan introduces the A-O-R system, which is a group of related metrics that link Sales Activities to sales goals and outcomes. The four types of sales goals are Market Coverage, Sales Team Effectiveness, Customer-Centric, and Product-Centric. Sales managers can affect Activity metrics by overseeing sales procedures, Jordan explains. They can't directly control Sales Objectives; instead, they must influence them by directing Sales Activities. Sales Objectives serve as guideposts for daily selling activities of sales teams.

(Shortform note: Jordan’s labels for Sales Activities, Sales Objectives, and the four types of sales goals can be placed within the context of the Balanced Scorecard movement, which began in the 1990s. The Balanced Scorecard was a management tool that expanded the focus of performance measurement beyond financial metrics to include customer, internal process, and learning and growth...

Shortform Exercise: Understanding Disciplined Sales Management

Explore the importance and implementation of disciplined sales management processes as discussed by Jason Jordan in "Cracking the Sales Management Code."

How does having a structured sales process impact a sales team's ability to meet business outcomes?