2008 Press Releases

SALES PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IS GROWING IMPERATIVE FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS, SAYS NEW BENCHMARK RESEARCH

Ventana Research concludes Sales Performance Management systems are now “investment priority”

SAN JOSE, Calif.—June 10, 2008—Xactly Corporation, the leader in on-demand sales performance management, today announced the availability of new benchmark research from Ventana Research, underwritten in part by Xactly, that highlights the growing need for companies to improve their sales performance management processes in order to boost top- and bottom-line business results. Titled “Improving the Performance of Sales Organizations to Maximize Strategic Value,” the research also offers recommendations for companies looking to evaluate and enhance sales performance management processes and systems.

Says Ventana Research, “Improving sales performance is a primary motivating force for most businesses that rely on a sales force to generate revenue. Assessing and improving sales performance management processes is not just important, but imperative.”

Although nearly four-fifths (79 percent) of those benchmarked said they believe it is very important to improve sales operations and performance, only 41 percent are confident their organizations currently manage this process effectively. According to the research participants, primary roadblocks to effective sales performance management are hard-to-access information scattered across unconnected systems and repositories (51 percent), inconsistent execution (47 percent) and lack of process (38 percent).

Underpinning these challenges is the predominant use of spreadsheets by most organizations today to manage sales compensation. Organizations still relying on error-prone manual methods such as Microsoft Excel are challenged with accuracy, ensuring the sales performance process is a strategic function, and developing an enterprise system that can work across the sales organization.

“As we discovered from our research findings, organizations can’t effectively manage sales performance today in an ad-hoc manner, nor by relying solely on CRM or SFA solutions, which were never designed for strategic performance management purposes,” said Mark Smith, EVP Research at Ventana Research. “Rather it takes executive leadership and purpose-built technology solutions—from compensation management to sales analytics to quota and territory management—all aimed at specific aspects of driving sales performance, and all drawing on a single, comprehensive and trusted source of information.”

Key Recommendations for Improving Sales Performance
To overcome these and other impediments, the research suggests organizations “consider and assess applications that are designed to support specific sales operations, compensation and performance needs.” Ventana Research offers several recommendations for companies seeking to improve their sales performance management processes:

Assess. The research found only 27 percent of participants have achieved “sophisticated sales performance management deployments.” Most are at less advanced levels of maturity, and are either looking to address shortcomings and impediments (55 percent) or have no plans for performance improvement (18 percent). Companies need to assess where they stand on this continuum and “determine where to apply improvements in people, processes, information and technology.”
Focus. The benefits most organizations said they would look for with sales performance management are increased revenues and profits (70 percent), greater sales process efficiency (54 percent), and improved alignment of sales to business objectives (52 percent). Companies should pinpoint their desired outcomes and “build a plan that will deliver these improvements.”
Invest. The research revealed a “disturbing disconnect” between the number of organizations indicating they need to improve sales processes and the small number who have actually deployed sales performance management systems. Nearly half of benchmark respondents (47 percent) are still relying on manual, spreadsheet-based processes. The research recommends companies “invest in sales performance management to increase effectiveness and efficiency,” and “examine approaches such as software-as-a-service that can reduce the time and cost of deploying these applications.”
Integrate. With a majority of organizations relying on Microsoft Excel for sales management, Ventana Research recommends that organizations “integrate sales performance management systems into key existing enterprise systems.” The resulting data repository “can contribute to the delivery of a single view of sales performance at every level, from individual to management.”

“Sales performance management is all about aligning sales behaviors to corporate objectives to achieve the best return from your sales investments – a capability that remains valuable in good times, but is an imperative in challenging economic times,” said Karen Steele, vice president of marketing, Xactly. “In today’s competitive climate, sales performance management is a must-have for any company with a sales function aimed at increasing profits and revenues. And thanks to the SaaS delivery model, robust solutions such as Xactly’s market-leading application suite are now affordable to companies of any size.”

Conducted during November and December 2007, the Ventana Research benchmark research was based on 217 qualified sales, finance and operations executives and managers associated with oversight of sales performance management. With 84 percent of respondents based in North America, 46 percent represented large and very large companies, 27 percent were from midsize businesses, and 27 percent from small companies.

To access the executive summary of the research, visit http://www.xactlycorp.com/resource_center/VentanaSPMResearchReport.pdf.

About Xactly Corporation
Xactly Corporation is the market leader in on-demand sales performance management. The company’s flagship product, Xactly Incent, enables sales and finance executives to design, implement, manage, audit and optimize sales compensation management programs easily and affordably. Xactly solutions automate the process of aggregating data from disparate systems into a secure, hosted repository, and enable companies to leverage this business data, which is the lifeblood of sales performance management. Xactly helps companies improve operational performance, optimize sales effectiveness, proactively manage risk and compliance, and maximize profits. The Xactly family of products is used by sales and finance executives, compensation analysts, sales operations and sales professionals across a variety of industries, ranging from SMBs to large enterprises. For more information, visit www.xactlycorp.com or call 1-866-GO-XACTLY.

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Media Contacts:

Samantha Moore
Xactly Corporation
Tel: 408.200.0675
Email: smoore@xactlycorp.com

Kristin Reeves
Blanc & Otus Public Relations
Tel: 415.856.5145
Email: kreeves@blancandotus.com