Miller Heiman Announces Strategic Alliance with Sales Benchmark Index and Launches Comprehensive Sales Data Products and Analytic Solutions.

RENO, Nev. -- Miller Heiman (www.millerheiman.com) today announced a strategic alliance with Sales Benchmark Index (www.salesbenchmarkindex.com) to provide a comprehensive suite of sales data products and analytic solutions. This alliance brings together two leaders in the sales performance space, Miller Heiman, the pre-eminent leader in sales strategy and process, with Sales Benchmarking Index, the pre-eminent leader in sales benchmarking.

While sales organizations routinely measure progress related to internal production goals, it is not a complete analysis of performance. Measurements are greatly enhanced when external benchmarking against peers is added. For example, in good market conditions, internal statistics may confirm the sales team is achieving 150 percent of quota - a substantial gain - but the perception changes when compared to competitors who are achieving 250 percent of quota. This casts an entirely different light on whether an organization is over- or under-performing.

"Benchmarking against peer groups has been a common practice to drive improvement for nearly every other functional area," says Dario Priolo, Miller Heiman's executive vice president of corporate development. Priolo comments, "We are excited about our new alliance with Sales Benchmark Index because we can now give sales and business leaders new opportunities to drive performance improvement."

The Miller Heiman Sales Benchmark Index Reports include three essential components for benchmarking sales effectiveness in a complex, business-to-business selling environment: 1) Selling and Sales Management Best Practice Benchmarks, 2) Sales Operations Benchmarks and 3) Sales Compensation Benchmarks. The best practices draw from Miller Heiman's landmark research of "Winning Sales Organizations," a study that included over 6,000 participants around the world.

The operational and compensation benchmarks draw from Sales Benchmark Index's information repository of over 200 leading success indicators and proprietary forward-looking metrics. Reports will cover 15 different industries. By leveraging this data store, sales organizations can now understand how they are performing relative to others in their vertical or market segment.

Sales Benchmark Index's CEO, Greg Alexander, said: "Until recently sales leaders did not have the ability to measure themselves against the marketplace with objective external data. Our alliance with Miller Heiman has enabled us to create a single trusted data source to help sales leaders adopt this type of benchmarking. This alliance is a major win for our companies and our clients."

For more information on benchmarking, visit http://www.millerheiman.com/benchmark.

Miller Heiman-Sales Benchmark Index Reports

-- Best Practice Benchmarks
        -- Customer behavior
        -- Creating opportunities
        -- Managing opportunities
        -- Managing relationships
        -- Talent management
        -- Reinforcement and support
        -- Management execution

-- Operational Benchmarks
    -- Annual quota
    -- Sales productivity per sales rep
    -- Sales deal size
    -- Sales growth rate
    -- Proposal to close conversion rate
    -- Annual turnover rate
    -- Ramp time to full sales productivity
    -- Sales lead generation source
    -- Cost of sales
        -- Return on sales

-- Compensation Benchmarks
        -- Sales Director
        -- Sales Manager
        -- Strategic Account Executive / Manager
        -- Sales Representative
        -- Account Executive / Manager
        -- Inside Sales
        -- Sales Engineer / Specialist
        -- Sales Assistant / Support
        -- Sales Operations / Effectiveness
        -- Sales Training

Industry Focus

Business Services, Construction, Consulting and Professional Services, Energy, Finance & Insurance, Healthcare, Hospitality & Food Service, Industrial & Chemical, Manufacturing, Media, Pharmaceuticals, Technology & Software, Telecommunications, and Transportation.

About Miller Heiman

Miller Heiman has been a thought leader and innovator in the sales arena for almost thirty years, helping clients worldwide win high-value complex deals, protect and grow key accounts, manage talent, and optimize sales strategies and operations.

With a prestigious client list that includes Fortune 500 clients, Miller Heiman helps companies in virtually every major industry to build high performance sales teams that deliver consistent sustainable results to drive revenue.

The company is headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and has offices around the world. More information can be obtained by calling 877-552-1747 or by visiting www.millerheiman.com.

About Sales Benchmark Index:

Sales Benchmark Index is the largest sales benchmarking company, bringing the discipline of benchmarking to the art of sales. With an unmatched proprietary information repository, a unique methodology, technology, and over 75 years of combined operating experience leading sales forces, we help sales managers succeed by implementing data driven decision making.

Sales Benchmark Index has developed one of the most comprehensive sales benchmarking databases in the world and provide the world's most in-depth studies of sales management benchmarking.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company can be reached at 888-556-7338 or visit www.salesbenchmarkindex.com.