Sales Thought for 2013

 Articles, Selling  Add Comments »
Jan 142013
 

As we transition from 2012 into 2013 a number of sales imperatives either manifest themselves, become more important or the tendency takes more of a solid form.

Traditionally, sales has followed an established outline. This pattern, it is now clear, over-emphasized the needs of the seller.
Moreover, since human behaviour and reaction is almost unpredictable the process often failed.
The process went roughly as such: 1- Understanding one’s capabilities and the products or services represented 2- Prospecting in order to narrow down a vast marketplace to a list of prospects 3- Qualification or Marketing to prospects and gauging Money, Authority and Need or Desire 4- Presenting 5- Removing Objections 6- Trial Close including repeating 4 and 5 as necessary 7- Closing

http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=646

This model is still valid and prevalent partly due to training and largely due to companies’ narrow focus and tight time-lines.

Nevertheless, based on my observation and experience, here are my predictions for factors that gain increasing prominence in sales for 2013 and beyond:

#1 Customers control the buying process – sympathy and servitude become increasingly important.
Buyers are more and more informed. Comparing brands, products and capabilities is less and less difficult. Salespersons need to educate buyers as early as possible and to do so from the ground up. Some might call this un-educate.

#2 Delivering more value
Selling will require better understanding why your solution is better than not only your competition’s, but also better than other requirements and the status quo.
Customers are armed with ample information. Could the seller better that?

#3 Salesforce specialization becomes more important.
Whether it is verticalization by industry or a technical specialization (by specific product or technology) focus will gain new prominence in sales. Increased customer knowledge requires similar improvement in account managers’ body of knowledge. Indeed, many a seller might find himself at a disadvantage knowledge-wise compared to the prospect in regards to the seller’s offering.
(Almost) everything is a commodity. How do you educate the buyer on what sets you apart? There is something (real) that sets you apart, right?

#4 Sales culture needs to become pervasive
Organizations that overhaul their internal culture to align marketing, analysts and products and management with sales win.
Currently, much time is wasted in internal squabbles and misalignment. Corporate jockeying is unlikely to end soon, but those who create ‘one organization’ may anticipate positive results.
One for all and all for one is difficult to instil unless driven at all levels at all times in every direction.

#5 Sales compensation has to be re-modelled to compensate the new reality in selling. Company representatives should be compensated for what it takes to turn a prospect into a customer today – not how it worked last year or the decade before. Networking, company and product representation (where customers look, think Social Media) and team selling and cooperation is what it takes nowadays. Are employees co-aligned? Their effectiveness and the company’s success depends on it. A move away from variable compensation is also underway in more innovative organizations. As a bonus, this evolution, when advertised, also garners customer trust.

I believe some elements will never change:
Salespersons who work hard, no matter any other circumstances, win http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=443
Salespersons who challenge customers’ knowledge, perceptions and ‘blow things up’ win
Salespersons who ask questions win http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=335
Salespersons who establish genuine and bi-directional rapport win

Competition

 Articles, Marketing, Selling  Add Comments »
Dec 292012
 

Who Is My Biggest Competitor?

In sales one typically thinks of his competitors as the other companies in the same industry.

  • Belvedere sales staff likely fret over Johnson & Johnson’s shelf space
  • Dell marketing targets HP
  • Burger King is upset about Wendy’s taking over the number 2 spot.
  • Mazda likely issues internal collateral on how its people handle Toyota customers
  • Etc.

Based on experience, however, would you agree that other companies producing goods or services in the same vertical should every time be relegated to the number 3 spot every time? Consider that. There is that much slack in market for sales and prospects. If only one could convert those into sales, but if one’s direct competitors should be third on the list who or what occupies positions one and two?

One’s biggest competitor is always ‘doing nothing.’ This ‘do nothing’ is where a value or cost-benefit is not identified and companies choose to maintain status quo. Inattention to you has cost you a sale.

The second biggest competitor is likely something outside one’s industry. Any entity has limited resources, which it needs allocated and assigned according to actual or perceived priority. Perhaps your prospect has declined to move forward with the snow removal machines you were pitching in favour of upgrading the in-house cafeteria (or the endless permutations of that scenario)?

Also somewhere in there is commoditization. In our contemporary society there are so many on-going things and change happening at such speeds that not only customers are tired of you and your offering, but also your industry has become pedestrian. There simply is that much competition out there.

Consider the revised competitor line-up in your next sales and marketing effort.

*Things That Need To Go Away: A broader sense of the competition for your prospect’s dollars. 

When You Tell Your Story Do You Tell A Story?

 Articles, Marketing, Selling  Add Comments »
Nov 202012
 

It does not lend itself to a quick and efficient exchange, it requires thinking, preparation or imagination and is at odds with ‘soldier mentality’ and the speed of modern business.

Yet, storytelling is one of the most effective and enduring techniques to sell and market a product, service or idea.

Whether selling or marketing incorporating a story will have a sublime effect on the sales and marketing effort. People love hearing stories and often retain it better than an unthreaded pitch.

Leveraging storytelling as a technique is a good idea to start. It has a soft feeling that likely rekindles memories of one’s childhood and comfort or speaks to the narrative mind of mankind.

Nonetheless, storytelling does not exempt one from rules of sales and marketing.

  • Does the story invoke feelings and the warmness that is half the point of the technique?
  • Does the story allow for the recipient’s imagination and cognitive abilities to work and fill in the blanks? Are there numbers and facts included?
  • Like any sales pitch or marketing methodology the story cannot be perceived a false and bereft of logic.
  • Does it relate to the listener?
  • Does the story have a call to action?

 

Channel Reseller Support And Maintenance

 Articles, Marketing, Selling, Uncategorized  2 Comments »
Nov 132012
 

It is difficult to render a sweeping verdict on whether an indirect sales model is better or more beneficial or direct sales to end-users are optimal. Both models have been successful. A company like HP (Hewlett Packard) prospered selling through an indirect channel. A competing company, in the same industry, Dell prospered selling its hardware directly to end-users. However, Dell is a good example to cite given how it has since turned over a quarter of its sales to the ‘channel.’

Each model is valid and appropriate under different circumstances including product type, line maturity and revenue size. The channel model, however, is typically applicable for companies without dedicated resources or wishing to scale beyond certain revenue ceilings. Channel partners bring connections and a strength in numbers, but need maintenance and attention.

Pay attention to activities under each heading:

1- Recruit partners which address product needs technically and coverage needs geographically.

2- Retain them by maintaining mindshare, providing education, support and offering profitable resell margins.

3- Optimize co-selling possibilities. Stock the partner area or portal of your website with marketing collateral, FAQs, selling scenarios and deal registration space. Provide leads, while ramping up partner lead generation capability and independence.

4- Hold partners responsible for utilization, registration and monitor lead flows bi-directionally.

5- Maintain open communications and learn simultaneous to teaching.  Hold each other accountable.

 

Continuous feedback and collaboration is essential. Do not be afraid to cut ties once the relationship is stale and unprofitable.

This is the ultimate measurement of whether the channel is beneficial or perfunctory.

 

 

Line Of Business – What Is On The Mind Of ‘C-level’ or ‘V-level’ Customers And Prospects

 Articles, Marketing, Prospecting, Selling, Selling More, Uncategorized  Add Comments »
Jun 072012
 

What does your prospect think about? It depends on the customer’s role. Salespeople who target that position’s specific thoughts and concerns will be more successful. This is called role-based selling. For the purpose of this article I am skipping two crucial discussions. First, Assistants need to be marketed to as well. A salesperson must believe he or she deserves the executive’s time. After all, you are not wasting time, are you? Two, the approach to C-level and V-level roles needs to be personalized and stand out. More on those elsewhere as well as in future discussions. In the meantime, align your sales to the position’s objectives, while ensuring you are speaking correctly to the right ‘C’ (‘Chief’ title) or ‘V’ (‘Vice”-President title).

Peruse the below, but ultimately they need to tell you how to sell to them by telling you about their needs. This is why questions are important. This is why preparation in advance according to the below is important.

President or CEO

What? Grow and lead the company

Reports to: Board Of Directors/Shareholders

Pains and Concerns:

  • Grow revenue
  • More profitability/declining profitability
  • Shareholder value
  • Managing risk
  • Happier and more productive employees
  • Culture of organization
  • Partnerships
  • Company reputation and
  • Determining strategy and direction

Financial Managers (VP Of Finance, CFO, Controller, Treasurer)

What? Financial management

Reports to: CEO and Finance Committee of the Board Of Directors

Pains and Concerns:

  • Knowing and measuring financial drivers,
  • Profitability, Quarterly goals
  • Information and reports to manage events and conditions,
  • Reducing costs,
  • Predicting and eliminating risks
  • Return on investments and return on assets
  • Compliance and regulatory changes
  • Accounts reconciliation and forecasting (treasurer)
  • Business value (controller)
  • Shortening transaction times,
  • Line of business accountability
  • Closing books faster or consistently having them ‘closed,’
  • Ensuring consistency among territories, divisions and currencies,
  • Drive operational efficiencies,
  • Better, more consistent and more centralized reporting
  • Make better decisions faster and
  • Analyze and predict.

Human Resources Managers (VP Of Human Resources)

What? Manage the business’ people. A business’ most valuable asset is its people. Everything the company does or wishes to achieve is tied to its people’s skills and abilities.

Reports to: CEO or COO

Pains and Concerns:

  • Business and society, and employees, constantly change.
  • Doing more with the same or less,
  • Improving productivity,
  • Delivering and tracking education that is related to work,
  • Budgeting for, finding, hiring and calculating the cost and return on employees,
  • Complying with legal imperatives
  • Enabling employee self-service for faster and more efficient control and removing bottlenecks and
  • Local currency and regulations.

Manufacturing Management (VP Of Manufacturing, Chief Operating Officer)

What? Producing timely goods at the lowest cost

Reports to: CEO

Concerns:

  • Manufacturing on demand with the shortest possible lead time,
  • Manufacturing to order,
  • Forecasting demand,
  • Customizing and configuring to order,
  • Collaborate and communicate with supply chain including suppliers, sub-contractors and distributors including view into demand and inventory via EDI or the web,
  • Track costs,
  • R&D
  • Operational justification to understand where cutting cost won’t impact operations
  • Analyze efficiencies,
  • Predict inventory cycle and
  • Eliminate waste.

Sales and Marketing (VP Of Sales, VP Of Marketing, CMO)

What? Increasing sales, improving top and bottom-line and tracking to forecast

Reports to: CEO

Concerns:

  • Knowing the customers,
  • Sales growth,
  • Customer satisfaction/customer turnover
  • Pricing
  • Margin growth and maintenance,
  • Forecast accuracy and visibility,
  • Company profitability,
  • Monitoring sales channels and trend analysis,
  • New customer acquisition and cost of doing so
  • Company image
  • Productivity of sales and marketing staff,
  • Effectiveness of marketing programs and motions,
  • Positioning products, services or people
  • Efficiency of different types of marketing (such as promotions, web, channels, viral, etc.),
  • Campaign budgets and ROI (Return On Investment),
  • Anticipating trends and consumption,
  • Lead management and visibility into each representative’s achievements and pipeline.
  • See http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=846 for different types of marketing.

Information Technology (VP of IT, CTO, CIO)

What? Lead the company’s information technology

Reports to: CEO or COO

Pains and Concerns:

  • Running the company’s information technology
  • Which hardware, software and service
  • Enabling productivity
  • Interoperability among internal and external customers
  • Flexible systems that can scale up or down with the business
  • Saving the company money
  • Eliminating disparate systems

Belief

 Articles, Management, Marketing, Negotiating, Prospecting, Selling, Selling More  Add Comments »
Jun 052012
 

I firmly ‘believe’ that having belief is one of the keys to success. This is not some spiritual intangible. It is an imperative. Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian hockey player, is often quoted as saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” It is as simple as that. Believing is about doing. Time and time again when a salespersons is convinced that an effort is futile it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Successful salespeople know that when all hope is lost the worst possible thing to (not) do is to give up. One last e-mail beseeching customers, one more call exploring alternatives, one strategic question to a prospect may turn things around.

One needs belief however. The belief that something may happen. Ironically, it is the more experienced and tenured salespeople that often fall victim to a lack of belief. They internalize the mistakes, failures and objections and project them into various current situations. It should be the opposite. The more pertinent question invoking belief is ‘have I sold before?” or ‘have I interviewed for such a job successfully before?’ or ‘Did I win in a similar situation in the last year?’… then why not again?

Your believing not only determines what you do, but it also determines that you do it. Moreover, it is the duty of the management and company to give, instill and maintain that belief. Salespeople are humans. They need support as much as anybody.

 

Selling Fear And Pain Avoidance

 Articles, Marketing, Prospecting, Selling, Selling More  1 Comment »
Jun 042012
 

People in sales and marketing might occasionally forget or possibly not be able to say what they know as succinctly as ‘fear sells,’ but unfortunately fear does sell. Think about the nightly news where the leading stories are negative items designed to instill worry, catastrophe, disaster or concern into the minds of the viewers “if it bleeds, it leads.” Think about salespeople scaring you that should you not buy X you will lose your health/pay more later/fall behind, etc.

For instance, a security alarm company will never approach homeowners with information such as “99% of houses in your area were not burglarized.” Rather, the message will go something like this: “a house down your street was burglarized. You could be next!” Cue homeowner to order security monitoring for the house.

Another related psychological imperative is the need to avoid pain. People are compelled by the need to avoid pain more instantly over seeking or finding pleasure. Think about it. Does someone want to avoid or escape a predicament first or seek a new pleasure? Pain Avoidance is a prime technique for making pressing sales and accelerating sales velocity. This instinct is inherent in our genes.

In sales the formula for success is quantifying the pain and problem and demonstrating to the customer that the solution being offered costs less than the problem it displaces.

Similarly, the sales collateral, proposals and discussions should be fashioned in the same way.

Examples (with ‘better’ prompting more urgent action than ‘good’):

  • Good: “you can sign our contract and get the product”  Better: “Get the papers out of your hair”
  • Good: “your solution will bear many years of results”  Better: “Your problems are about to disappear”
  • Good: “your promotion is likely” Better: “Your boss will immediately get off your back”
  • Good: “people will enjoy the new menu and word will spread” Better: “No more bad reviews or food poisoning”

However, and very importantly, a salesperson needs to 1- have asked about the pain 2- understood the imperatives (listening skills) 3- quantified the challenge and 4- has calculated a Return On Investment (ROI) aligned to the solution offered. As such, the above

Best Sales Technique

 Articles, Marketing, Selling  Add Comments »
Jan 252012
 

People often ask, “what is the best sales technique (I can use)?” The question is general and unclear.
For the question to be answered one has to understand the difference between effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness is about output. Something is effective when it yields the best result. Efficiency, however, is closely related to resources and input/output. A process, in this case a sale, is efficient if a relatively good outcome (a sale? profit? margins? above average numbers?) has been obtained through a minimal amount of resource having been expended.
Think about it. The best sales technique, as far as efficiency is concerned, to give away the customer whatever he or she wants.
Salesperson: “Hello. How much would you like to pay for X?”
Customer: “I would like to buy this car with all the options included for $5.”
Salesperson: “No problem. I will drive it out for you.” Thinks: “Great day, so far today I have sold 10 cars and we have been open for 15 minutes.”
That is pretty efficient. The dealer has sold ten cars in fifteen minutes.

The catch is… well you know exactly what the catch is. It might be the best sales technique, but is not profitable, sane or sustainable.
Think about the way the group discount websites operate. They offer a big discount on something giving businesses the hope that the ‘something’ becomes a loss leader that generates volume or repeat business. I won’t get into the doleful nature of a business that wants to win business by doling out ‘deals’ or the sordid nature of a consumer that purchases solely based on ‘deals,’ but one thing requires particular attention. The ‘group buy’ websites, such as WagJag, GroupOn or Living Social, do not practice what they preach. I doubt any of these websites offers mass discounts to its customers (the businesses that buy into the promotions). After all, GroupOn has investors and sales and margins it needs to protect. It aims to be a long-term business and does not give in to the efficiency of whatever the merchant demands.
So, a better option is to have people find, crave and want you. Apple is the obvious example. Word-of-mouth, utility, group-think and momentum deliver Apple what it wants: sales. It is not price sensitive (Apple is often the most expensive of its category) and not subject to competitive pressures as much as other businesses. People come to it because it has a good reputation. It is known and liked. It knows what customers want and it crafts it.

In the era of modern and instant communication, the Internet and pervasiveness of information a business needs to stand out and draw prospects and customers in. The same goes for persons.
What is your inbound marketing strategy?

‘Why’ – The Most Important Question

 Articles, Management, Negotiating, Prospecting, Selling  1 Comment »
Nov 282011
 

Salespeople: do you know why you should undertake a task? Do you have a reason you can convey to customers that explains why doing something is beneficial? Has your sales manager explained to you the ‘why’ of what you are being asked to do or shortchanged you in the interest of simplicity and saving time and only given you the ‘what?’
Managers: Have you explained the ‘why’ to your teams? People who know why they need to do something, why they need to do it a certain way or in certain timeframe do it better as they are armed with a reason, rationale or logic. Take the time.

Asking ‘why’ also helps instill continuous improvement by questioning why something is done in a certain way and if a better process could come to be. Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story Of Success has a detailed briefing on the risks of ‘soldier mentality.’ For example, Korean Airlines’ poor safety record in the 20th Century is partly attributed to pilots, co-pilots and other personnel never questioning an order and never examining the ‘why.’ It makes for interesting reading.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries