Learning how to ride the Boom AND Bust economy

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Learning how to ride the Boom AND Bust economy

November 3, 2011 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Culture, Marketing, Resilience, Sales Leadership, Sales Planning, Sales Results, Strategy

These turbulent, challenging and sometimes volatile times we find ourselves living in are making many of us rethink how we do business, how we live our lives and how we engage with the world. Unless you are hiding under the doona, the rest of us are witnessing and experiencing a major transition from the Industrial Revolution to a brave new world of the New Tech paradigm.

This transition is exciting and frightening at the same time because the ‘new order’ is not ordered at all. It keeps changing at a rapid rate leaving a constant sense of unease. Many of the old rules no longer apply and people are left feeling restless and confused. Some are thriving, of course, because they love the excitement of so many options and so much change. However, with too much choice how do we sort through so much information to make good decisions for ourselves, our teams, our businesses, our families and so on?

Is the 5 year strategic plan dead? Probably. Is the alternative not to plan at all? Probably not.

So how do we get used to this? How do we keep our focus and still be adaptable?

boom AND bust hand in hand

Welcome to the Boom AND Bust World.

The reality is we can no longer claim to operate in a Boom OR Bust economy, where repetitive cycles gave us some form of predictability. We now live in a Boom AND Bust world where some businesses, communities and countries are prospering and making the most of what’s on offer and other businesses, communities and countries are going out of ‘business’ because they can’t, won’t or don’t adapt quickly enough to have the foundations in place to ensure their future viability.

So how can we learn to adapt and keep our heads while others around us may be losing theirs?

We’re now seeing and will continue to see some industries and businesses halve their sales revenues and watch the disappearance of margins due to commoditisation, reconstitution or irrelevance of their products. Other businesses and industries are more than doubling sales because they’re reading the signals and subsequently innovating and adapting to an ever changing world. Couple this with the massive restructure in consumer preferences and how they like to buy. People are now looking for connections that are real and genuine as they sort through mountains of information. They’re looking for businesses, brands and people they can trust.

Some industries will not make it. They’re fighting for relevance, trying to hold onto the old model. Recently, I was amazed to see a double page advertisement in a major Australian newspaper’s weekend magazine extolling the virtues of GP Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and how vital they are to GPs education and our wellbeing. However, according to a recent ABC Radio National Background Briefing report the majority of GP’s don’t want to see medical sales reps; they simply don’t have the time and they can get their information from the web. Those who do want to see medical usually hope to garner a free lunch or some other bonus unrelated to the medicine and our wellbeing. The relevance of GP medical sales reps is dying out. Another business model recently in the public eye is the hard copy newspaper business. What will this industry look like in five to eight years time? Will hard copy newspapers even exist? There’s been a dramatic and rapid drop in sales of hardcopy newspapers in Australia alone and new models are quickly stepping in to take their place..

jumping to a better place

These are two examples of high profile, powerful industries under pressure to adapt and change. Imagine the benefits of these changes. For instance, the costs of medicines going down because we as consumers are no longer funding large and expensive field sales forces. Well, one might dream… Yet, instead of quickly adapting to change, it’s tempting to put your fingers in your ears or the doona over your head and pretend it isn’t happening. Not the best strategy for survival. Adapt or die I hear you say.

Instead of living in fear of change here are some tips to help you navigate your way on your journey and take action to stay on top, out the front or in the game:

Assess Risks: Identify and manage your risks. Engage your team and other key people (trusted outsiders) in a SWOT analysis and strategic review http://www.barrett.com.au/sales-consulting.html of your business . It’s a helpful exercise to do (SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and gives you a good starting point with which to make decisions.
Control the Controllables: Work out what you can Control, what you can Influence and what you can not. Then define tactics and set out to do what you can to control and influence your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Seek out Opportunities: Look for opportunities where you can grow sales, build markets, create new products or revitalise old products. A great way to look at where your business can grow is to look at 4 segments: 1)Current Products with Current Customers, 2) Current Products with New Customers/Markets, 3) New Products with Existing Customers, and 4) New Products to New Customers or Markets.
Make Decisions: Questions deliver answers. Make sure you ask yourself key questions to help you make better decisions moving forward. For instance, decide why you are in business. Decide what you want to stand for. Decide what it is you do best and who would value and buy what you do. Decide if your current business model is still viable or not. Work out the decisions you need to make and then make them. Indecision is the worst thing you can do. Even if you make a wrong decision it is better than no decision.
Solve Problems: What problems do you need to solve in your business? Ask your people for ideas and input. Are these problems worth solving? Are they solved via other means other than what we are used to? Sort it out and then get on out there and solve them. No point doing a ‘BMW’ – bitch, moan and whinge.

We are indeed living and working in more challenging and unprecedented times. I propose that BAU (business as usual) is now a redundant term. The 21st century is all about being adaptable, innovative and quick on your feet as well as being a good listener and remaining patient and calm at the same time. Not your normal bed fellows.

I propose we are now experiencing the paradox of ‘AND’ where we live with ambiguity and need to incorporate ideas and actions that did not go together in the past. In order to thrive, not just survive, we need to get used to this ‘AND world’ and learn to live as comfortably as we can within the ambiguity and changes that surround us every day.

power of choice

That said many people are not comforted by these changes or even by my suggestions, however our success lies in how we approach change. During any time, especially turbulent times there is one constant – the power of Choice. We are never without Choice in any situation and how we choose to respond. So make a decision and choose what is best for you, your people, your business, your customers, your family and beyond. Build your resilience, learn to ride the waves. Don’t sit back and simply worry because worry doesn’t fix anything, it just makes it tougher for you.

There is a wise Buddhist saying: ‘If there is a problem you can fix, why worry? If there is a problem you cannot fix, why worry?’

Welcome to the World of Boom AND Bust and enjoy the ride.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Age Old Lawn Bowls Turns New With Social Media

September 6, 2011 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Social Media, Strategy, Success

Lawn Bowls clubs are innovating to attract new members, even running bare-foot bowls and speed dating bowls for new and existing members. If the sport of Lawn Bowls can embrace the internet and social media to reinvigorate its brand, increase participation, grow its members and lift revenues, then so can we all.

Ben McArthur JunChamps 2008

Lawn Bowls has been around for hundreds of years with its origins supposedly dating back to Ancient Egyptian times along with its cousins, Bocce and Pétanque. It’s often been seen as a traditional sport for older people with rigid rules and recognisable but rather unattractive white uniforms. I can remember my grandmother, Clare playing bowls for years all around Victoria and South Australia. As a child and teenager it appeared to me to be a rather stiff and formal pursuit, certainly not aimed for youth participation. We were in fact actively discouraged from pursuing it as a suitable sport. You would think this perception as a recipe for a dying brand, yet Australian Lawn Bowls is seeing a strong resurgence like never before at both the elite and social level.

Memberships are growing, participation is high across a wide range of age groups and revenues are strong. So what have they done to reinvigorate their brand?

I came across this good news story while listening to ABC radio on one of my early morning walks which coincidentally passes right by our local Lawn Bowls club. I was delighted to hear the Chief Executive of Bowls Victoria, Peter Hanlon telling us that the sport of Lawn Bowls now has a whole new lease of life: especially in attracting a much younger demographic from teenagers to Gen X ‘s & Y’s. In fact some of their current national champions and elite players are teenagers and Gen Y’ers.

Lawn Bowling Tim Mason

Bowls Australia and its state entities realised some time ago that the sport wasn’t growing and this was largely due to its brand perception; ‘strict rules, old person, white uniform’ image. They commissioned extensive research and found that there were many people of many ages and abilities who wanted to play Lawn Bowls and the beauty about the sport is that almost anyone can play. So the answer was simple: communicate with the people that want to play.

Australian Lawn Bowls clubs quickly flung open their doors to people of all persuasions; people with disabilities, teenagers, families, community groups, even speed dating agencies; providing a venue and activity great for introducing people to one another. Corporates and businesses were also quick to see the benefits of lawn balls as a team building exercise and social outlet for out-of-office activities. The sport read the signals right and embraced its new members. So much so, clubs have even introduced Barefoot Bowling to make it even easier to participate.

There are no longer barriers to playing Lawn Bowls now. Anyone can play and anyone is welcome.

Here is what Bowls Australia now stands for:

Our vision
BOWLS – THE SPORT FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS
We will stimulate innovation of the business and sport of bowls so that peak bodies and clubs become known for their delivery of excellent services and resources and facilities become contemporary community venues and the game attracts people of all ages and backgrounds.

Our mission
To provide leadership and facilitate a collaborative approach for the growth, development and success of the sport and business of bowls in Australia.

Core values

Teamwork – national unity through constructive relationships;
Autonomy of state and territory associations;
Professionalism – demonstrated through integrity;
Progressive – adapt to the changing needs of society through the coordinated efforts of BA, state and territory associations and clubs;
Innovative – proactive culture attuned to environmental changes within and outside the sport.

‘A new game plan’
In March 2009, Bowls Australia released the strategic plan for 2009 – 2012 entitled ‘A new game plan’. No longer considered an old person’s pastime, the sport now has a whole-of-community approach. Other sporting bodies have taken Bowls Australia’s lead and done the same, an example of this flow-on effect is Swimming Victoria, now ensuring everyone, at every level has an opportunity to participate.

Once the signals were read, it was time to communicate. Social media has been a large part of Bowls Australia’s strategy for connecting with its new members and potential new members. The organisation embraced the online phenomena. Social media tools proved to suit its needs and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter proved to be the best way to connect with a new audience, promote events and report results, all the while bringing people together to share in a revitalised sport and social activity. By embracing new media, the brand breathed new life into what was becoming a tired and tried age-old activity. Check out their website to see how they did it.

Lawn Bowls is now one of the most socially inclusive sports across all levels across Australia. It gives people of all persuasions a place to socialise, participate and compete. As the Chief Executive of Bowls Victoria, Peter Hanlon said ‘it takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master’.

Thanks to Peter Hanlon, Bowls Victoria and Bowls Australia, my husband and I are now looking at getting into the sport much earlier than we would have otherwise anticipated and who knows we might just get the whole family involved too. Bring it on.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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Why we need to sell results not solutions

June 2, 2011 in Sales Skills, Strategy

‘Results not Solutions’ was voted as the Number 5 Sales Trends for 2011. If you’re business is about selling packaged or aggregated solutions you may be in for a rude shock – the world of selling has changed yet again. The world has moved on from selling solutions to delivering results. Selling solutions is a very “1990’s” approach, however even today much of the sales training you will see still hovers around selling solutions. The truth is people find solutions pretty quickly but delivering real results, well, that takes skill. People now want to buy ‘Results’. They are looking at how you can help them achieve results with your ideas, creativity and ingenuity.

In 2011 we are seeing more and more packaged solution offerings such as print solutions, financial planning, education and car leasing going the way of the product sale and becoming commoditised. Especially if they are not part of a total offering that contributes to better business results. Businesses selling packaged or aggregated solutions are at risk of losing their profitable edge because processes and systems are continually being automated and can therefore become like anything else that can be packaged and put online. Even the bread and butter documentation of legal firms and end-of-year tax return work for accountants is now automated and readily available online, making professional services firms go after more complex work to maintain margins.

Welcome to the Evolution of Selling.

When I began my career as a professional sales person in the early 1980s, sales professionals were trained in product benefits and communication skills which focussed mainly on handling objections. Our tool kit was simple. We were armed with a business card, product brochure, a geographic territory of clients to manage and grow and a car to get around in. The end goal? Make sales.

Yet, many people felt at odds with the way they were taught to sell because so little attention was paid to what comes naturally to people – how can I help you and be of use to you with my products, services and talents?

Instead in the 1970’s we fell for the product trap where we sold product features to curious buyers in a world of mass consumerism. In the 70’s it was all about product features – if your product was distinctly different from your competitors and you could get first to market you were then granted lead time to make hay while the sun shone.

However, in the 80’s, technology produced by these great ideas sped up the manufacturing process allowing competitors to copy products quickly. Now we were required to talk about product benefits. However this did not release us from the product monologue with clients still treated as passive by-standers. As technology sped up it also made it cheaper to produce product and the margins began to disappear as products became more commoditised.

Welcome to the 90’s; solving problems and creating productivity drives. Now we start to talk to clients about what they are trying to address, what problems they want to solve and what efficiencies they want to achieve. We sold in an aggregation of products which when combined solved problems and brought efficiencies and other benefits.

But now the margins are being eroded in the aggregated solutions space. We are seeing more packaged solution offerings such as print solutions, financial planning, education and car leasing, like products before them, become commoditised. Companies who cut costs, reduce levels of service and move customers online and DIY are stripping away any real value and reduce packaged/aggregated solutions to price negotiations. Selling packaged/aggregated solutions is at risk of losing its profitable edge.
So, where to from here?

If you only sell based on your product you are in a commodity space unless that product is so exclusive that people will pay a premium. Even some high end brands are at risk of losing their exclusive appeal. Just see how fast new technology like iPads and iPhones have been copied to ‘smart phones’ and prices reduced allowing more access to what was once considered an exclusive brand.

Unless you want to stay in the world of low margin commodity selling, which can be easily done at very cost effective ways over the internet, you need to recognise that the product is only part of the sale.

Smart sales people and their businesses know the real value and what clients are prepared to pay for lies in the collaboration and production of real ideas and results. Despite offering aggregated solutions they will look for ways to accelerate their clients businesses or personal lives to produce more outstanding results. This requires, amongst other things, business acumen combined with thinking outside the product and solution boxes and dealing with variables and ambiguities, which by nature are messier and less defined. Working together to achieve real results will bring with it all new partnership arrangements. In short, our jobs as high performing sales people is to help our clients map a pathway forward to the future.

This brings with it a whole new skill set. Think of the types of conversations you now need to have with your prospective customers where listening, questioning, resolving problems, collaboration, empathy and understanding are encouraged.

Remember, everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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How satisfied are you with your sales incentive plan?

April 28, 2011 in Coaching, Strategy, Success, Tips

A good sales incentive plan rests on a fundamental set of design principles that reward the right behaviours, optimise sales effectiveness, and maximise the return on incentive dollars.

Specifically, a good sales incentive plan design:
•   uses performance metrics that are aligned with the company’s overall strategy;
•   supports and is consistent with the overall sales force strategy — its job roles, available skills, selling processes,    internal culture, etc.;
•   is mechanically sound in its design elements; and
•   can be administered efficiently

If not well designed however, there may be issues or challenges within each principle which could limit effectiveness, waste new investments or lead to unforeseen consequences that would limit sales growth, especially during these volatile times. According to the 2010 Deloitte’s Strategic Sales Compensation Survey less than half of over 250 participating sales leaders (only 43%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their sales incentive program. The remainder were, somewhat, unhappy with their current plans.

Incentive programs are very important retention strategies; however we have noticed a shift in the configuration of incentive plans in recent times. A number of our clients, in addition to their monetary incentive plans, are now including professional, external one-on-one coaching as an incentive offering to their sales people and leaders. We are seeing a shift from purely monetary reward as the whole incentive offering to an incentive plan that also includes professional development.

So is your sales incentive plan sound?

If sales incentive programs are to be effective, all the factors that affect behaviour must be recognised, including: motivators, values, skills, recognition, an understanding of the company and teams goals, and the ability to measure progress. So, consider this:

1.   Do your metrics help drive the company’s strategy?
2.   Is your plan a good fit for your sales organisation?
3.   Is your plan “mechanically sound”?
4.   Can you administer the plan with existing people, processes, data, and technology?

Companies often turn to sales incentive programs to counter failures in meeting targets, poor behaviours or performance issues, unengaged employees, poor morale or attitude, high turnover or loss of talent, or increases in expectations from management. Many companies mistakenly assume that what works for one organisation will work well for all organisations. Companies often attempt to create incentive programs without thinking in detail about how each program feature will best suit their targeted audience.

For example, one software manufacturing company had a sales incentive plan whereby its salespeople could earn twice as much commission selling old solution than if they sold the new software solution, yet the manager wanted to increase sales of the new product. You can see where the sales team were going to give their attention to. Issue: company wants sales growth from new product but sales people are selling something else. Fix: rearrange how the salespeople are incentivized to achieve the behaviour and results you want. It looks so obvious, however companies make these mistakes every day. This is an easy fix if you are selling product in a transactional climate.

However, given these ever changing times and the significant shift from transactional product selling to more complex value added partnership selling, especially when many businesses are looking for more profitable relationships, many sales teams’ incentive plans are not keeping pace. Often based on simplistic transactions and volume, previous sales incentive plans do not account for the many B2B (business to business) sales results which are now based on the efforts of a team not the individual. Selling in complex B2B spaces are often the result of collaborative efforts, so how do you reward results often as the result of many?

The 2010 Deloitte’s Strategic Sales Compensation Survey identified that ‘effectively executing today’s more complex sales approaches requires key sales team members to work together; this could be a key success differentiator for companies in the next five years. But the right compensation plan balance between individual and team-based rewards remains hard to strike.’ Deloitte reported that around two-thirds of respondents are using some form of team-based selling as part of their sales model. But respondents still have concerns about how well their incentive plan is driving team selling. Only 41% feel their plan is driving team behaviour “well” or “very well.”

The “messages” the sales incentive plan design delivers about the company’s strategic priorities should not be contradicted by other sales elements the company has in place — for example, if there are unfocused role definitions within the sales team or little emphasis on attracting or retaining the right sales team members. This is why getting your sales force design right is critical.

The Survey also reported that sales incentive design must be structured so that its metrics, targets, commissions, bonuses, eligibility rules, etc., all interact sensibly and with as little complexity as possible. Poorly set quotas in a fast-moving and unpredictable marketplace can create either overpayment “windfalls” for sales team members – based more on market dynamics than their own efforts – or unrealistically high expectations that can keep morale at a low level. Moreover, the risk is exacerbated by the increasing popularity of building estimates of “potential” into territory or account quotas. While the idea may make good business sense, it is difficult to create estimates with precision, and therefore increases the chances of significant errors in quota levels. The following advice was highlighted as a result of the survey findings:

Take a step back. Evaluate plans against the four principles. Invite practitioners from Sales, Finance, IT, Sales Operations, and HR to look at sales compensation from all perspectives. Think through how investments in sales expansion and support should be productively deployed.

Consider retention. Think about which sales performers the sales team needs to retain — not just the current top performers, but also the “up and comers” who will make a difference to your company in the long-term. Perhaps create longer-term pay structures to keep them motivated.

Something more than Money
Consider offering coaching support to your sales team as part of your incentive plan. This will work especially well for high performers who are looking for something more and those “up and comers” who can really accelerate with the right guidance and support.

As mentioned we are seeing a shift from purely monetary reward as the whole incentive offering to an incentive plan that also includes professional development. So it’s true, even for sales people money doesn’t buy you everything.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, MD of www.barrett.com.au

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Transitioning from the old sales paradigm to the new world of social sales

February 2, 2011 in Communication, Sales Relationships, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Self Development, Social Media, Social Sales, Strategy

When I began my career as a professional sales person in the early 1980’s we were trained in product and client communication skills focusing on handling objections. We were given business cards, product brochures, a geographic territory of clients to manage and grow, and a car to get around in. We did not have mobile phones, let alone smart phones / tablets, laptops, or CRM’s. There was very little coaching and we were expected to make sales and make it work.

For a while there, let’s say 20+ years, it seemed like business as usual as many companies still clung to the Product Paradigm of Selling – ‘show up and throw up information’, however there were fundamental shifts of seismic proportions happening around us even back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The transition from product to solution selling was one significant shift, however, this was just a pit stop on the way to the far more complex selling world we find ourselves in today.

28 years on the sales terrain is a very different proposition – the new world of social media, social selling, the importance of collaboration and the centrality of the customer – we are truly entering a customer focused world.

Product and Solutions (the aggregation of products) no longer offers the competitive edge in the sales process, the shift in value, beyond product and product solutions, lies in ideas, creativity, collaboration, interconnectedness and innovation and means that the types of conversations we have with customers, suppliers, referral partners and the like is at the centre of effective selling and business relationships.
And buyers are way ahead of most sales people. The conversations they are having about their suppliers, research they do before they buy, the journeys they take to purchase without any sales person’s involvement are important to watch and pay attention to. And that’s not all – we need to pay attention to what they do and say after the sale, how they talk about us, their points of view, the influence they have over others ideas and opinions and the circle just keeps getting wider. But are sales people and businesses keeping up.

According to Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEO of OgilvyOne Worldwide, Social media is having an enormous impact on buyer behaviour. OgilvyOne’s survey of a 1,000 sales professionals in US, UK, Brazil and China reported that 49% of sellers see social media as important to their success and amongst the most successful sales people, over two thirds believe social media is integral to their success. However most companies are not adapting fast enough. They are not providing training in how to effectively use social media to sell and nearly half the sales professionals surveyed believe their companies are afraid of letting employees use social media.

Only 9% of US sales people say their companies train or educate them in social media while in contrast 25% of sales people surveyed in Brazil said they received training and education in social media.
This rapid change is unprecedented. With the rapid rise of social media, the focus on innovation, value beyond product and the increasingly complexity of business networks and communities, I have found myself looking back and looking forward working out what I need to leave behind and what I need to take with me into the future.

For those sales professionals who started their careers in the last 5-10 years this article may not mean much to you, however for those of us who have longer careers in selling we are faced with significant change.

What have found to remain true and I can carry forward from my early days in selling are the following:

Keep Prospecting – it is vital to make contact and keep in contact with customers, prospects, influencers, suppliers, partners, etc.
Review and Strategic Action– always review where your market, customers and competitors are and check for signs of change so you can adapt and take strategic action. Most people would call this planning but with change happening so rapidly it’s more like review and strategic action is a constant daily occurrence
Prioritisation – even more so now than ever before is the important skill of prioritisation. There is so much information: emails, special interest groups, new innovations and the like to keep on top it can be overwhelming without some form of prioritisation skills
Questioning and listening – always a main stay in any person’s, especially a sales person’s tool box. The listening acuity we now need means we need to pay more attention to the details of our clients’ conversations, needs and priorities while keeping a keen ear and eye on the broader landscape. Asking the right questions is critical.
Problem Solving and Prevention, Creativity and Innovation – again the idea that product was king is now dead; one of the key skills is to prevent and where necessary solve problem for people, but that is only part of the game now – we now need to generate ideas and create opportunities, imagination and innovation now stand tall.
Adapting to different Communication styles – with global reach comes the need to interact with a wide variety for people and adapt to difference, not difficulty
Manners and courtesy – despite what people may say about the current state of the world, manners and courtesy are the glue that hold our relationships together. No matter what we call it, courtesy and manners are NOT trivial. Here is how Edmund Burke (1729-1797) described it: “Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in.”

So what do I have had to integrate from the new, so far:

Digital communication, destinations and New Listening Skills. The need to look out for the digital footprints of buyers as they trawl the digital world. Mapping buyers journeys before they talk to sales people and setting up the right forums, websites, blogs, connections, opinions, etc. for them to connect to before we even speak as human beings is critical.
Interacting with special interest groups on the internet – looking to exchange ideas rather selling or blatant self promotion.
Selling is a Team Sport – marketing, sales, and customers are all in it together
Prospecting online – the shift from lists, Yellow Pages, etc to avenues such as Linkedin where a rich vein of data, contacts, prospects are available to be researched and connected to.

Much has change in the world of selling and more changes are afoot. I’m holding on as best I can, trying to get my balance as I transition from the old paradigm of selling to the new world of social sales. So watch this space.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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