Success is a moving platform

You are browsing the archive for Strategy.

Success is a moving platform

May 22, 2009 in Brand & Reputation, Business Acumen, Competition, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Excellence Acadamy, Sales Leadership, Sales Pioneer, Sales Relationships, Sales Strategy, Sales Training, Strategy, Sustainability & Environment, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Do you have the wrong sales team delivering your sales strategy?

Ask yourself the follow the questions:

How has your strategy and /or market place changed recently?
How have you seen the role of ‘sales’ change over the last few years in your industry?
How do your sales people compare to your competitors?
How do your sales people need to sell now?
How is your product offering behaving in the market place now? Was it once exclusive and now a commodity?

The definition of a ‘good’ salesperson is driven by many possible needs. Those needs are a function of industry standards, changing market conditions, competition, corporate strategy and culture, personalities, past experiences, just to name a few.

In addition, many organisations overlook the shift in their products or services from being customised and exclusive to a commoditised entity and the impact this has on their sales force and sales efforts.

So it’s not just how your sales people behave that can affect sales, it’s also how your product or service behaves.

Let’s take a look at computers

For many years (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) computers were highly priced, exclusive products sold by highly priced, exclusive sales people. These sales people were specialists, experts or advisors selling into the big end of town because these were the only businesses who could afford computers back then.

However, as:

the cost to manufacture these products decreased making them more accessible and cheaper to buy, and
customers education, knowledge, awareness and experience with these products and processes increased

The style of the sales people required to sell computers changed.

Now you can go to small or large retail outlets and buy a computer off-the-shelf from retail sales people (most of who are paid much less than their highly priced, exclusive predecessors). Or easier still, you can buy custom built computers online at Dell, thus eliminating the traditional type of computer sales person all together.

Daniel Pink wrote, amongst other things, about the commodisation of products and services in A Whole New Mind and specifically how we need to look at creating value beyond product.

This is why more thought needs to be given to how a business translates its sales strategy into sales action. You need to make sure the current products and style of sales people you have are matched accordingly.

If customer’s product or service education level changes (i.e. they become more sophisticated), and there is change to the product and access (i.e. online), there will be a change in your sales force requirements.

However, some products which can behave as commodities in their own right can become part of a complex sales solution and need sales people who are specialists, experts or advisors.

Let’s look at Business Banking

Business Banking is really an essential service for any business, however the products on offer are often standard and commoditised in their own right.

So what is a business banking customer wanting from a Business Bank?

It depends on the relationship.

Current research indicates that many want ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘value for money’. The research also shows that many customers are not as sophisticated and savvy in knowing the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of Business Banking and therefore many would like to rely upon the expertise, advice and support from their business banker.

However, many Business Banking providers have not developed, trained or supported their Business Bankers to be specialists, experts or advisors. Most customers still go to their accountant for that advice and then use Business Banking products rather than extracting the possible value from their Business Banker.

As with Business Banking, there is often a great opportunity to capitalise on the potential long-term, in-depth customer-supplier relationships even if you have a range of commodity products.

I suspect many opportunities for further profitable sales sit untapped in many businesses because misalignment with strategy, product and sales people fit.

Knowing your market, where your products sits in isolation and in combination, and the types of sales people you need to have to deliver your strategy is critical.

So as you prepare for the next Financial Year you may want to review the sales force you currently have and see if they will stand up and deliver what your business needs in FY 09/10.

I will talk about this next time in “Creating your ‘Ideal’ sales team”.

Sincerely, your advocate for selling the right way.

1 Comment »

Professional Services firms are feeling the pinch

March 12, 2009 in Brand & Reputation, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Marketing, Prospecting, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Motivation & Rewards, Strategy, Success

Take note: Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Marketing Consultants et al

Professional Services Firms are struggling when it comes to keeping and finding business. This on top of the fact that many have to come to grips with the fact they need to sell. The market has definitely changed. You cannot sit there aggressively waiting for the phone to ring anymore.

In speaking with one partner from a well respected law firm, he vented his frustration at the lack of action being taken in his firm by partners and their teams in terms of driving the push to find new business in current and new accounts. He stated that some teams were just sitting around with no work to do and no one knows what to do about it.

“It’s so frustrating, they just don’t even know how to pick up a phone and call clients and prospects. They are just sitting there saying they have no work to do all the while our business is struggling to meet revenue targets. While I know some service areas have been hit harder than others there is still work to be done and if we could only just get talking to customers we would be ok. All I know to do is to get out and have coffee with as many clients as I can and even though I haven’t been trained in how to sell well am finding business. Although I would like to know how to do it better for sure”.

Despite the tougher market, there are market opportunities are out there. There is money to be made. There are clients to be won! However, many professional services firms are not realising their true potential.

Relying mainly on passive referrals for new business leads and glossy marketing materials, most professional services firms are not securing their current and future revenue streams. They have left themselves vulnerable and weak. In many cases they are not even accessing their existing client data bases to see what new business opportunities exist there.

And don’t even talk to them about cross selling and up selling other service lines – many remain trapped in the silo mentality.

Through our work and observations in the professional services sector, it appears many managing partners and principals are wanting more from their partners, directors, managers and associates when it comes to proactively building sustainable and profitable business relationships with their clients. The problem is many of them do not know where to start or how to do it. They have tried to make a start by putting on a Business Development Manager but it’s really the partners and managers themselves that need to be out there selling as part of their job.

Our research shows that no longer is it good enough for these people to rely solely on their technical competence i.e. being only a lawyer or accountant. Now and in the future, these people also need to effectively self promote and prospect for new business using professional and ethical sales strategies, demonstrating real value for money.

However, the sales function does not come naturally to most people in these professions and often they don’t possess the relevant tools necessary to make it work. They certainly weren’t taught this at university. In fact many were fed derogatory myths about selling and many still believe them to be true today. Which is one of the reasons they are in trouble.

We have found that many professional services staff have not been shown the right way to sell or taught the behaviours and skills necessary to put them in a position to win quality business. Often the sales function’s importance is undermined, underestimated or left to too few people, usually the most senior partner or “rain maker”, possibly leaving the business vulnerable to missed market opportunities, hidden revenue and competitor erosion.

Many firms lack the foundations to create a viable professional sales culture e.g.:

Inaccurate or poor perception of what good selling really is and its importance to business
Very poor skills in the sales area
Partners and directors lacking direct accountability for new business and revenue growth
Mixed messages: “I’ve got to find more business but if I don’t do my 6 billable hours I won’t meet my performance standards”. Partners are being caught in the billable hour performance trap and not using putting the time to get out and grow business they can then pass on to their teams to deliver.
No use of client data bases and a silo mentality limiting up sell and cross sell opportunities
No new business sales strategy or plan
No client retention strategy or plan
No sales model for people to learn, follow and apply
Sales limited to ‘pull’ prospecting strategies such as brochures, website, etc. at the expense of proactive prospecting and real professional relationship sales strategies
No Key Performance Indicators and Key Result Areas linked to sales, new business growth etc.

To name a few.

Given that professional services firms are operating in an increasingly competitive market place with more sophisticated clients expecting higher levels of service and value and some of their services are at risk of being commoditised:

What are firms doing to differentiate themselves?
How are they ensuring their future viability and success?
How are they making sure they are sales fit?

The ones who get it right NOW will set themselves up well now and in the future. Those that don’t will either be reduced to shadows of themselves or be out of business all together.

So to all you lawyers, accountants, engineers, and consultants out there, if you are not already, it’s time to get sales fit and learn how to sell the right way.

It will be worth it.

Sincerely, your advocate for selling the right way.

1 Comment »

Leadership, Sales and a Clear Message

January 16, 2009 in Brand & Reputation, Communication, Ethics & Values, Marketing, Prospecting, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Leadership, Sales Strategy, Sales Training, Strategy, Success, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Welcome to 2009.

Over the summer break I was talking with a number of friends about what 2009 will hold for us, our families, our communities and our businesses. Without exception, we discussed the current and possible effects of the GFC (global financial crisis) on our markets and especially on our thinking and our actions moving forward. We discussed the importance of open, clear and honest communication and decisive leadership, clear goals and defining what we stand for.

We discussed the fact that it would be very hard for people to make ‘easy’ money this year i.e. playing the stock market, etc. No more making money by just moving money around. And that people now needed do some real work to get real revenue coming in the door. (not that some of us weren’t doing that already.)

It was mentioned that the current market conditions call for people to draw upon the ‘real’ money making skills of ‘Selling’ and any businesses relying solely on:

Blanket Advertising, or
Their technical capability, or
Passive referrals, or
Brand or reputation. or
SEO alone (depending on your market model)

will suffer as a result.

And those people and businesses who haven’t integrated their sales and marketing initiatives and invested in developing their sales people’s prospecting and sales skills will be left wanting this year as well.

We acknowledged that this is the year where leadership and people’s real sales fitness levels and skills will be put to the test and further developing our leadership, sales and business development capabilities skills is critical to not only survive but thrive.

Many of the conversations reminded me of the late 80’s and early 90’s markets when I was working as a recruitment consultant and the lessons I learnt in how to really make the most of tough times. I wrote about this on 4 February 2008 in Watch who you let near your mind

In my opinion, this year calls for focus on 3 key areas:

Clear and decisive Leadership
A clear market message of intent
A proactive, disciplined, ongoing sales effort

This is the year where people and businesses need to prioritise and focus on these core areas that will help them make 2009 work for them and their customers.

The SmartCompany.com.au webinar (15/01/09, download the audio file here for free) featuring IBIS stated about 65% of a business’ success will depend on leadership effectiveness and how honestly and ethically you face the challenges ahead.

I can’t agree more.

My friends and I discussed our leadership approaches and what messages we are putting out to our staff, our clients and our markets. How we are communicating our intentions to participate in the business world.

Clear plans, goals, honesty, ethics, values and trusted relationships all featured heavily in how we would and should communicate where we stand and what we stand for and how we wanted to be communicated with ourselves.

We didn’t want more hype and ‘promises’ that can’t be backed up by evidence, transparency and trust. We want to give our people a reason to step up and be counted. We want our people to be clear about what we do for our customers and confident and competent to get out there and genuinely connect with our market place, our customers.

Having a clear market message your sales people can communicate to customers in a way they can understand, relate to and action is vital in uncertain times. To illustrate the point, one of my close friends was in New York and London in October 2008 when the GFC was in one of its first full free falls and said the difference was clear.

In New York the atmosphere was distressed, disturbed and directionless, a real helplessness seemed to prevail. People were complaining that there were no messages being broadcast or communicated at all by the US President or his Administration. They bemoaned the lack of leadership. Where as in London, love him or hate him, Gordon Brown was communicating with the media every day about what he and is Administration they were doing. While people were rightly concerned about the GFC, the atmosphere was somewhat different. My friend said people were resigned to the fact they needed to deal with the GFC. Instead of feeling helpless they were already looking for solutions.

In my experience it is better to know if it is good news or bad news than no news at all. This way you can take action and keep moving forward. Therefore in uncertain times it is even more vital that our leadership is evident and our market message is being heard and understood with the best intentions and right outcomes.

Here are some questions you might like to consider regarding your key market message:

What key message(s) are you giving to your prospective market about how you intend to operate this year?
How is the message(s) being received and understood by your sales people?
How is the message(s) being delivered by your sales people and received and understood by market?
How can your customers take action and work with you?
Can your customers trust you to be a valid business partner with them in 2009?

Now take your key message and couple this with a Proactive Sales approach. If you haven’t already, you need make sure you and your sales people know and understand the message and can then get out there to connect with, listen to and understand your customers and prospects so you are in a position to really understand how they think and feel and what decisions they want to make this year and where you will feature in that relationship.

Unlike advertising, selling is the vehicle that gets you in real and direct personal contact with your market, your customers and your prospects. This is where you have real conversations about real business, real priorities and possible solutions.

If you are not already talking with your customers, referrals and prospects you need to be NOW.

I encourage you to make sure you call as many customers, referrals sources and prospects as possible because, if my 25 years+ sales career is anything to go by, there are a lot of changes happening out there and it’s not all bad news.

In fact when I returned from leave on 12 January I spent the better part of that week calling as many clients, past clients, referrals sources and leads as possible and will continue to do so this year. The amount of changes, information, leads and opportunities I unearthed as a result of making these calls in one week alone was fantastic.

And if you not convinced, take a leaf out of one of our larger clients who, despite the GFC and really tough market conditions, have prioritised sales fitness as one of their Top 3 business priorities. The other two being clear leadership and clear market messages. They have invested heavily in training and up skilling their regional and rural business sales teams in sales vision, planning, sales prospecting and selling process.

Despite the drought and tough times these sales people are out there selling and communicating that they are there to do business and its working. Even though it is still early days they are finding viable deals and good clients to do work with despite the challenging markets. They are being supported by their managers, who in turn are trained to deliver effective sales coaching and provide sales leadership to make sure this in a ‘way of life’ not a fad. They all know this a vital life skill.

By focusing on:

Clear and decisive Leadership
A clear market message of intent
A proactive, disciplined, ongoing sales effort

They have also found there is greater team unity, better cooperation and collaboration with each other and with customers, greater sales results and better margins.

So don’t hesitate! Get clear, get focused, get active.

There is business to be done and business to be won.

I wish you happy and prosperous selling in 2009.

1 Comment »

Create your own opportunities

October 24, 2008 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Networking, Prospecting, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Strategy, Value Proposition & Value Add

Just one idea can positively transform your life, career, income and wealth.
As I have written before, in uncertain times, we can let the negativity of current events and others consume us or we can continue to look for opportunity. Excessive worry, however, can often cause us to lose sight of our goals and can limit our creativity and problems solving capabilities just when we really need them.

These tough times call for us to be even more innovative, inventive, creative and persistent. Some of the most successful sales people are the most adaptive and creative people you can meet, especially when it comes to finding new markets and new ways to solve customers’ problems with their products and services.

As the saying goes “Necessity is the mother of invention’. And in these tougher times it is not only necessary to keep our sales activities going and ensure that have enough people to speak who can work with us but to think creatively about how we going to do that.

Does your thinking or sales approach need a refresher?

If you are feeling in a bit of sales slump here are some questions to consider that may help you keep your ideas fresh, check for any blind spots and help you create opportunities so you can keep your prospecting and sales efforts on track:

What are the current boundaries or rules in your business, team or area of expertise?
What are the rules that can increase the likelihood of success in your business, your team’s field of expertise? Rules can be formal (written down) or informal (spoken or implied). How do these rules help you solve problems?
List 3 times when you didn’t listen to an opportunity and it hurt you, your team / business. What can you learn from this?
What were the rules you followed that kept you from seeing or taking advantage of those opportunities?
What changes can you make to your thinking to increase your imagination and flexibility and create more sales opportunities?
What is impossible to do right now, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change you, your team and your business for the better?

Often times our customers can have the answers to these question also. So if nothing get out there and ask them for feedback about how you can all work together more effectively and creatively get through these challenging times in good shape.

No Comments »

Insights from being in business for 13 years

January 6, 2008 in Brand & Reputation, Business Acumen, Self Development, Strategy, Success, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Happy New Year to you all. I wonder if you took time off over the Christmas-New Year break and, like me, had a bit of trouble letting go initially and then found yourself easing into enjoying a little time off from work commitments. It’s when I slow down that I find some of my thoughts drifting to why I got into business for myself in the first place. There is a good reason for this. You see on the 9 January 2008 my business will be 13 years old.

Around that time, 13 years ago, I wasn’t happy where I was working. I felt personally limited and professionally constrained by the ‘restricted’ corporate approach to business I was working within, especially in relation to sales, people leadership and development and wanted to see if there were different ways to do business yet still be profitable and successful. So I had a bright idea. I would start my own business never having run a business before. I didn’t know what that was going to look or feel like so … in blind ignorance I set off and started BARRETT on 9 January 1995 with $3,000 and the knowledge that I was useful, hard working and determined.

I chose ‘Improving Sales’ to be the initial focus of my business was because I was sick and tired of seeing talented, capable and motivated people going to waste in a ‘one size fits’ all approach to sales performance and people development. No one followed any logical structure when training or recruiting sales people and too many people focused on fads hoping to get a kick in revenue and profit. However they never realised any medium or long term sustainable benefits – in short their efforts to increase sales where costing them money not making them money. Something need to be done! It wasn’t good enough. The spark that fueled my fire to start BARRETT was my belief that I am a whole person and that I can (and now) challenge traditional paradigms to create success on my own terms.

And I came to realise that the manifestation of BARRETT was so much more. I wanted to see if I could create a work environment that was able to connect a bunch of talented people to produce a community for thinking and action … Where ideas, issues, innovations and the achievement of results could be blended together using a more scientific approach to achieve real and sustainable results with a genuine ROI. And where we could value our whole lives and adjust our work practices to accommodate family, health, well-being and the vagaries of life yet still be successful. I admit I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for and ’yes’ I could have done things a whole lot easier and better but I am glad that I did what I did. Because I know I am a better person for the experience Starting and leading BARRETT into the future has been like doing multiple degrees on the run in: MBA, Leadership, Marketing, IT, Accounting, Law and Psychology. You have to know and apply so many things.

If I had started BARRETT knowing what I had to learn I probably would have been too overwhelmed to start. But once again ignorance was my saving grace. It wasn’t that I couldn’t learn it – because I have. It was that there is always so much to learn and more often than not, nothing goes according to the book. All those theories – they’re just theories. In theory they work but in real life I learned you had to have a your ’chippies trailer of life’ – stocked with a few good reliable tools you could build anything with. Take a bit of this and mix it with a bit of that. Especially for SME’s. The last 13 years have been a very conscious journey of self discovery and evolution both personally and professionally. Here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way. PS The learning hasn’t stopped. I am still learning new things more than ever before and trying to master what have I already learned.

Some Lessons Learned (so far)

Vision: Create your vision. What are you going to stand for? What do you want achieve? How are going to do it? Really examine what is driving you. Why you have taken the risk to start your own business.
Values: Define your values and what you stand for. What is acceptable and what it not. Make that part of your daily work habits, your charter and your selection process when hiring people.
Strategic Planning: Is your vision and mission viable? Can it make money and be self sustaining? Once you have decided to move forward build a plan. From top to bottom and back up again – Strategic to tactical. Review it on an ongoing basis not just once a year. Involve all staff in its development; make it actionable, accessible and relevant to every role in the business.
Value Proposition: Find out what you are good at and how it best helps people solve problems; define it in language clients understand and then do it – stay focused and don’t get distracted
Passion: Without passion you just won’t have enough energy or desire to make business success happen. Staying focused is crucial. Set goals and ‘see’ yourself achieving them.
Health: look after yourself and make sure you take care of the whole person – exercise, diet, rest, get variety, holidays, etc. Because if you don’t then you are no use to anyone especially yourself.
Creativity & Innovation: create something new; think outside the box; challenge prevailing views and attitudes and don’t let yourself be bullied. Read outside your area of expertise to see how others learn, lead, make decisions, function and work – look at how it may apply to you and your business.
Structure & Foundations: have in place processes and measurements for Leadership; Strategic Planning; Human Resources; Customer & Market Focus; Process Management; Information and Analysis; Organisational Relationships; Competitive Environment; Strategic Challenges; and Business Results.
Always run your business as if it is for sale: always have up to date financials, strategy/business plan, full pipeline of business opportunities and current work on the go.
Mentors and Advisers: find them and use them. Learn how to ask for help in business, marketing, law, personal development, finance, leadership, etc.
Listen to & trust your inner voice: Despite all the advice you seek, listen and trust yourself. You do know more than you think you know.
Partners & Distributors: Don’t get intimidated by people just because they look like they know more than you do – find out what substance and content they have and make sure it isn’t just rhetoric – don’t fall for the “don’t you trust me” line especially when they want piece of you or your business.
Mergers: Walk away if it doesn’t feel right – if their values and yours don’t align then the businesses never will
Protect yourself: Get a good contracts and intellectual property lawyer – scrutinise everything!
Prospecting & Sales: business development is a constant process and prospecting for work is an essential, unavoidable part of the process. It means identifying and overcoming your fears about prospecting and picking up the phone to promote yourself to the people that need to know about you.
Visibility Management: Must be a daily discipline. Never miss a chance to get your name before current or potential clients. Involve clients in good news stories – let everyone know when good things happen. Word of mouth referrals provide unbeatable credibility and their value that can’t be overestimated.
Marketing & PR: you don’t necessarily need a brochure but if you do produce one write it for your clients not for you; you don’t have to pay for advertising – submit articles on topics of interest to publications; speak before relevant industry groups; take a “knowledge leader” position in your area of expertise; put yourself out there.
Employ the ‘right people’: know what work functions your company needs to operate successfully; review these on a regular basis as your markets and business change; have current job and person profiles which support selection and performance management practices.
Retain and develop the ‘right people’: create the opportunity and space for your people to develop their own sense of self; let them see how they contribute directly to the business’ success; develop and support Employer of Choice practices. Even after adequate support and development opportunities if the person is not performing, move them out sooner not later – set objective and measurable key performance indicators and stick to them.
Self Discipline: employ people with disciplined thought and disciplined action in their business and life practices.
Money: is not THE priority, although must always be A priority. Don’t over commit and over spend when times are going well – save some money for a rainy day.
Market challengers: look for clients who will experiment and push a few boundaries; are willing to take a risk, they are often the right ones to go for.
Leadership & Humility: Central to management and leadership is trust, respect and openness; listen and learn from your staff, clients, mentors and guides and adjust yourself on your journey to become a proficient, effective leader; build a bridge and get over yourself – don’t let ego get in the way; follow through; don’t assume anything; be available and responsive; It is important to remember that helping others helps you.
Communication: open door policy; consultative; inclusive; listen more than you speak; seek opinions and advice; be clear and connect with each person; follow up straight away if there is an issue, don’t leave it; remember it’s not what you say it’s what they do with what you say that is the most important thing – connect people to the common vision.
Respect the person: having a family and running a business is never easy so make sure you create flexible work practices that allow you and your staff to continue to have a fulfilling career and a fulfilling personal life that creates an environment of health and prosperity. The key is that “it’s not a one size fits all approach”. With all this in mind it is essential that you listen to and help individuals balance their needs with the needs of the company, helping both to reach their goals.
Theories: don’t get hooked on only one way of doing things and most theories don’t hold true in real life.
Experimental Kit Bag: My ‘Chippies trailer of life’. Always have a full kit bag of ideas, processes, resources, etc. you can draw upon and learn how to use them when you need them in real life; take bits and pieces and apply them; trust your common sense; be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them.
Managing setbacks: always confront and resolve issues straight away, as they only get worse when ignored. Don’t be afraid to take risks. If you fail at things always try to learn from your mistakes. Never see yourself as a ‘failure’. Listen to people but be aware of saboteurs who are jealous of your success – put their comments through the “FACT versus “EFFECT” filter to see if they are being genuine or not. When you feel things are getting tough look to your achievements versus your mistakes – weigh them up and take a realistic view not an “overachiever’s” view.
Trust, Faith, Hope & Courage: even when things are not going the way you want them to you need to trust your vision and have faith in yourself and others that you will come through. Courage in the face of adversity – don’t forget the basics that make good business and make sure that you practice what you preach.

Along the way, and most importantly, I have also been blessed with two beautiful children and a loving partner who has supported me all the way. I also go for a walk or run everyday and am a keen practitioner of yoga and meditation. I have also somehow managed to do the odd performance in theatre and really start to evolve my painting.

And so whilst I write on Sales and will continue to do so, it is but one part of a very big picture for us all. I wish you all a very successful, prosperous, happy and peaceful new year.

No Comments »

Barrett Sales Blog

You are browsing the archive for Strategy.