Is Your Sales Team Negotiating Value (Part II) Many managers think their sales team needs help building negotiation skills but they can’t articulate why. In this second part of a two-part article, Grande Lum, the founder of the sales consulting firm Accordence, summarizes the final four factors (out of a total of nine) that can help sales managers determine if and where negotiation improvements can be made. If you missed Part I of this article, you can find it here. 1. Sales management is usually the dominant negotiator, rather than a coach. The sales manager adds the most value to the sale in the beginning and when coaching at the end. 2. This is an indication that there is no concession strategy. 3. This one is very straightforward but hard to follow. 4. Again, this overreaction is another indication of lack of a strategy regarding offers, concessions and counteroffers.
And, in order to be effective with your company you must have credibility with your customer. From Theory to Practice. How to Design Sales Territories. Who Owns Your Customer Relationships: Your Salespeople or Your Company? - Andris A. Zoltners, PK Sinha, and Sally E. Lorimer. By Andris A. Zoltners, PK Sinha, and Sally E. Lorimer | 12:03 PM December 21, 2011 Your R&D group develops a unique new product. Manufacturing produces it. Finance puts the systems in place to track the money coming in. Marketing designs the promotional campaign. Your sales force is ready to execute. A sales model that pays salespeople almost entirely on commission and gives them exclusive “ownership” of customers often works for a while for products in unsaturated markets. Sales force complacency and high new salesperson turnover: At an insurance company, tenured salespeople had amassed large territories and now “owned” so many high-potential accounts that they didn’t have enough time to provide adequate service and coverage to all of them.
Runaway pay: A medical device company needs to cut sales force costs. The issue of who owns customers—salespeople or the company—is really a question of who and what the sources of customer value are. 3. The Science of Building Trust. Years ago I was one of a handful of people hired to help turn around a family owned and operated manufacturing plant that had just been sold to an investment group. Early on we had a tough time building rapport with employees; they knew we were brought in to make major changes.
One day I was in a conference room with Jimmy, a bindery supervisor, and Randy, the manager of customer service and scheduling. Randy was part of the new leadership team. Jimmy had worked at the plant for more than 20 years. Randy and I were discussing (read: whining) how hard it was to get employees to accept new processes, and Jimmy said, “That’s because they don’t trust you.” “I know,” Randy said. Jimmy replied, “Don’t waste time thinking about it. At the time I thought he was probably right. But I was wrong. According to Robert F. Objectively assessing each factor—positive or negative, present or not present, etc.
Power: People with little authority and no recourse feel vulnerable. Outline for a Sales Training Manual « Sales Evolution. Every now and then, we get requests for an outline for a sales training manual. We usually respond in the same way: What prompted your interest in a sales training manual? Typically, it’s because someone told someone else to come up with some sales training. If we’ve learned one thing after 35 years of sales training experience, it’s this: There’s a lot more to a successful sales training initiative than the manual. Simply building a sales training manual — even a really good one – won’t do any good. The secret to successful sales training is in bringing it alive. We’ve delivered sales training to salespeople all over the world. Here’s what the successful ones have going for them: They’re proven by real-world results.
So, you see, a manual, by itself, simply can’t generate the effective change that a customized sales training program will. - @JebBrooks About Jeb Brooks. Service Providers: why trust matters and what you can do to cultivate it (Part II) In the previous post I set out the importance of trust especially for services businesses like travel, insurance, banking, media, telecommunications. In this post I want to share with you the insights that come of the research that Prof. Chris Haliburton and Adine Poenaru carried out in 201o on the banking, insurance and mobile telecommunications industries – USA and UK.
What matters to customers? According to the research customers are looking for service providers to level with them by providing high quality, clear, simple to understand communications that provide useful information that avoids unpleasant surprises and enriches the customers lives. Second, customers are also looking for service providers to make them feel that the company cares for them. Third, customers are a looking for courteous conduct and high level of competency from the front-line employees that interact with and serve them. How you can cultivate trust: 10 lessons Deliver the core service right. My take on this. How a small company can score with a big one. Are you a small company looking to make a deal with a big one?
Roger Pierce, who helps entrepreneurs start up businesses through his Web-based consulting firm, Newcomer Startup, offers these tips: You gotta believe Don’t be intimidated because the target client is large. They need you, too. Baby steps Be prepared to do a trial run to demonstrate your abilities, which can allay any client concerns plus build self-confidence that you can deliver.
Act bigger than you are It’s not just about a slick website – a professional-looking business card and information package, a good phone line, even a corporate-sounding e-mail address “go a long way to establish credibility and assure the client you can do the work.” Talk the talk Whether it’s about potato chips or computer chips, learn the lingo of the client.
Details, details Are you prepared for invoicing, with the proper bank account? Special to The Globe and Mail. Color by Department. On Sales. Keep Ho, ho, ho from becoming No, no no. November 11, 2011 by Charlie Walker Posted in: communication, Email Strategies, In this week's e-newsletter - Sales & Marketing, Latest News & Views - Sales & Marketing, online marketing, Technology What’s on many email marketers’ Christmas wish lists this year? Creating a well-balanced campaign that successfully promotes the brand, without snowing customers under. Since you won’t be clad in red and flying in on a sleigh, you’ll need to resort to other ways to pack your gift sack with the information customers need to make buying decisions that favor you. Two strategies have been especially successful: You ever seen homes or store displays jam-packed with lights, garlands, endless carols, nodding reindeer and a waving Santa?
Send out an email decorated like that and you’ll land in the spam filter for many businesses or the junk folder if it sneaks through. Restocking messages stir a lot of interest: 36% open rate26% click-through rate25% conversion rate. Join over 929,000: privacy policy. Abrams: Want to expand? A plan is a must. In one old commercial, a group of entrepreneurs is sitting around a computer, launching a website for their new company.
The entrepreneurs turn on the site, then wait for customers. At first, they see one or two clicks, then a few more, then many more, and then a torrent of customers. The entrepreneurs look at one another and say something like, "Now what? " While growing fast is the kind of problem many small businesses would love to have, it is a challenge. It's easy — in fact, typical — to be overwhelmed. When talking about fast-growth companies, you're likely to picture a technology start-up zooming from zero to billions: a Google, Facebook or Twitter. You can grow slowly and steadily for years, and then — whap! You're thrilled. How will you get the staff you need? And, most important, how long do you think this will last?
If you're able to handle growing quickly, you're likely to create a stronger, sustainable company and make a lot more money. Fast growth presents many challenges: Sell your ideas to customers in 6 steps. Bank On It | PPB Mag. A Financial Snapshot• 1.8 million: Approximate number of workers in the banking industry• 73.8% work for commercial banks• 12.6% work for credit unions• 11.4% work for savings institutions• 1.2% work for central banks/monetary authorities• 1% work in depository credit intermediation• 8%: Projected 10-year employment growth in banking• 85% of banking establishments employ less than 20 staffers• 64% of workers hold administrative and support positions • 25% hold management, business and financial positions• 11% work in related occupations such as accounting and auditing Source: U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Financial Marketing15%: Number of financial services companies using Facebook and YouTube10%: Number with regular blog posts8%: Number using Twitter Source: MarketingDaily Seven Strategies For Financial Promotions Dan McIlroy, MAS, (left) and Don Sanders, CAS 1. Hear more pointers from Don Sanders, CAS, for reaching the financial market. The Top 101. How I Did It: Bank Promotion 1. 2. 3. The Forgotten Sales Metric | A Sales Guy. We measure a lot of things in sales. Some sales organizations are fanatical about metrics, others not so much. Either way, measurement is part of sales.
It’s what makes sales such a unique monster. There is no place to hide. With all the measuring sales does, there has been one measurement that rarely shows up on our dashboards. It’s not uncommon for companies to manage the forecast. Why should accuracy matter? I’ll answer that question with a question. Having the ability to accurately and consistently forecast is a key sales requirement. This is how I track forecasting accuracy by quarter: This is for a team. Holding sales people accountable to what they’re going to do each month and quarter minimizes the vicious swings sales organizations are prone to. Having an accurate, leading indicator like forecasted revenue is gold. How accurate are your sales forecasts? 6 things customers should be saying about your business. 5 ways to turn customer satisfaction into customer loyalty.
October 25, 2011 by Ken Dooley Posted in: customer loyalty, In this week's e-newsletter - Sales & Marketing, Latest News & Views - Sales & Marketing, Sales meeting ideas, training To turn customers into long-time buyers you’ve got to develop the “caretaker profile.” Providing a great customer experience requires managing many diverse elements. Fail on even one performance dimension, and it can make the whole experience negative for customers. ‘Backward serve’ Caretakers have a clear picture of what the outcome should be, and then work backward from that goal to ensure the reality matches the vision.
They develop a sixth sense for anticipating what can go wrong in service encounters. The caretaker knows that it’s not the lions and tigers that usually doom service quality. 5 paths to caretaker service Here’s what caretakers do to that creates loyal customers: They create made-to-order service experiences. Adapted from the book Customer Loyalty Guaranteed by Chip Bell and John Patterson. Turning gatekeepers into gate openers. October 24, 2011 by Ken Dooley Posted in: communication, In this week's e-newsletter - Sales & Marketing, Industry Spotlight - Sales & Marketing, Latest News & Views - Sales & Marketing, Sales meeting ideas, training Some list gatekeepers as public enemy No. 1 when it comes to cold calling selling.
Others credit gatekeepers for steering them in the right direction and helping them close a sale. It all depends on the approach. It’s up to your salespeople whether gatekeepers become formidable obstacles or actually open doors to the decision maker. Doing their jobs Gatekeepers are people who are just trying to do their jobs. Underestimating is dangerous Underestimating the unseen or untitled authority some gatekeepers possess can backfire.
Form a relationship It may be a good idea to give the gatekeeper the same respect you would give to the CEO. Ask for help Adapted from the book The 12 Cliches of Selling by Barry Farber, President of Farber Training Systems. Join over 929,000: privacy policy. Who is teaching the CMO how to sell? Who is teaching the CMO how to sell? Debbie Qaqish is Principal Partner and Chief Revenue Marketing Officer for demand generation agency, The Pedowitz Group. A nationally recognized thought leader and innovator in revenue generation, Qaqish has over 30 years of experience helping organizations connect marketing to revenue. She is a pioneer in marketing automation—first as a beneficiary of the technology and now as an advocate and expert. Her first book, "The Rise of the Revenue Marketer®," will be published in 2012.
Who is teaching the CMO how to sell? If you’re in sales, you might think this is an odd question or you might have a stronger, more visceral reaction to the question—“Marketing doesn’t sell, we do!” However, if you’re leading a marketing organization in a B2B company, this question is directly tied to marketing’s new revenue imperative and it can be a very scary question. The drivers for a shared revenue funnel and the revenue team comprised of both sales and marketing are:
Lost Customers can Jump Start Your Sales! As I am reviewing one of my latest webinars, “Transforming the service Department: 3 Insights into Achieving Happy, Profitable Customers Through Service,” ( I am reminded that while there are many ways to improve customer service and increase customer retention, one of the best ways is to seek out complaints.
I’m not talking about putting a complaint box on your receptionist’s desk either. I’m talking about actively contacting your customers (preferably your best customers) and asking them what your company could do better. I am assuming your customer already likes your product or service, and that’s why they are your customer; I’m thinking you may want to direct them to specific process and communication areas. You see, there are several surveys out there that talk about why customers leave and in each survey the results are in the vast majority that customer leave for “service problems”. Building 2012 Sales Projections in Uncertain Times | BNET. Last Updated Oct 17, 2011 6:17 PM EDT It's almost that time of year -- time for the annual "Battle Royale" of sales forecasting and planning for next year.
It is usually linked to that other cherished event, annual budgeting. I have architected, led, and suffered through these processes for 25 years of my career. During that period, I don't know if I ever had to create a picture of the future during circumstances of greater uncertainty than we are in now. I imagine that to those either going through it or preparing to go through it, you may feel like buying lottery tickets has just as much potential of accuracy as this process. In a world of uncertainty, I advocate making adjustments to your sales planning and forecasting process for the sanity of those sentenced to it and for those seeking increased certainty from it. Reality guidelines for making 2012 sales projections: 1. 2. 3. If you are a small to mid-size company the secret is that the game is changing in our favor. Top 3 Ways to Get Your Phone Calls Returned - Sales Machine. Five-Step Guide to Marketing a Business As Green.
Openings that avoid stalls.