All numbers are up except sales.

All numbers are up except sales.

 

“By all of the sales metrics, we ought to be doing well”, he told me.

Pointing to graphs and spreadsheets it seemed the sales force was a well-oiled machine.

1. Field Call numbers, up
2. Meetings with key decision makers, up
3. Expenses, down
4. Cost per call, down

You’ll have guessed what’s coming next.

Sales, down; gross margins, down.

Why?

Well maybe its as simple as we discussed earlier do the ride along with your staff to check them out in action and take it from there.

The explanation is often to find in the distance between the board of directors goal setting and the sales staffs real life experience.

Your sales staff is are goal archivers and if they can’t fill one goal they will concentrate on another in this case there are 2 that they can and will achieve and that is they make more calls and meet more decision makers. This should bring automatic results in, more sales. But what if the sales targets is communicated after the calls and meetings numbers? What if the middle exec communicated to the next level that the board of directors wants higher meeting numbers and much more activity on the phone? What if that is what is communicated as the goal to achieve?

This is not uncommon.

Set a goal like:

Make 50 appointments with the phone this month.

That should give you at least 30 meetings with key decision makers.

This should result in at least 5-10 signed contracts.

……………..

You can see where this is going right?

The seller will naturally concentrate on fulfilling their employers wishes and set out to do so. They will do it in the order presented and by the end of the month they will have concentrated so much on getting the 2 first right that focus on the actual signing will be a second-hand goal.

As a salesperson its important to reach the goals but you as the manager will have to give them the right goals to work towards.

 

The order should be communicated in the opposite order.

This month i want at least 5-10 signed contracts.

To get that i need you to get at least 30 meetings with key decision makers.

I  expect you to make 50 appointments with the phone this month to get this rolling.

 

Communicate in a clear way with your staff and they will respond in a clear way back. = signed contracts.

That´s why the sales execs should concentrate all their efforts on clear and well understood messages. In other worlds always enhance and present in positive words and build up your staff and point them to the contracts that needs to be signed. Getting the deal is the only goal that the salesperson should be concerned about.

Measuring the sales success and all the different parameters that goes in to that is for management.

veni vidi vici

Patrik Olson

 

 

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The ride along or going on a field trip with your sellers.

The time comes in every company. You need to do the ride along.

Unfortunately this is usually high in the mental priority list but seems to fade away under a flood of a thousand other things you need to do first.

Who is a ride along important to?

Both you and your salesperson/representative.

Why?

You are face to face for at least a day and will have plenty of time to bond and discuss all issues and ideas that has surfaced since the last time you was there.

So for you its an excellent time to harvest small and big ideas that will enhance your product / service and get the grassroot perspective on things.

I always take notes that i can come back to and use, or you can use a mind map. But you need to put something down on paper or at least 75% will  just fly out the other ear.

Your official mission is of c to check out why the sales numbers are as they are.

This should always be checked off:

1. What is the purpose with the customer visit ( closing,curtsey, checkup, problem solving et cetera.)

2. How did the seller prepare for this meeting and do they have the right tools with them. ( Presentation material, Happy customer cases, The solution to the customer’s problem, et cetera.)

3. In what manner do they enter and represent you and your company. (happy, sad, indifferent, long-lost pals, nervous…..)

4. Where do they place themselves at the table and why.

5. Body language throughout the meeting

6. Opening

7. Presentation

8. Goal oriented or just rolling with the punches / action oriented.

9. Listening and comprehension skills ( do they really understand what their customer is asking and why).

10. Recovering from a negative remark or a negative response to a close attempt. (or do they close shop and calls it a day?)

11. How many attempts were made to close and how well-timed where they.

12. Closing the meeting with a signed contract or getting a new meeting for a new try. (who is ending the meeting the customer or your representative).

13. Walking out after the meeting, do they still have control and have they taken the initiative for taking the sales process forward.

Aftermath: Let the seller explain why they did things in this way and acted like they did and you tell them how you perceived the meeting.

If i want immediate changes in the sellers behavior i tell them what to change in a positive form since i firmly belive that a salesperson never should have negative critic in other words i only give them positive forms and tools to enhance their sales success i will however always write down the negatives so i have a record of it.

After 2-4 customer calls its evident what your sales persons benefits and drawbacks are and then you can take it from there.

If there are more than 1 person doing the same mistakes i use it in a written lesson as well as in a morning meeting since this will need addressing or it will happen again.

 

So hopefully you will leave the sales person with several new tools for getting more deals and with a sense of personal development.

This in turn will result in that evergreen company that you strive to achieve (or are already running).

 

Veni vidi vici

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Selling a feeling!

Selling a feeling!

How can you get paid for a feeling?

Yes you can get paid if you tie it with buying your product or service.

Can your product or service be sold with a feeling as the main marketing tool?

Most can be, you just have to use your imagination.

Lets take an easy example. Coca cola zero.

They sell a beverage in a can. Much like a lot of competitors. So why are they number one?

They deliver the beverage in a can as medium for your money but what they have really sold and you have paid for is:

1. the brand = premium = you can afford/deserve premium / or even are a premium person. = feeling good about yourself

2. Its cold (in every commercial anyway) = feeling cold/refreshed

3. Sporty and young, athletic. = Feeling young/athletic

4. Hero gets girls = feeling anything is possible (it can happen but you can see the chance percentage drop )= feeling Hope

Ok that’s it about the big company with unlimited resources (the earnings for a beverage is really good).

Lets try it again.

You sell planks and nails and every other hardware needed to build things. That´s very easy to touch so consequently its a product.

How do you sell this with a feeling?

Well you take a couple of your customers and ask them to tell their story about what happened after they purchased the goods.

They will tell you have the built something.  = feeling = accomplishment,fulfilled a goal, pride in ones capabilities.

You get the picture.

I /we did this when i started at sector alarm to.

They then sold a burglary alarm for houses and it protected you against evil. The Brochure was black and had pictures of broken glass, fire and ambulances. Pretty much like the competition.

We had step away from that to make the customers see us as the only choice to protect their home.

We started selling “safety in all homes” and did a new brochure that had happy people who projected calm and security. Light and happy homes with happy kids and parents. We started to sell the feeling of safety. This was really a turning point for us since up until then we were compared almost every time to our competitors and the customer then based their decision much upon price and what extra hardware one could add.

Now they didn’t do that anymore (at least very seldom). They wanted to know when we could come and deliver this and when they could feel safer in their homes again. The price tag fell out of many presentations since it was no longer important for the customer, they just wanted the feeling of security and that was worth much more than we would ever charge them so..

 

Start to think about what feelings you could sell your products and services with and you will be different and most likely more successful in your market!

 

Veni vidi vici

Patrik Olson

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