Sales Co-Creation
One of the most glossed over facts in all of sales improvement seminars, webinars and literature is what part the customer plays in the final outcome. The “experts” spend the majority of their time telling us how to improve this skill or that talent. However, they spend an inordinately small amount of time talking about the customer’s role in completing the sale. That ends here.
In the Beginning
Let’s think about how a customer becomes aware of our product or service. They may have seen some form of advertisement or heard by way of a third party, but in the end it almost always boils down to FIRST contact with the sales person. Now tradition dictates that we do “X, Y and Z” on an initial call, email, snail mail, social media, etc. yet what is it that the customer wants from the experience?
I state UNEQUIVOCALLY a customer wants to be educated NOT SOLD. They want the sensation of learning without feeling manipulated. Most customers believe they can make the best decision possible… they just lack the right information. When educated, they can share this information either positively or negatively with others in the company and disseminate the info how they see fit.
When we become a resource to the customer we correspondingly INCREASE our worth to them. Becoming somebody they come to trust to provide valuable information. Our calls seem less like drudgery and more like an opportunity. Our emails are potential founts of information and every customer/prospect touch has increased value. This is how we want to start EVERY prospect interaction.
We Trip On What We Don’t See
Every customer is unique, each having a distinctive sales cycle and timetable. Yet, sales gurus will teach 100’s of different selling processes and NOT ONE of them is based on how the customer wants to purchase.
Instead what you have are salespeople who blame the prospect for their woes
- The un-returned call
- The canceled meeting
- The objection
You name it; it’s ALWAYS the customer’s fault. The lack of introspection on the behalf of sales is alarming but worse are the supposed gurus of sales that pedal this garbage. Sales Co-Creation begins and ends with accepting responsibility and fixing what you break, just like in ANY other relationship in your life.
We need to understand their process. What they are going through. What they need to make the sale happen. There will be speed-bumps if not outright road hazards all the way through, but the only way to finish the race is to KNOW what they need to make the sale happen. From internal politics, to budgets, to how decisions are made, we need to be an EXPERT on their processes not just our way of selling.
When we take the time to learn THEIR processes we get to know them. We learn the best times and methods of staying in touch and keeping top of mind. But the biggest thing we accomplish is being hassle-free . We can become the 1 thing that DOESN’T give them agita because we will know everything that does.
AMF: Always Move Forward
Your goal is not to make a sale each time you contact a customer (it would be nice it’s just not very probable). Your focus is on PROGRESSING the sale.
Not continuing the sale, but PROGRESSING the sale.
If you 1st become a valued resource to your customer and 2nd have learned their buying process to the point you alleviate problems, you will have EARNED the right to move the sale forward at every juncture.
What did you do before making initial contact calls?
- Send the prospect relevant articles about their industry?
- Inform them of a free webinar given by an industry expert that will help in their job?
If you did, when you call they’ll probably remember you if not be appreciative of your efforts.
What did you do before your first in-person meeting?
- Research the company and their industry?
- Gain a basic understanding of the issues they face everyday?
If you did, the meeting will be sharp and the customer will appreciate the preparation you did so you aren’t wasting their time.
And on it goes. At every step in the process you have to BRING IT! Go over and above and EARN the right to keep the sale trundling down the path of conversion. It’s not easy, if it was easy everybody would do it that’s why it will work!
Folks, that’s it.
1) Educate and become a RESOURCE to the customer
2) Be Hassle Free by learning THEIR process
3) PROGRESSION: Earn the right to AMF: Always Move Forward
Co-Creation of the sale means you have to think like a customer! What do they want? How do they want it? They are at least 50% of the equation, don’t force some pre-conceived sales process from the latest hot trend. Learn to look at the sale through their eyes, it is a much better view than from your computer.
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Everybody is BUSY!
There is a great scene in Seinfeld where George is talking to a character about being busy and I’ll be dipped if it isn’t what we all would LOVE to say to our customers. You can view the clip here (Busy, Busy, Busy) Pinpoint as usual from George. Customers are always busy. We are always busy.
It is great to be busy. We have all kind of projects going on and meetings to go to. The only problem is when all that ”busyness” actually holds you back from taking the next step in REALLY growing your business. Before long you blink and the 1st quarter of the year is gone. You say to yourself “well at least we closed ‘X’ amount of business” The RIGHT question is “how much business COULD you have closed?”
His name is URGENT!
How & Why We Get Trapped
I have seen and been on the front-line of this very phenomenon in multiple industries, the cable (TV) industry in the late 90′s, electronic components in the mid 00′s and construction/building products in the late 00′s to name a few. Here’s the problem, you are so busy with day to day activities, doing the immediate pressing tasks you never find the time for the proactive, big picture, revenue boosting activities that can drive your sales for months and years to come.
You tell yourself you’ll get to it eventually but the sad truth is you NEVER do. You simply move on to the next immediate task all the while thinking to yourself that you feel like a hamster on an exercise wheel. The question is HOW do you break out of the rut and move things forward?
Listen to NIKE
There is NEVER an actual perfect time so do it NOW! FORCE yourself to evaluate what is going on. Decide on what activities are needed, what tactics/strategies should be employed, and then execute.
Speed is What We Need!
The effective use of speed is critical and clearly a competitive weapon. Move fast, or become HISTORY as everything you do increases your competitive position or moves you one step closer to being competitive toast.
Confronted with a constantly shifting array of customers, competitors, strategic alliances, technology and market volatility, the only hope for increased productivity lies in developing the ability to move and change at least as rapidly as your competitive environment.
The company or individual that does not embrace the importance of speed will be HAMMERED.
In fact, as a strategic weapon, speed is the equivalent of money, productivity, quality, even innovation.
Pretty simple formula, but as everything the trick is in the execution. You’re busy I get it, but it is time to make a decision. Are you too busy to improve your business or are you willing to look past the immediate and recognize what has to happen to keep your business growing?
Your choice….
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What are the Metrics that Matter?
Most Sales Departments stink when it comes to tracking their numbers. The question upper management ALWAYS asks is why? My two cents; we don’t know the most important numbers to track and we don’t realize how important they are to our entire selling effort. Well, those excuses end today!
Sales Dashboard
Indicators
The first area that we need to clear up is the difference between trailing and leading indicators. Trailing indicators refer to metrics that happen as a RESULT or in the past. Number of sales closed or total dollar amount closed are examples of the trailing variety. Leading indicators are what foretell objectives and what results will be in the future. The activities that a sales person performs on a daily basis, such as phone calls or appointments, are examples of leading indicators.
We always need to know how many and how much business has been closed (trailing) but we can’t control the actual closing of the sale. That is why we can never lose sight of the activities (leading) it takes to fill the pipeline and, more importantly, directly affect the closing of the sale. This is crucial to short and long term forecasting accuracy and critically more important to overall SALES SUCCESS.
Leading Metric Indicators
I first focus on the BIG 4 of Leading Metric Indicators (LMI’s): Calls, Discovery Appointments, Presentations and Closes. These are pillars of a sale that will tell you the overall picture of what is working, why it is working and what needs to be fixed.
The next LMI’s that I track are more descriptive of the sales reps everyday work.
- How many leads (non-qualified contacts) are they working on?
- How many opportunities (qualified contacts in the buying cycle) are they working on?
- What type of accounts are the reps calling on?
- What is the job function of their main contact?
If the BIG 4 gives you the overall picture, when you drill down to this level you uncover more of the texture in the everyday activities of your sales team. Not just the raw numbers but WHY you are getting the raw numbers. When we understand both sets of LMI’s and their conversion rates it helps us to more accurately predict closing rates in the near and long term.
Trailing Metrics Indicators
I always track total number of closed sales and total sales dollars. They are important and necessary to measure where we have finished historically, yet it always amazes me what sales management forgets to measure in the Trailing Metric Indicator (TMI) category.
A.U.S.P. or average unit selling price is the total sales dollars divided by the total number of sales. For example if total sales dollars are $100,000 and total number sales are 10 your A.U.S.P. equals $10,000. Knowing this number tells you how many sales it will take to hit your objective. This TMI is key to planning your goals and objectives throughout the year.
The final TMI I track is Average Velocity of Sale or the A.V.O.S. This is the average time from when a lead becomes an opportunity to when it converts to a sale. Having the handle on this metric allows you to realistically plan WHEN your business is going to hit.
Wrap Up
12 chapters of data making up one book; lose one of the chapters and you wonder how and why things are happening. Lose two chapters and the story starts to sound nonsensical. Lose three and you wonder why you started reading the book at all. 12 categories of data when monitored and measured can radically affect your sales team’s short and long term success and viability.
Sure it takes time and getting sales to record their info is difficult. Keeping up with the numbers is a job in of itself. I have heard all of the excuses before. I leave you with a question. If you could produce a set of numbers telling you how to improve, what to improve and when to improve your sales results wouldn’t you want to know them and wouldn’t you do everything in your power to track them? Yea, I don’t know either…
Read MoreBe Hassle Free
I was clicking through the cable stations the other night and settled on a rerun of “The West Wing” for some background noise. Not particularly paying attention until toward the end of the episode I heard a line from the character of ‘Danny Cocannon’ talking to ‘Charlie Young’.
Charlie was lamenting dating the President’s daughter because of various issues, I couldn’t tell you what (again background noise). Then I heard Danny say “If it was me I would want to be the one hassle free person in her life” BOOM. Isn’t that EXACTLY what we should be to our customers?
(You Can View the clip here Be The 1 hassle free Person)
We should be the one hassle free thing in our customers’ life. As salespeople we spend most of our time strategizing on how to find the customer, how to question the customer and how to negotiate with the customer so we can win the sale. What if INSTEAD we spent a little more time thinking about things from their perspective?
Our customers, by definition, have to be decision makers. As a general rule, they must have some level of authority and responsibility. So what daily tasks, problems and ordeals accompany those two duties?
- 100’s of phone calls
- 100’s of email
- Management reporting and meetings
- Employee problems
- Internal power struggles
- Logistical challenges
- Other vendors issues
- Personal issues
I know what you might be thinking. “My boss doesn’t care about these things” or maybe “I have quota to make I can’t worry about their problems.” Well I am here to tell you if you don’t worry about their problems you will NEVER solve your own!
There are 1000’s of things that can crop up at any time for our customer and we are only ONE of them. The patience and professionalism we exhibit in working our way into customer’s daily schedule will determine how they perceive us and ultimately the level of success we experience.
Below are 5 ways we can Be Hassle Free in the face of these daily dilemmas:
- Only call if you have a REASON or NEED to call, not because “I just wanted to…”
- Email if you have something relevant, helpful, informational etc. not the joke of the day or “I was just checking in.”
- Respect their time! Recognize you are only one small part of their day and make the time you share with them COUNT. Be prepared for every meeting, phone call and presentation. Never waste their time.
- If they choose to share any problem situation with you tread carefully. YouARENOT the business equivalent of Dr. Ruth, but you can find information online that might address their concerns.
- Be humble and empathize but DO NOT commiserate. Realize there will be problems you can’t help with but let them know you understand their situation and will be as supportive as possible.
It comes down to this; we need to find a way to become a POSITIVE in the customer’s day. Whenever they see your number on caller ID they should want to take the call because they know you will share something of value with them. You might be calling with an idea or with information about their industry or maybe even a solution to their problem. Whatever it may be, they have to WANT to talk to you.
Be the one hassle free thing in their daily existence; an oasis from the desert of problems they face. Provide valuable resources and make their life easier. Find something they need that has NOTHING to do with your business and HELP THEM. You have to go OUTSIDE your job description and do things your competitors wouldn’t even think of if you truly want to help people.
It is a lot of work I know but I promise, if you do, the business relationship will grow and your sales will skyrocket. It is a choice you have to make everyday so choose wisely, the job you save just might be your own.
Read MoreThe 3 Keys to a Successful Sales Process
About this time of year, a lot of sales managers/executives are thinking about the New Year and the sales goals they have been assigned. They are wondering what they will have to do to hit their numbers and I guarantee a good percentage is thinking about establishing a new selling process.
They are reading every new book on sales and the selling process trying to get the edge they need to make their 2012 goals. I am here to tell you that it does not matter WHAT process/system is adopted if the 3 Keys don’t exist within your team then Tony Robbins, Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar COMBINED won’t be able to help you.
Key 1: 100% Management Commitment
No selling system will succeed unless the front-line managers are 100% committed and have bought into the process. If they can’t support and reinforce its implementation you will need an egg timer to see how fast it will fail.
Leadership defines what a selling system should involve but also must be it’s #1 proponent and example. Investigating the sales models available cannot be taken lightly. If you are going to invest your company’s time and money in a sales system it must be in harmony with the culture necessary for successful selling.
A key to successful sales force transformation is a conceptual shift on the part of first level managers from reactive to proactive. If frontline managers don’t grasp this most basic concept you have the wrong people and are in a world of hurt.
Key 2: Sales Force Adoption
Most sales training fails because it’s the business “flavor of the month” with a ready, fire, aim mentality. Many training programs consist of “read this book” or attend this two-day training session. There is nothing wrong with the material and the information from these sources. But nobody learns, retains and uses information this way. If we did, we would all have our MBA’s in six months.
Look at professional training in various fields. A welder or electrician spends a minimum of a year learning their craft, pilots must log hundreds of hours in the air before they get their license, and so on.
Generally, we give salespeople a briefcase and say: “Go get ‘em.” It’s an insult to our clients and to the profession of sales, but it is also not going to help you or your salesperson hit your target. Installation of the all phases of the new system will require in various amounts
- Lecture
- Simulation (practicing)
- Experiential (observation)
- Practical (work in conjunction)
- Actual (doing the job)
- Testing
- Ongoing Coaching
These are essential elements to ensure adoption. If you aren’t willing to commit resources to these activities DON’T bother changing.
Key 3: Support and Reinforcement
Even the best selling system, delivered by the most entertaining and persuasive facilitator, will be a distant memory within a few weeks if the effort is not ongoing. It’s fine that your salespeople know what to do, but to do it under pressure in buyer/seller situations requires that a salesperson graduate from knowledge to mastery.
The availability to continue the learning and support process is crucial to the installation’s success. Remember, selling is a high-rejection business. You must constantly monitor, measure and modify based on the results you are seeing. Techniques will need to be tweaked, attitudes boosted and continual encouragement dished out when you see signs and successes of productive behavior.
In short this is a monumental undertaking and if you perceive it to be anything but you are making a colossal mistake.
Wrap Up
Folks, I am not trying to discourage you from changing your system but I am trying to alert you to the myriad issues that you will be facing. We are talking about how a company makes a profit and people earn a living, there will be speed bumps.
I have personally seen the rewards of the right system having been implemented in the right way and trust me when I say they are nothing short of transformational. Your company experiences growth, and most importantly your sales team experiences new levels of success they never thought possible, it is glorious when done right. So do your homework, prepare your team and settle in for some of the hardest work of your life, but believe me, IT IS WORTH IT!
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