Room for Improvement

YIKES!  Interesting comments from the executive who heads the Sales Advisory Council and CMO Practice at research firm IDC.

In a recent survey, buyers were asked for their collective view of the salespeople who call on them:

• 16% were extremely prepared
• 27% were very prepared
• 31% were somewhat prepared
• 26% were ill prepared

The buyers recommended:

• 42% – Put away the generic pitch.  We already know most of that stuff or we don’t care.
• 15% – Make the conversation relevant to ME.
• 13% – Bring the right people to the table.
• 12%- You need to know YOUR stuff better.

He went on to say that salespeople are often disappointed with their marketing support and collateral.  In fact, the survey revealed that 40-50% of marketing assets are never used. Why not?

• 40% – I can’t find it.
• 17% – Poor taxonomy for my client base.
• 17% – I gave up and make my own marketing materials.
• 15% – The stuff lacks relevance for my clients.  It’s missing the “So What?”
• 17% – It lacks credibility, proof points, metrics.

There is plenty of wood to chop for sales and marketing executives.

Sales Enablement–What Is It?

I attended a conference in Chicago sponsored by the Savo Group for their customers, prospects and partners (Critical Path Strategies is a partner).  One hundred twenty-five sales and marketing executives and mid level managers attended a very good session on sales enablement.

First lightbulb:  This is a hot topic if 120+ folks  braved the expense police to attend in times like these. Next lightbulb: I met several people who had titles like VP of Sales Enablement! There is some meat here.

So why the buzz? Here are some notes I jotted down about how hard our selling jobs are:

• CRM has not fully delivered on its promise, at least to sales people. They do not like it. They say it takes time, cramps their style, and is, fundamentally, for someone else.
• Sales people demand flexibility.  They have a territory, a customer set, and a set of challenges that are unique. One size does not fit all.
• 2.0 stuff is cool.
• Selling dynamics have never been more difficult.
• CSO Insights study said that only 52% of sales reps will make their quota.
• The Internet has made buyers smarter than sellers.
• Customers report that 92% of sales calls stink.
• ROI and speed to ROI come up in the first meetings.
• Buyers are risk-adverse, and never more so than today. They believe that if they make a mistake, they will be fired.
• The decision makers and influencers matrix is more complex.
• Lots of folks can say “no;” few can say “yes.”
• The speed to commoditization has accelerated.

So I asked, “What is sales enablement about?”

• Creating face time for reps to have conversations with prospects
• Helping the reps have courage and confidence to do so
• Helping the reps have relevant conversations
• Getting them prepared to do so based on the best thinking of the firm, Tribal Knowledge
• Helping the reps have “fluent” conversations

Sales enablement is focused on sales people productivity. One of its principles:  The sales person is the last line of defense against commoditization.

The Savo Group may be a piece of the puzzle we all ought to explore. Check them out at www.savogroup.com

Lessons from a Goat Rancher

It’s not often that I get inspiration for a blog entry from Goat Rancher magazine.  And no one was more surprised than I was to see best-selling business author Jim Collins quoted in the recent issue.  But it was an article titled” Don’t Create Your Own Recession” that reminded me of the bunker mentality some salespeople too often surrender to during a downturn.  The common reaction to a drop in business is to first, stop selling, and second, to lower prices.  What does this have to do with goats?

Many of the major Boer goat ranchers hold their most important sales event over Labor Day weekend.  It’s their expo-equivalent for selling show goats and breeding stock.  High-selling goats can fetch $10,000 or so per head; others range in price from $2,000-$4,000 each.  Given the economic pinch of the last year and a half and the lackluster sales results earlier this year, I wondered if ranchers would rein in their marketing dollars and curtail the events this year.  Smart salespeople these goat ranchers.  They increased their marketing outreach–sometimes doubling it–and multiplied their selling efforts.  The results were obvious:  some of the largest crowds and highest prices for goats in years.

Lesson learned:  People do not typically just buy.  They are sold something.  And if you stop selling, they will almost immediately quit buying.

Cutting prices is another knee-jerk reaction some salespeople have when the economy turns south and they have lots of inventory on hand.  Some goat ranchers who previously sold registered breeding stock for $1,000 a head dropped their prices to $275 a head.  That may have helped their immediate cash flow, but once the excess inventory is sold, how do they raise their prices to previous levels?  The rancher’s price-to-value ratio has been skewed–maybe forever.

Lesson learned: You cut your prices and your buyers will expect to pay the reduced price from now on, regardless of how great your product or service.

Cutting back on marketing and sales and slashing prices are two things that can do more damage to your business than a recession ever could. As Collins says in his new book, How the Mighty Fall, “Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you….If you’ve been practicing sound marketing and selling principles, you should pray for severe turbulence, for that’s when you can pull further ahead of those who lack your relentless intensity.”

Good advice for the goat business–and for yours, too.

Put Up Some Points Every Day

In his book How to Become a Rainmaker, author Jeff Fox says there are four steps in any sale:

• Getting an introduction to a decision maker
• Getting an appointment to meet the decision maker
• Meeting the decision maker face to face
• Getting a commitment to a close or an action that will lead you to a close

For each of the steps, he applies points:

• Introduction – One point
• Appointment – Two points
• Meeting – Three points
• Close – Four points

He strives to put FOUR points on the board daily. This keeps his pipeline of activity at a level where there is never a slow period.

This is a disciplined approach to growing your business.  And you can keep track of your progress daily on one hand!

By the way, I fell one point short today, but I will have a better tomorrow.

Loyal Customers Keep Us in Business

On the CPS LinkedIn Group site, there is a discussion about selling in these extraordinary times.  A couple of posts point to going the extra mile–giving customers something special.  The Cajuns call it “lagniappe” (lan-yap).

I recall a famous oyster bar in the French Quarter.  They would add an extra oyster to the dozen I ordered.  They made sure I noticed this gift by giving me a big smile and telling me, “Here’s a little lagniappe for you.”   Basically, they were under promising and over delivering.  Guess what?  Every time I’m in New Orleans, I go back to that oyster bar.

The point is pretty basic–we all like pleasant surprises.  So what might you do to add a little lagniappe to your customer relationships?  Give them a little unexpected value.  They will appreciate it, and you will create loyalty.  And that will keep you in business.

Do You Work in Sales? Thank You.

No matter what the rest of us do all day, our paychecks and prosperity rely on the efforts of salespeople.  Check out this opinion piece in the Christian Science Monitor.