How often do business owners express frustration about an area of their business that appears to be blocking accomplishment of a key goal? Mr. Mario Lapointe, president of SMT-ASSY, a Montreal firm that services the electronic industry felt just that way, although he was very positive about the long-term prospects for his business even considering the increased competition from Asia.
Mr. Lapointe decided to work with me to take his business to the next level, which in his words was to double sales within 12 to 24 months. My first reaction was to question how realistic his goal was and after much discussion it did seem feasible.
During our initial strategic coaching session it became apparent to Mr. Lapointe that he had been putting his focus on areas other than sales and was devoting perhaps less than 10% of his time to business development. To achieve such a lofty goal it was obvious that it was essential for him to place greater attention on attracting new clients.
A simple way to find solutions to any problem is to look at the key restrainer to achieve a goal. In Mr. Lapointe’s case the key item to resolve was time and a greater affinity to production than sales. After all, Mr. Lapointe is an engineer but 10 yeas ago had seized the opportunity to become an entrepreneur. We determined that he was investing far too much time in administrative tasks. Mr. Lapointe was fortunate to find someone with experience not only in his industry but from Mexico as well, which fit perfectly with his strategy to open a production facility there and ward off the Asian threat.
Mr. Lapointe then turned his attention to sales. He added a sales agent in New York to cover the eastern US. Having now more time to communicate and work with sales they attended several shows together and spiked the interest of some large buyers.
In the meantime he worked with me to follow a one-on-one sales coaching/training process. Doing this gave him a clear understanding of the sales process and provided him with tools to better coach his local reps.
With this new knowledge and understanding of selling, Mr. Lapointe began holding regular meetings with his two Montreal sales reps to teach them what he was learning and coaching them on improving their selling methods.
He also took initiative to personally make specific targeted sales contacts and all this new activity produced a dramatic increase in demands for quotes. This has resulted in new business overall including two new major customers.
For the current fiscal year Mr. Lapointe is on target to double his sales. He also decided to make some improvements to his shop and website in order to improve productivity and quality and to continue to attract new customers. This story is a good example of the importance of aligning focus and resources to accomplish MUST goals.
Article by Stephen Goldberg
This President Is On Track To Double Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Stephen Goldberg's Website.
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This President Is On Track To Double Sales
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How often do business owners express frustration about an area of their business that appears to be blocking accomplishment of a key goal? Mr. Mario Lapointe, president of SMT-ASSY, a Montreal firm that services the...
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Action is All
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Think about it: How badly do you want to double your sales? What are you prepared to do? By your FRUIT you will be known.
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Stephen Goldberg
(Visit Stephen's Website)
What makes a highly effective speaker,
facilitator or coach? Someone creative,
flexible, engaging, knowledgeable, and
committed to helping others, makes a big
impact on his audience.
With over thirteen years’ experience as a
facilitator and coach, and a practical
business and sales background, Stephen
Goldberg possesses these essential
qualities, and more.
Creating fast-paced learning through
interactive activities, and engaging
listeners with humour and stories,
Stephen‘s from-the-heart style of delivery
responds and adapts to the specific needs
of each event’s participants, entertaining
while always stimulating learning and
growth. The visually rich multimedia
presentations that accompany his speeches
capture the attention and the emotions of
his audience. Read more at www.optimusperformance.ca/e
n-products.php
Stephen is regularly featured in articles
in the Montreal Gazette Business and
Working life sections. He is the owner of
Optimus Performance, a successful human
resources development and consulting
company, and publishes its monthly
e-newsletter.Sign up for it at visitor.co
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