Sell More and Work Less: A Strategic Approach to Sales
Sell More and Work Less: A Strategic Approach to Sales
Charles Gonzalez, the president of a commercial landscaping firm in Princeton, Florida, worried for years about the “selling failure rate” in his company. The sales force spent an enormous amount of time and energy on activity, chasing after any old request for bid that flew in the door. He hated the uncertainty, worried about the costs of all that activity, and sweated out the problems of keeping his workers busy. But these days, Gonzalez can sleep at night. Selling at his company has become predictable, consistent and profitable. What made the difference? The company adopted a strategic selling process. They converted their sales department into the strategic function it should have been in the first place.
Previously Gonzalez’s firm, like many others, relied unthinkingly on the conventional wisdom of the ten-to-one ratio, that time-tattered “factoid” that says 10-to-1 prospecting is a fact of life: ten phone calls to get an appointment, ten appointments to get somebody to ask for a proposal, and ten proposals to get an order. Their old forecasting methods were based on optimism, best guess, and CYA. This made forward planning and purchasing a hit-or-miss proposition, a financial nightmare for any business owner. Account executives never knew if they were being productive; they only knew how exhausted they were at the end of the week.
Today, Gonzalez and his sales force know exactly what it means to be productive and effective. They use a specific prospect profile to focus on high-potential opportunities. They focus more on improving the ratio between effort and close than they do on performance against quota. They pay attention to the process, not the revenue. When they want to improve performance, they improve the process.
You can overhaul the sales process in your company and enjoy similar improvements. Whether you manage a dedicated sales force, or do all the selling yourself, there are three things you can do to improve performance:
1. Understand the costs associated with pursuing the wrong opportunities;
2. Define the profile of the Ideal Customer, identifying the desirable characteristics of buyer behavior that predict successful customer relationships;
3. Walk away from the DOA’s – the accounts that are “dead on arrival” and should never have been started in the first place.
The Costs: Return on Investment
Everything in business comes with a cost, and most costs are, or should be, investments that produce a measurable return. It’s easy to overlook the “investment cost” of selling, which is difficult to determine, but absolutely essential that you recognize it. A good approach is to exaggerate it.
Assume that it costs $750 per hour to win a sale. That includes the cost of your time with the customer at her site or yours, finding and managing support resources, working on the proposal, carting the prospect off to see a demo, visiting with the prospect’s technical staff, escorting the prospect to a trade show, and the extra costs associated with missed appointments, broken printers and so forth. Don’t forget out-of-pocket expenses like gas, tolls, meals, collateral materials, courier services, and the cost of opportunities you lost while chasing this one. If you invested ten hours at $750 per hour, to win a $10,000 deal, you just reduced your revenue by $7500. Was there that much profit to lose?
It costs a lot to sell, and once you spend those expensive hours, they don’t come back again. It is essential to view the time you devote to sales as an investment. Selling time must produce a high rate of return. There is no time to waste on unprofitable, marginal opportunities or business that never comes to a close.
The Ideal Customer Profile
The best way to avoid marginal opportunities is to know which ones are worth pursuing. That means creating an Ideal Customer Profile, another selling idea that is easier to talk about than it is to do. The Ideal Customer Profile describes the perfect, or idealized, customer, the one that your company is best suited to serve. The profile lists all the characteristics you would like to see, if you could pick and choose only the best possible customers. Be bold. Don’t forget statements like “they pay me on time,” “they pay me what I ask,” “they’re willing to pay me a premium because I’ve got something special to offer,” and “they laugh at my jokes.” Include as many specifics as possible. Make sure that you include “softer” characteristics as well as the hard facts. Customers that are cooperative, flexible, have realistic expectations and so forth, are far more valuable than those who make impossible demands.
Once you have written down the characteristics of the ideal buyer, now list the things you and your company do particularly well. The Ideal Customer is not Ideal if they want you to do things you can’t do at all, or don’t do well. When listing your strengths, be honest, especially about the size and scope of the projects or transactions you can manage. The worst thing you can do is to over-promise and under-deliver. Compare your Strengths with the desirable characteristics of the buyer, and see where the alignment lies. Pursue the prospects that want the strengths you offer, not those who call on your weaknesses.
In defining their Ideal Customer Profile, Gonzalez realized that his company did a great job with big projects, those $250,000 and up, but small projects, under $100,000, were money losers. On the Ideal Customer Profile, they listed “offers projects worth over $250,000” as one of the high-priority characteristics. When they compared the two lists, the alignment was obvious. This observation was a breakthrough: go after the big deals and forget the little ones!
Walk away from DOA’s.
It doesn’t do any good to know the Ideal Customer if you don’t use it to rule out marginal opportunities. Unfortunately, this is harder than it looks. In Charles’s case, the team continued to chase small deals, investing so much time in them that they actually lost out on some attractive projects. Soon enough, they agreed to institute a rule – if the deal is likely to be smaller than $100,000, it needs the personal approval of the CEO! Suddenly, those small deals disappeared from the radar screen, freeing up valuable time to pursue better business.
Use the Ideal Customer Profile as a benchmark. Ask revealing questions early in the relationship, to learn if, or how closely, the prospect matches the profile. Instead of trying to prove that you are “right” for the prospect, ask yourself, “is this prospect right for me?” There is no harm in telling the prospect, “we are not the right provider for you,” or even, “our fees are too high for your budget.” This respectful position can work in your favor, creating friendly allies who may refer you to more appropriate prospects, or call you back in the future when their business needs are a better match for your business.
Work Less and Earn More
The secret to great selling is that less is more. Less confusion creates more clarity. Less activity produces more results. Less indiscriminate effort produces more targeted effort. Selling is the most strategic business function there is, and it ought to receive the thoughtful, purposeful attention you give to the other aspects of your business.
Concentrate on fewer deals that are worth more to your company – more revenue, more profit, more long-term repeat purchases. If the market or the economy forces you to rely on small deals, don’t spend a fortune to win each one. Keep your eye on productivity. It pays off.
Sell More and Work Less A Strategic Approach to Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Ellen Bristol's Website.
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Business is changing. Manufacturing, distribution, communications, hiring practices, and information technology have been transformed over the past twenty years. Among other things, we’ve pushed productivity to unprecedented levels; manufacturers of electronic components, for example, typically produce fewer than three defective parts out of a mill. But in sales, we still tend to believe that it takes $1 million pipeline to close $100,000 worth of business – and that means a 90% FAILURE rate. The sales force works awfully hard to produce nine losses out of ten tries. You would not tolerate those rates in manufacturing, or your receptionist’s ability to take a phone message, so why is it OK for sales?
Charles Gonzalez, the president of a commercial landscaping firm in Princeton, Florida, worried for years about the “selling failure rate” in his company. The sales force spent an enormous amount of time and energy on activity, chasing after any old request for bid that flew in the door. He hated the uncertainty, worried about the costs of all that activity, and sweated out the problems of keeping his workers busy. But these days, Gonzalez can sleep at night. Selling at his company has become predictable, consistent and profitable. What made the difference? The company adopted a strategic selling process. They converted their sales department into the strategic function it should have been in the first place.
Previously Gonzalez’s firm, like many others, relied unthinkingly on the conventional wisdom of the ten-to-one ratio, that time-tattered “factoid” that says 10-to-1 prospecting is a fact of life: ten phone calls to get an appointment, ten appointments to get somebody to ask for a proposal, and ten proposals to get an order. Their old forecasting methods were based on optimism, best guess, and CYA. This made forward planning and purchasing a hit-or-miss proposition, a financial nightmare for any business owner. Account executives never knew if they were being productive; they only knew how exhausted they were at the end of the week.
Today, Gonzalez and his sales force know exactly what it means to be productive and effective. They use a specific prospect profile to focus on high-potential opportunities. They focus more on improving the ratio between effort and close than they do on performance against quota. They pay attention to the process, not the revenue. When they want to improve performance, they improve the process.
You can overhaul the sales process in your company and enjoy similar improvements. Whether you manage a dedicated sales force, or do all the selling yourself, there are three things you can do to improve performance:
1. Understand the costs associated with pursuing the wrong opportunities;
2. Define the profile of the Ideal Customer, identifying the desirable characteristics of buyer behavior that predict successful customer relationships;
3. Walk away from the DOA’s – the accounts that are “dead on arrival” and should never have been started in the first place.
The Costs: Return on Investment
Everything in business comes with a cost, and most costs are, or should be, investments that produce a measurable return. It’s easy to overlook the “investment cost” of selling, which is difficult to determine, but absolutely essential that you recognize it. A good approach is to exaggerate it.
Assume that it costs $750 per hour to win a sale. That includes the cost of your time with the customer at her site or yours, finding and managing support resources, working on the proposal, carting the prospect off to see a demo, visiting with the prospect’s technical staff, escorting the prospect to a trade show, and the extra costs associated with missed appointments, broken printers and so forth. Don’t forget out-of-pocket expenses like gas, tolls, meals, collateral materials, courier services, and the cost of opportunities you lost while chasing this one. If you invested ten hours at $750 per hour, to win a $10,000 deal, you just reduced your revenue by $7500. Was there that much profit to lose?
It costs a lot to sell, and once you spend those expensive hours, they don’t come back again. It is essential to view the time you devote to sales as an investment. Selling time must produce a high rate of return. There is no time to waste on unprofitable, marginal opportunities or business that never comes to a close.
The Ideal Customer Profile
The best way to avoid marginal opportunities is to know which ones are worth pursuing. That means creating an Ideal Customer Profile, another selling idea that is easier to talk about than it is to do. The Ideal Customer Profile describes the perfect, or idealized, customer, the one that your company is best suited to serve. The profile lists all the characteristics you would like to see, if you could pick and choose only the best possible customers. Be bold. Don’t forget statements like “they pay me on time,” “they pay me what I ask,” “they’re willing to pay me a premium because I’ve got something special to offer,” and “they laugh at my jokes.” Include as many specifics as possible. Make sure that you include “softer” characteristics as well as the hard facts. Customers that are cooperative, flexible, have realistic expectations and so forth, are far more valuable than those who make impossible demands.
Once you have written down the characteristics of the ideal buyer, now list the things you and your company do particularly well. The Ideal Customer is not Ideal if they want you to do things you can’t do at all, or don’t do well. When listing your strengths, be honest, especially about the size and scope of the projects or transactions you can manage. The worst thing you can do is to over-promise and under-deliver. Compare your Strengths with the desirable characteristics of the buyer, and see where the alignment lies. Pursue the prospects that want the strengths you offer, not those who call on your weaknesses.
In defining their Ideal Customer Profile, Gonzalez realized that his company did a great job with big projects, those $250,000 and up, but small projects, under $100,000, were money losers. On the Ideal Customer Profile, they listed “offers projects worth over $250,000” as one of the high-priority characteristics. When they compared the two lists, the alignment was obvious. This observation was a breakthrough: go after the big deals and forget the little ones!
Walk away from DOA’s.
It doesn’t do any good to know the Ideal Customer if you don’t use it to rule out marginal opportunities. Unfortunately, this is harder than it looks. In Charles’s case, the team continued to chase small deals, investing so much time in them that they actually lost out on some attractive projects. Soon enough, they agreed to institute a rule – if the deal is likely to be smaller than $100,000, it needs the personal approval of the CEO! Suddenly, those small deals disappeared from the radar screen, freeing up valuable time to pursue better business.
Use the Ideal Customer Profile as a benchmark. Ask revealing questions early in the relationship, to learn if, or how closely, the prospect matches the profile. Instead of trying to prove that you are “right” for the prospect, ask yourself, “is this prospect right for me?” There is no harm in telling the prospect, “we are not the right provider for you,” or even, “our fees are too high for your budget.” This respectful position can work in your favor, creating friendly allies who may refer you to more appropriate prospects, or call you back in the future when their business needs are a better match for your business.
Work Less and Earn More
The secret to great selling is that less is more. Less confusion creates more clarity. Less activity produces more results. Less indiscriminate effort produces more targeted effort. Selling is the most strategic business function there is, and it ought to receive the thoughtful, purposeful attention you give to the other aspects of your business.
Concentrate on fewer deals that are worth more to your company – more revenue, more profit, more long-term repeat purchases. If the market or the economy forces you to rely on small deals, don’t spend a fortune to win each one. Keep your eye on productivity. It pays off.
Sell More and Work Less A Strategic Approach to Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Ellen Bristol's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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