Todays Sales and Service Culture in Germany
Todays Sales and Service Culture in Germany
Salesmen in Germany understand themselves in reality as "Supervisor of merchandise". This conclusion has been drawn by a Japanese consultant as he has been asked for his opinion by the TV-magazine WISO concerning his experience being a customer in Germany.
There are complaints everywhere that the sales and Service culture would be poor in Germany compared to other countries, especially to the US. This opinion is also reflected in the poor social acceptance of the sales profession which, at relevant surveys, regularly emerge at the end of the hierarchy.* This has various; cultural-historical reasons that date back very far.
"A good product is selling from alone"; this is a widespread opinion. This Statement is particularly true if the product doesn't have any competition. In Germany exists a very long tradition to eliminate competition. A classic example of that are the craftsmen's guilds of the Middle Ages.
The first three decades after the termination of the Second World War were also particularly characterised by a strong demand for products and Services and less by national or international competition.
The development of a traffic infrastructure as well as the opening of the frontiers result in an increasing mobility of people and goods. Deregulation and the growing together of Electronic Data Processing and telecommunications lead more and more to the continuously discussed term "globalisation".
All of these factors cause above all the following:
A constantly growing competition on local, regional, national or international level. Often, this growing competition is discussed because of its risks, much less because of its chances. Therefore the following should be considered:
"The complaints about this growing competition is nearly always an indication of the lack of good ideas!"
It is obvious that for a customer - no matter whether he buys goods and products as a private person or for his Company - the price for goods and Services is the prevailing factor.
Therefore, it is always important and correct to confront its competitors also in regard to the price. However, if the price - as often can be observed - is the only competitive argument, then this is an expression of the lack of imagination.
In a sales and Service culture formed by the competition, the personality of the salesman or service person, i.e. the "human factor" is therefore becoming more and more important.
"In our Company the customer as human being is the focal point" - and therefore Stands often in our way. The author obtained this impression during many occasions he attended in companies, when he inquired about the Status of sales or the salesman within the respective companies. How pleasant would be the Professional life if the customer would not always disturb us at work! It's described ironically here, but this is often the reality.
To change this behaviour - together with you - is our most important objective! * It is a challenging task to help employees and executives to understand that the most important goal of companies is to win products and Services for customers - and that this is not only an isolated task of the sales staff.
When all employees in a Company, starting from the switchboard to accounting to manufacturing think of themselves as being part of sales; when Management considers itself as "Integrated Sales Management", then this is really the Start of a new, forward-looking sales and service culture that also will help to create Jobs!
Todays Sales and Service Culture in Germany - To learn more about this author, visit Hans-Peter Holzwarth's Website.
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Today's Sales and Service Culture in Germany
Salesmen in Germany understand themselves in reality as "Supervisor of merchandise". This conclusion has been drawn by a Japanese consultant as he has been asked for his opinion by the TV-magazine WISO concerning his experience being a customer in Germany.
There are complaints everywhere that the sales and Service culture would be poor in Germany compared to other countries, especially to the US. This opinion is also reflected in the poor social acceptance of the sales profession which, at relevant surveys, regularly emerge at the end of the hierarchy.* This has various; cultural-historical reasons that date back very far.
"A good product is selling from alone"; this is a widespread opinion. This Statement is particularly true if the product doesn't have any competition. In Germany exists a very long tradition to eliminate competition. A classic example of that are the craftsmen's guilds of the Middle Ages.
The first three decades after the termination of the Second World War were also particularly characterised by a strong demand for products and Services and less by national or international competition.
The development of a traffic infrastructure as well as the opening of the frontiers result in an increasing mobility of people and goods. Deregulation and the growing together of Electronic Data Processing and telecommunications lead more and more to the continuously discussed term "globalisation".
All of these factors cause above all the following:
A constantly growing competition on local, regional, national or international level. Often, this growing competition is discussed because of its risks, much less because of its chances. Therefore the following should be considered:
"The complaints about this growing competition is nearly always an indication of the lack of good ideas!"
It is obvious that for a customer - no matter whether he buys goods and products as a private person or for his Company - the price for goods and Services is the prevailing factor.
Therefore, it is always important and correct to confront its competitors also in regard to the price. However, if the price - as often can be observed - is the only competitive argument, then this is an expression of the lack of imagination.
In a sales and Service culture formed by the competition, the personality of the salesman or service person, i.e. the "human factor" is therefore becoming more and more important.
"In our Company the customer as human being is the focal point" - and therefore Stands often in our way. The author obtained this impression during many occasions he attended in companies, when he inquired about the Status of sales or the salesman within the respective companies. How pleasant would be the Professional life if the customer would not always disturb us at work! It's described ironically here, but this is often the reality.
To change this behaviour - together with you - is our most important objective! * It is a challenging task to help employees and executives to understand that the most important goal of companies is to win products and Services for customers - and that this is not only an isolated task of the sales staff.
When all employees in a Company, starting from the switchboard to accounting to manufacturing think of themselves as being part of sales; when Management considers itself as "Integrated Sales Management", then this is really the Start of a new, forward-looking sales and service culture that also will help to create Jobs!
Todays Sales and Service Culture in Germany - To learn more about this author, visit Hans-Peter Holzwarth's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton'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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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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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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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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