Is Your Company Seen as a General Supplier…or a Generative Supplier?
Is Your Company Seen as a General Supplier…or a Generative Supplier?
General suppliers provide a service that keep businesses ‘going’, that and no more. What they sell goes under the category of ‘overheads’ to markets…which is why they are always being pressed for lower prices. And to make matters worse more than 50 industry sectors are converging upon markets, with thousands of companies within each sector…and more than 90% fit the general supplier profile! Additionally, general suppliers appear to attack the status quo and so their aim is seen to be intrusive, resulting in a perception that they are unnecessary, distracting and therefore unwelcome visitors.
Generative suppliers on the other hand provide a service that keep businesses ‘growing’. What they sell goes under the category of ‘opportunities’ to markets – all of which are presented as ‘net gains’. This uncommon form of competitor never attacks the status quo, in fact they do the opposite: they make clear their intentions not to offer duplication, but to provide ideas to stimulate business development…with a promise that the ideas need only be paid for when put to use. These projective thinking, non -threatening suppliers are always welcomed by the market. There appear to be very few of these special suppliers, however the truth is that many of the general suppliers could join this elite group if only they would change their manner of approach to markets, and their conduct within markets.
I should add one more important point to the way generative suppliers do business, especially when contacting prime prospects. They definitely do want to win as much of the incumbent ‘general’ supply role as they can, but this is always a secondary aim to the goal of initiating new business. Their plan is to attack from the inside, not the outside. In other words once they establish a foothold through their sale of net gain ideas, they are in a better position to vie for ‘general’ business supply. Very professional, very smart and very acceptable conduct to markets.
If there is a simple lesson here it is this:
“Ideas make money, products cost money!”
A case study
I am currently consulting for a company that has many business branches, all of which are charged with the task of winning new customers and retaining established customers. I have interviewed several branch managers and even the best among them are operating as general suppliers. The worst among them go to market as extremely general suppliers. No one wants to be perceived as a general supplier of course, and nor does anyone mean to operate in this manner. This behaviour surfaces because sales people have not been briefed on the terrain they intend to enter. Fighter pilots are always fully briefed before missions but sales people are not Little wonder then that so many ‘reps’ are shot down so easily, or crash soon after take off.
The branch managers I mentioned have now been fully briefed on the markets they must enter and influence, plus they have been armed with very professional consulting tools. Here is how they go to market now…
• They call prospects and start by asking if he or she already has satisfactory relationships with suppliers, in their area of service. The answer of course is almost always ‘Yes’, and so they continue by saying that they thought this to be the case, going on to spell out that their wish to arrange a meeting is not to challenge the incumbent suppliers. They then continue by explaining that their company offers a service that generates ideas to help develop business in areas that mean the most to him or her right now, and that the ideas do not incur costs unless put into use. They then suggest a meeting time and, because there is no threat but there is the promise of positive action at no cost, they win lots of interviews
• At time of interview, they start by restating their purpose of providing ideas rather than threats, and then briefly point out the areas in which they can generate ideas (all of which they know will be of interest to the prospect). They then seek permission to ask just a few questions, which will accomplish two aims: a) to understand the history, current situation and future priorities of the prospect’s company, and b) to appreciate the prospect’s broad and specific experience with suppliers of the service being discussed. There is insufficient space here to list the type of questions to be asked, suffice to say that all of the questions are of the ‘expensive’ variety, which means they have taken serious thought and effort to construct. The net result of asking these expensive questions is that the sales person comes to clearly understand ‘the prime business development needs’ of the prospect, along with an appreciation of his relationships with incumbent suppliers…and his/her thoughts about the supplying industry as a service provider. All of the responses gained show the way forward
• Armed with a degree of empathy, they then focus on the key business development areas where ideas need to be generated, gaining agreement on areas that matter most…followed by a promise to return soon with ideas, as promised
• The return visit briefly goes back over the key business needs, and then the ideas are presented…with conviction but not with finality, so that the prospect can offer suggestions based on his/her experience and expertise. This will often lead to a new project being agreed…and thus the process of ‘supplying’ in a generative manner begins
Needless to say perhaps, the supply process must then be managed very well, otherwise the seduction phase leading to the production phase was wasted!
Summary…If your company is capable of conducting itself as generative supplier, then the ‘rules’ of approach, engagement and leadership must also apply to doing business with established customers. If you don’t employ such conduct, your competitors might…so be careful. In fact the goal with customers where more potential exists must be ‘to develop’ rather than ‘to retain’. The aim of ‘development’ almost always leads to retention, while the lame aim of ‘retention’ often leads to an opening for generative, developing suppliers.
Finally, if you have a capacity and an aspiration to be so ‘different’ as to project the profile of a generative supplier…then please consider the critical need to be completely different in your approach work and sales conduct.
Is Your Company Seen as a General Supplieror a Generative Supplier - To learn more about this author, visit John Lees's Website.
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A general supplier that comes calling is one perceived by markets to be uninteresting and irritating, for the simple reason that the products and services they offer are already being provided by incumbent suppliers. It’s like being married and constantly having members of the opposite sex approach you for a ‘good time’, and I ought to know because this happens to me every day. Quite annoying, believe me, and I hate all the cloak and dagger stuff that goes with it, especially the part involving a dagger.
General suppliers provide a service that keep businesses ‘going’, that and no more. What they sell goes under the category of ‘overheads’ to markets…which is why they are always being pressed for lower prices. And to make matters worse more than 50 industry sectors are converging upon markets, with thousands of companies within each sector…and more than 90% fit the general supplier profile! Additionally, general suppliers appear to attack the status quo and so their aim is seen to be intrusive, resulting in a perception that they are unnecessary, distracting and therefore unwelcome visitors.
Generative suppliers on the other hand provide a service that keep businesses ‘growing’. What they sell goes under the category of ‘opportunities’ to markets – all of which are presented as ‘net gains’. This uncommon form of competitor never attacks the status quo, in fact they do the opposite: they make clear their intentions not to offer duplication, but to provide ideas to stimulate business development…with a promise that the ideas need only be paid for when put to use. These projective thinking, non -threatening suppliers are always welcomed by the market. There appear to be very few of these special suppliers, however the truth is that many of the general suppliers could join this elite group if only they would change their manner of approach to markets, and their conduct within markets.
I should add one more important point to the way generative suppliers do business, especially when contacting prime prospects. They definitely do want to win as much of the incumbent ‘general’ supply role as they can, but this is always a secondary aim to the goal of initiating new business. Their plan is to attack from the inside, not the outside. In other words once they establish a foothold through their sale of net gain ideas, they are in a better position to vie for ‘general’ business supply. Very professional, very smart and very acceptable conduct to markets.
If there is a simple lesson here it is this:
“Ideas make money, products cost money!”
A case study
I am currently consulting for a company that has many business branches, all of which are charged with the task of winning new customers and retaining established customers. I have interviewed several branch managers and even the best among them are operating as general suppliers. The worst among them go to market as extremely general suppliers. No one wants to be perceived as a general supplier of course, and nor does anyone mean to operate in this manner. This behaviour surfaces because sales people have not been briefed on the terrain they intend to enter. Fighter pilots are always fully briefed before missions but sales people are not Little wonder then that so many ‘reps’ are shot down so easily, or crash soon after take off.
The branch managers I mentioned have now been fully briefed on the markets they must enter and influence, plus they have been armed with very professional consulting tools. Here is how they go to market now…
• They call prospects and start by asking if he or she already has satisfactory relationships with suppliers, in their area of service. The answer of course is almost always ‘Yes’, and so they continue by saying that they thought this to be the case, going on to spell out that their wish to arrange a meeting is not to challenge the incumbent suppliers. They then continue by explaining that their company offers a service that generates ideas to help develop business in areas that mean the most to him or her right now, and that the ideas do not incur costs unless put into use. They then suggest a meeting time and, because there is no threat but there is the promise of positive action at no cost, they win lots of interviews
• At time of interview, they start by restating their purpose of providing ideas rather than threats, and then briefly point out the areas in which they can generate ideas (all of which they know will be of interest to the prospect). They then seek permission to ask just a few questions, which will accomplish two aims: a) to understand the history, current situation and future priorities of the prospect’s company, and b) to appreciate the prospect’s broad and specific experience with suppliers of the service being discussed. There is insufficient space here to list the type of questions to be asked, suffice to say that all of the questions are of the ‘expensive’ variety, which means they have taken serious thought and effort to construct. The net result of asking these expensive questions is that the sales person comes to clearly understand ‘the prime business development needs’ of the prospect, along with an appreciation of his relationships with incumbent suppliers…and his/her thoughts about the supplying industry as a service provider. All of the responses gained show the way forward
• Armed with a degree of empathy, they then focus on the key business development areas where ideas need to be generated, gaining agreement on areas that matter most…followed by a promise to return soon with ideas, as promised
• The return visit briefly goes back over the key business needs, and then the ideas are presented…with conviction but not with finality, so that the prospect can offer suggestions based on his/her experience and expertise. This will often lead to a new project being agreed…and thus the process of ‘supplying’ in a generative manner begins
Needless to say perhaps, the supply process must then be managed very well, otherwise the seduction phase leading to the production phase was wasted!
Summary…If your company is capable of conducting itself as generative supplier, then the ‘rules’ of approach, engagement and leadership must also apply to doing business with established customers. If you don’t employ such conduct, your competitors might…so be careful. In fact the goal with customers where more potential exists must be ‘to develop’ rather than ‘to retain’. The aim of ‘development’ almost always leads to retention, while the lame aim of ‘retention’ often leads to an opening for generative, developing suppliers.
Finally, if you have a capacity and an aspiration to be so ‘different’ as to project the profile of a generative supplier…then please consider the critical need to be completely different in your approach work and sales conduct.
Is Your Company Seen as a General Supplieror a Generative Supplier - To learn more about this author, visit John Lees'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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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr'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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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power'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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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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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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