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The More Things Change--The More They Stay the Same

Guest post by: Gerry Layo

Article Overview: With change occurring all around us daily, there are some pieces of advice that stand the test of time (and dramatic market shifts!) Occasionally, we will revisit an article from previous years at the request of some of our readers. In this particular instance, we discovered that advice that's sound for good times is even more sound during tough times! Below, you will find an article that I wrote back in Spring of 2005 at the height of the new construction "boom" here in Northern California. The article points out the need to pay attention when things are really rocking in your business. The interesting part is that the advice given as a result of the example in the article holds true today in the midst of a much different marketplace. The more things change, the more they stay the same---pay attention! Gerry

The More Things Change--The More They Stay the Same

As I work with business leaders across North America, I am amazed at the people that they put in the field as representatives of their company in a SALES role. There are entire legions of people in the world who are very skilled, very talented, or very gifted in many areas of your business----just not necessarily in the sales area! Simply because the sale may be attached to the specific department in which an individual works is NOT good enough reason for them to be attached to the completion of the sale. Here's a good example:

We have a client company in Northern California that is in the construction industry. They do well over a half a billion dollars in projects every year. They have a Business Development team in place whose main job-as far as I can tell-is to maintain client relationships through social activities. The main thrust of their sales efforts are done by a staff of Estimators, most of whom have never (until we were retained) been trained in the profession of selling. This group of 70 plus individuals is very skilled in their profession. The problem is that their profession is not that of a salesperson.

These people have been formally trained to be very focused on information, data, details, and facts as engineers in order to be able to design and price out a large job, often in the tens of millions of dollars! Unfortunately, the profession of selling goes beyond simply the details, facts, and figures.

The problem? The organization was becoming a victim due to a serious lack of sales skill training. The revenues of the company had grown significantly over the past 10 years. This was due to many factors, one of which was the huge boom in the residential and commercial building industry in California. The corresponding profits of the company, however, had flat-lined. Why? Wrong Focus!

The company went from being one of "differentiation through effort" to being one of attempted differentiation based upon size and scope. The little things that they did in the past to land new accounts and to stand out from the competition were replaced with order taking and faxing in bids and proposals. To make matters worse, the people that were once charged with new business acquisition were relegated to PR positions. Now the ones who were supposedly selling new jobs were armed with only one tactic by which to land the job: Drop Price!

Through our Sales 101 customized training programs designed specifically for their Estimator/Engineer staff over the past 6 months; we have seen an increase in profits of up to 4 percent! On a company with revenues of $700 million, that translates into an additional $25 million+/- to the company's bottom line. Do you think a little focus in training paid off for them?

I don't share this story to impress you, but to impress upon you the importance of having the right people on the front lines representing the sale of your product or service. In addition, we all need to make sure that those people are trained in the areas of sales expertise necessary to not only communicate your company's value, but to negotiate your company's profits in a way that gets you what it is that you deserve out of this ever-changing and competitive marketplace.

Here are a few key ACTION steps to take RIGHT NOW to ensure your organization is on the right track for sales success:

1-Define with as much specificity as possible the type of person who you would have representing you in the marketplace. Don't necessarily use your existing team as a guide. Use your desire to drive sales to your existing marketplace. Have the rules changed? Have the buyers changed the way that they buy? Do customers demand new things from your salespeople? Now-rank your existing team against this profile. If they are way off, don't be surprised, just DO something about it! Training mediocrity out of your team has to be your number ONE priority.

2-Re-analyze your sales approach to the marketplace. Take a look at how it is that you acquire new business today. How are new leads generated and who does that? How are these followed up and who does that? Are your customers referring you new business? If so, are you following through? If not, are you asking for it? Do you deserve their referrals? How are your networking efforts paying off? What associations do you belong to? Who's involved and how?

3-Re-assess your sales cycle: What specific stages are in the sales process and how do you differ from the competition throughout? In what ways do you stand out? Think through this from the perspective of the customer. How do your salespeople communicate your PPODs (Positive Perceptions of Difference) to the marketplace through their ACTIONS as well as their words? What questions are being asked during the sales process to identify highest value needs of the customer? Get out from behind the desk and get in the game with your salespeople!

4-Wherever you identify problems, take immediate action to fix them! Wherever you identify lack of passion and focus, take immediate action to light a fire. Wherever you see mediocrity, indifference, complacency, or "because that's the way we've always done it" mentality, take out the axe and start chopping. There is no place for these things in your company or in your life. Don't let them set up camp in your world.

Although the marketplace may be different today than when this article was originally written, there is NO DIFFERENCE in the level of advice that is listed above. In fact, the four areas listed above are of even MORE importance in this challenging economy.

1-Take a look at your existing team: Are they the right people for THIS marketplace? Remember, every lost sale cost twice as much today. If you're not sure...guess what? You have already decided! You just haven't done anything about it! Get 'em trained or get 'em out!

2-Re-analyze how you go to market: Take nothing for granted. Look for every opportunity to do it (whatever IT is) better, do it more, and do it differently!

3-Re-Assess your sales cycle: Decisions are made differently, by different people, for different reasons today. Are you speaking to those? More importantly, are you discovering what those are? If the sale is tougher to make, the process of discovering the customer's highest value needs must go deeper.

4-Wherever the need for change comes up...DO something about it! You've cut back in most of the areas you can. You've laid off where necessary. You've streamlined and right-sized in every area you can. Make sure that you take ACTION in the area that drives all top line revenues and opens all new doors---SALES!

Indeed....the more things change...the more they stay the same.

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Article Tags: management, marketing strategies, sales, sales cycle



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