Norman Davies' Blog

Power Selling!

Building a Sales System

Part Two

 

Power Selling!

 

 

Power selling is about taking sales efforts and sales success to the next level. Beyond average results do not come easily.  They require an insight into the sales process and the full support of those around you. 

Lance Armstrong did not simply get on a bike and ride his way to six Tour de France victories.  Lance Armstrong prepared himself and his team to become the best individual athletes possible.  Then leveraged that focus with the skills of the best science and experts available and created a support team second to none.

 

Michael Schumacher did not just get into a Ferrari one day and drive to a record seven world championships.  He had the total support of his family from the age of six with his father taking extra jobs to pay for his son's efforts. Racing costs big dollars and requires the focused effort of many people in order to achieve success.

When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon it was not simply a result of his personal fortitude and focus but because of a team of hundreds of highly trained professionals supported with billions of dollars and the full support of the richest nation on the planet.

Great achievements often look like they are the result of one person.  Often the person leading the success even believes that to be true but it is rarely true. I have spoken to so many business owners and managers who believe that they only need to find a great sales person and their business will finally thrive and prosper.  More often than not these same managers hire competent if not good sales people and then work extremely hard to make success impossible. 

 

Powerful results in sales truly require a "perfect storm" of events to happen.  The keys to creating a perfect storm are to leverage everything against everything else.

 

1x1x1x1x1=1

1+1+1+1+1=5

1x2x3x4x5=120

 

When all resources work independently we get nowhere, when everyone is working in the same direction we get results. when everyone leverages there efforts against everyone else in the same focused effort we achieve Power Selling!

 

1) Have a solid business plan

 

Most businesses do not have a written business plan.  That is a fact and without a written business plan the business falls to the whim of the owners whose focus can and will change on a daily basis.  There is no "staying the course" or 'working the plan" because there is no course or plan.  Everything is random.  Success in anything takes time and most people and organizations give up too quickly.  Without a written plan  strategies are quickly changed on the fly if an approach does not show immediate results.  A new strategy is put in place every six months or every month or every week.  The team quickly looses interest in following a leader on a zigzag path and the venture looses all the potential it may have once held.
 

Write a plan.  Have competent professionals look at it and work hard to punch holes in it.  Rewrite it again and again until it is rock solid.  Then work your plan only making small adjustments as feedback is garnered. 

2) Make sure that your pricing makes sense

 

Pricing is a tricky devil.  Of course we want to get the highest price that the market will bear but we also need to be realistic about what else is being offered.  You can sell anything at any price to someone but that is not a market.  Do your research and make certain that your prices fairly reflect what your product or service actually is not what you think it is! Getting away with pricing that is too high may seem like a good idea for awhile until people learn that they are getting ripped off and your reputation is ruined. Selling too low is even worse as it will kill your business fast.  Pricing needs to make sense, however, and sending your sales team out with unrealistic pricing is like feeding them to the lions. They will get devoured by the buyers and may never get a second chance.  In Vancouver there is a coffee shop that sell a $15.00 cup of coffee and a grocery store that sells a $100.00 loaf of bread. Those are exceptions and only work because the price can be justified and explained.

 

3) Deliver on promises

 

Make sure that your sales team knows what your capabilities are and what promises they can confidently make.  When your sales people make promises to get the business then put everything behind the support of those promises.  New customers will usually give you only one chance - don't screw it up!  Long term relationships are all build on trust. Trust is established step by step and lost in an instant.

 

4) Have the resources required

 

I have had business owners tell me, after another failed salesperson had quit, that they had fully supported that salesperson and provided that sales person with every tool needed.  That they had provided the sales person with thousands of leads and that the sales person simply lacked the ability to succeed.  When quizzed the reality was that the sales person had been provided with a desk, a telephone, a very basic computer and an internet connection.

 

Those are not sales tools.  Sales tools are a quality web site, sales presentation materials, an advertising or lead generation program and a properly priced product that has some value in the marketplace.

 

The largest most success companies in the world fully support every product that is introduced and make every effort to create the highest possible chance for success.

 

5) Support, support, support and more support!

 

Success requires support and focused effort.  When every possible fibre of a company is focused on the same result and when everyone is supporting everyone else in the effort to find that success that is Power Selling. That is when the very best sales people will become stars!

 

The most successful sales people look to work with companies that have a track record of fully supporting a focused sales effort.  If you want to be a super successful 'power" sales person look for those opportunities.  If you want to have a super successful "power" sales force than create that perfect storm of sales effort in your organization!

 

These are scary times!

IDEAS

These are scary times!

Recent economic, political and health events have made people anxious and fearful about their futures. Consolidation is changing many industries. Our high value brands are becoming commodities. Which next step is the right step? At Davies International our business is helping businesses increase their sense of direction, confidence, and capability in all areas of their business and particularly in the way they sell and market.

In response to many clients’ requests for insight into these challenges we have developed ten strategies for growth, progress and achievement. I hope these strategies support your creative thinking, communications, and actions in the months ahead. The ideas on this page will evolve and change so check back for new and developed insights

Norman Davies

1) Execution is the discipline of getting things done. Are you only half way through your ten-year-old five-year plan? Make direct action the spirit of your business and start getting things done. Creating a culture of action requires a leader who can be decisive. We must lead the way we would like to be followed.

2) Where the value is clear, the decision is easy. Sales are about relationships, not about the lowest price. Many businesses react to poor business by dropping prices. This only makes you more of a commodity. Every time you strengthen a relationship, however, the value of your product, without you focusing on it, will increase. The value of your business is equal to the depth of all your relationships - with friends, team members, suppliers, clients and prospects.

3) Keep everyone moving in the same direction! Are your biggest limitations the people in your own organization? Make certain everyone is working on the same goal. Does your entire team understand what the goal and vision of the business is? If not start talking to them. Are your staff telling you that your policies are unworkable but you refuse to be moved? Listen to your soldiers in the field and adapt your business to help them become more successful. Don't force outdated, failing stategies down their throats because that was the way you built the business. The world of selling has changed. It is not about cold calling and knocking on doors anymore. The future is about magnetic marketing and lead generation. Selling ice to eskimos may be possible but it is not ethical. Use cutting edge marketing to pull buyers toward your business who want and need your products.

4) Networking can save your business. The best time to have begun developing the network you need to save your business today was ten years ago. The second best time is today. Networking is something very few people understand well. Most see networking as a method of using social skills to sell– that is absolutely wrong! Networking is about giving not getting. It is about trusting that what you sow you shall reap. Networking is not about asking for favors but about giving favors. Help enough people and you have a lot of good will out there! Ask yourself. How much good will can I count on when times are tough?

5) Embrace change. Jack Welch of General electric commented, “If the rate of change inside an organization is less than the rate of change outside…their end is in sight.” Does your organization use your energy and resources to resist change? Of course you do – it is human nature to hold what we have and avoid risk! The problem is that in our rapidly changing world what we are holding today decreases in value tomorrow. Technology, money, and people need to be mixed with new resources to increase their value. Change creates value.

6) Be willing to do the things today that others won't do in order to have the things tomorrow that others won't have. A typical human fault is that upon achieving a goal people resist the call to get going and do it all again. When organizations become lazy, reassessment of every decision is the first thing to go. Sloppy decisions invariably follow. Is your organization a little fat and lazy? Can you“suck it up” and go the extra mile to stand apart?

7) We are better than we know! In his book It is Not About the Bike, Lance Armstrong wrote,“The one thing illness has convinced me of beyond all doubt– more than any experience I’ve had as an athlete– is that we are much better than we know. We have unrealized capacities that sometimes only emerge in a crisis.” For many of us business presents challenges that seem beyond us. We have to trust in our business and ourselves.

8) Make every obstacle an opportunity. It is true every obstacle is an opportunity. A chance to prove ourselves. Do we face the challenge or do we walk away? It is not hard for many of us to be good with the wind at our back. Each obstacle presents an opportunity to test our strength and determination. Give up and you learn nothing, face the obstacle and you grow. The same is true for a business or an individual.

9) Prepare for the challenge - take care of your health! It happens to most of us. Our youth is for fighting the fights. As we get older we get to enjoy the fruits and get fat right? Wrong! The world is just too competitive and fast. As long as we are in the game we need to be ready for the fight both physically and mentally. We often need every competitive edge available. How can you mentally fight when your body is toast? See your doctor, hire a fitness trainer and get strong. Today!

10) Create your vision, find your passion. Our work can be a great quest or a long-suffering chore. Get busy living or get busy dying. Create a vision for your business large enough to capture your imagination. Use that vision to create a framework of goals. Keep your eyes on the prize and work your plan. Success will come!

Building a Sales System

Part One

The Basics!

 

Building a Sales System is really about being organized.  At a basic level being organized is like planning a dinner menu or building a shed to store your garden tools - step by step.

 

1) Set a goal

Goals are important, but importantly, goals must be realistic and supported.  The best goals are set together with the sales person who participates in the development of the goal and fully accepts responsibility for the goal. If the sales team  objects to the goals they will never be achieved.

2) Set a Budget

Business is expensive, even guerilla marketing costs something.  Set the budget at the beginning so that your sales team knows exactly what tools they will have at their disposal to achieve their goals. Get everything on the table so that the sales people know well in advance what tools they will have.

3) Determine a Strategy

How will your goals be achieved? Will you work with distributors or sell to retailers directly?  Do you sell to consumers, what is their profile? What sales approach will you take?  How will you find potential buyers? What do buyers think about your product or service? These questions and many others cannot be dealt with after the fact but must be determined before you start.  Building a strategy requires a realistic approach to what can be achieved and the resources available to leverage the business toward those goals.

4) Outline the action plan

How many prospects are needed to close each sale?  How long is the sales cycle? How will the prospects be found? How long does it take to get face-to-face with prospects?  How long does an order take to close? What are the sales terms and are they acceptable to prospects? How much travel is required? Do we have the sales literature required? Are we missing any tools that could help us close? Are there exsiting proven techniques for closing prospects in our market? 

The action plan should answer all of these questions and should be a complete blueprint for activity.   

 

5) Follow the Action Plan

Have you tried to assemble Ikea furniture?  Well, the first time can be frustrating but my experience is that the plans included in each product for assembly are well written - this is especially clear if you need to assemble two or three of the same product. 

The same is true for a sales action plan.  If well thought out, the action plan should effectively guide the sales person through the entire sales process. Results will be determined by the experience of the sales professional and the quality of the tools provided. A good plan should be like giving two drivers clear maps, functioning vehicles and a full tank of gas and asking them to drive from downtown Vancouver to Hope.  There may be some confusion along the way, maybe a detour or two but both drivers will reach their goal!

6) Consistently review results & adjust the plan

Many things happen in business and many events and opportunities present distractions.  We must deal with all of these interruptions, however, we must always focus on our ultimate goals and quickly get back on track. 

In many organization there are so many changes and so many adjustments to the goals - in fact the goals can change on a daily basis that the sales person simply looses heart.  When this happen the sales person looses motivation and simply waits to be told what to do. When this happens productivity goes down the toilet and both the sales and the sales person will stagnate. Don't let this happen!

Very few sales people are naturally organized and as a result following a simple program is not an easy thing to do.  In fact, life being what it is even the most disciplined sales person is thrown all sorts of challenges and variables on a daily basis that can pull them off track.

Sales management needs to understand that keeping on goal is not easy.  In fact, management is often the source of the biggest distraction with constantly changing goals and agendas.

Helping your sales team staying on target is important. Goals should be set and the sales team should be given enough time to realistically achieve the goal.

I have worked with many owners who will arbitrarily set sales goals at 200% of the companies best month completely demoralizing their sales team in the process.  Management sometimes looks for the sales team to solve problems, generated by management, by pushing for unrealistic results.

Planning is important for sales success and  everyone in the company should be aware of the plan and should work together to support the goals.