HOW TO NATIONAL SALES MANAGER CAN BOOST SALES PERFORMANCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES

POST COVID is a challenging time  for the salesforce; every sector is affected by the currency crunch; global cues of protectionism and falling market demand Are you the National Sales Manager driven by lower market performance due to factors which you belive are beyond your control; Take heart you are not alone in your problems and there is no end to the possibilites which are still open. Here are a few I have tried during such business downturns in the years gone by.... Notice What Is Working & What is Not… Study yourself, your product or service and your company to know what is working now. Reinforce the actions and tools, which are generating results. Learn from your successes as well as your failures. Create a profile of the company’s Market Create a profile of the ideal market for what you offer. Define who they are, where they can be reached, what they care about, what they fear, what they read, whom they admire and more. Know them well. Check  & Redesign Your company’s Sales Reputation Determine today how you want to be thought of tomorrow. Specify the reputation you want within each group of which you are a part, and then work a plan to earn it piece by piece. Know Your company’s Competitive Advantage Study your company and your company’s products and services in relation to what your company’s competitors offer. Know where and how you stand out, and where you don't. Be prepared to discuss these comparisons at any moment. Use Pareto Principle to target Your company’s Best Prospects Best customers have patterns. We call it the Pareto Principle Most will fit the same pattern, so prospect among those who fit the pattern. Calling on people with similar needs, circumstances, and interests makes you more likely to create another best customer. Backyard Gold mining- Ask For Referrals from Satisfied Customers Tell people what your company’s ideal customer or prospect looks like. Ask them who they know who fits this description. Then ask them to take a specific action to help you meet the prospect; a telephone introduction, a testimonial letter, arrange a luncheon or coffee shop meeting, etc. More business exists around you than you know. Look among your friends, neighbors, existing customers, past customers, colleagues, competitors and coworkers for the opportunities that others overlook. Start a Backend Sales Campaign with Loyal Customers Know how to cultivate dedicated customers. A movie ticket doesn't just buy you a seat in the theater; it buys you the experience of enjoying the movie. What experience does your company’s product or service bring to people? Give them a way to sample that experience through your company’s presentation. Become competition-proof by delivering more than people expect. Overfill your company’s client's needs and be their business friend, even when they are not buying from you. Be the kind of person people rave about. Grow Your company’s Brand Identity Get yourself and your company known within your market area. Write articles, letters to editors, offer expert input for reporters and publishers, conduct surveys, provide free services to key people, donate your time to worthy causes, put your photo on your business card, share valuable ideas via email. Create a broad awareness of yourself as an authority on what you do. Build A Long term fund Of Good Business Relationships It is not only who you know that determines the value of your relationships; it is whether they know you as a valuable business resource. Define who you need to know today and five years from today. Start now to cultivate the relationships and the reputation, which will expand your possibilities. Design a Direct Marketing Approach That Uses Your company’s Sales Strengths Use the combination of online communication, in person calls, telephone contacts, trade show attendance, and public speaking, which allows you to shine. Build a mix of activities to diminish your company’s sales weaknesses and amplify your company’s strengths. municate with. Become a partner in problem solving, not a sales persuader.  Train Continuously & Recharge your Sales Story & Techniques Use a checklist to prepare your attitude, appearance, customer information, company and product information and the selling environment, so you can be at your best on every call. The way you are perceived by your company’s customer determines how much resistance you will encounter as you sell. Learn to project a positive feeling among those you come in contact with. Write down specifically how your company’s product or service makes life better for those who buy it. Read this description every day briefly, to keep in mind the reason behind the purchase. It's not about buying; it's about benefiting from buying. Create an awareness of the psychological needs of your company’s prospect as well as knowing what their technical needs are. Sometimes the way someone wants to feel has more influence on their decision to buy than what they actually need. Sustain motivation in the Sales team With lower sales incentive the sales rep (even the best) doesn't find much meaning in what they do, they don't bring much value to what they do. Half your job is keeping yourself and others in the right frame of mind. Cultivate your ability to keep the focus on the things that matter most. Become a person who can put everything in perspective for others. As tension rises, trust falls. Be aware of the ebb and flow of tension as the sale unfolds. Learn to reduce it when it gets in the way and to momentarily increase it to add urgency to the decision process. Best of luck Dr Wilfred Monteiro

closing the gap in your sales process: AUDIT YOUR SALES PROGRAM EVERY THREE YEARS TO KNOW THE DRIFT VERSUS PLAN AND THE UNDERGROWTH OF INEFFICENCY

Value Stream Mapping is not only for the production function it applies equally to the sales process and to the major sales campaigns you tried to execute. By the theory of cause & effect; sales do not spring by luck or surprise there is a definite relationship with the value chain you have set in the sales process... OTHERWISE sales boys blame logistics and logistics in turn blame production and production blames purchase and purchase blames finance... 

THE COMPANY IS NOT FIGHTING THE COMPETITION IT IS FIGHTING WITHIN ITSELF

xxx

 

XXX Losers put off the important things that could make a difference in their lives. Winners put off low-value tasks and activities.

Eliminate the Time Wasters in Selling

The first major time waster in selling is procrastination and delay. This occurs when you find every conceivable reason to put off getting there with people who can and will buy from you. Everyone procrastinates. There is always too much to do and too little time. The difference between successes and failures is determined by people's choices about what they put off. Losers put off the important things that could make a difference in their lives. Winners put off low-value tasks and activities.

Stop Wasting Time

According to sales research, half of all working time, in all fields, is wasted. Most of this wasted time is taken up with coffee breaks, phone calls, and personal business, or other useless activities that make no contribution to your work.

Resolve to Overcome Procrastination

The best way to overcome procrastination is to plan each day in advance, set priorities on your activities, and then make your first sales call as early as you possibly can. Get up and get going. When you launch quickly into a workday, doing something important as early as possible, you will work at a higher level of effectiveness all day long.

The Incomplete Sales Call

Another major time waster is the incomplete sales call, requiring a callback. This occurs when you have not thoroughly prepared your presentation or taken all the materials you need for your sales call. When you are with the customer, you find you're missing the correct order forms, or other materials needed to close the sale. You then have to make arrangements to go back and see the prospect a second time, something that often does not happen.

Inaccuracies and Deficiencies

You waste a lot of time in selling when you find yourself with a prospect, but without all the information needed to make an intelligent presentation. You may have the wrong facts, the wrong figures, or the wrong specifications. You have misunderstood what the prospect said she wanted and made a proposal that does not solve the prospect's problem or satisfy her need.

Lack of Product Knowledge

This weakness can cost you hours of hard work. It boils down to ignorance of the product or service you are selling. This is invariably caused by laziness on the part of the salesperson. Fortunately it can be very easily overcome with time and study.

Poor Preparation

Thorough preparation separates the sheep from the goats among sales professionals. The top salesperson takes the time to diligently study every detail of her product or service. She reviews and then reviews again. She takes notes. She decides in advance that no one will ever ask her a question that she cannot answer intelligently and completely.

Unconfirmed Appointments

Here's a common scenario. A salesperson sets off across town to see a prospect for an appointment. It was arranged in advance, so everything should go as planned, right? But when the salesperson arrives, the prospect has been called out of town, is in a meeting, or cannot see him for some reason. As a result, he has wasted the entire trip, including the time it now takes him to get back to the office. Sometimes a salesperson can lose half a day because he did not reconfirm an appointment.

Action Exercise

Plan every day in advance; make a list of everything you have to do, and then set priorities on your list; always start with your number one, most important task.

HOW SHOULD YOUR NATIONAL SALES MANAGER PLAN A PERFORMANCE TURNAROUND

Few realize the need for breakthrough thinking and a knife-searing self-analysis to start anew dropping the rut and the deadwood  My sales turnaround program usually begin with a consultative sessions with the National Sales Manager to determine what are the best and worst in the sales operations, systems and processes. I am utterly convince of one point....most people want to have the same pattern of working year after year and hope to achieve superior results. Few realize the need for breakthrough thinking and a knife-searing self-analysis to start anew dropping the rut and the deadwood  I give below a methodology to start this process and hope you will use it to improvize sales this financial year ; not merely to exceed the budgeted sales but to build a lasting platform for sutstain performance A ruthless self analysis and introspection Study yourself, your product or service and your company to know what is working now. Reinforce the actions and tools, which are generating results. Learn from your successes as well as your failures. Create a profile of the company’s Market Create a profile of the ideal market for what you offer. Define who they are, where they can be reached, what they care about, what they fear, what they read, whom they admire and more. Know them well. Check  & Redesign Your company’s Sales Reputation Determine today how you want to be thought of tomorrow. Specify the reputation you want within each group of which you are a part, and then work a plan to earn it piece by piece. Know Your company’s Competitive Advantage Study your company and your company’s products and services in relation to what your company’s competitors offer. Know where and how you stand out, and where you don't. Be prepared to discuss these comparisons at any moment. Use Pareto Principle to target Your company’s Best Prospects Best customers have patterns. We call it the Pareto Principle Most will fit the same pattern, so prospect among those who fit the pattern. Calling on people with similar needs, circumstances, and interests makes you more likely to create another best customer. Backyard Gold mining- Ask For Referrals from Satisfied Customers Tell people what your company’s ideal customer or prospect looks like. Ask them who they know who fits this description. Then ask them to take a specific action to help you meet the prospect; a telephone introduction, a testimonial letter, arrange a luncheon or coffee shop meeting, etc. More business exists around you than you know. Look among your friends, neighbors, existing customers, past customers, colleagues, competitors and coworkers for the opportunities that others overlook. Start a Backend Sales Campaign with Loyal Customers Know how to cultivate dedicated customers. A movie ticket doesn't just buy you a seat in the theater; it buys you the experience of enjoying the movie. What experience does your company’s product or service bring to people? Give them a way to sample that experience through your company’s presentation. Become competition-proof by delivering more than people expect. Overfill your company’s client's needs and be their business friend, even when they are not buying from you. Be the kind of person people rave about. Grow Your company’s Brand Identity Get yourself and your company known within your market area. Write articles, letters to editors, offer expert input for reporters and publishers, conduct surveys, provide free services to key people, donate your time to worthy causes, put your photo on your business card, share valuable ideas via email. Create a broad awareness of yourself as an authority on what you do. Build A Long term fund Of Good Business Relationships It is not only who you know that determines the value of your relationships; it is whether they know you as a valuable business resource. Define who you need to know today and five years from today. Start now to cultivate the relationships and the reputation, which will expand your possibilities. Design a Direct Marketing Approach That Uses Your company’s Sales Strengths Use the combination of online communication, in person calls, telephone contacts, trade show attendance, and public speaking, which allows you to shine. Build a mix of activities to diminish your company’s sales weaknesses and amplify your company’s strengths. municate with. Become a partner in problem solving, not a sales persuader. Train Continuously & Recharge your Sales Story & Techniques Use a checklist to prepare your attitude, appearance, customer information, company and product information and the selling environment, so you can be at your best on every call. The way you are perceived by your company’s customer determines how much resistance you will encounter as you sell. Learn to project a positive feeling among those you come in contact with. Write down specifically how your company’s product or service makes life better for those who buy it. Read this description every day briefly, to keep in mind the reason behind the purchase. It's not about buying; it's about benefiting from buying. Create an awareness of the psychological needs of your company’s prospect as well as knowing what their technical needs are. Sometimes the way someone wants to feel has more influence on their decision to buy than what they actually need. Sustain motivation in the Sales team With lower sales incentive the sales rep (even the best) doesn't find much meaning in what they do, they don't bring much value to what they do.

Half your job is keeping yourself and others in the right frame of mind. Cultivate your ability to keep the focus on the things that matter most. Become a person who can put everything in perspective for others. As tension rises, trust falls. Be aware of the ebb and flow of tension as the sale unfolds. Learn to reduce it when it gets in the way and to momentarily increase it to add urgency to the decision process.

with best compliments

 

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

 

KEY ACCOUNT MANAGMENT: gain new insights into what is an adhoc business process for most sales driven organisation..focusing of a supplier company's sales, marketing and service resources, through a select global team, on key customers.

STRATEGIC   SELLING

Tool  for  competitive  times

Increasingly, large companies mandate that their suppliers set up "key account management teams" that specialize in selling and servicing their needs exclusively and globally. Such account teams are often headed by a high-level executive, sometimes a vice president. Big Companies are spending enough money with their suppliers that they are in a position to virtually demand such response. On initial glimpse, some supplier companies  may see this as an unreasonable requirement from sometimes difficult customers. A closer look, however, reveals that, executed properly, there are significant advantages in such arrangement for both buyers and their vendors.

Key account management (KAM) is essentially the focusing of a supplier company's sales, marketing and service resources, through a select global team, on key customers. Such customers are deemed vital to the supplier's future because of their potential large volume purchases through an extended time. Key account management is a strategic sales/support tool that facilitates the development of an effective, long-term customer relationship or strategic partnership.

The advantages to the customer are:

• Globally expanding customers want to achieve consistency in selection and speed up qualification of equipment and materials, thereby reducing costs of support, training, inventory, etc.
• Customers want to develop purchasing leverage and drive vendors toward worldwide pricing within worldwide purchasing agreements.
• Customers wish to maximize their ability to transfer processes anywhere in  India rapidly and at a minimum cost.

While most customers will not publicly admit it, central supplier teams facilitate communication within the customer company country-wide; indeed, "peddler mail" may be faster than intra-company e-mail and possibly more effective.

There is a downside in the KAM scenario for large customers: Their insistence on dealing exclusively with key account teams may cause them to overlook new and exciting technological advances that so often flow first from smaller companies without KAM teams in place for key customers.

KAM also offers distinct advantages to supplier companies, including:

• Attainment of in-depth understanding of customer specifications, support requirements and other needs.
• Maximizing the likelihood of selling to all or most of a key customer's specifications. This is crucial because much money and time is needed to qualify a purchase item like tools, electronic components etc. These long qualification cycles emphasize the need to know the customer's present and future requirements accurately, and also provide opportunities to adjust effectively to changing customer requirements.
• Full utilization of all supplier resources without costly duplication of effort.
• Creation of leverage among a customer's specifications. Positive product performance in one contract consignment, can assist in moving toward success in other specifications of the same customer.
• Keeping professional relationships when a customer executive moves to other assignments in other consignment.
• Gaining insight on customer technology usage, corporate culture and the driving forces country-wide.

Smaller vendors are at a significant disadvantage vis-a-vis their larger competitors, even it they have the greatest "whiz bang" in the world. Through their key account management teams, larger customers can search company-wide and worldwide for their own as well as competitive performance flaws and other opportunities to meet customers' needs at the expense of competition. All of this ultimately benefits the customer.

There are some downside issues for suppliers to large key customers, including:

• The leverage of the large key customer on price, terms and support items.
• The supplier's need to learn to work in a matrix management environment. This means dealing with executive immaturity ("I want it now!"), limited discipline for setting and executing corporate priorities, and managing "turf consciousness." These factors have proven fatal to more than one corporate effort to adopt key account management.

Categorize Your Customers

One simple way to determine which customers you need to reassess is to categorize them by industry or type and list them from highest to lowest profitability (not revenue) to your business. One financial services firm did this and realized that the source of greatest profitability for their company was people who owned their own business. This was followed by higher net worth persons, either retired or still working. These types of clients needed the broader and more custom array of financial products and services that the firm offered. At the bottom of their list was lower net worth people who needed rudimentary tax or estate services. As a result, this company decided they wanted to focus their business on the more fulfilling and more profitable business endeavors. They consequently decided to refer the lower-end business to a colleague in their industry who was best equipped to handle this type of business. By doing so, this company not only lifted a sizable burden from its limited capacity, but also created a strategic partnership with a colleague where there would be good opportunity for cross-referral.

This financial service company also took another significant step. They rated each new prospective client using a number of criteria, including potential profitability, which would tell them whether they would be willing to take on that new client in their business. This allowed them to focus their business’s products and services on the clients who would fit best with both what their firm could offer and how they liked to work, and be the most lucrative for them.

Strategize Your Positioning

When a manufacturing company categorized their customers, they discovered, to no surprise, that the no-frills commodity end of their business was the least profitable. Their ultimate desire was to guide their business to customers who wanted value-added services for which they would pay additional money (e.g., custom product design, warehousing, purchasing and packaging of product accessories, etc.). However, they just could not say "no" to their commodity-business customers, some of whom had been loyal customers since the day the company was founded. To resolve this dilemma the company decided to use product price and delivery as their tools for pruning unwanted business. If they could not easily fit the commodity business into their production schedule then they raised their price somewhat, or extended delivery times. Rather than say "no", this company took low-end business only if the customer would accept these price and delivery adjustments. 

As a rule of thumb, it’s good to examine the bottom 10-15% of your business’s customers, in terms of profitability, and then create a consistent and doable strategy for dealing with all those customers. One service firm gracefully contacted every customer in that firm’s bottom profitability tier. They told each of them where their service firm was heading and how that customer could fit into that possible future, if they so desired. Then they gave each customer a choice to stay with the firm, by moving to higher end products and services, or to take their business to a complementing firm that would better handle their lower-end business. As a result, a number of unprofitable customers left on good terms, and others chose to upgrade their products and services and stay with the firm. This ended up as a "win-win" approach for all.

You can effectively grow your business "garden" when you know where to prune the bushes and trees that represent your customers. By cutting or clipping here and there, and being deliberate about removing any unprofitable customers, or ones that are draining your company’s resources, you have a greater chance of surviving and even thriving in today’s ever complex and more demanding marketplace.

XXXX What is the power of emotions in selling???

What is the power of emotions in selling???

 Not selling a car to a cash-rich businessman or a washing machine to an impulsive housewife. 

You are selling before a purchase committee consisting of varied specializations ranging from finance and technology and the market savvy purchase manager himself. Do they decide with the head or the heart. After long deliberations with half-a-dozen vendors; it seems only fair to toss a coin and decide upon the final purchase... 

THE TRUTH IS SIMPLE day by day even your patented and carefully  branded; hi-tech product is becoming a commodity in the market. 

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES IS THE SALESMAN WHO SELLS and the offer he makes . With techno products it is the "augmented" value added product ...the after sales service. And of course "the ease of doing business" is not only with the government but also with the company whose face is the FIELD SALESMAN

Dead are the theories and the academics who predicted the "death of the salesman" Even digital marketing has not made a dent in the glories role of the FIELD SALESMAN