Just as honesty, humility, patience, and kindness are virtues, so too is leadership.
Many have defined it, others have eloquently described it, and much has been written about it, but only a few have exemplified it. And while most would agree that "leadership" is a major component of management, true leadership is rare.
The following collection of quotes and excerpts paints a picture of leadership as described by the well and not-so-well known.
"Every damn thing is your own fault," Ernest Hemingway said. "If you're any good."
Hemingway spoke these words after attempting, in vain, to shoot a lion. He was responding to gun-bearers and local tribesmen who were offering excuses as to why his shot had missed its target.
As the safari leader, Hemingway's point was that excuses don't really matter - it serves no purpose to blame others. A strong leader offers solutions, not excuses. By assuming responsibility rather than assigning blame, the effective leader sets a strong example and inspires others to behave in kind.
This excerpt from a Nightingale - Conant Management Report makes a similar point: "Another simple concept is that people reflect what you show them. If they see you as being indifferent, they will treat you indifferently. If they see you as expecting the worst, they will behave at their worst."
Unknown sources often shed light on the path to success, and at times, the answers to difficult questions are found in the least likely places. Consider the following words from sources unknown and how these thoughts might apply to being an effective leader (or manager):
"Praise does wonders for the sense of hearing."
"The closest anyone comes to perfection is on a job application form."
"People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be."
Of course, more respected and familiar sources have had their say about leadership as well.
Harvard Professor Rosabeth Ross Kanter: "The art of mastering change […] the ability to mobilize others' efforts in new directions."
Wharton School Dean Tom Gerrity: "The ability to inspire and develop others… to bring forth their fullest potential and highest capabilities."
Strong leadership involves identifying goals, setting a direction, and having an understanding of, and an interest in, the people who are to be led - and having the ability to inspire people into action.
If a leader is in fact one who is able to inspire and persuade, then he or she must also be one who inspires or instills a positive attitude in the hearts of his/her followers. Consider the point made, and the question posed, by author and speaker Jack Falvey in this excerpt from MakingTheNumbers.com: "All great leaders are great sales people. Many in sales management think that they have been called to command. In reality, they have merely been called to a higher level of sales. Having the power of the podium doesn't mean that people are listening to you. Use that power to give people good reason to listen to you and the message of value that you have to deliver will have a great chance of breaking through.
"Great leaders sell ideas. 'Friends, Romans, countrymen…' is a great 'Why listen?' line [with which] Shakespeare's Mark Anthony sold an angry mob… Winston Churchill sold [a country] the idea of fighting to the death, which is a tough sell in any territory. But he did it with appeals to history, duty, and honor. He also said that he personally would not head for Canada but rather would stay and take a few of the enemy with him to the hereafter - a partnering agreement!
"Either way, the model that we use… is the same as those who have sold millions on following them have used throughout history. They were great communicators with a message that resonated with the people. They had a solution. They had ideas. They sold trust. That is what we do.
"All great leaders are great sales people. Name ten. Now, when your [sales] people list their top ten, will you be one of them?"
A strong leader sets a standard by example, and recognizes that the true authority to lead comes from those who are inspired to follow.
Leadership is bringing out the best that others have to offer. It is letting others know that you respect them and have confidence in them; it is encouraging them to try, and it is helping them to achieve new and higher levels of success and fulfillment; leadership is making it possible for others to see their way in the pursuit of happiness.
Leadership is a virtue.
Showing posts with label sales management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales management. Show all posts
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Selling Change
It’s all new… the latest version!
New and improved, updated; enhanced formula, just released! Hot off the press, the newest style! Less fat, more protein, superior quality, finer taste; easier to use, better, more comfortable, lower price...
At one time or another all of these phrases have been used to sell products or services, and they all promote the same thing – change. The marketplace must like change or marketers wouldn’t flaunt it; change, therefore, must be good.
What’s Good Can Be Bad – “If it ain’t broke…”
But of course change is not always perceived as being good. In their daily quest for new customers, sales people constantly struggle to overcome buyers’ comfort with the status-quo. In organizations of all types people tend to look with skepticism at new policies and procedures, and look with deep concern at new compensation plans or updated benefits programs; and people at all levels regularly cringe at the suggestion that there might be a different or better way to do their jobs!
In the day-to-day real world, change most often promotes uncertainty, doubt, fear, resentment or loss, and this is not news. The concept of “creative destruction” — an economic theory based on the premise that new ideas inevitably bring about the demise of older (more comfortable) ones — was popularized way back in the early nineteen hundreds by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter.
Yet without change comes stagnation and potential loss. Current-day examples include Xerox in copiers or Polaroid in instant photography, each experiencing significant declines in market share and profits as competitors introduced new and improved, lower-cost alternatives.
The cassette tape replaced the eight-track, but was then outdone by the compact disc, which is now being undercut by MP3 players; and the list can go on.
Closer to Home – A Selling Mission
If we’re to learn from these examples, then we must accept the fact that change — either in the form of innovation, continuous improvement or both — is a critical component of growth and ongoing success. Without innovation and change we run the risk of losing our competitive position, or worse. “Whatever made you successful in the past won’t in the future,” said the late Hewlett Packard CEO Lew Platt.
But if people tend to resist change as previously noted, how might managers or business owners best go about getting the team to accept it — to buy in? How can we help people more readily embrace improvement programs, try new protocols, accept new pricing models or generally believe in the up-side of change?
Simply stated, we must sell it.
Just like the sales and marketing experts who create the “new and improved” ad copy, slogans and selling presentations, we must sell the concept of change to our staff members and sales teams before trying to present or roll-out new policies, procedures, campaigns, programs or plans.
And just like any sales mission, this will require forethought and planning. We might start by identifying how the team will benefit from a proposed change. What’s in it for them? What are the consequences of not changing? What will it cost? What opportunities might we lose?
What’s the competition doing?
The next step is to determine how to properly position a proposed change. Since we know there is a tendency toward defensiveness, it’s important to make people understand that they are not the problem. In other words, a change in policy or approach need not mean that the team has been doing things the wrong way. Rather, it means the world is changing and we must change too, lest we fall behind.
Finally, once the presentation is made and the new “whatever” is launched, there must be follow-up and assessment. Has everything worked as we’d hoped? Should we modify the new plan? Are there unforeseen consequences? While we don’t want to send a message indicating we’re not resolved to the new program or approach, it is also a good idea to let everyone know we’re fair and open-minded — that at the end of the day we’re all on the same side.
Change may be unsettling, but without it our futures are at risk; and there are clearly ways to minimize the negative effects. It will require effort, planning and persistence, as behaviors and attitudes are not easily influenced.
Margaret Thatcher may have summed it up best when saying, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it!”
New and improved, updated; enhanced formula, just released! Hot off the press, the newest style! Less fat, more protein, superior quality, finer taste; easier to use, better, more comfortable, lower price...
At one time or another all of these phrases have been used to sell products or services, and they all promote the same thing – change. The marketplace must like change or marketers wouldn’t flaunt it; change, therefore, must be good.
What’s Good Can Be Bad – “If it ain’t broke…”
But of course change is not always perceived as being good. In their daily quest for new customers, sales people constantly struggle to overcome buyers’ comfort with the status-quo. In organizations of all types people tend to look with skepticism at new policies and procedures, and look with deep concern at new compensation plans or updated benefits programs; and people at all levels regularly cringe at the suggestion that there might be a different or better way to do their jobs!
In the day-to-day real world, change most often promotes uncertainty, doubt, fear, resentment or loss, and this is not news. The concept of “creative destruction” — an economic theory based on the premise that new ideas inevitably bring about the demise of older (more comfortable) ones — was popularized way back in the early nineteen hundreds by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter.
Yet without change comes stagnation and potential loss. Current-day examples include Xerox in copiers or Polaroid in instant photography, each experiencing significant declines in market share and profits as competitors introduced new and improved, lower-cost alternatives.
The cassette tape replaced the eight-track, but was then outdone by the compact disc, which is now being undercut by MP3 players; and the list can go on.
Closer to Home – A Selling Mission
If we’re to learn from these examples, then we must accept the fact that change — either in the form of innovation, continuous improvement or both — is a critical component of growth and ongoing success. Without innovation and change we run the risk of losing our competitive position, or worse. “Whatever made you successful in the past won’t in the future,” said the late Hewlett Packard CEO Lew Platt.
But if people tend to resist change as previously noted, how might managers or business owners best go about getting the team to accept it — to buy in? How can we help people more readily embrace improvement programs, try new protocols, accept new pricing models or generally believe in the up-side of change?
Simply stated, we must sell it.
Just like the sales and marketing experts who create the “new and improved” ad copy, slogans and selling presentations, we must sell the concept of change to our staff members and sales teams before trying to present or roll-out new policies, procedures, campaigns, programs or plans.
And just like any sales mission, this will require forethought and planning. We might start by identifying how the team will benefit from a proposed change. What’s in it for them? What are the consequences of not changing? What will it cost? What opportunities might we lose?
What’s the competition doing?
The next step is to determine how to properly position a proposed change. Since we know there is a tendency toward defensiveness, it’s important to make people understand that they are not the problem. In other words, a change in policy or approach need not mean that the team has been doing things the wrong way. Rather, it means the world is changing and we must change too, lest we fall behind.
Finally, once the presentation is made and the new “whatever” is launched, there must be follow-up and assessment. Has everything worked as we’d hoped? Should we modify the new plan? Are there unforeseen consequences? While we don’t want to send a message indicating we’re not resolved to the new program or approach, it is also a good idea to let everyone know we’re fair and open-minded — that at the end of the day we’re all on the same side.
Change may be unsettling, but without it our futures are at risk; and there are clearly ways to minimize the negative effects. It will require effort, planning and persistence, as behaviors and attitudes are not easily influenced.
Margaret Thatcher may have summed it up best when saying, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it!”
Friday, April 2, 2010
Selling Attitude!
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." —W.W. Ziege
Selling is a people business. People buy from people, and most often, from people that they like. But what makes one sales rep more likeable than the next? Surely all, or at least most sellers try to be likeable!
Attitude makes the difference.
A positive attitude is not only easily recognizable, but it’s catchy. Sellers who possess truly positive attitudes "assume the close." They honestly expect the best from customers and prospects, and they offer their personal best as well. They tend to react to things positively and, more importantly, tend to bring about positive reactions from others.
Christine Harvey asks a pertinent question in her book, Successful Selling. "What are the chances that your customer will be positive if you aren’t? The answer is zero."
But it’s not easy to be truly positive! Especially when so much of selling tends to be negative.
In his book Selling 101, Michael McGaulley writes, "Despite all the people one meets, selling is a lonely profession. They [sales people] may feel isolated, and not understand that selling is a matter of working through the nos to find the few yes responses that make it all worthwhile."
Successful sales people know and understand this concept — and react positively to the negative responses that they know are all part of the cycle. Many sales professionals will readily admit that they "look for the nos," because it is only then that they can actually sell something.
A positive attitude is a pre-requisite to long-termed sales success. We must first believe in our products and services, as well as in our companies and ourselves before we can expect customers or prospects to do so.
Every sales person and every sales manager should recognize the importance of developing and maintaining such an attitude within themselves and within their organizations.
A final testimonial to this discipline is a poem, author unknown, entitled The Winner. The final verse:
Selling is a people business. People buy from people, and most often, from people that they like. But what makes one sales rep more likeable than the next? Surely all, or at least most sellers try to be likeable!
Attitude makes the difference.
A positive attitude is not only easily recognizable, but it’s catchy. Sellers who possess truly positive attitudes "assume the close." They honestly expect the best from customers and prospects, and they offer their personal best as well. They tend to react to things positively and, more importantly, tend to bring about positive reactions from others.
Christine Harvey asks a pertinent question in her book, Successful Selling. "What are the chances that your customer will be positive if you aren’t? The answer is zero."
But it’s not easy to be truly positive! Especially when so much of selling tends to be negative.
In his book Selling 101, Michael McGaulley writes, "Despite all the people one meets, selling is a lonely profession. They [sales people] may feel isolated, and not understand that selling is a matter of working through the nos to find the few yes responses that make it all worthwhile."
Successful sales people know and understand this concept — and react positively to the negative responses that they know are all part of the cycle. Many sales professionals will readily admit that they "look for the nos," because it is only then that they can actually sell something.
A positive attitude is a pre-requisite to long-termed sales success. We must first believe in our products and services, as well as in our companies and ourselves before we can expect customers or prospects to do so.
Every sales person and every sales manager should recognize the importance of developing and maintaining such an attitude within themselves and within their organizations.
A final testimonial to this discipline is a poem, author unknown, entitled The Winner. The final verse:
Life’s battles don’t always go
to the stronger or faster man;
but sooner or later the man who wins
is the fellow who thinks he can.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Performance Management - Balancing the Rear-view Mirror
A strategically balanced performance management plan is a key component of effective sales management. The most successful approach not only enables sales managers to identify opportunities for team improvement based on analyzing past activities and results, but to also identify preemptive action steps and strategies that can impact future results.
Balancing the Rear View Mirror
Managers who place all or too much focus on analyzing past performance analytics and then initiating improvement plans after-the-fact miss the opportunity to salvage what otherwise might be a sub-standard month, quarter or trimester.
Circumstances and competitive offerings within the marketplace are constantly changing. While the practice of reviewing past performance and using the data as part of a performance improvement plan is necessary, this “rear-view-mirror” approach can be costly in terms of lost opportunities if it encompasses ones entire sales management approach.
While there are different ways to accomplish a more balanced approach or sales management system, here’s a well-tested example consisting of five key components:
Balancing the Rear View Mirror
Managers who place all or too much focus on analyzing past performance analytics and then initiating improvement plans after-the-fact miss the opportunity to salvage what otherwise might be a sub-standard month, quarter or trimester.
Circumstances and competitive offerings within the marketplace are constantly changing. While the practice of reviewing past performance and using the data as part of a performance improvement plan is necessary, this “rear-view-mirror” approach can be costly in terms of lost opportunities if it encompasses ones entire sales management approach.
While there are different ways to accomplish a more balanced approach or sales management system, here’s a well-tested example consisting of five key components:
- Team meetings - for teambuilding and team motivation; best if scheduled regularly on a "same time same channel" basis. Must be well-planned with a group-level agenda
- Individual strategy sessions - also scheduled regularly; based on your sales process and model, the same topics should be discussed each time, such as territory management plan, key-account plan, pipeline, activity plan, etc.
- Field support & team selling - regularly scheduled with each Rep; an ideal opportunity to lead by example, build relationships with key customers (key in times of transition!), stay current on market conditions and gather data or input for your team and individual meeting agendas
- Proactive "impromptu" interaction - similar to Hewlett Packard's well-known practice of MBWA (Management by Walking Around); can be done in a variety of ways, such as email, voice mail, telephone, face-to-face (at the water cooler...) depending upon your logisitc structure. These interactions must be made in a spirit of being "interested" or "supportive" rather than "I'm checking up on you..."
- Proactive to-do list - on which each Rep has a slot every week, and the manager has a proactive reason to interact with each Rep based on issues of the day, plans made during strategy sessions or team selling days, etc.
Finally, an organizational system - either electronic or in three-ring-binder style for field-based managers - must be created and maintained in order to implement this system. For additional information, please refer to paulcharles.com.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Key Sales Team Needs
Every sales team needs a leader - a Sales Manager or District Manager or someone who can both manage the selling process and lead the team in a consistent fashion - day after day, week after week, month after month.
This concept is very similar to one the basic principles of marketing: frequency. It is a well-known and accepted fact that a marketing message must be "heard" multiple times by prospective customers if a marketer is to gain their attention, interest, acceptance and buy-in.
The same holds true for those managing sales teams. To maximize results, to gain buy-in and acceptance of ideas and desired behaviors, the "message" must be repeated and reinforced on a regular and consistent basis.
Just like in the sales world, persistence is a key component of sales management.
This concept is very similar to one the basic principles of marketing: frequency. It is a well-known and accepted fact that a marketing message must be "heard" multiple times by prospective customers if a marketer is to gain their attention, interest, acceptance and buy-in.
The same holds true for those managing sales teams. To maximize results, to gain buy-in and acceptance of ideas and desired behaviors, the "message" must be repeated and reinforced on a regular and consistent basis.
Just like in the sales world, persistence is a key component of sales management.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Which Half of Your Sales or Management Effort is Working?
John Wanamaker once said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half!"
This is, of course, the reason frequency is such an important element of marketing. It is also an important element of selling and of sales management. We must be diligent in our efforts to maintain a proactive and persistent posture when selling, and we must do the same when engaged in sales management - which many believe is simply a "higher level of selling."
If we fail to interact with our customers, pospects or sales people with sufficient frequency, and if we fail to reaffirm the value associated with our products, services and our orgnaizations as well as our personal value, then we will most likely fail as sales people or sales managers.
This is, of course, the reason frequency is such an important element of marketing. It is also an important element of selling and of sales management. We must be diligent in our efforts to maintain a proactive and persistent posture when selling, and we must do the same when engaged in sales management - which many believe is simply a "higher level of selling."
If we fail to interact with our customers, pospects or sales people with sufficient frequency, and if we fail to reaffirm the value associated with our products, services and our orgnaizations as well as our personal value, then we will most likely fail as sales people or sales managers.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Selling to the Sales Force
Yesterday's post referenced the benefit of "hope" and how important an element hope can become in difficult economic times.
Taking the thought a step further, as part of a well-executed motivational plan it is equally important for business owners and managers to remind the sales staff of the positive aspects of their professional lives. Thus today's post: Selling to the Sales Force!
One way to help your sales force maximize opportunities, especially during economic downturns, is to "sell" them on the idea that the job can be done!
Some might think that the idea of “selling” to the sales force is like preaching to the choir. But people need encouragement. In addition, adults learn through spaced repetition with immediate feedback.
So if we, as managers or business owners, don’t continually reaffirm the true message with our sales people, how can we be sure that they are expressing it properly? How can we be sure they haven’t forgotten?
Or that they haven’t succumbed to the fears and doubts that are forced upon them each day in a seemingly hostile, uncaring marketplace?
If we don’t continually reaffirm the basics of the discipline, how can we be sure
they are properly applying their skills?
Successful “selling” is most often a function of consistent and persistent communication. Or, as eighteenth-century author and statesman Samuel Johnson phrased it, "People more frequently require to be reminded rather than informed."
Consider the process through which our customers and prospects learn about us – our sales force stays in regular contact, assesses current situations, and then reiterates the features, advantages and benefits that are associated with thesolutions we offer. If it is determined that one of our valued customers is considering a competitor’s proposal, then our sales team works hard to remind them of the benefits associated with our organization - the intangibles as well as our products and services.
And so too is that the case with our sales people. We must stay in regular contact (sales meetings, field-support, and strategy sessions), assess current situations (attitude, sales funnel or pipeline, activity levels, strategies, etc.) and advise/coach them on how they might best proceed.
And when they tell us about the challenges of the marketplace, they need to be reminded of the true value that exists within our organization; the value of products and services and the real differentiators our organization brings to the table.
Once-a-year performance reviews or occasional pep-talks won’t suffice, nor will a sporadic hit-or-miss approach to training and strategic planning.
Sell to your sales force on a regular basis and they will sell more in return.
Taking the thought a step further, as part of a well-executed motivational plan it is equally important for business owners and managers to remind the sales staff of the positive aspects of their professional lives. Thus today's post: Selling to the Sales Force!
______________________________________
One way to help your sales force maximize opportunities, especially during economic downturns, is to "sell" them on the idea that the job can be done!
Some might think that the idea of “selling” to the sales force is like preaching to the choir. But people need encouragement. In addition, adults learn through spaced repetition with immediate feedback.
So if we, as managers or business owners, don’t continually reaffirm the true message with our sales people, how can we be sure that they are expressing it properly? How can we be sure they haven’t forgotten?
Or that they haven’t succumbed to the fears and doubts that are forced upon them each day in a seemingly hostile, uncaring marketplace?
If we don’t continually reaffirm the basics of the discipline, how can we be sure
they are properly applying their skills?Successful “selling” is most often a function of consistent and persistent communication. Or, as eighteenth-century author and statesman Samuel Johnson phrased it, "People more frequently require to be reminded rather than informed."
Consider the process through which our customers and prospects learn about us – our sales force stays in regular contact, assesses current situations, and then reiterates the features, advantages and benefits that are associated with thesolutions we offer. If it is determined that one of our valued customers is considering a competitor’s proposal, then our sales team works hard to remind them of the benefits associated with our organization - the intangibles as well as our products and services.
And so too is that the case with our sales people. We must stay in regular contact (sales meetings, field-support, and strategy sessions), assess current situations (attitude, sales funnel or pipeline, activity levels, strategies, etc.) and advise/coach them on how they might best proceed.
And when they tell us about the challenges of the marketplace, they need to be reminded of the true value that exists within our organization; the value of products and services and the real differentiators our organization brings to the table.
Once-a-year performance reviews or occasional pep-talks won’t suffice, nor will a sporadic hit-or-miss approach to training and strategic planning.
Sell to your sales force on a regular basis and they will sell more in return.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Benefit of Hope
Can you find a way to sell the benefit of hope?
The practice might very well provide you with a significant advantage, especially in today's tough economy.
You may be familiar with the axiom, "Features tell, but benefits sell." If so, then you know it simply means that, when involved in selling, we should avoid the trap of talking about or promoting "features" in favor of identifying and promoting the benefits that are relevant to our audience.
So, you may be wondering, how does the benefit of "hope" fit into the picture? Like many things in life, this concept is simple but not easy.
The key is to learn enough about our audience − their challenges and goals − so that we can identify what might provide them with hope. This is not easy work. It requires effective probing and (of all things!) listening skills, and it requires the use of both common sense and imagination. But we must determine how our product or service can help them improve their overall position going forward. We must figure out how to help them become hopeful going forward into what, by all expectations, will be a difficult economic year. And then we must share the hope and good news interms of benefits.
For example, if you sell consulting services, how will your customers benefit from those services? Are they hoping to reduce head count, hiring or training costs? Are they looking for ways to save time? Can your consulting services help? If so, howcan this best be quantified and presented?
If you sell technology or office equipment, how might your customers benefit? Are they working to enhance productivity or lower operating costs? If so, how can your solutions help them achieve these goals or objectives in 2009?
In other words, instead of worrying about reduced budgets, lower spending limits or total cutbacks, the mission is to work harder at identifying and presenting the most relevant solutions − solutions that will give your customers hope in their ability to achieve their objectives or deal with their challenges.
Closer to Home
Selling takes place at many levels. While many of us sell products and services to our customers, business owners or managers must also "sell" concepts, policies and procedures to staff members every day. Regardless of the venue, the most successful sellers are those who are able to identify and promote the "right" benefits.
So when interacting with employees − often referred to as "internal" customers − our mission this year is to promote the benefit of hope.
Hope for a secure future; hope and belief in their ability to achieve success despite the gloom-and-doom presented each day in the news.
If the economy is, at least to some degree, a function of consumer confidence and attitude, then let's become the catalysts for a more hopeful perspective.
The practice might very well provide you with a significant advantage, especially in today's tough economy.
You may be familiar with the axiom, "Features tell, but benefits sell." If so, then you know it simply means that, when involved in selling, we should avoid the trap of talking about or promoting "features" in favor of identifying and promoting the benefits that are relevant to our audience.
So, you may be wondering, how does the benefit of "hope" fit into the picture? Like many things in life, this concept is simple but not easy.
The key is to learn enough about our audience − their challenges and goals − so that we can identify what might provide them with hope. This is not easy work. It requires effective probing and (of all things!) listening skills, and it requires the use of both common sense and imagination. But we must determine how our product or service can help them improve their overall position going forward. We must figure out how to help them become hopeful going forward into what, by all expectations, will be a difficult economic year. And then we must share the hope and good news interms of benefits.
For example, if you sell consulting services, how will your customers benefit from those services? Are they hoping to reduce head count, hiring or training costs? Are they looking for ways to save time? Can your consulting services help? If so, howcan this best be quantified and presented?
If you sell technology or office equipment, how might your customers benefit? Are they working to enhance productivity or lower operating costs? If so, how can your solutions help them achieve these goals or objectives in 2009?
In other words, instead of worrying about reduced budgets, lower spending limits or total cutbacks, the mission is to work harder at identifying and presenting the most relevant solutions − solutions that will give your customers hope in their ability to achieve their objectives or deal with their challenges.
Closer to Home
Selling takes place at many levels. While many of us sell products and services to our customers, business owners or managers must also "sell" concepts, policies and procedures to staff members every day. Regardless of the venue, the most successful sellers are those who are able to identify and promote the "right" benefits.
So when interacting with employees − often referred to as "internal" customers − our mission this year is to promote the benefit of hope.
Hope for a secure future; hope and belief in their ability to achieve success despite the gloom-and-doom presented each day in the news.
If the economy is, at least to some degree, a function of consumer confidence and attitude, then let's become the catalysts for a more hopeful perspective.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Annualized Business Development Plan
Do you have an annualized business development plan? If not, read on because having such a plan can make the difference between success and failure or between a good year and a great one!
First let's define the terms. An annualized plan is simply a schedule of which activities will be done and at what time. Plotting this information by month allows you to take advantage of any seasonal opportunities, and also to determine overall time and cost commitments. Business development is a multi-faceted practice that keeps your business moving ahead. It consists of various components, including:
First let's define the terms. An annualized plan is simply a schedule of which activities will be done and at what time. Plotting this information by month allows you to take advantage of any seasonal opportunities, and also to determine overall time and cost commitments. Business development is a multi-faceted practice that keeps your business moving ahead. It consists of various components, including:
- Promoting your organization to develop a presence in your marketplace
- Identifying new business opportunities with known and unknown prospects
- Generating new business from prospects
- Generating new or incremental business from clients
- Business retention
A close review of this list reveals three very important facts. First is the fact that our customers and clients are also prospects for new or incremental business.
Second, there is a big difference between "identifying" business opportunities and "generating" them. While the former might, at times, be easier to accomplish, both activities are essential. Successful business development, therefore, requires a combination of marketing and selling skills. Other requirements include time management, organizational skills and a positive attitude.
The third key fact, simply stated, is "one easy way to get business is to not lose business!" Customer retention is an important element of every business development plan, because any lost business must be made-up if we are to achieve our overall goal.
Now that we've identified the basics, you can review a simple five-step plan on our web site .
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