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Sales Improvement Model
The Sales Improvement PropellerTM represents the four
major areas of skills and processes that drive business development and
sales improvement initiatives, as explained below.
Marketing Creates Leads... Sales Creates Clients
This motto - composed by Stuart Ayling - clarifies the distinction between
what we do to create sales opportunities (that is, the marketing we do to
create leads) and what we do to turn leads into paying clients (that is,
our sales skills and process).
The 'Marketing Activity' blade of the Sales Improvement Propeller covers
the strategic marketing decisions, such as which markets (or types of
clients) to pursue, as well as the selection of specific marketing tactics
that support the strategic objectives.
Often overlooked, but of extreme importance to service firms and companies
that sell technical products, is the development of relevant and practical
marketing collateral (such as brochures, case studies, data sheets,
reports etc) and other documents that can be used by the business
development team as sales tools (e.g. product summary pages, written
testimonials, web-based material).
Of course other marketing tactics such as advertising, exhibiting at trade
shows, networking, direct mail, and targeted cold calling are also
assessed for suitability.
The objective of this phase is to create a tailored marketing program that
consistently generates leads and is easily managed within the
organisation.
More about developing a sales strategy
>>
Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something
This quote attributed to Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics fame (in USA)
signifies the importance of winning new business.
Depending on the type of business you are in, gaining commitment from your
prospect could be either... getting approval for further meetings; running
a trial; undertaking an assessment of their current situation; or actually
getting a Purchase Order.
Either way, the objective of this blade of the Sales Improvement Propeller
is to ensure the sales team have suitable skills and techniques to
initiate sales conversations, explore client requirements, and identify relevant
solutions.
Encouraging the adoption of suitable 'conversational' selling skills can
be a challenge if you have staff who have come from a technical,
professional or non-sales background. Often these staff have a
stereotypical view of selling that paints the seller as a 'hired gun' out
to manipulate the client into buying from them.
(Note: Read The Assassin Analogy
by Stuart Ayling for more detail on how to help technical and professional
staff overcome this reluctance.)
More about inhouse sales
training >>
Conduct Your Presentations as Conversations
Business and sales presentations often focus on what the presenter wants
to say, rather than what the audience needs to hear. The result... a poor
connection with the audience, leading to inaction or a negative response.
The concept of 'conducting your presentations as conversations' helps us
to remain focused on creating two way communication, engaging with the
audience (the prospect or buyer), and listening to responses.
Presentations take place for a reason. Usually this is to communicate a
message to the audience (whether that be one person or hundreds) and ask
them to take some action. In this context 'action' may be making a
decision; changing their mind; or supporting the proposed recommendation.
Typically a sales presentation is used by the seller to focus the prospect
on the benefits of following their recommendation. However, other business presentation situations may be:
executives presenting to investors (or their board); colleagues presenting
educational sessions to their peers; presenting a keynote session at a
conference; or during the tender process to elicit information and/or gain
acceptance as a panel member.
This blade of the Sales Improvement Propeller considers the information
and personal skills required to create a strong impact (physical, verbal
and visual) and communicate real value for the audience, gaining a
positive response to the recommendation.
More about inhouse
presentation skills training >>
You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure
This famous quote has been (incorrectly) attributed to Dr. W. Edwards
Deming, the famous statistician and management thinker. Nonetheless, it is
important to implement suitable sales management processes to ensure
business development objectives are pursued.
Monitoring and formally reviewing the progress of business development
objectives are integral components for business success. But they are often
overlooked in the
busy-ness of day to day operations.
At a basic level, top-line revenue results are usually reviewed regularly in most companies. That's the easy part. However many companies fall short
in monitoring business development results for individual sellers and taking remedial action to
empower the seller for future success.
Many sellers with a technical or professional competency have a part-time
business development responsibility. That is, often their primary focus is
to deliver the service or technical knowledge they are trained to
provide (examples may be: a financial analyst; a water treatment
technician; advise on printing services; or an environmental consultant).
The sales management challenge is to keep these technically-oriented staff
focused on achieving their business development objectives, which the
staff may view as being less important, less personally satisfying, and
much more challenging to perform.
More about sales management >>
Alternately, request further information >>
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