Post on 23-Jan-2018
Are You Happy with 'Typical' Sales
...or Do You Want More?
What do we mean by 'Typical' Sales?
In a manufacturing industry, you may see it phrased like this:
“Typically, we win 1 in 4 of the quotes we issue.”
“Typically, we win 1 in 4 of the quotes we issue.”
also means:
“We lose 75% of of the quotes we issue.”
Or like this:
also means
salespeople only spend 35% of their time on orders they win.
'Typical' sales seems to mean spending more time on losing than
on winning orders.
So what can you do about it?
'Different' is not just about your:
✔ Products✔ Services✔ Value } 'Table Stakes'
What advantages can we gain by
changing the way we think about and approach selling?
Image courtesy of Karen Neogh
Stop thinking that sales works like
this.
It doesn't!
Leaks happen
Flow reverses
People sit on the fence!
Image courtesy of William Murphy
The 'Sales Funnel' model is no longer fit for
purpose.
Prospecting/Lead Gen
Qualification
Proposal
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Order
Turn the Sales Funnel upside down
=
Qualification
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Qualification is not a single event
Qualification
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Order Processes flow due to input:
✔ phone calls✔ meetings✔ presentations✔ proposals✔ negotiations
Qualification
Prospecting/Lead Gen
Qualification
Proposal
Qualification
Post Proposal
Qualification
Commitment
Qualification
Order Understand precisely what
needs to happen to move from
one stage to the next.
WARNING!
Scientific bit approaching!
(Bear with me, it is relevant)
Catalyst reduces Activation Energy
Maxwell-Boltzmann DistributionN
o.
of
par
ticl
es
Energy
No catalyst
Catalyst = more particles react
Sales Catalysts“Content marketing is the marketing and
business process for creating and distributing
relevant and valuable content to attract,
acquire, and engage a clearly defined and
understood target audience – with the
objective of driving profitable customer
action.”
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White Paper
Checklist
Early Process / 'Top of Funnel'Focus on business issues.Content here should answer the 'Why' questions:
✔ Why should the customer care in the first place?
✔ Why should the issue (let alone the product) get on their crowded radar?
✔ Why should they buy anything?
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Video or live demonstration
Case Studies
Mid Process / 'Middle of Funnel'Equal focus on business issues and product/service.Content here should answer the 'How questions:
✔ How can I best meet these challenges?
Qualification
Prospecting/Lead Gen
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Data Sheets
Product Guides
Late Process / 'Bottom of Funnel'Technical companies very good at this type of content but often present it too early in the process.
Content here should answer the 'What' questions:
✔ What should I buy?
It should help with the final decision, and not be used to raise awareness.
'Fletcher Distribution'N
o.
of
Pro
spec
ts
Reluctance to Buy
Content catalyst – more prospects willing to buy
No content catalyst – fewer prospects willing to buy
Most prospects very reluctant to
buy
What does our new process map
look like?
Qualification
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OrderSUSPECTS
QUALIFIED OUT
'Feedstock'
'Ideal World' Process
{'Real World' Process for
most suspects!
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NURTURE
'Sitting on the fence' can happen at any stage.Use content to nurture.
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NURTURE
Nurtured prospects can re-enter at any stage
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OrderSUSPECTS
QUALIFIED OUT
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NURTURE
Qualification can drop prospects to a previous stage
Qualification
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QUALIFIED OUT
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NURTURE
Post-order routes - back into process, nurture or out
It's a pretty picture of a semi-closed loop process but so what?
This is what a great thinker had to say on the matter
You can continue to work the way you've always worked and waste
65 - 75% of your time.
OR
You can truly differentiate yourself from your competitors and really
make a difference.
Harvard Business Review had the following to say*:
“...there was an 18% difference in revenue growth between companies that defined a formal sales process and companies that
didn’t.”
*Companies with a Formal Sales Process Generate More Revenue
and this:
“Companies that spent at least three hours per month managing each rep’s sales pipeline saw 11% greater revenue growth than those that spent fewer than three hours per month.”
and this:
“Companies that had trained their sales managers to manage their pipelines saw their revenue grow 9% faster than those that didn’t.”
Are you insane?
Of course not.
Then what are you waiting for?
If you need help defining, refining or mapping your sales process, contact:
Neil FletcherArrosam Ltd
E-mail: neiljfletcher@arrosam.co.ukTel: 01202 882997Arrosam Twitter feedArrosam LinkedIn page