NZ Sales Manager Issue 36
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Transcript of NZ Sales Manager Issue 36
NZ’s e-mag for sales leaders
STOP ARM-WRESTLING with Your Clients
DIScOvER YOuR
Competitive
ADvANTAGE
Is the Solution Them or Me?
LEAvING EffEctivE vOIcEMAILS
ARE YOu ONE Of ThIS WEEk’S WINNERS?
SEE INSIDE!
NZSALESMARcH 17tH 2010 / issuE 36
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 2
MARcH 17tH / issuE 36
ThIS WEEk'S MuST READSTOP ARM WRESTLING WITh YOuR cuSTOMERS!six tips to developing better relationships.
DIScOvER YOuR cOMPETITIvE ADvANTAGE How using key performance indicators will help you.
NZSM cALENDAR
RESOuRcE cORNERTRAINSMART A comprehensive guide to planning and implementing engaging, successful training sessions.
SALES TRAINING DIREcTORY
TWO MINuTE TOP-uPIS ThE SOLuTION ThEM OR MELooking inward to solve problems.
QuIck fIxit’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell.
ThE cLOSE
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ARE YOu ONE Of
ThIS WEEk'S WINNERS? SEE INSIDE!
ABOut /
short and sharp, New Zealand sales
Manager is a free e-magazine delivering
thought provoking and enlightening articles,
and industry news and information to
forward-thinking sales managers, business
owners and sales professionals.
EDitOR / Paul Newsom
ARt DiREctOR / Jodi Olsson
GROuP EDitOR / trudi caffell
cONtENt ENQuiRiEs /
Phone Paul on 04 586 4733 or email
ADvERtisiNG ENQuiRiEs /
Phone Richard on 09 523 4112 or email
ADDREss / NZ sales Manager, c/- Espire
Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell,
Auckland 1151, New Zealand
WEBsitE / www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
Our ‘must read’ article this
issue describes a situation
we are all familiar with –
the defensive buyer who just seems
determined to make our life hard!
couple this with an enthusiastic and perceivably aggressive seller, and what do you get? A push and shove arm wrestle while both sides spar with each other towards doing business, or more likely a knock out punch from the buyer, which sends the seller away licking their wounds to plan their next assault on the account.
the fact that buyers behave this way because sellers have trained them to do so is a fair reflection. So if your arms are aching, take heed of Adam’s advice and consider how you could adopt more cooperative behaviours.
in our resource corner we feature the book ‘train smart’.
Developing and delivering effective training is an important but often overlooked skill for sales managers. this book is well worth a read. the author, Rich Allen, is also second-to-none in practising what he preaches. He regularly visits New Zealand to present seminars, so look out for him.
this issue of NZsM marks an historic occasion in our quest to push the boundaries of traditional magazine publishing. As well as the usual pdf, you can now read this issue as an online, turn-the-page edition. follow the instructions in your email, and check out the exciting new option.
As always we are doing this for you, so your feedback is essential. We’re keen to hear from our readers on whether the new format worked for you, any problems you’ve had, and in fact anything else you’d like to mention regarding the new format.
Happy selling! Paul
NZsM / fEB 24tH 2010 / 4
t H i s W E E K ’ s M u s t R E A D
Stop Arm Wrestling With Your customers!Six tips to developing better relationships By Adam sands
Why do buyers often introduce ‘irritants’ like
arranging for your competitors to be visiting
them just before or after you so you pass in
reception, or saying they just had a comparative quote 10
percent lower than yours? Why do they seem suspicious of
your motives for cold calling them, or suspicious of your
initial offer? Why do they seem intolerant of your need to
follow up with them after a sales meeting? Why do they often
hold back information, like the details of the comparative
quote, or the details of their current supplier?
Does this type of buyer behaviour get them what they want?the answer is no – not usually. sure, it might help them
win an extra short term discount, or screw the supplier
down on terms a little more, but in the long term, it only
lessens the chances of achieving the right fit, right terms,
right supply model to truly meet their organisation’s
Adam sands is a principal consultantfor negotiation experts scotwork, following a successful career in B2B sales, sales management and sales coaching. for more information visit www.scotwork.co.nz.
5 / MAR 17tH 2010 / NZsM
1
needs. this means missed opportunities for boosting their
bottom line.
So, why do they do it?The first reason I believe so many buyers behave in this way
is that salespeople have trained them to do so. Buyers have
learned that if they put pressure on sales people they give in.
unfortunately this has just encouraged buyers to expect and
demand more.
Remember, goodwill begets greed, not gratitude!
the second reason is that behaviours are catching. if i
choose to withhold information from you, chances are, you’ll
withhold information from me. if i choose to show you how
much power i have, you’ll do the same.
At best we’ll waste lots of time posturing, flexing our
muscles and whining about each other. At worst, profitable
collaborations between suppliers and clients, that improve
both parties’ businesses, don’t happen.
traditionally, sales people have been motivated by one thing
– their own selfish gain (money, commission, sales leagues)
– rather than their customers’ success. As a result, buyers
have learnt that sellers will start high, will embellish the truth
about their products and services and make promises they
can’t keep. sellers HAvE behaved this way, and buyers have
been forced to respond accordingly.
Even if you are one of the more enlightened sales people
who are focused on your customers’ real needs and keen to
help them solve their business problems, at the beginning of
the relationship, you are perceived as just another sales rep.
so if we know that it is the behaviour of generations of sales
people that has taught buyers to act in a certain way, it stands
to reason that by changing our actions and behaviours, the
way buyers respond will also change.
this could mean our customers get better long-term deals, our
relationships with buyers improve more quickly and we achieve
greater levels of success. sounds like a ‘win-win’ to me.
the trick is to behave in a co-operative way, try to
understand what business or personal needs are driving a
certain reaction or behaviour, and then work to meet that
need – on terms acceptable to you and your organisation.
Here are six tips to develop more cooperative and collaborative relationships:
BE MORE EMOTIONALLY DETAchED When people are emotionally involved, they tend to argue
from a more irrational and less commercial perspective. they
react personally to things like irritants rather than asking
themselves, “What does the buyer hope to achieve by acting
in this way? is there any other way i can help them achieve
that without it compromising my needs?”
BE PREPARED TO DIScLOSE INfORMATIONif i’m more open with you, you’ll tend to be more open with me.
if a buyer seems like they don’t believe you’re offering them the
best price, can you prove it by showing them your margin? this
thought scares sales people, but if i choose to tell you what my
margin is, does it mean i have to give it away to you? Of course
not. i might choose to trade some of it for greater volume, or a
longer-term commitment, but i have yet to meet a buyer who
thinks it’s unreasonable for a supplier to make a profit.
A word of caution though. When considering whether or not
to disclose a piece of information, the acid test is how does
it structure the expectations of the other party. if it’s likely
to help them make movement towards me, i’ll disclose the
information. if not, i’ll be a little more careful about what i say.
2
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 6
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TRY TO hOLD YOuR MEETINGS IN A MORE INfORMAL, PRIvATE SETTINGEver seen a negotiation between two parties seem
collaborative and cooperative when it’s held through the
press? Ever felt relaxed and comfortable in what you thought
was a one-on-one meeting, and then the buyer brings in six
other people?
Meetings held in a public setting are, on the whole, more
competitive and adversarial. try not to go mob-handed to
sales presentations. If you find yourself out-numbered, try to
bring others in with you to even things up. Avoid publicising
the details of your deals. And remember, informal does not
mean unprofessional, even a meeting over a coffee should
be well planned and well structured.
BEcOME A MORE SkILLED OPERATORin most cases, skilled sales people, skilled buyers and skilled
negotiators act in a more cooperative way, than those who
are less skilled. this is not because training teaches you to
be cooperative. Rather skilled operators know that by being
cooperative, they get better, more sustainable deals.
fOcuS ON BuILDING A LONG TERM RELATIONShIP WITh YOuR BuYERSAsk people what their definition of a good deal is in a
one-off relationship. they’ll usually say it’s when they
know they’ve screwed the other party to the floor. When
asked what their definition of a good deal is in a long term
relationship, they’ll often say, when they know they’ve taken
the other party close to their limit, but know the other party
is prepared to do business again with you.
treat all seller/buyer interactions as long term. New Zealand
is a small marketplace, and although you may think that
the buyer you’ve nailed to the wall is one you’ll never have
to deal with again, chances are they’ll appear in another
organisation, at another time, with more power – and then
who’ll get screwed?
Next time you come across a competitive, adversarial buyer, don’t respond in kind – consider the personal or commercial
need driving that behaviour, act in a cooperative way and try to meet that need – on terms acceptable to you.
34
5REDucE ThE cONTRAcTuAL ELEMENTS
if a supplier tries to get me to sign a lengthy contract, with
high impact penalty clauses for early termination, what will i
be thinking about the claims the sale person has made about
the true benefits to me of their solution? That they might be a
little exaggerated?
clearly some contractual obligations are necessary in
business relationships, but for example where penalties for
early termination are balanced with incentives for longevity,
or offset against supply performance indicators, the parties
involved are more likely to see the mutual benefit in them.
One highly successful global kiwi brand i came across a
couple of months ago said their ethos around contractual
arrangements with their clients was “love without clauses” –
that’d make me trust that supplier.
6
MID STRENGTHFULL FLAVOURFULL LIFE5
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 8
Michael Taplin has guided many businesses to sales success and profits by finding innovative strategies. You can read more of his ideas at www.bizlearn.biz
Discover Your competitive Advantage
there can be many sources of competitive advantage.
The easiest one to look for focuses on the efficiency of
your sales process, so let’s start there.
it seems pretty obvious that if you have a lower “cost
of selling” than your competitors you will make more
profit, or make more sales for the same total spend.
this is a competitive edge. By ‘cost of selling’, i mean
the total cost of all the activities needed to attract a
customer and secure the sale. But it’s not the total that
counts; it’s the proportion of the gross profit you earn
on the sale. that is where you find the real business
performance leverage.
If you express the proportion of the gross profit as a ratio you
get a number that has a direct impact on business return. if
you put it into a model you can experiment with the numbers
to find out which of the many ratios give you maximum return
for minimum effort or cost. these ‘high leverage’ ratios are
your real key performance indicators (KPIs).
how using key performance indicators will help youBy Michael taplin
9 / MAR 17tH 2010 / NZsM
it seems pretty obvious that if you have a lower “cost of selling” than your competitors you will make more profit, or make more
sales for the same total spend. this is a competitive edge.
OK. that’s a fairly simple model, but powerful if we use
it to examine our sales process and find out where and
how we can shift our sales strategy to reduce our cost of
selling. it works because it expresses every number as a
ratio of dollars per activity.
You can extend this model to look at the performance
of individual sales people, or to explore the
differences between customer segments or product
segments. those analyses give you a base to explore
your sales process options. You can look by answering
two questions:
Which segments will generate a return from increased •
investment in the sales process?
Which segments need a more efficient sales process to •
drive down the cost of selling?
the contribution or the cost of an activity is expressed per
sale. this shifts our interpretation of the numbers and gives
us a performance indicator. some changes in the numbers
are more important than others, and by changing the
numbers in a model we can determine where the leverage
lies before we start an expensive experiment. these are our
key performance indicators.
Now we move to the next step. to make it happen we have
to find the way to change the specific KPI we have decided
is important. this is the shift in strategy we are looking for.
i leave it to your own knowledge of your business to work
out how you can convert the change in profitability into
competitive advantage.
the other way to discover competitive sales advantage
using a KPi model is to look for alternative ways of
approaching your market.
think of this as a process of discovering a market segment within
the broader market that has been overlooked by the industry at
large. it is common in any industry to have an accepted way of
doing business. Any unorthodox approach is typically considered
to be a heresy and rooted out with a fervour similar to that used
by the medieval inquisition of the church. An example from my
casebook may help to explain how it works.
Segmentation in the steel distribution business
Bulk steel is big and heavy, and distributors are big and heavy to
contribution per sale
Gross Profit per sale
cost of selling per sale
Sales Activity cost per sale
Advertising/Promotion cost per sale
Prospecting cost per sale
calls per sale
cost per call
Lead generation cost per sale
+
x
+
_
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 10
match. It is also a high volume, low gross profit business. Steel is
sold by the truckload, and is considered a tradable commodity.
small local distributors have grown up serving small local
customers. they survive by buying bulk loads from the major
distributors and breaking it down to the small quantities
needed by their customers. they provide a useful service.
At the time, they were despised by the major distributors,
and treated as a nuisance.
My assignment was to find a way of increasing sales and
profitability for a distributor who had been losing market share
for the past five years. I undertook an analysis of who buys
what, looking at the top 25 customers in detail. A pattern soon
emerged. there was a small group of customers whose names
suggested that they were also distributors. A few questions of the
sales staff quickly revealed that these businesses were actively
disliked and discouraged “because they compete with us.”
I looked further at the top 100 customers as identified in
the segment. I totaled their purchases; they were significant
buyers. i looked at the long tail on the customer list, and it
became clear that around 1,000 of the small buyers were
too small to be profitable.
it did not take much longer to put a new strategy together.
My client would become the friend of the local distributors. it
would love them and provide superior service. it would go even
further; it would encourage its small unprofitable customers to
deal with the local distributors. My client would be loved in
return, and would capture the lion’s share of the segment.
Management was highly sceptical. After all, this was pure
hearsay. It flew in the face of everything they had learned in
a lifetime in the business.
how could it be proved to be a good strategy?
We changed the KPi model to show the new segment and plugged
in the numbers. it quickly revealed that we would be swapping
small high cost transactions for larger profitable transactions.
it was easy to implement the new strategy. two sales
representatives were assigned to the new segment. Key
customer executives were invited in for a working lunch
where a new relationship was created. they were promised a
steady flow of new customers in return for loyalty. They were
promised a level of service formerly only available to the
biggest buyers. Of course they came on board.
sales to the new segment grew rapidly, and competitors were
caught hopping. They found it difficult to match the new
strategy in any credible fashion, even after they worked out
what had been done to them. the gains were permanent.
i like this true story because it reveals that a new way
of thinking is often needed to discover a new source of
competitive advantage. How can you put yourself in a place
that encourages new thinking?
©Michael taplin 2010.
sales DevelopmentDavid formanAucklandNegotiating skillsscotworkWellingtonPitching and QualifyingDinanmite Auckland
telephone selling skillssales star/EMAAucklandfoundations for sales successZealmarkAucklandsales DevelopmentDavid formanAucklandPitching and QualifyingDinanmiteAucklandtop Achievers sales training christchurch
sales Mindset & Motivation sales starAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid formanHamilton
strategic NegotiationscotworkAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid formanAuckland
Negotiating skillsscotworkWellington
top Achievers sales training, Hamilton
B2B sales skills Zealmark
territory Management David formanAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid forman Hamilton
Reaching Decision Makers DinanmiteAuckland
strategic NegotiationscotworkAuckland
top Achievers sales trainingAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid formanAuckland
Negotiating skillsscotworkWellington
territory Management GeewizAuckland
territory Management David formanAuckland
top Achievers sales training Wellington
fRi 16 APR
MON 12 APR
tuEs 6 APRMON 5 APR
WED 31 MAR
ProspectingDavid formanchristchurch
Overcoming Objections & closingDinanmiteAuckland
sales Dynamicssales star/EMAAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid formanHamilton
tuE 30 MARMON 29 MARfRi 26 MAR
fRi 9 APR
suN 11 APR
sAt 10 APR
suN 4 APR
sAt 3 APRtHu 1 APR
suN 21 MAR
sAt 20 MAR
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sAt 18 APR
NZsMcALENDAR
MON 22 MAR
tHu 18 MARWED 17 MAR fRi 19 MAR
tHu 25 MARWED 24 MARtuE 23 MAR
sales DevelopmentDavid formanAuckland
telephone selling skillssales star/EMAAuckland
foundations for sales successZealmarkAuckland
foundations for sales success ZealmarkAuckland
sales DevelopmentDavid forman Hamiltonconsultative sellingsales star/EMAAucklandAdvanced sellingGeewizchristchurch
sAt 27 MAR
tHu 8 APR
tuE 13 APR WED 14 APR WED 15 APR
suN 28 MAR
fRi 2 APR
WED 7 APR
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 12
Train Smart
R E s O u R c E c O R N E R
train Smart: Effective Trainings Every Time (Second
Edition) offers a comprehensive guide to planning and
implementing engaging, successful training sessions.
the author, an expert keynote speaker and workshop
presenter, provides an overview and framework for
the training process and then presents a generous
collection of brain-friendly strategies that can be
immediately implemented. the second edition has been
thoroughly updated and includes new training strategies,
recommendations for using the latest technology, and
additional tips, examples, and guidelines throughout.
Editor’s note: this is a great practical resource for any sales
manager or trainer looking to design training sessions the
team will enjoy and learn from.
Author: Rich Allen Publisher: corwin Press Inc
$67.95 from fishpond
13 / MAR 17tH 2010 / NZsM
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 14
in this economy, everyone is looking for a simple fix to
survive and arrive on the other side intact. some even
occasionally entertain dreams of growing just a little bit.
few are happy with their situations. And all but a few point
their fingers at the economy as the source of their dismay.
the comments i overheard at one of my recent top Gun
seminars were representative. One sales person complained
that his customers were shrinking and going out of business.
several complained about customers’ pressure to lower prices.
still others complained about desperate competitors’ feverish
attempts to generate cash flow by dramatically discounting.
there must be a genetic inclination in the human race
to look outside ourselves and blame those things that
are outside of our control for our situations. We lament
the conditions outside of ourselves, and cast ourselves
as victims. If only someone else would fix it. Maybe the
government will make everything good again.
unfortunately, as long as our gaze is directed at ‘them’
– those conditions in the market that have changed and
are outside of our ability to control – we will never free
ourselves from the constraints on our income and prosperity.
We can’t do anything about ‘them’.
the real secret to improving our conditions is to work on
‘us’. James Allen said:
“Men are often interested in improving their circumstance,
but are unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore
remain bound.”
sales people, sales managers, and sales executives need to
look inward – at themselves and their sales teams – for the
solution to their problems.
Is The Solution Them or Me?Looking inward to solve problemsBy Dave Kahle
Dave Kahle has trained tens of thousands of B2B salespeople and sales managers to be more effective in the 21st century economy. He’s authored seven books, and presented in 47 states and seven countries. visit his website www.davekahle.com or sign up for his weekly newsletter.
t W O M i N u t E t O P u P
15 / MAR 17tH 2010 / NZsM
Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!
Sales Peoplesales people must understand that it was okay just a few years
ago to have your own style of selling, to never invest in your
own improvement, to make your living off of your existing
relationships. today, all of these are obsolete ideas that must
be changed. It’s time to look inward, and fix yourself.
to effectively deal with the changing economy, sales people
must become more strategic and thoughtful about the
investment of their sales time, and they must bring value
both to the customer and to their employers in every sales
call. they must view their jobs as professions, not just jobs,
and become serious about improving themselves.
in a world where it is blatantly obvious that good sales people sell
more than mediocre sales people, they must decide to become
better. that means investing in their own improvement, and striving
to achieve higher levels of competency and thus, better results.
those sales people who survive and thrive in this climate will
be those who understand the path to their prosperity lies not
in the outside world, but in themselves.
Sales ManagersLikewise, sales managers have to stop coddling those
sales people who aren’t interested in, or committed to,
continuous improvement and greater levels of productivity.
they need to put in place practices and disciplines that
call for quantifiable expectations on the part of their sales
team, regular measurements, and greater thoughtfulness
and strategic planning. they must demand continuous
improvement and thoughtful efforts to increase market share.
sales managers must look inward, understanding that their
chances of success are dependent on them, not the market. that
they can do it better, and that doing it better brings better results.
they must examine their sales forces, and use this window
of opportunity to weed out those sales people who have
no interest in developing, who don’t have the capability
to succeed as a professional sales person, and who aren’t
committed to their own personal success. Now is the time to
review the bottom third of their sales forces and aggressively
seek to upgrade.
Sales ExecutivesCEO’s and CSO’s (Chief Sales Officers) need to recognise that
the current state of the economy, and the resulting impact on
the attitudes and perspectives of employees, has delivered a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make significant changes in
the structure of the sales force.
Recall just a little over a year ago. to make wholesales
changes in sales territories, account responsibilities,
the role of the inside and outside sales person, sales
management practices, compensation plans, and
expectations for continuous improvement – all of these
initiatives would have been met with resistance from the
majority of the sales force. today, most sales people are
willingly cooperative, acutely aware that they can be easily
replaced if they don’t follow your lead.
those cEO’s and csO’s who look inward and use this window
of opportunity to streamline and rationalise their sales systems
will increase their productivity and lay the groundwork for
disproportional growth when the economy turns up.
the world is full of victims who lament their condition and
blame their fate on sources outside of their control. Leaders
accept their responsibility to look inward and improve
themselves.
© copyright by Dave Kahle
sales managers must look inward, understanding that their chances of success are dependent on them, not the market. that they can
do it better, and that doing it better brings better results.
NZsM / MAR 17tH 2010 / 16
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it's hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development
Jim Rohn
Q u i c K f i X
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QuIck fIxIf, when you leave a voice message, you find your call is not
returned, then pause before you make the next call.
You should of course be prepared to speak when the phone is
picked up, but if you are trying to get access at executive level,
you could be trying a long time. You should therefore be equally
prepared to leave a message. Rambling, hesitation, and poor
choice of words are all sure signs of a lack of preparation. Your
call is unlikely to be returned.
so, before making those important calls:
think through your voice message. Write it down and •
get it right.
Practise reading it aloud. Record it and play it back to •
yourself. How does it sound? Would you return the call?
Only make the call when you are properly prepared.
If you have a favourite ‘quick fix’ that you would like to share
with our readers (without giving your winning secrets away!)
then email the editor at [email protected]
You will be in to win a high powered laser pointer pen, courtesy
of the great guys at Brand storming Promotions.
WIN A LASER POINTER PEN FOR YOUR QUICK FIX!
If you have a favorite ‘quick fix’ that you would like to share
with our readers (without giving your winning secrets away!)
then email the editor at [email protected]
You will be in to win a high-powered laser pointer pen,
courtesy of the great guys at Brand storming Promotions.
it's not what you sell, it's how you sell
Leaving Effective Voicemails