It is the last month of the quarter and you need to determine whether the deal you have been driving is really going to close. Ask yourself the 4 W's.
Where? Where am I in the sales process and is it likely I can close from here? If you are still in the early demo phase or the competitive proposal phase, don't count on it. Is it decision time?
Who? This is a multiparter: Who is making the decision? Is it the board of directors, the president, head of purchasing or a purchasing agent? Will they be available do they have everything they need to make the decision? If you are going to the board and they don't meet til late this month, don't count on the sale. You might be able to offer additional discount to acclerate the process, but make sure you understand the buying process and factors or it might be a waste of time.
The other who is linked to what and when. If you are clearly down the process, the decision has been made and now it is just a contracts and close issue, make sure you know:
- What is the next step? Be clear with your client on what the next step is. Legal review, redlines, purchase order or last minute technical information.
- Who owns it? This must be crystal clear to you and your customer. It cannot have two owners. When in doubt, you own it!!!
- When? When does the next step take place and what occurs as a result?
With all this mind check in every couple of days to make sure things are moving forward as expected and see if the customer needs anything additional. I have seen too many deals go south because a sales rep told me that the customer said he'd get back to him and didn't. Then the rep calls and the customer says " I meant to call you, but things are crazy. We really need a piece of information for the board. or legal had some questions about...." Now you either have to call in favors or you have slipped - neither of which is good.
So remember the 4 W's to a successful quarter close. Where am I in the sales process? What is the next step? Who owns it? When does it need to be done by? And finally, communicate relentlessly with your prospect.
GOOD SELLING!!!!!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Social Networks - Getting down to business
In today’s challenging economy we all know about using social media to find jobs. Develop a profile, use key words, update regularly, and leverage the network, are the key steps. But, LinkedIn, Tribe, Plaxo and other social media can be huge tools for business development and managing sales cycles.
Whether you use LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, Tribe or another social networking site, they all provide the ability to post information, find people and find companies. These can be extremely helpful if you are looking to penetrate a particular company, get additional contacts or learn more about the company. They can also be useful if you are trying to learn about key individuals in a company or learn about the issues companies may face. It’s a great way to learn about your competition, too.
If you are in Business Development and need to penetrate a new company, use the search function on various sites. In LinkedIn, for example, if you know the name of the company you want to penetrate, you can go online, search for the company name and get a list of contacts sorted by those closest to you on your network. You can then ask someone in your network for an introduction or reference.
Say you are running a sales cycle, how might you use social media? Learn more about the key decision makers in the process. Check out their profiles and see what companies they used to work for. Then check your network to see if you know someone who knows them. You might learn more about that person’s background or decision making. You might find out they have a mutual interest in golf, sailing or collecting garden gnomes. Anything to expand the relationship.
You might also learn about who they might favor. Do they have a large number of your competitors’ sales people on their Plaxo network? Do they golf with the VP of Sales for a consultant you work with? (MySpace and Facebook are great sources for this as everyone wants to brag about their latest score).
Leverage the discussion groups or blogs. Often managers and decision makers will look for information about a particular problem they might be having. Or they might use it to complain about a bad install. People often use these venues to research problems they are trying to solve. For example a recent discussion on a blog asked people about what sources they use for leads and lists. If you are a lead or list vendor – BINGO!!!!
There are many other creative ways to use social media to target specific demographics, interest groups, or people who are interested in social issues. Don’t limit your thinking. If you stopped leveraging LinkedIn, Plaxo, Tribe, Friendster or other sites because you found a job, think again. Take advantage of everything they have to offer.
Whether you use LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, Tribe or another social networking site, they all provide the ability to post information, find people and find companies. These can be extremely helpful if you are looking to penetrate a particular company, get additional contacts or learn more about the company. They can also be useful if you are trying to learn about key individuals in a company or learn about the issues companies may face. It’s a great way to learn about your competition, too.
If you are in Business Development and need to penetrate a new company, use the search function on various sites. In LinkedIn, for example, if you know the name of the company you want to penetrate, you can go online, search for the company name and get a list of contacts sorted by those closest to you on your network. You can then ask someone in your network for an introduction or reference.
Say you are running a sales cycle, how might you use social media? Learn more about the key decision makers in the process. Check out their profiles and see what companies they used to work for. Then check your network to see if you know someone who knows them. You might learn more about that person’s background or decision making. You might find out they have a mutual interest in golf, sailing or collecting garden gnomes. Anything to expand the relationship.
You might also learn about who they might favor. Do they have a large number of your competitors’ sales people on their Plaxo network? Do they golf with the VP of Sales for a consultant you work with? (MySpace and Facebook are great sources for this as everyone wants to brag about their latest score).
Leverage the discussion groups or blogs. Often managers and decision makers will look for information about a particular problem they might be having. Or they might use it to complain about a bad install. People often use these venues to research problems they are trying to solve. For example a recent discussion on a blog asked people about what sources they use for leads and lists. If you are a lead or list vendor – BINGO!!!!
There are many other creative ways to use social media to target specific demographics, interest groups, or people who are interested in social issues. Don’t limit your thinking. If you stopped leveraging LinkedIn, Plaxo, Tribe, Friendster or other sites because you found a job, think again. Take advantage of everything they have to offer.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Outsourcing Tele: Better Think Twice
Outsourcing Tele: Better Think Twice
With pressure on the bottom line and the need to cut expenses, manage headcount and trim infrastructure many companies are looking to “Outsource Tele”. And, while many companies are successful, you had better think twice or even 3 or 4 times before moving ahead. I am NOT suggesting outsourcing is bad, what I am saying is that it is an important decision that requires critical thinking on the part of the organization and a conscious, concerted effort to execute. Do not make it lightly.
First determine the core competencies you want to keep within your company and decide what you want to outsource. Include in the decision process the following:
· Costs: Include physical infrastructure such as specialized calls systems to handle volume calling and call monitoring. (Note: Do NOT deceive yourself into thinking call center systems are just an add-on to the existing phones. I have seen a couple of companies make this mistake and it caused headaches for years. There are specialized reporting and quality tools that are essential to running a solid team and require specialized knowledge. This is important: Don’t skimp) Cost of people to manage vendors, cost of systems connections and cost in terms of time. Also, honestly assess your tolerance for cost overruns or your ability to trust others to manage them.
· HR Issues: Do you want the Inside Sales team to be a farm team for the Field? How closely do the Inside Sales or TeleCoverage people need to work with the field. This is not as easy with an external group.
· Economies of Scale: One of the main benefits of outsourcing lead gen is the shear scale that quality partners can deliver. And, many of them are specialized in providing a unique service in a unique way. Some set appointments others know retail or public sector.
· Intangibles: How much time, effort and support are you willing to dedicate to supporting tele? How complicated is the sales process? How important is it to have the voice of the customer inside?
Once you have made your decision – STICK TO IT! Too many times I have seen companies waffle back and forth each year. This is counter-productive and will ultimately cost more money and sub-optimize the potential results. Decide what you want to outsource to a partner and just as importantly what you don’t.
Now that you have decided to outsource make sure you do the following:
1. Pick a strong leader who will own it and empower them. Do not choose a part-timer or someone who does it on the side. It will require an owner and empower them. Just as in a Tele launch, some difficult decisions and crucial conversations will need to be had. Give them the room and backing to do it.
2. Communicate the decision clearly and let stakeholders know that the change is inevitable. This will thwart the naysayers who are dying for failure.
3. Create management structures and rewards systems that ensure that each of the parts of the process is complementary. Misaligned goals and objectives are one of the top reasons why these initiatives fail. If your lead team only cares about leads and your sales team only cares about closed sales, you can create a situation in which you hit your lead goal, but miss revenue.
4. Establish systems and processes that provide a closed loop feedback mechanism and hold all members of the team accountable for owning it. The worst scenario is when the vendor blames the marketing team for not providing feedback on the quality of leads or vice versa.
5. Develop a clear and regular communications strategy and plan. Daily, weekly and monthly reviews are a must, especially in the early going. You cannot over communicate.
6. Ensure that Marketing, Sales, Operations and your vendor partners are aligned. Assign owners to the relationships and hold them accountable. At the same time, give them the flexibility to execute and move. Too much structure will kill the flexibility needed to react quickly to market conditions and gain the cost efficiencies you desire.
7. Treat everyone at the table as a partner in the outcome. Do not treat the “vendor” as a vendor; rather treat them as a partner and a member of the team.
Outsourcing aspects of your telemanagement organization can deliver outstanding results. You can reduce costs, improve efficiencies and increase customer satisfaction. If you make your decision in a conscious way, stick with it and include the few simple things outlined above you will achieve outstanding results.
With pressure on the bottom line and the need to cut expenses, manage headcount and trim infrastructure many companies are looking to “Outsource Tele”. And, while many companies are successful, you had better think twice or even 3 or 4 times before moving ahead. I am NOT suggesting outsourcing is bad, what I am saying is that it is an important decision that requires critical thinking on the part of the organization and a conscious, concerted effort to execute. Do not make it lightly.
First determine the core competencies you want to keep within your company and decide what you want to outsource. Include in the decision process the following:
· Costs: Include physical infrastructure such as specialized calls systems to handle volume calling and call monitoring. (Note: Do NOT deceive yourself into thinking call center systems are just an add-on to the existing phones. I have seen a couple of companies make this mistake and it caused headaches for years. There are specialized reporting and quality tools that are essential to running a solid team and require specialized knowledge. This is important: Don’t skimp) Cost of people to manage vendors, cost of systems connections and cost in terms of time. Also, honestly assess your tolerance for cost overruns or your ability to trust others to manage them.
· HR Issues: Do you want the Inside Sales team to be a farm team for the Field? How closely do the Inside Sales or TeleCoverage people need to work with the field. This is not as easy with an external group.
· Economies of Scale: One of the main benefits of outsourcing lead gen is the shear scale that quality partners can deliver. And, many of them are specialized in providing a unique service in a unique way. Some set appointments others know retail or public sector.
· Intangibles: How much time, effort and support are you willing to dedicate to supporting tele? How complicated is the sales process? How important is it to have the voice of the customer inside?
Once you have made your decision – STICK TO IT! Too many times I have seen companies waffle back and forth each year. This is counter-productive and will ultimately cost more money and sub-optimize the potential results. Decide what you want to outsource to a partner and just as importantly what you don’t.
Now that you have decided to outsource make sure you do the following:
1. Pick a strong leader who will own it and empower them. Do not choose a part-timer or someone who does it on the side. It will require an owner and empower them. Just as in a Tele launch, some difficult decisions and crucial conversations will need to be had. Give them the room and backing to do it.
2. Communicate the decision clearly and let stakeholders know that the change is inevitable. This will thwart the naysayers who are dying for failure.
3. Create management structures and rewards systems that ensure that each of the parts of the process is complementary. Misaligned goals and objectives are one of the top reasons why these initiatives fail. If your lead team only cares about leads and your sales team only cares about closed sales, you can create a situation in which you hit your lead goal, but miss revenue.
4. Establish systems and processes that provide a closed loop feedback mechanism and hold all members of the team accountable for owning it. The worst scenario is when the vendor blames the marketing team for not providing feedback on the quality of leads or vice versa.
5. Develop a clear and regular communications strategy and plan. Daily, weekly and monthly reviews are a must, especially in the early going. You cannot over communicate.
6. Ensure that Marketing, Sales, Operations and your vendor partners are aligned. Assign owners to the relationships and hold them accountable. At the same time, give them the flexibility to execute and move. Too much structure will kill the flexibility needed to react quickly to market conditions and gain the cost efficiencies you desire.
7. Treat everyone at the table as a partner in the outcome. Do not treat the “vendor” as a vendor; rather treat them as a partner and a member of the team.
Outsourcing aspects of your telemanagement organization can deliver outstanding results. You can reduce costs, improve efficiencies and increase customer satisfaction. If you make your decision in a conscious way, stick with it and include the few simple things outlined above you will achieve outstanding results.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday Afternoon What to Do
It's Friday on the West Coast/Arizona. What should your ISE's be doing to prepare for next week? That's just it, prepare!
Make sure your team knows what the focus is for next week. Do a wrap up around lunch time and make sure everyone on the team knows what they are doing when they first come in on Monday morning. For those who are building pipe, do they have the list of calls for Monday morning. What research needs to be done. Friday is a great time to time to get it done as many people leave early or are wrapping up their own weeks.
Anyone who is running deals, are there some last minute phone calls that can be made? Does the client have everything they need for next week? If there is a big deliverable next week, do you have the materials? What could be prepared over the weekend to deliver to the client first thing Monday to enable the week to start strong?
For Managers, did the team hit the targets? Did the team make enough calls? Was the campaign on target? Do you need more training? Who needs extra help? Do you have line of sight to your forecasts for the week?
Friday is a great day to wrap up and make sure everything is ready for next week. Put time into your calendar proactively to plan for Monday.
Make sure your team knows what the focus is for next week. Do a wrap up around lunch time and make sure everyone on the team knows what they are doing when they first come in on Monday morning. For those who are building pipe, do they have the list of calls for Monday morning. What research needs to be done. Friday is a great time to time to get it done as many people leave early or are wrapping up their own weeks.
Anyone who is running deals, are there some last minute phone calls that can be made? Does the client have everything they need for next week? If there is a big deliverable next week, do you have the materials? What could be prepared over the weekend to deliver to the client first thing Monday to enable the week to start strong?
For Managers, did the team hit the targets? Did the team make enough calls? Was the campaign on target? Do you need more training? Who needs extra help? Do you have line of sight to your forecasts for the week?
Friday is a great day to wrap up and make sure everything is ready for next week. Put time into your calendar proactively to plan for Monday.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Recommended Reading
I just completed the third of the books by Vital Smarts entitled Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. I was blown away. This book can be a game changer for you, too. It will help you understand the key elements needed to truly affect change in an organization, in the world or in your life. It focuses on three elements:
- Identify a handful of high-leverage behaviors that lead to rapid and sustainable change
- How to apply strategies for changing both thoughts and actions
- How to marshall the six sources of influence to make change inevitable
I highly recommend this book and it's companions "Crucial Conversations" and "Crucial Confrontations". They really will make a difference.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Take Inside Sales to the next level
What’s Next for Your Inside Sales Team
Inside or TeleSales has become a critical component of many companies’ sales and marketing strategy. Well executed Inside Sales strategies have delivered 5 to 10 percentage point improvements in margins, increased customer satisfaction and helped improved field productivity. With an ability to make hundreds of calls a week and at a cost often half that of field reps, Inside Sales can enable a cost effective volume and velocity play. The challenge is how to take your initial success to the next level.
Many organizations have launched Inside Sales initiatives with the best of intentions and have followed the five basic rules of a successful launch:
· Executive Sponsorship and/or leadership – A truly successful leader of Inside Sales must be an equal player at the table with field and channels, and continue to be an evangelist for Inside Sales. As Inside Sales evolves there will be a series of critical conversations around compensation, channel conflict, and account ownership that must be had.
· Integrating Inside Sales into Routes to Market – Inside Sales must built into the Routes to Market strategy upfront. It is not simply “Bolted on” or just another overlay but is a critical element of the mix on a par with the field or Partner.
· Substantial investment in Change Management – Plans were created early on, true buy-in was obtained from key stakeholders and change leaders, and a series of consistent communications kept everyone on the same page. Key behaviors were identified and a systems of rewards and dialog drove adoption.
· The team took the time to hire key talent – The deployment team focused on hiring the right people in the key positions. Leaders who are flexible, adaptable and inspiring helped drive the organization through the ever changing rules of engagement and morass of internal politics to create a strong link to key stakeholders and a robust team ready to drive results.
· Processes are aligned and repeatable, and decisions are made based on data and facts not hunches – Focus was on the fundamentals. The initial build out was targeted to a couple of key markets, customer groups or products. Foundational processes were built and infrastructure and eco-system were established.
If all these elements are not in place or weren’t well executed it is worth going back and getting them right. If they were, congratulations, you fit in the 50% or less of companies that get them all right the first time. Now you need to harness the true power of Inside Sales.
Based on discussions with numerous sales, marketing and Inside Sales executives, as well as CEOs and COOs, there are some basic questions senior management will ask;
1. How do we realize the cost benefits that were promised as part of this project? –Inside Sales can reduce your E/R by as much as 50%. Lack of return can be based on a number of factors: overlapping compensation plans that have not evolved, inadequate shift of lower end transactions, over staffing in key areas, focus on the wrong market or customer.
2. What part of this can be outsourced and what is core to my success? This is one of the top questions being asked by sales and marketing execs today. There are large numbers of outstanding companies that specialize in all aspects. Careful consideration must be given to what is core to your success and what is core to the value Inside Sales brings… lead gen, qualification, simple transaction closure, and farm team for field, are among the many roles
3. How do I leverage Inside Sales/Tele to increase my agility/flexibility by rapidly changing product, market or messaging focus? - Too tightly linking Inside Sales to either a marketing or sales team can inhibit flexibility. Inadequate closed loop systems and poor information flows will slow down or eliminate the speed and quality of “customer feedback” to key decision makers.
4. How do I take advantage of Inside Sales to create a volume and velocity model that is tied to the web and helps me drive more transactions, quicker and more cost effectively? – Inside Sales can make hundreds of calls and penetrate quickly via use of phone and email. They are well positioned to take advantage of web-based sales, chat, and co-browsing, but each of these must be done with specific plans, outcomes and measures of success in mind. They must also be part of your overall web strategy, not bolted on.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will explore each of these in more depth and suggest possible ways to attacked each of them. This is not intended to be a cookbook, but rather the start of a discussion or dialog around what does Inside Sales mean to your organization and how will you truly make it a competitive advantage you can use to drive profitable growth as we emerge from the current economic challenges.
Inside or TeleSales has become a critical component of many companies’ sales and marketing strategy. Well executed Inside Sales strategies have delivered 5 to 10 percentage point improvements in margins, increased customer satisfaction and helped improved field productivity. With an ability to make hundreds of calls a week and at a cost often half that of field reps, Inside Sales can enable a cost effective volume and velocity play. The challenge is how to take your initial success to the next level.
Many organizations have launched Inside Sales initiatives with the best of intentions and have followed the five basic rules of a successful launch:
· Executive Sponsorship and/or leadership – A truly successful leader of Inside Sales must be an equal player at the table with field and channels, and continue to be an evangelist for Inside Sales. As Inside Sales evolves there will be a series of critical conversations around compensation, channel conflict, and account ownership that must be had.
· Integrating Inside Sales into Routes to Market – Inside Sales must built into the Routes to Market strategy upfront. It is not simply “Bolted on” or just another overlay but is a critical element of the mix on a par with the field or Partner.
· Substantial investment in Change Management – Plans were created early on, true buy-in was obtained from key stakeholders and change leaders, and a series of consistent communications kept everyone on the same page. Key behaviors were identified and a systems of rewards and dialog drove adoption.
· The team took the time to hire key talent – The deployment team focused on hiring the right people in the key positions. Leaders who are flexible, adaptable and inspiring helped drive the organization through the ever changing rules of engagement and morass of internal politics to create a strong link to key stakeholders and a robust team ready to drive results.
· Processes are aligned and repeatable, and decisions are made based on data and facts not hunches – Focus was on the fundamentals. The initial build out was targeted to a couple of key markets, customer groups or products. Foundational processes were built and infrastructure and eco-system were established.
If all these elements are not in place or weren’t well executed it is worth going back and getting them right. If they were, congratulations, you fit in the 50% or less of companies that get them all right the first time. Now you need to harness the true power of Inside Sales.
Based on discussions with numerous sales, marketing and Inside Sales executives, as well as CEOs and COOs, there are some basic questions senior management will ask;
1. How do we realize the cost benefits that were promised as part of this project? –Inside Sales can reduce your E/R by as much as 50%. Lack of return can be based on a number of factors: overlapping compensation plans that have not evolved, inadequate shift of lower end transactions, over staffing in key areas, focus on the wrong market or customer.
2. What part of this can be outsourced and what is core to my success? This is one of the top questions being asked by sales and marketing execs today. There are large numbers of outstanding companies that specialize in all aspects. Careful consideration must be given to what is core to your success and what is core to the value Inside Sales brings… lead gen, qualification, simple transaction closure, and farm team for field, are among the many roles
3. How do I leverage Inside Sales/Tele to increase my agility/flexibility by rapidly changing product, market or messaging focus? - Too tightly linking Inside Sales to either a marketing or sales team can inhibit flexibility. Inadequate closed loop systems and poor information flows will slow down or eliminate the speed and quality of “customer feedback” to key decision makers.
4. How do I take advantage of Inside Sales to create a volume and velocity model that is tied to the web and helps me drive more transactions, quicker and more cost effectively? – Inside Sales can make hundreds of calls and penetrate quickly via use of phone and email. They are well positioned to take advantage of web-based sales, chat, and co-browsing, but each of these must be done with specific plans, outcomes and measures of success in mind. They must also be part of your overall web strategy, not bolted on.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will explore each of these in more depth and suggest possible ways to attacked each of them. This is not intended to be a cookbook, but rather the start of a discussion or dialog around what does Inside Sales mean to your organization and how will you truly make it a competitive advantage you can use to drive profitable growth as we emerge from the current economic challenges.
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