S&MM SoundOff

Rewarding the Intangibles

By Pete Kadens (Acquirent, Evanston, Ill.)

In sales, many focus on the 'dollars and sense' and 'total comp.'  There is no question that the compensatory benefits of being in sales are a good reason to be in sales to begin with. With that said there is more to life--and more to sales--than the paycheck you take home every month. In many cases we use the paycheck as the measuring stick for one's success in sales, and I admit that I am guilty of this thought process of assessing someone's sales ability from time to time as well. But there other intangibles we must evaluate as well when looking at the people who may not be the top earners.

Commitment: It’s really difficult to find salespeople today who don’t jump ship for a bigger buck across the street. Value those people who are willing to commit to you despite knowing they can make more elsewhere.

Passion: You see it in their eyes and your hear it in their voices. These people will do anything to succeed and they are willing to work hard to get there.

Adaptability: Especially in an entrepreneurial sales environment you have to have folks who are willing to adapt to changing circumstances or alternative scenarios. Most salespeople avoid change like the plague, but the ones who respond well to it and pick themselves up by their bootstraps after a big change are definitely keepers.

Vision: If they can see the big picture and they are willing to make a few sacrifices for you to get to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, cut them some slack.

If you have salespeople who embody these aforementioned traits but they aren’t your top earners, give them a little more runway then you normally would, because in my experience if given the opportunity they probably will be the top earners somewhere down the road. We want to build a business that is not only highly profitable, but also a business that we can all tell our grandchildren about. To do that we must build a legacy here at Acquirent and we believe that having these four traits in our people will help us get there.

Pete Kadens is a widely respected sales professional and leader and author on sales, specifically on "Unique Sales Strategies" and entrepreneurship. In 2007, Pete was nominated as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year candidate in the Great Lakes Region. He also founded and serves as the Co-Chairman of Chicago Area Business Leaders (CABL).

Simplify and make your customers more productive

The questions you ask make a big difference.  I am often asked 'what more can I do to win over customers?'  The person asking that question often assumes that doing more or adding more is the answer.  If you are in a competitive business, sometimes you have to enrich your offering to match rivals.  But how do you choose to add elements that really matter?  Better yet, how do you choose ways to add value to the customer while lowering your costs?

The result of adding more and more features, capabilities, functions and add-ons is that you eventually reach a point where your offer is so complicated, so difficult to implement that you actually block customer utility or customer value.  I have conducted dozens of sessions between customers and suppliers in order to find out how to unblock barriers and unleash customer value.  Supplier teams are frequently surprised to find out how often their signature initiatives, their diving catches or their attempts to appease a key decision maker are not really valued at all. 

To get started, take a close look at the Buyer Experience Cycle.  From the customer's first thought of 'I have a problem or a need,' to purchase and use of your product through disposal or reinvestment, what are the blocks or turbochargers to buyer utility?  Look across six key areas:

• Customer productivity
• Simplicity
• Convenience
• Risk
• Fun, image and reputation
• Environment and sustainability

Vic Firth provides a great example.  They make the finest drumsticks and mallets available.  They also make some of the finest pepper mills for gourmets and pro chefs (ask Mario Batali).  So think for a moment.  What is the worst part of owning a pepper mill?  For most people, it is filling the mill, when peppercorns scatter everywhere.  So what did Vic Firth do?  They tied a funnel to the mill.  Cost to the company?  Very little.  How fast did it have an impact on the customer's experience?  The first time they filled it.  Impact on the retailer?  As soon as the product hit the shelf.

In a business-to-business context, I am finding that simplicity and productivity are two focus areas that offer huge payback.  Here are just a few examples:

• Pricing:  If your pricing schemes are harder to interpret than train schedules, consider simplifying.  Start with common needs across large groups of customers and non-customers and rebuild your pricing options from there.
• Your sales process.  Most sales processes are designed to improve sales forecast accuracy or to try to control the customer's decision process.  Newsflash:  Customers decide when and how the sales process plays out, so why not design a process that makes it easy for customers to buy?  Ask some customers who are about to leave you what it is like to deal with your company from their first interaction through delivery or disposal of your product.  Where can you simplify or make them more productive?
• Your call centers:  What is it like to interact with your company?  Try calling your own company and try to buy something .  Is your call center routing and phone rep scripting designed to corner customers and minimize cost, or provide a fast, accurate and even fun experience? 
• Learning:  How can experience and graphic design make your software documentation more intuitive and engaging?  Kathy Sierra gives fabulous insights in this area.  The faster customers learn and use your product, the more productive they are and the faster they realize value.  Figure out ways to make learning simple and fun.
• The web.  Yes, there are still opportunities.  How could on-line purchase options make it simpler and faster for your customers to get what they want?  In the hotel industry, it is conventional wisdom that people can reserve sleeping rooms on-line.  Why can't we arrange a small meeting room with standard options the same way?  In the process, focus your valuable sales talent where you and your customer agree a live human can provide real value.

Unfortunately, too few business processes come with sunset provisions.  Over time, what were once good ideas become, 'we've always done it that way.'  Customers and sales teams alike forget the original reasons they came to be.  Take a good look at the assumptions that shape your customer experience.  How can you make your company simpler for your customers?  What is the spice funnel that will make your customers more productive - fast!

Remember - Value up, cost down!

Greg Krauska is President of the Change Agent Group and an experienced Blue Ocean Strategy consultant.  Find out more at www.changeagentgroup.com.

Recessing Economy, Increasing Sales?

If you hoped the impending onset of the economic recession would just go away by ignoring it, you'd better think again. It seems that the tone has already been set amongst consumers and corporations alike, according to an article posted today on NYtimes.com. Consumers everywhere are saving their well-earned paychecks and spending less, which means a call for some smarter marketing overall.

Of course it won't be long before the decreased expenditure creeps up the corporate ladder. Some corporations are already advertising with a money-saving focus (such as Wal-Mart's 'Save Money. Live Better' campaign and an increased dollar-menu selection at McDonald's) and are proving successful across the board at retaining customers and generating revenue over competitors. But these corporations are not alone--more are now following suit: Starbucks is testing a one-dollar coffee promotion with free refills in Seattle and Sovereign Bank is trying to entice new customers with a $100 gas card incentive.

With the country's well-noted name-brand corporations now answering the call to action, or so to speak, will your company join in? Perhaps it already has...

Whether your sales and marketing teams are part of a large-scale Fortune 1000 company or a small-to-medium-sized business (SMB), what will you do to help meet your quotas during trying times? What measures will you take to ensure that the incentivizing discounts don't sap revenue dollars from your totals?

New Year, New Look

It's with no shortage of pride (or diminished capacity for self-promotion) that I trumpet Sales & Marketing Management's brand new look for 2008. Scheduled to hit mailboxes at month's end, the January/February issue boasts all the great content you've come to associate with S&MM, but now in a more streamlined and aesthetically striking package.

And gracing the cover of this revamped issue are three equally striking gentlemen: Jordan Clark, Michael Massari and Don Ross, the veritable Three Musketeers of Harrah's Entertainment. You'll read about how these three Las Vegas-based VPs pulled together the sales teams from seven formerly competing hotels and casinos, molding them into one astoundingly effective unit.

Can their managerial wisdom benefit your own organization's bottom line? We'd answer with an emphatic "yes", but there's only one way for you to find out …

Are There Criminals On Your Sales Team?

Whether you're the employer or the prospective employee, the hiring process is complicated--not to mention difficult. Prospects worry whether their new company will match expectations, and employers worry whether they've hired the right individual.

Of course, corporations have background checks and security measures to ensure employers hire right--even if a candidate isn't up to par skills-wise, they're at least a stand-up citizen. But every once in a while, someone will slip through the cracks and an employer can unknowingly hire a criminal.

But according to Lee Salz, the author of our new online column Train with the Sales Dodo, there are things that can be done to mitigate that risk if an effective criminal background screening program is put together. The operative word is 'effective.' His recently published white paper on this subject, titled Are There Criminals On Your Sales Team?, is designed to help employers identify the important components when structuring a criminal background check program for their sales force.

Lee was kind enough to give me a peak at his compelling report. Check it out for yourself. View the free copy here.

The Presidential (Sales) Campaign

By Dave Stein

I am really enjoying this presidential race.  To me, it has many of the characteristics of the world's biggest (and most competitive) sales campaign.

Right now we're in the long-list phase.  Different groups of voters (buyers), with their own interests and prejudices (buying criteria), are supporting the candidate (salesperson) they feel is most aligned with them and their view of where the U.S. should be going.

Some of the candidates have a strong and consistent message (value proposition).  Others change their message regularly, depending on their perception of where they stand versus other candidates.

There are candidates may not have the financial resources (viability) to make it to the cut for the the conventions (shortlist).  Others will drop out because their platforms (features, functions and benefits) don't resonate with voters.

I'm having some fun seeing how external influencers have an impact on the race.  For example, John Kerry's early backing of Obama.  Why now?  Why Obama, with him having a history with the Clintons?  Is Kerry a messenger from the Democratic National Committee signaling Hillary that they don't think she can overcome the unelectability claim of many Republicans?

And what about Guiliani?  He's decided to ignore a significant number of voters, playing to the ones with more power (greater number of electoral votes in their states).  I've seen sales people lose deals by ignoring the lower levels within an organization or certain departments. 

Each time I watch one of the many debates, I see a series of scripted bake-offs, just like the ones vendors must go through.  We've all been there, haven't we?

Dave Stein is CEO & Founder of ES Research Group, Inc.

Why Must It All Be So Complicated?

By Mona Piontkowski (www.SeminarInformation.com)

Remember back in the good old days, yesterday, when the phone on your desk was the only way you could communicate with the outside world at work?

Recently I attended a conference of techies. I was definitely the oldest one in the room and the least connected. I had my trusty cell phone with me - I could take a picture or a video at a moment's notice if need be, I could read my email on my phone, I could search the web, I could get my GPS enabled phone to locate me and then locate the nearest Starbucks - but still I felt inadequate. First of all, I was taking notes on - are you ready - a pad using a pen - everyone around me was busy writing directly on their wifi laptop. I was chastised at breakfast for not knowing the wifi password -
hey guys, I left my computer back in the office - I was here to learn - I had to concentrate without all the distractions a computer affords. By the way, I noticed, as I scribbled down every pearl of wisdom spouted by the instructor that most of my wified buddies had already gotten bored with the seminar and were either checking their email, playing a game or surfing the web. Has our atttention span gotten that short I wondered?

Back in the office I can barely use the phone - what with all the codes and buttons - hey what ever happened to the dial? Which brings me to the point of this blog - how can we even attempt to keep up. You get the latest phone or computer and as you are walking out of the store a newer model is being delivered at the loading dock. You finally get a handle on that software program when the announcement of a bigger and better program is made - hey guys I just learned how to write a letter on this thing!

We live in a time when we must continue to learn just to keep up let alone move ahead. The world has become so technical, so savvy, that the task of staying competitive is almost impossible. Have we teched ourselves into failure - are we inadequate if we don't have the latest gadget - does our company think less of us if they continue to have us use last year's Blackberry.

My website SeminarInformation.com lists over 360,000 seminars and conferences - are those enough - if you took everyone of those sessions would you still be current? Could you utilize the latest software program efficiently? Would you be able to understand the latest Excel spreadsheet? Could you program your phone? Just wondering......

Is This Really Starbucks?

By Tom Richards

I have always been a great admirer of what Howard Schultz was able to achieve at Starbucks.  You'll find several of his quotes on my website.  However, nobody's perfect, including Howard. 

To me, one way to develop brand image and competitive advantage is consistency.  Customers feel more comfortable when they know what to expect.  It's like going to Cheers.  "Everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came."  It's a feeling level thing; a comfort zone.  Starbucks' management calls it 'a third place,' (home and work being the other two) a haven, a refuge as they call it.  But there are times when the need for corporate growth gets in the way of branding.

My point: Starbucks has a unique presentation and it has been very, very successful.  But all Starbucks outlets are not really Starbucks.  They are represented in the West in Barnes and Noble, Albertson's Supermarkets, Chapters in Canada and other licensed arrangements around the world.  Now that represents the Starbucks name nicely, but it does not always create exceptionally good customer service.  After all, Howard cannot flit around to everybody who uses the Starbucks brand to market coffee and accoutrements.  But, you see, there's the consistency problem. 

At a Starbucks at Albertson's, I had a bad customer service experience with an employee. This woman was wearing the barrista outfit -- but, believe me, she was no barrista.  She was surly, avoiding eye contact, and had no interest, not just in me, but our transaction.  I asked for a regular coffee tall and she said, what size?  I said tall, again.  I also said that she should charge me for the local newspaper.  It was not turned to the right side for her to run her zapper over it to see what she should charge, so she said, turn the paper over, will you?  Sure lady, let me do your job for you.

Maybe it's just me but I am the customer.  You know the old saying, "The customer isn't always right but they're always the customer."  Consistency builds value, value is competitive advantage.  If you empower other people to market your brand, be sure they understand how that's accomplished.  You're really vulnerable here, Howard. 

There was a famous Russian poet who believed himself to be in control of the universe.  That, however, did not make it so.

Tom Richards is president of 1 on 1 strategies inc in Santa Fe. He has been a customer communications and guest satisfaction consultant for 27 years to manufacturers, retailers and resorts.  Visit his website at: www.1on1strategies.com

Lessons from the Svengali of Speech

First and foremost, a very happy and healthy 2008 to you all. Hopefully, everyone’s survived the holiday festivities with waistlines relatively intact (no small feat for myself, thanks to my mother-in-law’s cooking).

Now then, S&MM SoundOff may not be the most likely venue for a book review, but indulge me for a moment: I’d like to draw your attention to the newest tome by Brian Tracy, entitled Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation (AMACOM Books).

On the off chance you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Tracy’s name … well, let’s face it, you're not. In addition to penning the “Management Strategies” column that appears in every issue of S&MM, Brian’s one of the top 10 brand names in the motivational speaking business (sharing company with a couple of fellas named Covey, Robbins and Chopra). So needless to say, when the guy pens a text on giving killer presentations, you ignore it at your own peril.

Yes, yes, yes … you’re a sales manager. Which means you were a salesperson at some point in your professional life. Which means the prospect of addressing a group of strangers doesn’t exactly send you careening toward a nervous breakdown. Frankly, so what? Whether Brian’s dispensing advice on mnemonic strategies, speech cadence, body language or even the proper climate control for your meeting room, you’ll find plenty of practical information here. 

Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation is set to hit shelves in February, retailing for $19.95. For more info, visit www.amacombooks.org.

A Winner’s Attitude

What does it take to be successful in sales? Certainly effort, hard work and dedication is important. An excellent understanding of the sales process is also essential. But it’s more than that. The most successful people I know have a slightly different outlook than their coworkers and associates.

I recently worked with a group of people who, collectively, had an extensive amount of sales experience. And, for the most part, they all boasted a pretty successful career. Even though they expressed some frustration that they didn’t close as many sales as they would like to, or that prospects didn’t always return their calls, they didn’t bitch, moan, whine or complain about it. In fact, I didn’t hear a single complaint during the entire session. After more than a decade of conducting sales training workshops and programs, I can say that this mentality is rare.

It was evident that this group of people possessed a winners attitude. And I believe that this attitude contributed to their success. So, just what is a winner’s attitude?...