Selling

In my Microsoft Newsletter this week, I received the following enticement:

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Today, businesses are asked to do more with less. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online delivers exceptional value because it combines your everyday Microsoft Office applications with powerful CRM software accessed over the Internet to rapidly improve marketing, boost sales, and enrich customer service interactions. Try it now for 30 days! (This is not an affiliate Link).

I am trying it this week but what I wanted to share is a piece of the collateral information, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Power Couple. In this PDF, MSN highlighted the Customer Decision Making Process aka Mirror Marketing( Your Marketing Funnel from your Customer’s Perspective.) but extended the concept to show the process from several other points of view.

I have always been an advocate of seeking Sales and Marketing’s response to each of the customer’s decision steps but MSN (they are selling software), highlighted the technology enabler and a team response to the Customer Value Stream process. This simple exercise utilizing a high level Value Stream Map can really get your individual departments on the same page!

In my recent work, I have been advocating breaking down the Sales Silo and making Sales a team effort. In most organizations, I have been met with strong resistance to this concept. Most sales people look at as another silly initiative and most internal people see sales as a vehicle to customer data. As a result, sales resist and rightfully so preventing themselves from becoming an extended clerk. However, the approach really should be about how to increase face time with the customer. The #1 enabler of increased sales.

Create your own sales team by reviewing who responds to your Customer’s Value Stream Map. Start having a few meetings, similar to a daily standup meeting which may not be feasible. I would recommend at first error in having the meeting to often, just cut them short. In a spirit of true collaboration, don’t automatically exclude your customer from the team. This concept really could increase face time!

Increase Sales, Increase Face time
Recently, I made a statement that said it is a disaster to have sales people operating on their own. I think sales can be better served by a team effort. One of the key players in the Value Stream Marketing concept is the sales person or sales team. I think the team should consist of a minimum of Mr Inside and Mr. Outside but to really add some fuel to the process you need to include people from marketing, engineering, service and operations.

Your teams should be created based on one and only one thing: The Customer Experience. Think of the customer experience that you could develop if you had a customer support team divided up for one state, one product, etc. Utilizing a virtual daily stand-up meeting everyone would be attuned with what was going on within the state and if a customer called in he could be handled and routed very effectively and efficiently.

Of all the different continuous improvement methods that I am aware of, I favor Lean more than others. I think about it a little differently though. Where I see Lean playing a pivotal role is enhancing or improving the quality experience more so than removing waste. I also have distaste for looking for Muda and have a tendency to look at Mura and Muri. In most discussions about implementing Lean in Sales and Marketing, the first thing that pops up is that Sales doesn’t like to supply the data that is needed. I think that is one of the major stumbling blocks in developing a lean culture not only in S&M but through-out the company.

Expecting your sales people to supply more data and become a collector of data is one of the most wasteful things that you can do. Sales efficiency properly defined is the amount of selling time spent face-to-face with the customer and more precisely the customer decision-maker. Bottom line, the salespeople who spent more time in front of customers sell more. So go back to the team concept, the team should maximize the salespersons face to face time with their customer. But to apply improvement you need data, right? Look at the following measurements:

1. Gross Sales
2. Gross Revenue
3. Product Distribution
4. Average length of sales cycle
5. Average selling price
6. Average size of deal
7. Number sales per month per salesperson
8. Number of calls needed to close the deal
9. Average gross margin
10. Number of quality sales calls per month

Name me one of these numbers that many of us determine important for sales that a salesperson needs to generate. These all can be generated from the team and truth be known most automated from typical accounting data. When a team has share responsibility to deliver improvement on these numbers versus one person, your sales will improve.

Another important aspect to the team concept is the ability to handle customer’s request more effectively and efficiently. Having a team concept the customer can call with an engineering or operation or service request and talk to a familiar body and someone knowledgeable with their account. This improved Face Time will ultimately be distributed to increased revenue.

Before you think about implementing Lean or Six Sigma in your Sales and Marketing Process take a step back and think about how these tools will deliver a better Customer experience and as a result grow your revenue.

Bottom Line: To increase Sales, increase Face Time. To increase Face Time, increase bodies.