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Important Core Growth Strategies
Cross Selling
- Are your customers purchasing all the products that you have to offer them?
- Are there relevant products in your porfolio that your customers could be using to improve their business, but are not currently using?
- Do you have a clear and documented understanding of which of your products and services operate together?
- Do your sales reps and customer service reps have a system in place to understand which products your customers are using or NOT using?
- Which additional products should they be using with those that they are currently using?
By integrating the tangible and intangible benefits of your products and services into operations, your customer should be able to achieve an increased return versus a mix-and-match approach comprised of multiple supplier solutions. Microsoft excels at this strategy, effectively excluding the use of competitive products with its operating systems, much to the (technical) benefit of its customers.
Cross-selling is a process and skill that should be given focused attention, as it can drive significant revenues at increased net margins.
I can help you to develop the processes and skills that will enable your sales reps to systematically understand, quantify, and communicate the value your company will create for customers when they combine complementary products and services with their current equipment.
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Upselling
- Do you have customers that are loyal to your product line, but ususally seem to buy your low-end equipment models?
- Do your proposals typically offer a single scope of supply, or do they incorporate multiple options?
- Do your sales reps clearly communicate the quantifiable value of your offering?
Selling your higher end line of products typically produces higher productivity for your customers, yet many industrial sales organizations fail to effectively quantify and communicate the added value to their customers.
High-end value-add upgrades produce higher margins, and help to differentiate you from your competitors.
I can help you to implement processes and systems that will change the way your customers make their buying decisions...changing their decision from one of "Supplier A versus Supplier B?" to deciding "Which of Supplier A's option or model should I purchase?"
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
New Product Introductions
- Do you have ideas for great new products, and do you have systems in place for your sales people to document and capture the unmet market needs of your customers?
- Does your R&D Department collaborate regularly with Sales?
- How are R&D projects prioritized and selected?
Industrial manufacturing R&D Department are often considered cost centers instead of profit centers. It is not uncommon for R&D to be perceived by other parts of the organization as "tinkerers, playing with toys" with the sometimes possibility of stumbling upon an exciting technological innovation.
I have facilitated the integration between Sales and R&D Departments that drives exciting new market-oriented innovations with quantifiable economic value for customers.
I can help you to develop and implement collaboration between Sales and Product Development teams and market analysis processes that will enable to prioritize and convert great ideas into profitable products based upon sound market economics, volume forecasting, and margin projections.
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Prototyping, Beta Partnering, and Public Endorsement
- Do you have any customers that you consider "personal friends" from an organizational perspective?
- Do you have customers who value your organization so much that no matter how badly you screw up a project, they always give you another chance?
- Have you ever executed a joint venture with a customer on the collaborative development of a new product?
Launching new products is always a challenge, but developing market credibility for your new products doesn't have to be a long and protracted process. Your best customers may already perceive your organization as a "partner". Therefore, your best customers represent an ideal resource for you to test and develop new product concepts in a real-life environment.
I have extensive experience in identifying and collaborating with customer partners in the co-development of new product applications, and can help you to manage testing, data collection, and publication of results to drive rapid market awareness and acceptance.
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Peer-to-Peer Sales Coaching
- Do you have some sales reps who seem to excel while others struggle to grow their business?
- Are there certain reps on your team who you wish that you could "clone"?
- Do new sales reps seem to require too much hand-holding and support to get up to speed?
Many sales management experts tell you to invest your coaching time on your top performing reps. Since they are the top producers, it is appropriate to provide them with the most support so they can continue to produce growing results.
This is a quandary for many leaders. "If I'm not supposed to invest my time on the mediocre performers, how will they ever get better?"
Peer-to-Peer coaching is a hugely under utilized technique that can produce measurable growth for both rookie and veteran reps alike.
I have developed and implemented a simple and very powerful system for capturing the skills, experience, and wisdom of your best veteran reps and transferring them to rookies and underperformers in real time and in a manner that can have immediate impact on sales hit rates and margins.
I can help you to implement and facilitate real time peer-to-peer coaching that will have a real and measurable impact on your sales hit rates.
Read my blog postings entitled Best Practices in B2B Sales Leadership | Peer To Peer Sales Coaching and Peer-To-Peer Sales Coaching | Rewards and Processes
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
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Value Quantification and Communication
- Are your customers willing to pay as much for your products as you believe they are worth?
- Do your sales reps actually know how much your product is worth to your customers, and more importantly, does your customer know?
- How does he know? Do your sales reps actively participate in your customers' process for evaluating their return on investment?
Many industrial sales reps, even most of the great ones, don't ever quantify the value that their prospective customer will realize through the use of your products. It's not because they don't want to, but usually because they haven't even recognized how powerful this information can be to their sales process.
 The simple concept of Value Quantification, illustrated to the left, lies at the very core of all of my own tactical sales initiatives.
Before you can effectively and consistently create value for your customers, you must first understand it.
Many manufacturers have a concept of the value they create, and they actually create it relatively well. However, most do not understand it clearly enough to actually quantify it, and therefore are generally ineffective at communicating their value to their customers. The result:
REDUCED HIT RATES AND LESS THAN IDEAL MARGINS.
I can help you to develop and implement a disciplined approach and the tools to enable you to effectively quantify, communicate, and capture the economic value that you are leaving on the table!
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Competitor Analysis
QUIZ: What is the number 1 cause of customer objections during the sales process? (answer below)
- Does your organization really understand the competition?
- Is your understanding of your competitors actually useful to your sales people, and does it really help them to sell?
- Can you produce a detailed dossier on each competitor, and if so, what information does it contain?
- In its current form, do you believe your competitive information helps your sales reps to achieve higher hit rates at higher margins?
The lack of specific information about competitors' product attributes, and how their products or total offering meets or doesn't meet your customer needs, is the number 1 cause of customer objections during the sales process.
With comprehensive competitor analysis dossiers at their fingertips, your sales reps will proactively position your products in front of the competition early on and throughout the sales process, thus preventing the customer objections that drive hit rates and margins down.
Don't wait until proposal and pricing time to perform your "competitor analysis" and "competitive positioning". If you do, then your margins and hit rates will suffer.
If you've been thinking about implementing a more active competitive analysis program, but simply haven't had the time, I can help. Call me and we can work together to implement a system that actually helps your reps to increase sales and margins. We will measure the results!
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Opportunity Funnel Management
- How long would it take you to list the top 10 prospects in your opportunity funnel (or pipeline)?
- What is each of their projected value, close date, and probability of closure?
- What are the planned next actions to move each of them through the process and closer to closure?
- "What process?" you ask...
According to Aberdeen Group, 95% of Best in Class (BIC) firms - vs. fewer than 1/3 of sales laggards - use a standardized sales process.
Do you?
If not, it's nothing to be worried about. You have a huge opportunity to improve hit rates, margins, and forecasting accuracy.
I have extensive experience in industrial sales process design and optimization, and I can help you take the next step...from being one of Aberdeen's "laggards" to becoming a Best In Class sales force.
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
Alliance Partnering
- Do you have strong relationships with current customers?
- Are there customer needs that cannot be met by your existing products/services?
- Are there technologies/products/services available through other suppliers that could meet the needs, but have not been made available to your customers through other channels?
Your existing sales channel and proven ability to deliver value to your customers has made you a trusted solution provider for your customers and markets. This represents an ideal opportunity for you to add complementary products and services to your portfolio without investing substantial resources through an internal R&D program.
I can help you to identify and prioritize product and service suppliers whose already existing offerings can be added to your porfolio through alliance partnering arrangements.
Call me at (502) 310-1207 or email STrunkett@SalesRaceHorses.com
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