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Newsletter
December 2002A
Adobe
Acrobat PDF
Version in Newsletter Format Decmber 2002A
STANDING OUT IN A CROWD: Marketing Guts and Glory
"It paid for itself in no time," was the response of Michael
Ramonski of Rainforest Reptiles, when asked about his decision
to detail his black Suburban with yellow reptile paw prints.
Rainforest Reptiles offers a wide variety of services ranging
from product announcements for GM vehicles to educational
programs about reptiles to over 120 PETCO (pet supply) stores.
Ramonski was relaxed as a 7-foot boa constrictor coiled itself
around Ramonski's extremities cutting the circulation off
in his left foot. But the business owner admitted that initially
he was uneasy about his decision to get the vehicle detailed.
Ramonski
was in business for some time before he reluctantly took the
jump to decorate his vehicle. He did so in an attempt to attract
attention in his hometown of Boston and while traveling several
days a week with toads, snakes, alligators, and lizards. At
the time, Ramonski thought it was a small decision, but it
impacted his business in a big way. The boldly detailed vehicle
is a mobile billboard that separates Rainforest Reptiles from
all other vehicles on the road and captures the imaginations
of PETCO visitors each time it rolls into a parking lot. Like
many people, Ramonski loves what he does. His primary focus
is on the product and service, and he's not a savvy marketer.
But as a small-business owner, he tried something different,
and the move paid off.
How
many times have you done the same: waited too long to make
a decision (or didn't make it at all)? How much did it cost
you in pricey maintenance, repairs, or lost opportunities?
Decision-making and action are important parts of the leadership/management
role. Your product is the result of your decisions and actions.
The success of small and large firms alike hinge on the decisions
of management. If you are entrepreneurial, you may remember
the days you did all the tasks in the firm, and as the firm
grew your physical input declined in importance while your
decision-making scope and influence increased. If you work
in a large organization with thousands of employees, it's
obvious that if you tried to do everything yourself, you would
get nothing accomplished. Your decisions are your bread and
butter.
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Here
are a few points to ponder:
1.
Once a decision has been made and not acted upon, you
lose from that point forward until action is
taken. For example, you finally make the decision
that investing in the new electronic surveillance equipment
will save you $27,000 a year. You wait for 6 months,
and during that time, you need to repair your current
piece of equipment twice. The output is 18% less and
you've lost money.
2.
In a recession, make decisions you would have made when
things were going well. In "bad-times" business,
it's generally accepted to put off decisions for brighter
times. In the advertising/marketing world, statistics
show that those who invest during slower times come
out miles ahead when markets are "good" again.
3.
Most people play and work harder when they feel their
chances of winning are good. Few participate knowing
they are destined to lose, including your employees.
When making decisions, do so with a sound mind. Risks
are okay occasionally, but to get your people on board,
sensible choices are best.
4.
There is a point where thinking needs to be replaced
with gut instinct. As decision makers there is always
a time to act and those who don't act quickly are not
decisions makers. Entrepreneurs and "go-getters" often
are misperceived as impulsive. In most cases, you've
done the homework, and you have experience and knowledge
on your side. In such cases, a fast decision doesn't
mean you're impulsive. If you've ever built or bought
a home, you know the feeling. Even though you see plans
or walk in and say, "This is it," you may have looked
at styles of homes for years with the intent on making
the choice one day.
5.
There is an opportunity to make a new decision every
moment of every day that will affect your firm and your
life. Don't take this lightly. You can, right now,
make a decision to call your largest prospect or to
go golfing with a friend. Both will lead you somewhere.
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When
it comes to your role as a decision-maker, everyone knows
that sometimes you'll win and sometimes you'll lose. If fear
is holding you back from making a decision, there are three
areas to explore. The first is that perhaps you haven't gathered
all the information you need to go forward. The second is
that you have yet to plan the course of your action: who,
what, how…The third is that you haven't charted your contingency
if things don't go as planned. In any event, you must take
action, like Michael Ramonski did. Done right, your move just
might pay for itself in no time.
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BUILD
A SOLUTIONS FORCE: Not a Sales Force
Do you dream at night of your sales force closing all the
deals in your pipeline only to wake up and realize that you
still don't have the Ferrari in your driveway and that very
few of the leads you get ever turn into cash? Your company's
approach to sales might be killing opportunity. Just recently,
the CEO of a Minnesota-based firm explained how his newly
developed sales force was not selling a thing while chewing
away at over a half a million a year in payroll. Within a
year, the CEO had hired both a president and a national sales
manager to take over the expansion of a firm that was growing
at a rapid pace. Customers like Target and Wal-Mart were just
a few of the household-name clients he had already secured.
Yet with the hiring of the sales manager, something had gone
terribly wrong. The new staff wasn't making any money, and
for the first time in the company's history, customers were
complaining. In order to get the business back in order, the
fantasy of sipping Pina Coladas on golden beaches would have
to wait.
The
CEO had four basic problems. One, the sales manager was hired
away from an extremely large firm where he was successful
during an expanding economy and had no clue how to work in
a 32-person company. Two, the new sales people primarily were
drawn away from tech firms when the economy was so good that
sales was not really the skill one needed to generate revenue.
Three, he paid everyone way too much. The sales manager started
with a salary in the low six figures and the sales personnel
were paid enough that even if they never made a sale, they
could have a great living. The rationale for the base from
the new sales manager was that you needed to pay for talent,
especially in the tech industry. The fourth problem was that
he wanted a sales force that could cover the country, but
in the past, the CEO had done all the sales himself while
running the business at the same time.
One
day, the CEO received a call from his company's largest customer,
Wal-Mart. They were terminating their relationship. He was
dumfounded and could not understand what went wrong; remember,
he had completely turned over the reins. Jumping back into
the fire, he asked his contact, "What can I do to earn your
business back." To that they replied, "Personally take over
the account again." The customer had become disgusted with
the new sales staff along with the changes in operations.
In his initial shock, the CEO was ready to roll heads until
he was offered a little introspection; his sales force was
not the problem, he was! These were some of the problems he
realized:
1.
The CEO used to be the sole salesperson, and in each case,
he did not "sell," but showed people what his service could
do for them. As a result, sales volume shot sky high. (The
"ah, ha.")
2.
The CEO had not taught the sales manager how the former had
been successful. He just assumed that a guy with a great sales
history would ignite sales. (Lesson: success in one firm does
not mean success in another, especially if it's not the same
product.)
3.
The CEO's expectations were out of whack with reality when
it came to hiring sales people. The more the merrier is not
a formula. It's a recipe for disaster, especially if you're
just hiring to cover regions. The best approach would have
been to start with a sales person or two and to create a structure
that mimicked what made his firm grow so quickly in the past.
4.
The sales force was not a "Solutions Force:" solutions-oriented,
as the CEO had been. The CEO never passed on his method of
helping customers gain solutions by utilizing his firm's products.
In the past, the entire organization built the sale as the
customer was educated on the services.
5.
The CEO let go of too much, too soon. Would you just let your
kid jump in your car and start driving without any instruction?
Letting go and expecting others to fill one's shoes without
a period of education is ridiculous. Think of it this way;
the larger the sales ticket or the more critical the supplier
is to the (buying) firm's overall success in a project, the
more important it is for the vendor to offer solutions, not
simply standard products and services. (This is a common mistake
so don't think that he's the only one to use the new "empowerment"
model. He built a technology firm with 30 employees that was
extremely profitable. He just didn't know how to build a "Solutions
Force."
6.
They didn't need a lot of accounts to grow aggressively. The
type of clients this firm serviced spent hundreds of thousands
annually and would best be serviced by showing long-term value
in addition to targeting prospects.
The
warpath now over and much of the dead weight in the sales
department gone, the CEO was able to see that he inadequately
equipped his Sales/Solutions Force and ultimately was responsible
for their early failures. The best approach to sales is like
any other operating function within the firm. In the case
of the CEO, it's the leader's responsibility to build and
implement the STRUCTURE that enables others to duplicate his
successes.
So, what happened with Wal-Mart? The CEO took over the account
once again, and then took measures to teach his sales personnel
how to provide the same type of value to customers. The CEO
assessed the situation and started with what improvements
needed to be made in the executive office in order to support
the sales staff.
The
new formula now looked like this:
1.
The CEO will define the role of the sales manager only after
he has determined the exact process the employees will follow
to secure new business. Then the sale manager can have input.
2.
The CEO will now have the sales manager shadow him as a coaching
scenario for several months so that both of them can see the
progress and define how the sales force may be built. (No,
not every day: an ongoing relationship.)
3.
The CEO will help the sales manager pass the skill sets down
into the "Solutions Force" so that there becomes a consistency
of operations.
4. The CEO will hire capable people and reward them for offering
solutions first. Solutions-thinking takes precedence over
the "killer salesperson."
5.
The CEO will move out of the direct role only when everything
is moving as expected and customers feel as if the CEO's firm
is the one of choice.
6.
The CEO will install feedback mechanisms for the sales manager
and sales staff so that they get information when it's needed
and not have to worry about the mechanics.
7.
The CEO will take, under advisement, suggestions and not expect
all employees to have great ideas. Remember, that the same
person you may be asking advice from in the form of millions
of dollars may never have paid their rent on time or bounces
personal checks every quarter.
Winning
sales forces with winning products (can't solve everything
today) are based upon finding formulas that work. Begin by
looking at the successful individual. Break down his actions
into steps that others can take. Management's role is to do
this while educating staff. You can easily attain solid goals
if you take charge and make the structure stick.
Look,
anyone can make the conversion from Sales Force to Solutions
Force by noting the following differences and making even
the smallest adjustments on a daily basis. Of course, you'll
want to implement tools that educate your people and enable
them to be solutions providers. This is where you begin.
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Do
you have a Sales Force or a Solutions Force?
Sales Force looks like this:
Image: Salespeople out for themselves, known
as pushy.
Purpose: To get the sale.
Type of Talent: Sales skills and "relationship
building."
Management's
Role: Sales education with product knowledge.
Solutions
Force looks like this:
Image: Less intimidating, desired by customers
to help them.
Purpose: Find problems and offer solutions. (Some
may offer competitors services!) In doing so earns the
sale.
Type of Talent: Sales skills, problem solving
and the ability to educate the customer/client, "relationship
building."
Management's Role: Teaches sales, problem-solving
skills, and about product knowledge. Understands how
the company works
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If you're
already closing sales, you may already have a "Solutions Force,"
or maybe your products are so good that customers don't care.
Think about it. The staff at the SUNOCO down the street most
likely can't tell you one piece of valuable information about
the gas you just pumped, yet if your network sales person
can't give you options and improve your business, you're in
trouble. It might must mean making minor adjustments to build
a Solutions Force. The largest shift you're going to have
to make is how you look at the management and executive role.
_________________________________
David & Lorrie Goldsmith are founders
of the Syracuse based MetaMatrix Consulting Group Inc. Their
firm specializes in consulting, executive management education
and speaking services. They can be reached at 315-476-0510
888-777-8857 or emailed at david@davidgoldsmith.com
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