Total Marketing Solutions

As marketing consultants we’re increasingly in demand to help our customers improve the buying experience of their own customers. What started off as seemingly another fad from across the pond has in the past couple of years grown considerably in popularity. But can customer experience management really deliver results? In its early stages it was difficult to talk about any concrete ROI, the real value delivered by spending any money on looking at and then improving the “Customer Experience.” But now companies are more likely to ask how to get it right and do it cost effectively, rather than whether they need to do it in the first place.

So where to start? The obvious starting point is gaining a clear analysis of a customer’s relationship with the company at every point of contact, in other words to create a map of their journey. With a clear idea of how a customer buys from you, it’s then easier to look at how the relationship forms. And in order to build this relationship into a longer term, beneficial arrangement - rather than a one-night stand - there needs to be a shift away from a focus on the transaction to building a relationship with the customer. This is particularly true for businesses where technology, whilst speeding up the purchasing process, destroys all customer intimacy. Yet this is where an improved customer experience can have the greatest effect - both in terms of building a better relationship with your customers and of course - ROI!

We’ve highlighted in previous blogs the importance for many small to medium-sized companies of using a CRM system to streamline and maximise their sales effectiveness. But for some companies, having taken the plunge and bought a new system, their sales remain sluggish and the CRM system is regarded as more of a hindrance than a dynamic potential help to improving sales performance. So where could it be going wrong?

1. Clear definition of each stage of the sales process. It might sound obvious but if each stage of the sales process isn’t clearly defined, then how can an opportunity move through the next phase of the sales process? Check with your sales team that each phase - and it might be different depending on the product, service or sector - is identified and clearly integrated into the CRM system. Otherwise your CRM is nothing more than a rather elaborate diary.

2.  If you already have a clearly defined sales process but the CRM still isn’t working for you, check that the current sales process actually reflects your prospect’s buying decision process. If it doesn’t then chances are the CRM system is simply driving activity rather than achieving results. Your CRM system will prove far more effective if it captures, tracks and reflects your customer’s buying decision process.

3. Most CRM systems track the volume, number and value of opportunities in the sales pipeline. But few are currently set up to measure and report on the velocity or speed of deals as they move from stage to stage. Yet experience shows that “deal velocity” is one of the most important and reliable predictors of whether an opportunity will close - and when. By ensuring that your CRM system captures the dates at which opportunities enter and leave each stage of the process - theregy measuring and monitoring deal velocity - the system can then highlight any opportunities that become stuck, helping to minimise the number of deals that start to wither and eventually die.

4. Unless your sales people believe that what they will get out of the CRM system is of more benefit to them than the effort required to enter the necessary data, it’ll be an uphill struggle all the way. Take the time to look at your CRM system from your sales person’s perspective. Help them to see it as a positive sales enablement system and not as a negative activity recording system - an invaluable tool to win more business and earn more commission.

To find our more about our approach to helping small to medium sized businesses improve the effectiveness of their sales teams, take a look at our new sales section here.

Whilst we have been busy putting together our new range of sales and sales management services, we’ve been mindful of the much reported fact that in business to business selling, most companies experience a win ratio of just one in four - that is one opportunity coming to fruition, the other three resulting in failure. That’s 75% of the sales budget wasted. So how can companies reduce this waste level?
Depending on the complexity of your industry, the whole process of writing competitive bids or tenders can be extremely time-consuming. It might seem obvious, but many companies still clutch at straws, submitting tenders they are unable to fully satisfy. In such a competitive landscape, this is a fruitless exercise. What’s more, by trying to process a larger number of opportunities, the more quality can and will suffer. To avoid this vicious circle, companies can take the time to focus on the business that they know they can win, will in turn will help them focus on what’s achievable.
There will still of course be a percentage of failures, but it is important learn from these as well as basking in the glory of the successes. Losing on price is probably the most common issue if all the tender requirements have initially been met. What this in fact means is that a company has failed to correctly understand or sufficiently influence their customers’ requirements and associated budget. It could also mean that the unique business value of their solution just wasn’t communicated strongly enough. Our experience in sales and sales management can really help companies of all sizes address the issue of wasted sales effort to become more targtetted and ultimately more successful. To find out more about how we can help you call TMS on 0845 201 1618.

A bit off the beaten track of our usual posts but I saw a really interesting video on the subject of what motivates people at work that challenges the traditional model and approach to incentivising and motivating employees & as it has applications for everyone - including the sales and marketing management community - I thought that I would share it with everyone. Both the content and the delivery style are very engaging and perhaps we can all learn something from thinking about this area a bit more deeply & imaginatively. Stick with the video - its a bit slow to get going, obvious stuff at first & then its get interesting….

Motivation is usually the hottest topic on sales managers’ agendas. However, we find that the principles of motivation are frequently not fully understood. In this post I hope to clear away some of the ‘mist’ that often shrouds this critical issue for all sales managers.

Definition of Motivation

Motivation is the means of encouraging individuals to move towards something they value. In a sales situation, it is how salespeople are encouraged to improve their performance and to strive towards a specific objective or target.

Motivation can be either positive or negative in the way that it works: Positive when it encourages the movement towards something desirable; negative when it encourages the movement away from something undesirable.

Motivation – the positive view

It is thought that positive motivation is more powerful than the other kind: Pushing someone into water will certainly get them swimming but will hardly create a passion for the water.

Similarly, threatening people might work in the short term, but is unlikely to produce sustained effort over the longer term.

Is the objective desirable?

Not every objective is equally desirable. Financial rewards are usually desirable in sales, but other objectives can be equally important.

Such things as status, social involvement & self-development can be equally motivational in a work situation and should not be ignored.

What are motivators?

Frederick Herzberg identified that providing a sense of achievement, offering recognition and giving responsibility are all strongly motivational, whereas company policy & working conditions are merely Hygiene Factors - elements that do not motivate on their own account, but which can lead to demotivation if not handled properly.

These Hygiene Factors need therefore to be removed, to reduce any possible demotivation, before concentrating on those factors that create motivation.

Is the objective achievable?

The best performers prefer objectives that stretch them, but only by a moderate amount, whereas weaker performers accept average performance or worse still, set themselves high objectives that they can never achieve.

The implication is to recruit people who respond to fairly challenging goals and to set targets they can achieve through reasonable improvements in performance.

Conflicting targets?

Too many targets can lead to lack of focus on the most important objectives. The more targets that exist, the more likely they are to conflict.

A good example is when managers stress the importance of teamwork, but then only to reward individual performance.

Stepping stones

The importance of breaking down objectives into a series of more digestible targets has been well proven. A series of monthly objectives is more motivational than a simple yearly target.

The implication is to chunk down objectives into those that can be achieved over a lesser time scale. Their achievement will also generate a momentum of success

Do the necessary capabilities exist?

An obvious one perhaps, but without the necessary abilities, no amount of motivation can raise performance.

An important implication is to ensure that the appropriate knowledge, skills & attitudes have been identified & that they form the basis of your training & development plan.

A link between effort & reward?

Many sales incentives schemes break this rule. Targets are often seen as unfair, or slanted towards certain individuals.

A traditional problem in sales is to set territory targets that bear no relation to the actual business potential of the territory. This can lead to some people returning exceptional numbers by just turning up. Targets must reward effort, not just lucky geography.