Targetting: The easiest sale is to someone who already is a
current (and then a recent former) customer.
Assignment: Only the designated salesman should quote and bind
changes to avoid end runs and mixed signals, but everybody
needs to be alert to sales opportunities, and record and
communicate changes they hear.
Preparation: Planning to succeed -vs- Not planning to fail
Execution: Turning the crank. Plan, prepare, execute, debrief,
and refine; lather, rinse, and repeat.
Completion: Stop asking once you have the order - hand it off
for delivery
Limitation: Prospect development, and cold calling are different
markets needing different skills, and are outside our
principal scope presently.
Questions for a current customer:
What have you sold them before, and what was missed or 'left on
the table'? - internal pre-call assessment; lead self-assessment
during the call [Every contact is a sales call, not just
out-of-office visits - pay attention to form and follow-through]
Was it priced right (profitably, and as high as the market
will bear)? - internal job costing; and customer's
opinion; Stress 'value' pricing rather than cost based
quoting.
Was it done right last time? Part of the package is the quality
of personal care and service. Say what you'll do, and do what
you say; Under-promise, and over-deliver.
When will they need more of it, or a like item? - are we the
'preferred' source, such that we can get a pre-commitment?
If not, why not? Does our sales support literature address
and stress our competence and Unique Value Proposition?
Do we listen and do we answer when they call? - relationship
management; Did we ever even ASK for the order? Were we
there when they called for us? Was our response timely and
accurate?
Have we recently communicated what we can do for them? - Are we on
their mind to call first when they have a possible need?
Do the marketing materials clearly reflect what we want to
sell; are they on the right newsletter list, campaign,
web-enabled with us?
Can we up-sell enhancements (redesign, campaign services, supply
chain services, outsourcing, web enablement) - now
or next time? What possible product to sell do we have,
for the next
sales call (remember we are working live current customers),
and did we identify that lead into the CRM system?
What else do they need that we do, which we can sell,
or can broker? Did we develop the customer to buy more
of what we can sell?
Is your sales technique good? Don't keep talking to fill silence
and accidentally get trapped into granting a price
concession.
Listening time: Open ended question - internally, and of
the customer.
Processes:
Listen when the customer describes their need: several ways to
approach - Listen w/o direct sales motive (QA,
formal 'incidental' interview); also don't fail to
answer a RFQ when asked
Repeat it back: does our proposed product address what the
customer is asking for, or what we happen to have in our
comfort zone -- Ask for confirmation; charge for development
Identify a need we can address: What IS the product line we
want to sell; if we don't want to do it directly,
can we act as their agent and get a commission for
brokering the need fulfillment
Price the proposed solution properly: quote generation; plan
order-getting process; and pre-plan production if non-stock
item; if stock item, is it currently priced, and on an internal
and external pricelist
Communicate a proposal well: self-serve, fixed price,
reorder (determine and work this cycle), custom-quoted
Induce urgency: lead time constraint identification we alone can
address (time sensitivity of pricing; scarcity of supply);
unique value proposition we offer
Remove objections: refine the quote if needed; address
concerns the prospect has
Take the order: quote communication; open quote tracking and
modification; getting a contract commitment; and order entry
process
[outside of sales] Deliver it: pre-production design; logistics;
production and delivery; post-bill; credit process
Followup communication: Keep them informed; Note progress; Warn if
there is 'gapping' [either side]; Say: Thank You repeatedly,
and schedule and work the followup - unified 'tickler' per
prospect/ customer/ order jacket; seek future [re]orders on like
item; general sales recall; other
Post-sale debrief internally: up-sale and additional opportunities
review; manage the relationship with marginal customers with
little future prospect or insufficient reward/cost profile
Customer satisfaction analysis, and lock-in techniques
Foundational:
Three parts of any business: Selling a product [sales],
product delivery [operations], administration
[management]
Systematic execution: What went right per plan; what could
go better; Consistency, refinement and Continuous Improvement
Effective delegation: Did the right resource address the task
well? TRAF | s ∴
Infrastructure: Process tools - contact manager; quote builder;
order generation; production scheduling; delivery; billing -
tool building. Communication key to success
Management: metrics and reporting; exception detection, review and
remediation; sampling for QA. Strategic vision and R and D