I've been spending a quite a bit of time recently with small business owner/managers, independent traders and freelancers of one sort or another, helping them to improve their sales success rates. This came about because we decided to run our first open, public workshop which attracted a number of new business starters, in addition to delegates from established companies. I had been going around the various networking events , breakfast meetings and local business clubs raising the profile of a workshop designed to help business owners generate their own new business leads using the telephone. I noticed a common theme that united these 'Go It Aloners' with their corporate brethren, despite the fact that their respective business challenges, resources and even reasons for being in business were so radically different. It seems that most people in business, of whatever sort or size, will do almost anything at all to avoid having to pick up the phone and make an unsolicited sales call to a prospective customer.
It's been apparent to me for a long time that this is the case in larger corporates, and that seasoned salespeople will enlist the services of outsourced telesales companies in the face of evidence that tells them that the leads they get are far inferior to the leads they could create if they took the job onto their own shoulders, rather than relying on a 19 year old in a basement in Brighton, working for a minimum wage. In many ways, it's completely understandable: they've grafted their way up the greasy sales pole for years, and now that they are finally able to call themselves 'Senior Account Manager' with some degree of credibility, the last thing they expect to be asked to do is to make 'cold calls' - oh, the indignity of it! Plus, of course, they work for companies with Marketing departments and budgets, so it's relatively easy to persuade management that this is a job for someone else, even if that someone else has no experience of their complex solutions, or their markets, or even much experience of how to speak to business decision makers. An industry has been built on the luxury of being able to pay rooms full of students and job-market vagrants £250 per day to make the whole nasty job just go away.......
It's less obvious to see why small business owners and freelancers take the same attitude. In most other respects, independent business people know they have to take on any number of unappealing tasks every week - licking stamps, fixing printers, humping stock, doing the VAT return. But generate new business? Nearly everyone I've met would rather stick pins in their eyes. Or go to a networking club, or spend a small fortune sending out pre-paid postcards, or pay Google £200 a month on AdWords - basically, in fact, do some cheap marketing and wait for the phone to ring. Which it doesn't - not nearly enough, anyway.
This really does puzzle me, because most people who have managed to survive their first 6 months running their own business have a degree of belief, energy and resolve which would lend itself perfectly to the business of growing a pipeline using the phone. All the drive and resilience required to create some really solid results is at their finger-tips, not least the added spur of sheer fear of (total business) failure if the sales dry up, as most of us must recognise in 2009. But I met quite a few chaps and lasses who were quite content to spend serious money on dodgy telesales operations (one had even hired a bored housewife to do it for him). It's funny - most of these folks have stepped up to the challenge of learning many other new skills to run their business - doing the books, figuring out HR issues and legislation, fixing the PC - but I found the suggestion that they could themselves learn the techniques for making successful prospecting calls to new clients tended to produce slight embarrassment: a ready acceptance that it was in principle a terrific thing to do, and probably pretty necessary at the moment, but no inclination whatsoever actually to do it, or learn how to.
I think this has something to do with the fact that the whole idea of 'sales' as a category of business activity has a pretty nasty 'smell' about it for most people without any proper sales background. It comes tainted with all the negative associations of doorstep selling, double-glazing antics and 'wide-boys' who exist, in the public mind, on an even lower social plane than estate agents and traffic wardens. This is a terrible shame, because the art and science of professional selling is a world away from anything remotely dishonest, or deceitful and manipulative - in fact, quite the reverse. As any successful professional salesperson will tell you, it is the scrupulously honest and respectful approach that wins the long-term, lucrative customers, coupled, of course, with a good sprinkling of planning, strategy, technique and emotional intelligence.
I don't know who said it, but the adage "If you want something doing properly, do it yourself" rings true when it comes to generating new business opportunities - no one will do this for your business better than you can, if you bother to learn how. Unlike marketing or graphic design, or building a web site, this is a proactive initiative that anyone can do with just a telephone. It costs virtually nothing, and it is one of the best and quickest ways to learn what it is about your business that needs fixing, and what is so appealing. Do It Yourself in 2009!
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Stepping Up to the Challenge
Customer Success Story: UNIT 4 Agresso
It’s getting pretty difficult these days to come up with any silver linings in the black clouds that have gathered over our collective heads, as technology companies in particular start to feel the full impact of the economic slowdown, but it is a truth often overlooked that it is in these market conditions that really innovative thinking can have dramatic effects: companies are forced to think much more creatively and consider strategies and tactics that in the good times would have been considered too risky or just plain unnecessary. You might call it another timely reminder that necessity is the mother of invention. It’s certainly the reason why some more aggressively-minded CEOs would consider this recession a chance to build a competitive edge and steal business from lazier rivals. When business is good (and this only becomes obvious in hindsight) it is easy to get complacent and under-invest, particularly in the client-facing and selling parts of the business - even though the funds are there. Paradoxically, when the tough times are upon us, the funds to invest in doing anything new or different have disappeared. This is a Catch 22 that is right now catching out a lot of technology companies.
An exception might be the UNIT 4 Group company Agresso, which is a leading developer of mid-level ERP, Finance and HR systems for more than 2,600 public sector and medium to large enterprises around the world, such as EasyJet, Halcrow and LogicaCMG. The company, headquartered in Bristol, employs over 3,500 staff worldwide, and over 1,000 staff in the UK with more than a third of these in roles with direct, regular customer contact. However, of these, only about 50 staff are in traditional Sales roles; all the rest are in fee-earning consultancy, implementation or project management roles, working with customers in post-sales systems implementation. An obvious and very significant business improvement opportunity presented itself when Anne Bark, Agresso’s Director of Professional Services, came across Redline Associates, a company principally focussed on helping technology companies improve sales performance. Unlike most companies of this type, Redline is not just a sales training outfit, content to deliver training courses to the Sales team. “If you want to make genuine, lasting improvements in sales performance, you also have to pay attention to the behaviours and skills of everyone who comes into contact with your customers, especially project delivery staff, who are guardians of much of the credibility of the solutions you are selling.” says Nick Constable, Redline’s Managing Director. “That means aligning what the professional services people are doing with the sales team’s efforts, and giving them an insight into why the client is spending its money with you. At its simplest, it means training technical people to appreciate the sensitivities of the buying process and not put their foot in it when talking to clients. At a more sophisticated level, it is about helping them to understand value concepts, client motivations and the importance of maintaining often complex relationships, rather than just turning up to offer a technical solution. After all, customers will remain in ‘buying mode’ throughout the implementation of a project and rarely feel ‘sold’ on a system until the ink’s dry on the final acceptance form.”
Anne Bark’s team of over 180 professional services staff attended Redline’s Sales Awareness for Consultants workshop programme throughout 2008. “The Redline programme was delivered to our project managers and consultants in the Professional Services team to help improve their commercial effectiveness and client management skills. The training had an overwhelmingly positive response, with delegates appreciating the relevance of the content to their roles, the depth of experience of the trainer and the enthusiastic, interactive style of the presentation.” says Anne. The training classes were supported with personalised coaching for key members of the team and team leaders. “Changing behaviours for the better doesn’t happen just because someone attended a training course.” says Nick Constable. “Managers and team leaders need to support and re-enforce the adoption of new skills in everyday situations, and the coaching support from us helps the individual feel that they are part of a continuous learning process.“
However, Redline’s approach to sales performance improvement is to ‘treat the whole patient’ and skills development is only a part of the therapy. A typical improvement programme could include the development of a company-wide sales strategy, which complements and involves other business functions, such as HR, Marketing and Finance; a sales management programme to develop performance assessment methods, best practice benchmarks and new processes; and a review of compensation plans and the whole motivation and incentive culture of the company. To this end, Agresso’s Sales and Services management teams are working together to change the way both teams are paid bonuses, in order to encourage co-working and seamless communication with clients. “Redline took a partnership approach to working with us. A lot of ground has been covered, with good concepts implemented for differentiating our approach to client projects and learning to be more aware of sales processes.” concludes Anne Bark.
Into 2009, and Agresso’s sales management team is embarking on a Sales Performance Management programme with Redline Associates, in a concerted effort to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the sales team in the face of renewed challenges in the market. “There’s less business out there now, so smart sales teams need to be raising their game and improving not just their skills, but also their activity levels, attitudes to winning, and they way they work with client-facing colleagues,” comments Nick Constable, “and sales managers generally need to rely less on what the CRM system is telling them and more on their observation of behaviours and communication with salespeople.” Whilst other technology companies shut down on all investment in their people, just at the time when they need to improve the most, Agresso, true to its name, is aggressively pushing forward with a sales improvement programme that is innovative and timely.
It’s getting pretty difficult these days to come up with any silver linings in the black clouds that have gathered over our collective heads, as technology companies in particular start to feel the full impact of the economic slowdown, but it is a truth often overlooked that it is in these market conditions that really innovative thinking can have dramatic effects: companies are forced to think much more creatively and consider strategies and tactics that in the good times would have been considered too risky or just plain unnecessary. You might call it another timely reminder that necessity is the mother of invention. It’s certainly the reason why some more aggressively-minded CEOs would consider this recession a chance to build a competitive edge and steal business from lazier rivals. When business is good (and this only becomes obvious in hindsight) it is easy to get complacent and under-invest, particularly in the client-facing and selling parts of the business - even though the funds are there. Paradoxically, when the tough times are upon us, the funds to invest in doing anything new or different have disappeared. This is a Catch 22 that is right now catching out a lot of technology companies.
An exception might be the UNIT 4 Group company Agresso, which is a leading developer of mid-level ERP, Finance and HR systems for more than 2,600 public sector and medium to large enterprises around the world, such as EasyJet, Halcrow and LogicaCMG. The company, headquartered in Bristol, employs over 3,500 staff worldwide, and over 1,000 staff in the UK with more than a third of these in roles with direct, regular customer contact. However, of these, only about 50 staff are in traditional Sales roles; all the rest are in fee-earning consultancy, implementation or project management roles, working with customers in post-sales systems implementation. An obvious and very significant business improvement opportunity presented itself when Anne Bark, Agresso’s Director of Professional Services, came across Redline Associates, a company principally focussed on helping technology companies improve sales performance. Unlike most companies of this type, Redline is not just a sales training outfit, content to deliver training courses to the Sales team. “If you want to make genuine, lasting improvements in sales performance, you also have to pay attention to the behaviours and skills of everyone who comes into contact with your customers, especially project delivery staff, who are guardians of much of the credibility of the solutions you are selling.” says Nick Constable, Redline’s Managing Director. “That means aligning what the professional services people are doing with the sales team’s efforts, and giving them an insight into why the client is spending its money with you. At its simplest, it means training technical people to appreciate the sensitivities of the buying process and not put their foot in it when talking to clients. At a more sophisticated level, it is about helping them to understand value concepts, client motivations and the importance of maintaining often complex relationships, rather than just turning up to offer a technical solution. After all, customers will remain in ‘buying mode’ throughout the implementation of a project and rarely feel ‘sold’ on a system until the ink’s dry on the final acceptance form.”
Anne Bark’s team of over 180 professional services staff attended Redline’s Sales Awareness for Consultants workshop programme throughout 2008. “The Redline programme was delivered to our project managers and consultants in the Professional Services team to help improve their commercial effectiveness and client management skills. The training had an overwhelmingly positive response, with delegates appreciating the relevance of the content to their roles, the depth of experience of the trainer and the enthusiastic, interactive style of the presentation.” says Anne. The training classes were supported with personalised coaching for key members of the team and team leaders. “Changing behaviours for the better doesn’t happen just because someone attended a training course.” says Nick Constable. “Managers and team leaders need to support and re-enforce the adoption of new skills in everyday situations, and the coaching support from us helps the individual feel that they are part of a continuous learning process.“
However, Redline’s approach to sales performance improvement is to ‘treat the whole patient’ and skills development is only a part of the therapy. A typical improvement programme could include the development of a company-wide sales strategy, which complements and involves other business functions, such as HR, Marketing and Finance; a sales management programme to develop performance assessment methods, best practice benchmarks and new processes; and a review of compensation plans and the whole motivation and incentive culture of the company. To this end, Agresso’s Sales and Services management teams are working together to change the way both teams are paid bonuses, in order to encourage co-working and seamless communication with clients. “Redline took a partnership approach to working with us. A lot of ground has been covered, with good concepts implemented for differentiating our approach to client projects and learning to be more aware of sales processes.” concludes Anne Bark.
Into 2009, and Agresso’s sales management team is embarking on a Sales Performance Management programme with Redline Associates, in a concerted effort to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the sales team in the face of renewed challenges in the market. “There’s less business out there now, so smart sales teams need to be raising their game and improving not just their skills, but also their activity levels, attitudes to winning, and they way they work with client-facing colleagues,” comments Nick Constable, “and sales managers generally need to rely less on what the CRM system is telling them and more on their observation of behaviours and communication with salespeople.” Whilst other technology companies shut down on all investment in their people, just at the time when they need to improve the most, Agresso, true to its name, is aggressively pushing forward with a sales improvement programme that is innovative and timely.
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