Opportunity Management
The first component of Sales Cycle Management (SCM) is Opportunity Management. In traditional sales pipelines, salespeople and managers do not spend enough time focusing their efforts on the most promising sales. Instead, effort seems to be misplaced or spread evenly over all possible sales, even the ones that will probably not close. To counteract this, Opportunity Management is the process of tracking the work done before the sale, and adjusting resources and effort accordingly. It may seem at first to be more work than it’s worth, so let’s take a look at the benefits of OM.
First, tracking the work before the sale allows you to focus on the most promising sales. In traditional pipelines, even the “maybe” sales or the ones that may never close seem to stay in the pipeline. By focusing on the most promising, the effort goes full steam into closing and creating a relationship. Along these lines, OM allows sales managers to create a budget based on the expected return and expense on the client. Since you’re tracking the work the salespeople are doing, sales managers can look at that work and specifically coach to it. This specialized coaching will lead to improved results for the entire organization. But how can you go about creating an OM system? (more…)
Account Planning
You’ve spent time in Opportunity Management and Sales Forecasting. You know which clients are the “top ten” probable sales – and you know how many sales you need to make to be profitable. Without account planning, your hard work may go to waste. Account planning is simply the act of applying a precise, project management approach to the individual client – and the sale. What are the benefits of a well-built account plan?
As we’ve briefly discussed, account planning brings your Opportunity Management activities full circle. You’ve got your top possibilities and now you’re going to create a specific plan to make the sale – and keep the client. Account planning allows salespeople and sales managers to closely analyze the sales process – and readjust as necessary. Because you create a detailed plan, sales can be transitioned into a relationship, client-based orientation, versus a hard sell. Here are some steps to take to create your account plan. (more…)
Sales Forecasting
The second component of Sales Cycle Management (SCM) is Sales Forecasting. Many times, salespeople and sales managers do not take a realistic view of how many sales they can undertake during a particular time period. This view makes time spent on Opportunity Management less worthwhile, and makes a traditional sales pipeline stale. What are the benefits of Sales Forecasting?
When you take the time to forecast, you’ll be able to analyze past sales, annual growth, and sales and growth as opposed to industry competitors. In addition to this, forecasting allows you to more closely analyze your price and cost structure, which means you have a better idea of where profit starts to kick in. In other words, a realistic sales forecast can allow you to virtually guarantee profit. When you look at the numbers, sales forecasting is a great way to look at the future from an objective standpoint. But how do you go about creating a sales forecast? (more…)
Sales Performance Analysis
Sales Performance Analysis closes the gap on your entire Sales Cycle. Essentially, performance analysis is a deep look back over certain elements of your sales cycle, from Opportunity Management to Account Planning. Looking at the numbers, ratios, and time frames of your sales cycle provides many useful benefits.
To begin with, analysis allows you to question the entire cycle – and adjust it accordingly. You can determine if sales goals are too high or too low. Analysis gives you an accurate picture of your forecast – is it realistic or does it need to be adjusted? You can also decide if the time and money spent on clients in Opportunity Management was worthwhile – as opposed to the profit gained from the sale. But consider the effects of analysis from the human resources point of view: a thorough analysis gives you hard data that can be used to coach and train the workforce more effectively. Let’s look at how to use sales analysis to close the gap on SCM. (more…)
Aligning Performance with Results
Aligning performance with results can be achieved with a few overarching steps. By doing this, each person will be clear what his or her role is – and you can truly measure and adjust the organization’s performance at regular intervals.
The first, and most obvious step you must take when aligning performance with results is to determine concrete results measurement. For some organizations, this is a “done deal”, but for others, this is a necessary step. Does your organization measure success based on production, sales, operational efficiency, net income, or a combination of all factors? Would each job have a direct responsibility to these measurements, or are some more appropriate to certain measurements than others? In order to align correctly, you must determine what your measurements are. Once you know how the organization measures success or failure, you can move on.
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Training the Generations
We all know that our workforces are changing. But we do have the ability to reach out to all generations with our training and development. The Baby Boomers are not accepting retirement, Generation X is in full swing, and Generation Y is just entering the workforce. Before we talk about how to effectively train each group, let’s determine who’s who. Baby Boomers were generally born between 1946 and 1965 – in many organizations they are the executives. But many Boomers may have taken early retirement and want to reenter the workforce. Generation X comprises the group that was born between 1966 and 1982 – they are now creeping into the senior and executive levels in some organizations, but as we’ll discuss, Gen Xers are not the ones who stay in one place for life. Finally, Generation Y’s members were born from 1983 and going forward. What are their learning styles, and more importantly, how can you reach these three major groups?
The Baby Boomers have been shackled to their desks for many years – the common worry among them is that the company may drop of the face of the earth if they are not around. This group has had to learn and unlearn many things over the years, but they never stop learning. Boomers are networkers and transformers who are adept at taking in new technology and using it effectively. In the classroom, Boomers will be attracted to group activities where they can practice networking. But don’t stray away from using technology in the classroom because of the presence of the Boomers – with a little direction, they will be able to apply technology just as their children (and grandchildren) do. (more…)
Creating a Culture of Leadership
Many organizational managers assume that by adding leadership training or a leadership development program that they are able to create a culture that accepts leadership. The move from non-existent leadership to a leadership culture takes time – and a few steps in between. Let’s look at how you can create a culture of leadership.
First, you, as the organizational leader, must acknowledge the existence of leadership potential. It sounds simple, but many leaders do not want to admit that they are replaceable – that someone or more than one person would be capable of taking the reins once they’re gone. Don’t be that leader – seek out and recognize that the organization has talent. Acknowledge that the talent will one day be capable of taking over your vision and moving the organization forward. By making this acknowledgment, you’re telling your mid- and senior-level leaders that a path exists. And you’re telling new hires that the sky is the limit in your organization. (more…)
Developing a Leadership Bench
Creating a leadership bench takes the skill of a coach and the precision of an engineer. But there are five distinct steps you can take to build your leadership bench – and keep it moving.
First, and most obvious, you must create and maintain a leadership development program. This isn’t simply an order to the training department to create leadership courses. You must obtain buy-in from your management team by showing the benefits: the leadership bench, succession planning, talent management, and career pathing. Your program should begin with classroom training -at all levels, if possible. Everyone in your organization should know what your definition of a leader is – and how to get there. But as you move up the ranks, leadership development should be ongoing, challenging, and not necessarily a sure thing. The program should include real-time projects, seminars, assessment, and evaluation. Program participants who slip should be coached back up – or out. Once someone is in the leadership program, he or she should continue to improve in all aspects. (more…)
Persuasion and Influence Are Part of Foundations of Leadership
The sixth foundation of leadership is Persuasion and Influence. Let’s find out what each of these critical actions is – and then talk about why they are so important. Persuasion is a combination of actions that can help people agree to or at least see a new viewpoint. First, persuasion is about communicating ideas clearly. As a leader, you’ve probably got a big vision in mind for the organization, and most likely some smaller “milestone” visions, as well. It’s a hard leap from your mind to an articulated thought – and some leaders fail to make the leap. You’ve got to know your vision inside and out, but you’ve also got to express it in terms that are understood by the entire organization.
When it comes to communicating your ideas, you’ll soon learn when it’s time to talk – and when it’s time to listen. That doesn’t necessarily refer to one conversation or interaction – it could amount to months of listening and months of talking – or longer. The key is to use just the right amount of persistence to keep the idea going, to keep people thinking, and to keep the idea’s momentum going. David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, was known for discussing opposing points of view repeatedly until the people involved saw the other side of the story. He used just the right amount of persistence to get this done. When you’re communicating, talk benefits – not how you can help or what you can do. Paint a picture of what the other person, team, or organization will look like once they’ve accepted a new point of view. Don’t forget to base your benefits on fact. (more…)
The 29 Costly Implications of Losing Customers
I am not the originator of this list, but found it instructive as to the success and failure of companies and success.
1. A lost customer means lost feedback and the opportunity to improve.
2. A lost customer means lost sales and revenue that is lost forever!
3. A lost customer causes asking, “Why didn’t we recognize the problem before losing them?”
4. A lost customer means having lost a testimonial to use in selling to others.
5. A lost customer opens us up to potentially negative word-of-mouth that might affect our reputation with prospects, customers, suppliers and staff.
6. A lost customer means having lost all their possible future referrals.
7. A lost customer has a negative impact on the confidence of our entire staff.
8. A lost customer increases the urgency to prospect for new customers (and often at the worst time).
9. A lost customer and the resulting reduced revenue can slow or even halt plans to grow.
10. A lost customer means less money available for payroll, commissions and benefits for the work force.
11. A lost customer can demoralize the sales and marketing staff.
12. A lost customer may become an unexpected opportunity for the competition.
13. A lost customer means a distraction from other important issues.
14. A reputation for losing customers can hang a black cloud over the ability to find and hire the right personnel.
15. A lost customer can be the beginning of a reputation for losing customers that hangs like a black cloud over the ability to find and hire the right personnel.
16. A lost customer can degrade an image and reputation in the marketplace.
17. A lost customer forces undertaking tasks and changes that weren’t wanted or planned.
18. A lost customer can have a damaging impact on our sales projections, cash flow, receivables, and payables.
19. A lost customer can cut volume and prohibit meeting buying commitments with suppliers and vendors.
20. A lost customer can trigger the need to spend un-budgeted funds on marketing, research, new customer acquisition, etc.
21. A lost customer can disrupt inventory levels, inventory investments, ordering procedures and reorder frequency.
22. A lost customer may cause the need to refocus priorities and go in a totally different direction.
23. A lost customer can cause the need to focus attention on poor performance rather than growth opportunities.
24. A lost customer can cause doubt about the validity of service fulfillment and pricing strategies.
25. A lost customer causes hard work in an attempt to regain the business.
26. A lost customer can cause overreacting and even panic when confronted with similar situations with existing customers in the future.
27. A lost customer can discourage a prospective salesperson from ever trying the job.
28. A lost customer can lead to an accounting, collection or legal nightmare.
29. A lost customer can devalue the worth and saleability of a business.
I did not create this list, I don’t know its origin, but I find the value in the message, and I hope you do to.