Tag archives for Sales vs. Production

Explaining The Sales Cycle

5th April 2010 by Frank under Compensation Plans, Contact Management, Corporate Transperency, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Testimonials, Follow-Up Systems, Lead Distribution, Lead Generation, Marketing, Qualifying Prospects, Sales Management, Sales Recruiting, Sales Training, Sales vs. Marketing, Sales vs. Production, The Sales Cycle     
It Doesn't Take A Genius

Does It Take A Genius?

Many companies are less than forthright when discussing the length and makeup of their sales cycle with current and prospective salespeople.

They fear that if their salespeople clearly understand just how long it will take before the first commission check hits their bank account – and how many hurdles will have to be jumped along the way –  the team will beat a hasty exit while the getting is good.

This approach is a mistake. Explain the Sales Cycle.

As I described in my article on Recruiting Top Producing Salespeople, and will explain in detail in my upcoming article on Corporate Transparency, my belief is that in all aspects of running a sales team, honesty is the best policy.

Better to repel people who can’t deal with a long sales cycle right at the start than have them hanging around, becoming increasingly disillusioned and poisoning the rest of the group with their frustration. And better to arm those who can accept the slow cycle with all the information they need to engage with and accelerate the process.

Salespeople can – and are incentivized to – speed up the sales cycle. Give them a clear picture of the whole process and help them to help you speed it up.

In this article I’ll cover:

  1. The Definition of The Sales Cycle
  2. Setting and Managing Realistic Expectations
  3. The Impact of the Sales Cycle on Your Comp Plan
  4. Balancing the Pipeline and the Sales Cycle
  5. How to Shorten The Sales Cycle

…click here to read more

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Supercharge Your Sales with Laser-Sharp Target Marketing

5th April 2010 by Frank under Market Research, Print Collateral, Qualifying Prospects, Sales vs. Production, Target Marketing, The Sales Cycle     
It's All About Focus Baby!

It's All About Focus Baby!

Looking for that “one thing” you can do that will supercharge your sales and make your salespeople incredibly happy and productive?

Try this: Focus all your marketing energy and resources on one or more specific target markets. Believe me, it’s critical to your sales success.

But how do you do that? How do you decide what markets to target and how to target them? Won’t you be leaving money on the table by ignoring other revenue sources? And what the hell does all this have to do with building The World’s Greatest Sales Team?

Read on…

Too many companies take a shotgun approach to both their marketing and production, willing to be all things to all people and perform any task for any customer. This is a direct path to entrepreneurial hell. Neither your marketing nor production departments can support that strategy profitably or for long. You’re going to hell. You’re going directly to hell. You will not pass Go and you will not collect $100.

While most companies are guilty of this, the worst offenders I’ve ever seen were in the printing business in the 1980s and 90s. Most commercial and quick printers were happy to take any job they could get, even if it didn’t match the production equipment on their floor. “Anything that keeps the machines running” was seen as a godsend. Business cards on a 40” six-color Komori? Bring it on!

…click here to read more

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The World’s Greatest Sales Team?

23rd March 2010 by Frank under Compensation Plans, Contact Management, Corporate Transperency, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Testimonials, Education-Based Marketing, Follow-Up Systems, Lead Distribution, Lead Generation, Market Research, Motivation & Inspiration, Online Audio, Online Video, Orphan Customers, Paperwork Minimization, Print Collateral, Qualifying Prospects, Role Modeling, SEO, Sales Management, Sales Recruit Early Wins, Sales Recruit Expectations, Sales Recruit Interviewing, Sales Recruit Testing, Sales Recruiting, Sales Training, Sales vs. Marketing, Sales vs. Production, Target Marketing, The Leaderboard, The Sales Cycle, Top Producers     

Frank Is Frustrated

Frank Is Frustrated

This site was born out of frustration.

Like most salespeople, over the years I’ve been frustrated with different aspects of every organization I’ve been associated with. Whether as an employee, independent contractor or consultant, it seems that invariably I find multiple, critical aspects of the sales process either ignored or poorly handled by the companies I work with.

Some of these shortcomings are common at almost every organization. Things like inconsistent or non-existent follow-up and lack of communication between the sales, marketing, production and customer service departments seem to be the order of the day no matter where you go.

Other factors are present in some companies while absent in others. And it often seems that sales organizations that are really strong at certain aspects, like qualified lead flow, completely fall down on the job in other areas, like maintaining a consistent comp plan. Not that those two specific elements bear any relationship to each other. It’s just that strength in one important area of the sales process seems to ensure weakness in another.

I have been involved with sales teams in over 20 different industries, from mortgage lending to home improvement, graphic design and multimedia production to newsletter subscription sales, radio advertising to live event promotion, structured settlement financing to web site development for funeral homes, investment opportunities to lotions, potions, powders and pills – and everything in-between.

I have done inside sales, outside sales, telephone sales, virtual sales, multi-level marketing, over-the-counter sales and in-home sales. I’ve sold to consumers, homeowners, small business owners, medical professionals, venture capitalists and corporate executives. I’ve done thousands of sales presentations in venues from kitchen tables to board room conference tables. You name it, I’ve pitched it.

Hell, I’ve even written a book about sales.

But, have I ever been overwhelmingly impressed by every aspect of any company I’ve been associated with? No.

In recent years I have become increasingly vocal about my disillusionment. All I’m trying to do is make a living, not make trouble for the companies I work with. But their inability to get out of their own way – and mine – is costing me time and money. Worse yet, it’s costing them time and money! But they either refuse to see it, don’t believe what I’m telling them or think my ideas would be too difficult or expensive to implement. Whatever the case, they’re not listening.

Recently a thought occurred to me: What would happen if a company analyzed their entire sales process from beginning-to-end, figured out everything they needed to provide their sales team in order to support their success – and then gave it to them? What would be the result?

The World’s Greatest Sales Team

It sounds like a fairly tale I know, but what the hell? A guy can dream can’t he?

You see, the site you are currently visiting isn’t real. It’s merely a dream. A place where I am Imagining A Firm That Gives It’s Salespeople Every Opportunity To Succeed.

Please, don’t pinch me. I don’t want to wake up.

In addition to dreaming, I’ve been thinking. Thinking about all the different companies, industries, target markets, product offerings, sales venues, comp plans, sales training, collateral material – you name it – that I’ve come into contact with over the past 25+ years.  I’ve conjured up every bit of it in my mind. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The result is the list below; 15 elements I believe should be present in order to maximize the opportunity for any sales team to succeed. Tens of thousands of sales teams across the country are achieving varying levels of success without the benefit of every one. Imagine the production of the first one that gets all 15 ducks lined up in a row.

I will be posting articles, audios and videos on each of these topics to this site over time. I encourage you to register with the site (click the “Sign Me Up!” button in the right-hand column) so you will receive each of these postings by email as they go up. If you’re sufficiently tech savvy, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed.

However you access these thoughts, please feel free to post your take (click the “Comment” button at the bottom of each article) on my opinions.

ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL SALES TEAM

A Well-Honed Customer Design (Laser-Sharp Target Marketing)

Separate Marketing Function Including:
Lead Generation System
Print Collateral
Web-Based Information
SEO
Text
Audio
Video / Slideshow
Testimonials and Case Studies
Market Research and Company Stats
Qualifying Questions
Lead Distribution System

Clear Picture of Sales Cycle:
The Shorter and Sweeter the Better
All The Necessary Steps Laid Out In Order
How Long Until The Rep Sees A Check?

Systematic Recruiting Process:
Target Marketing
Advertising Your Opportunity
Vetting The Initial Responses / Creating Your Short List
Identifying Your Final Four
Telephone Interviewing
Checking References
In-Person Interviewing
Making Your Final Selection
Administering An Initial Test of Salesmanship

Workable Compensation Plan:
Clear, Simple, Achievable, Uncapped and UNCHANGING
Bonuses and Contests
Recognition

Ability to Achieve Early Wins:
Proof That Your Systems Works

Contact Management / Customer Relationship Management System:
Web-Based
Easy To Learn and Use

Training:
Sales Training
Product Training
Rookie Ramp-Up Training
Ongoing Veteran Training
Role Modeling
Role Playing and Hot Seating

Detailed Scoreboard:
Give Us Proof That People Are Out There Making It Happen
Web-Accessible (if possible)
Every Team Member is Listed
Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Year-to-Date Production
Total Sales, Pipeline Size, Closing Percentage

Company-Wide Transparency:
Everyone Knows What Everyone Else is Doing
Who Are All The Players and What Are Their Roles?
Who Reports to Whom?
Contact Information Directory

Follow-Up Systems:
Email
USPS
Telephone

Focus on Repeat and Referral Business:
Why Ignore 2/3 of Your Potential Revenue?

A System for Reengaging Orphan Customers:
You Know They’re Good Prospects
You Have A Lot of Purchase Information on Them

Paperwork Minimization:
Digitize and Make Web-Accessible Wherever Possible
Make It Easy to Close A Deal!

Alignment with Production Department:
Communication
Support
Integration

I’m not suggesting that any firm spend thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours to implement these elements. Most of them are simple and inexpensive. Many are free. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t use them!

All 15 of these Theses are doable, affordable, reasonable and logically unavoidable. Don’t just sit there – get to work!

If all of this sounds like a great idea but you have no idea when you’d find the time to implement it, give me a call.

Frank Felker
frank_felker@yahoo.com
866-949-2661

For more information:

Read my book on Amazon.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Join The World’s Greatest Sales Team LinkedIn Group

Join The World’s Greatest Sales Team Facebook Group

Follow The Team on Twitter

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