|
|
|
|
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
|
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 12
|
|
|
Integrating CI into your sales force.
Steve Levy, Fletcher CSI, slevy@fletchercsi.com
**********
Summary: In this first installment of a three part series, Steve Levy shares some insights into the sales character and psyche, and some tips on how to work with this unique and often misunderstood group -- the company sales force. He also provides us with a concise guide for implementing CI into the sales function: 'Levy's Ten Rules for CI Sales Integration.'
**********
Consultants are often stereotyped as a group that makes their living by overstating the simple, diagnosing the obvious, and expanding on the infinite. After everybody stops laughing, I usually tell people that, as a result of being involved in the design, building, re-shaping, and implementation of many revenue-driven sales and marketing models for the past 20 years, I have become a strong proponent of the Keep it Simple principle.
In this article I'll explain why I’ve come to this conclusion, share some insights into the sales character and psyche, and provide some tips on how to work with this 'unique' and often misunderstood company enigma--the corporate sales force.
Sales force characteristics
Historically, the sales force has been perceived as:
reactive (to quota imposed compensation plans).
demanding (“their particular sales opportunity will make or break the company”).
highly individual by nature (no two people sell alike).
In an effort to support this reactive, individualistic company entity, the CI and market research departments are often placed in the position of attempting to meet sales’ immediate (and quite often-unrealistic) demands for competitor intelligence.
When asked why a sale was lost, the number one and number two reasons a salesperson gives as the reason for the loss is high price and lack of feature or functions. This comes as no surprise to those readers who have worked with sales for some time. The number one reason a salesperson will give you as the reason a particular bid was won? Themselves. They were simply great!
Competitive pricing schedules
Competitor pricing schedules are perhaps the most often request sales makes to the CI and market research department. Yet, when a salesperson leads with price they are not promoting a value–based model that differentiates their company’s products and services (feature or function) from the competition.
Don’t misread my message. Competitive pricing models can be important. But they simply are not the be-all and end-all to every sales situation. Knowing how and why the prospect will select a supplier, understanding the competitor’s perceived strengths and weaknesses, and identifying the real decision makers and their “hot buttons” are just some of the answers sales needs to both accurately assess their competitive positioning and set their tactical initiatives. Very few sales reps admit that they do not know enough about their prospects’ buying habits or that they may be selling to the wrong individual -- not the real decision maker.
The CI practitioner can help find answers to these and other important competitive issues. But to consistently maintain value for the sales effort, three critical steps need to occur within your CI sales support process:
1. Become part of the total sales process.
Whatever CI application you support (i.e. prospecting, qualifying, pricing, bidding, or win/loss), a well understood and consistently followed CI implementation plan that supports the specific activity must be incorporated into each appropriate salespersons’ account or prospect business plan.
2. Measure CI impact.
Ensure that your CI activity can be measured, translated, or discussed in terms of affecting the bottom line revenues of that particular account and ultimately the company at large.
3. Have sales own the CI application.
The sales organization, supported by your CI effort, needs to own their CI application. This step can be measured directly in terms of both budgetary responsibility and resource allocation. In the sales world, a generally well understood tool to determine if a customer or prospect truly understands and sees value in their company’s offering is to ask for the order. There should be no difference in supporting the CI sales operation.
These three steps will be discussed in greater detail in the last two installments of this on-line article, but for now (and to adhere to the Keep it Simple principle), I would like to leave you with a short, and concise guide for implementing CI into the sales function.
Levy’s Ten Rules for CI Sales Integration 
1. Sales people are your first line of marketing -- approach them accordingly.
2. Never depend on asking a sales person for information. Salespeople are notorious for not responding. Collect it yourself through your Sales Force Automation (SFA) system, or during forecasting sessions, etc.
3. Never give a sales person too much information. It will confuse them. Assume they have a limited attention span and have limited time to read what you give them … so make sure what you send is focused and short.
4. Sales people will always want everything yesterday.
5. Every sales person sells differently and approaches information differently.
6. Few individuals in the sales force know how to effectively use internal company resources to obtain information that moves a sale forward.
7. Even less know how to effectively use CI.
8. Sales incentives for CI usually don’t work. They’re won by those who would have provided the information anyway.
9. If you say the information will be there, make sure it is. Sales won’t give you a second chance!
10.. Management’s support is necessary, but the value of CI must stand on its own.
The second part to this on-line article will focus on the selling of CI to the sales operations and the return on investment (ROI) of CI applications for the field sales force.
Background:
Steve Levy is a principal of Fletcher/CSI, an international primary competitive intelligence firm supplying sales and marketing intelligence applications to the Fortune 1000 since 1988. In his marketing, sales, and CI consulting capacities, Steve has conducted numerous seminars, focus groups, and sales effectiveness workshops for industry leaders throughout the business community. He is a frequent speaker for the American Marketing Association (AMA) and he is a recognized international speaker on the integration of Competitive Intelligence into sales and marketing organizations. In addition Steve has conducted workshops and presentations for SCIP including previous SMI Conference programs.
Copyright 2002, Society of Competitive ntelligence Professionals
SCIP.online, volume 1 number 12, July 24, 2002
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
|
|
|
There are no letters available.
|
|
[POST]
|
|
| |