Tags |
|
|
Will You Add? - Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2
Projection Lamps and Premature Burnout
Over the past 25 years I have had the unique opportunity to talk directly with many of the professionals and instructors who use Overhead Projectors as an integral part of their profession. Through these interactions I have accumulated notes and information that has inspired me to write these articles that pertain to some of the most common problems experienced by owners of today's and yesterday's Overhead Projectors. This is the ninth article in a series of articles that will be written from a professional Electronics Technicians point of view in regards to some of today’s most common Overhead Projector problems and questions.This is part two of my article titled “Projection Lamps; how
d be desirable for them to have a lower Sales Drive, be less Competitive, and have a higher Service Drive.Over the past 25 years I have had the unique opportunity to talk directly with many of the professionals and instructors who use Overhead Projectors as an integral part of their profession. Through these interactions I have accumulated notes and information that has inspired me to write these articles that pertain to some of the most common problems experienced by owners of today's and yesterday's Overhead Projectors. This is the ninth article in a series of articles that will be written from a professional Electronics Technicians point of view in regards to some of today’s most common Overhead Projector problems and questions.This is part two of my article titled “Projection Lamps; how
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
Business Alchemy - Converting Complexity into Profit
A few, cutting edge companies are employing the arcane field of Holistic Business Systems Theory to deliver quantum leaps in sales and profit. For instance, one automotive supplier increased share and saved $80 million in about four weeks. A leading chemical company dissolved a $1.2 billion inventory problem-- and most of the solution relied on Marketing and Sales changes, not production. Therein lies the power of the Holistic Business Systems approach: recognizing the impact of seemingly unrelated elements on total corporate performance. Harmonizing a company to maximize performance is no trivial matter. Just like a sleek, new V-12 Bentley, unless each piston is pumping smoothly and in pe
Here are seven additional factors to consider as you define the parameters that produce success in your company's sales job. If you are a salesperson, you can also benefit from considering these questions, as they can help you identify target prospects and further refine your sales approach.A few, cutting edge companies are employing the arcane field of Holistic Business Systems Theory to deliver quantum leaps in sales and profit. For instance, one automotive supplier increased share and saved $80 million in about four weeks. A leading chemical company dissolved a $1.2 billion inventory problem-- and most of the solution relied on Marketing and Sales changes, not production. Therein lies the power of the Holistic Business Systems approach: recognizing the impact of seemingly unrelated elements on total corporate performance. Harmonizing a company to maximize performance is no trivial matter. Just like a sleek, new V-12 Bentley, unless each piston is pumping smoothly and in pe
9. Administration
- Which sales job functions require attention to detail? (Examples include making accurate forecasts, providing timely updates to the corporate CRM system, analyzing customer records to determine sales strategies, and ensuring regulatory compliance.)
10. Communication
- How important are verbal and written communication skills to sales success in your company?
- Are your salespeople required to make presentations?
- Are they required to compose letters or proposals?
11. Pre-Sales Support
- What support resources are available to help your salespeople manage specific steps of the sales cycle?
- How effective must your salespeople be when managing these resources?
12. Post-Sales Support
- Are your salespeople expected to provide technical or operational support to customers, or do other personnel provide this support?
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
Newsletters Can Help Your Small Business Keep Customers
One key to keeping clients coming back for more is to make sure that they don't forget about your small business and the services it provides. This doesn't mean barraging customers with junk mail or spam, but by balancing your marketing efforts to provide value. One great way to do this is with newsletters.Newsletters can be electronic or paper or a combination of both.Print Newsletters For established customers, a quarterly or monthly newsletter is a great way to keep you business fresh in their minds while providing valuable information related to your area of expertise. For example, my investment advisor sends out a quarterly, four-page traditional type newsletter f
t personnel that perform administrative tasks on their salespeople's behalf. Other companies expect their salespeople to deal with a certain amount of administration. If a tolerance for process, detail and administration is necessary for success in your company's sales job, some amount of Tolerance for Administration is desirable in your salespeople.One key to keeping clients coming back for more is to make sure that they don't forget about your small business and the services it provides. This doesn't mean barraging customers with junk mail or spam, but by balancing your marketing efforts to provide value. One great way to do this is with newsletters.Newsletters can be electronic or paper or a combination of both.Print Newsletters For established customers, a quarterly or monthly newsletter is a great way to keep you business fresh in their minds while providing valuable information related to your area of expertise. For example, my investment advisor sends out a quarterly, four-page traditional type newsletter f
10. Communication
- How important are verbal and written communication skills to sales success in your company?
- Are your salespeople required to make presentations?
- Are they required to compose letters or proposals?
11. Pre-Sales Support
- What support resources are available to help your salespeople manage specific steps of the sales cycle?
- How effective must your salespeople be when managing these resources?
12. Post-Sales Support
- Are your salespeople expected to provide technical or operational support to customers, or do other personnel provide this support?
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
Finding Freelance Projects
Being a freelancer is a tough job for anyone. Whether you are a writer or a web designer you know that the competition is fierce and you must always be on the look out for more jobs when working on one. This is part of the course when freelancing. Most often there is no stability or guarantee when freelance is involved. You are hired on a project basis and will be kicked to the curb once the project is complete unless you happen to earn another project right away which is rare to say the least.To help fill the gap between those needing skilled labor and the freelancers that provide the labor there are several web sites that have sprung up. These sites allow employers to post project
s that rely heavily on high quality verbal and written communications require salespeople that have healthy doses of the attributes Communication Skills and Reasoning Ability.Being a freelancer is a tough job for anyone. Whether you are a writer or a web designer you know that the competition is fierce and you must always be on the look out for more jobs when working on one. This is part of the course when freelancing. Most often there is no stability or guarantee when freelance is involved. You are hired on a project basis and will be kicked to the curb once the project is complete unless you happen to earn another project right away which is rare to say the least.To help fill the gap between those needing skilled labor and the freelancers that provide the labor there are several web sites that have sprung up. These sites allow employers to post project
11. Pre-Sales Support
- What support resources are available to help your salespeople manage specific steps of the sales cycle?
- How effective must your salespeople be when managing these resources?
12. Post-Sales Support
- Are your salespeople expected to provide technical or operational support to customers, or do other personnel provide this support?
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
Why is It So Important to Hire Exceptional People?
The people we hire for our business become our goodwill ambassadors. We, as owners, are sometimes predisposed, and the people we employee represent the image of our business, the brand we are developing, and the standards our business is based on.As business people, we need to protect ourselves and incorporate security measures regardless who we hire. We will be able to track any theft in money or merchandise. That’s just good business!!The snag might be that we can’t always check all the time if our customers are being served properly, or standards are being kept in place during our absence. Just think how nice it would be at times to have exceptional people watching the shop, ma
tners) technical resources, they don't need to invest a lot of time learning technical details. This frees them to focus more time and energy on prospecting and opportunity qualification. By the same token, if your company employs technical writers who can assist salespeople with large proposals and bid responses, there may be less need for your salespeople to have strong Communication Skills.The people we hire for our business become our goodwill ambassadors. We, as owners, are sometimes predisposed, and the people we employee represent the image of our business, the brand we are developing, and the standards our business is based on.As business people, we need to protect ourselves and incorporate security measures regardless who we hire. We will be able to track any theft in money or merchandise. That’s just good business!!The snag might be that we can’t always check all the time if our customers are being served properly, or standards are being kept in place during our absence. Just think how nice it would be at times to have exceptional people watching the shop, ma
12. Post-Sales Support
- Are your salespeople expected to provide technical or operational support to customers, or do other personnel provide this support?
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
Public Relations and Flower Delivery Companies
Public Relations for Flower Shops is easy and yet it is difficult to do your local community business relations without getting into a loop of giving away every thing in your store. It costs lots of money to get flowers to market and those costs are real. If you give away your inventory freely to all comers who need something for a non-profit group you may have trouble paying the rent and the energy costs for your refrigeration system.What if a flower company used its flower delivery vehicles to help with a Neighborhood Watch Program? That is something they could do fairly easily while they were already making their deliveries. You see;FLOWER COMPANIES: Usually have delivery vans,
d be desirable for them to have a lower Sales Drive, be less Competitive, and have a higher Service Drive.Public Relations for Flower Shops is easy and yet it is difficult to do your local community business relations without getting into a loop of giving away every thing in your store. It costs lots of money to get flowers to market and those costs are real. If you give away your inventory freely to all comers who need something for a non-profit group you may have trouble paying the rent and the energy costs for your refrigeration system.What if a flower company used its flower delivery vehicles to help with a Neighborhood Watch Program? That is something they could do fairly easily while they were already making their deliveries. You see;FLOWER COMPANIES: Usually have delivery vans,
13. Training
- What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?
- How much training does your company provide?
14. Sales Manager's Style
- What are your sales managers' styles?
- Do they lean in the direction of being Field Generals (who prefer selling to coaching) or Administrators (who excel at mentoring and administrative duties)?
15. Career Path
- What is the career path for your sales position?
- From small ticket item sales to big ticket item sales?
- From sales to management?
Consider this example: Most small ticket item sales cycles are shorter than big ticket item sales cycles. Per Question #7, the desired amount of Sales Drive differs based upon the frequency of opportunities for presentation and persuasion. A successful salesperson in small ticket item sales is likely to have a strong Sales Drive. Will they become frustrated by the reduction in opportunities to present and persuade that could result from a "promotion" to big ticket item sales?
Similarly, the attributes required to be an effective manager are often quite different from the attributes required to be an effective salesperson. Success in management can require more attention to detail and the willingness to delegate and mentor. These requirements impact the target ranges for the attributes of Sales Drive, Service Drive, Assertiveness, Competitiveness, Independence and Tolerance for Administration.
If you keep the fifteen questions discussed in this two-part article in mind, you will be able to more accurately define the parameters that will lead to success in YOUR company's sales job(s).
Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.atriclecheck.com/article/38749/atriclecheck-Sales-Management--How-to-Define-Your-Companys-Sales-Job--Part-2.html">Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.atriclecheck.com/article/38749/atriclecheck-Sales-Management--How-to-Define-Your-Companys-Sales-Job--Part-2.html]Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2[/url]
Related Articles:
Presentation Folders Can Work Wonders
Bookmark it:
|