Guest post - Tools to support your sales activity

Although most people associate Microsoft Excel with accounts and financial planning, it is far more versatile than that, and it is ideal for keeping track of financial affairs. Sales is about money, and Excel is excel-lent (excuse the pun) for keeping track of money. Now even though you may know that, I would like to explain just how it can be useful in the 'sales' industry.

Now when it comes to sales, knowledge is key.

·         Where are the sales coming from?

·         What are our targets?

·         What have we already achieved?

·         What do we still need to do?

·         Are we on target?

All of these are questions that get asked, and if you're in sales, these are the questions you need to have answers for.

 

All too often you have good sales people who don't have a solid sales plan, or having a solid plan but not knowing all of the facts. Your sales will only hit their true potential if you (1) know all of the facts, (2) have a solid sales plan and (3) have talented sales staff.

Excel will allow you to achieve the first of those requirements, which will help with the second and encourage the third. Let me explain.

One of the strengths of Excel is to manipulate data into an understandable format. This means that it takes confusing data and lays it out in such a way that it makes sense and is useful. If you have a whole long list of sales that have come in, you may not be able to see vital information from that data. Look at the questions that I asked above, none of those questions are answered by a list of sales. Now Excel can take that list of your sales, and answer all of those questions, and all you have to do is 'feed' Excel the list.

No need to have someone looking over the list with a calculator, trying to establish what is required. Excel will take the list and pull out all of the information that you require to make the correct decisions. You will know all of the facts, you will be able to see what has happened, how it happened and even what is likely to happen. All vital to a sales team.

Excel will also be able to break down other information, like which marketing campaigns have worked. When entering your sales data, if you include details like how the work came in, Excel can give you reports on this too. This means that you could see which marketing ideas have been successful and which haven't. This will help you to achieve the second goal of coming up with a solid sales plan. The key to sales is being organised, you may not think so when you meet some salespeople, but behind them is usually an organised sales manager with a solid plan. Seeing as you need information to generate a plan, Excel is perfect as it gets you all the required information.

 

Now Excel can help with the third category too, but unfortunately most sales people won't use it. I worked as a sales rep for a few years, and I used Excel all of the time. I used it to assess data, as well as storing client data, and even planning my visitations! I found that if all of the data and information were stored in Excel, it meant that I didn't have to remember it all, it also meant that I could use that data to create reports that helped me to do my job better. Even if the salesperson doesn't use it, Excel was still vital in getting them all of the statistics and information in the first place, by taking care of the first two categories.

 

We all love to see graphs that go up; we all love to see positive forecasts and we all need targets. Excel is the key to taking your raw data, producing the vital information that you require, and presenting it in an easy-to-understand format. Unfortunately, when you open up a new blank Excel spreadsheet, it is of no use until someone creates the correct spreadsheet for you and your company. If you can't do it in-house, there are companies that will liaise with you and create something specifically for you. I for one love doing this, which is why I started Spreadsheet Solutions, so that I could help others experience the advantages of using Excel and so that sales people can focus on their customers.

 

Richard Sumner is the Managing Director of Spreadsheet Solutions

http://spreadsheetsolutions.pw    

richard@spreadsheetsolutions.pw

075 042 70579

That'll learn you

Self development, or "sharpening the saw" as famously termed by Stephen Covey, has long been something I value and invest in.  I left school with a handful of O-levels and worked for a year before entering military service. At the time, further and higher education did not hold the same appeal as getting a job and earning a wage.  It was later in my early twenties that I started to understand the opportunities that education offered, and the difference a tutor with true passion for their subject could make to the learning experience of their students.

Fast forward ten years and I held a fistful of qualifications including a degree, though I realised that the qualifications were a by product of the experience of building my knowledge and skills.  As individuals we learn and absorb information in various ways - I knew from a young age that video assisted my learning; having procrastinated my reading of To Kill a Mocking Bird, I must confess that I was aided in my preparation for an exam by watching the film adaptation featuring Gregory Peck.

 Reading is a daily habit for many of us and I have just completed (my first read through) of some 'must read' business books given to me as Christmas gifts.  I have also been exploring new (to me) network opportunities and attending some very interesting seminars and talks.  It was at such an event (on the future of leadership) that I was reminded that the best way to develop your learning of a subject is to teach it. 

Try it!

Just the preparation of a short training session is enough to get you thinking creatively about the material; the ways you will deliver the content; and the questions you may have to respond to.  Rather than wait for the opportunity to arise you could video yourself delivering a presentation; create a podcast or write a helpful blog post. 

You'll be amazed at how the process of sharing your knowledge embeds that learning and builds on your expertise - it might prompt you to do a bit of research to refresh your content or you may choose to weave in a case study or useful example to your presentation.  Currently I'm benefitting from preparing a sales presentation and negotiation course.

Learning is a lifetime activity and finding a subject you can passionately share and inspire in others is a gratifying reward, and if you are looking for your own inspiration, then check out some seminars and talks near you - with the right 'teacher' you'll be pleasantly surprised how much you can retain and hopefully share later with others.

 

P.S. If you are interested in discovering what I've been reading recently, drop me a line at john@vector-resources.co.uk

Shoots of recovery - what's the outlook?

The green shoots of recovery - such a lovely phrase, and one spread across the news of late to herald a drop in unemployment and the IMF predicting a 2.4% growth for the UK economy; apparently  the highest of any major European economy.   Sounds reassuring and encouraging, yet I wonder what the true impact of this for businesses and I suspect that some will benefit sooner and greater than others. 

Well, I've recently (unscientifically) tested my suspicions when networking, and so far the feedback is mixed.  Some feel that staff development and training is still viewed as a discretionary spend by some businesses, and proposals issued during last year are still awaiting approval, and may not achieve this until Spring.  Other anecdotal feedback about the procurement of services and technology would suggest this is a higher priority for some companies, though one hopes they invest in some training to maximise its use. 

So what can you do to get your business ready for those opportunities?  Here are 3 thoughts:

1.       Dust off your sales and marketing plan - if you've been conducting less marketing over recent periods, the chances are your plan needs to be reviewed and activities critiqued to ensure they will support growth

2.       Let people know your still here - similar to the sales and marketing plan, your previous customers may have had less to spend in the last few years, and your interaction with them may have decreased to reflect this.  If they are ready to buy again, don't assume that you are the only supplier they will contact

3.       Meeting demand - you may have downsized your team or diverged into other product or services to keep the business going.  If your old customers do come back or buy more, are you able to increase productivity or service an increase in customers and their needs?  Evaluate theses scenarios in advance and know how you will sustainably deliver this

It's a concern that if Britain is split on the recovery, those businesses that are still bunkering down are likely to miss. You've seen the motorway signs "is your car prepared for winter?" - ask yourself is your business prepared for the opportunities of 2014? 

Here's to a great year.

 John

John is a Director of Vector Resources Limited and helps businesses increase sales and improve sales performance.  Find out more at www.vector-resources.co.uk

Best intentions - what will make you stay the course?

It's resolution time! Whether personal or business, now is the 'default' time to start a fresh and go for broke with a goal or challenge.  No doubt you've heard or seen many make a commitment to do something different - I know I have. I've suddenly been inundated with newsletters and blogs from a variety of sources. 

A number of you may be rethinking your sales and marketing strategy and what the perceived return on investment has been, or what it could be. There's a lot of buzz and activity, and then.......the day to day business takes priority and we drift back to business as usual,  and the goals we thought we'd set become blurred - welcome to February.

We start with the best intentions yet we occasionally lose focus  - it happens - just this afternoon on local radio Paul McKenna stated that 70% of new gym members stop going after 3 weeks, whilst their commitment to paying for the membership probably lasts a further 49!  Generally we are aware that we will embark on certain goals at this time of year and that our enthusiasm will wane in the coming weeks - yet every year we reset and make those well intended commitments again and again.

So, here are some tips to help you 'stay the course'

1.       Is your goal achievable for you and will you know when you have achieved it? 

Goals should be challenging and take us out of our comfort zones, however are you willing to commit to the activities you need to do to reach the goal?  If not, choose another goal

2.       Write it down - it's well proven that writing down a goal makes you more likely to work towards and achieve it.  Shirley Mansfield (CoachSME) has written a blog recently with a great example

3.       Tell others who can help you - whether it's your coach, a business buddy or perhaps your team.  Share your goals with those that can help you maintain focus and make you accountable - and return the favour by helping others be accountable to their goals too

4.       Celebrate milestones en route to your goal.  Sometimes we all need encouragement to keep going.  Think about football supporters - they cheer every interception, save and goal.  Don't leave it to the final whistle to recognise your achievements

Good luck and have a successful 2014.

John

John is a Director of Vector Resources Limited and helps businesses increase sales and improve sales performance.  Find out more at www.vector-resources.co.uk