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

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

Exhibit with purpose - stand up and follow up

Is your business in the process of planning your sales and marketing activities for the coming year?  If so, there's a possibility that you will be considering exhibiting at conferences and expo's.  It might be that you exhibit every year, at the same events, without much thought.  Whatever your stage in this process, let me ask you to stop and consider these points.

Goals

·         If you choose to exhibit, what are your goals? 
 
I hope you have some, and I would certainly challenge you if you say it's to raise awareness.  Awareness of what? 
·         How will you measure this?
·         Any goals you set should generally be aimed at quality over quantity

o   Remember a bowlful of business cards are not necessarily qualified leads

 Message

·         How effective is your messaging going to be? 

Expo visitors and delegates may pass your stand in a few seconds and will rarely stop to read your banner if it has a four line paragraph and 15 products and services listed. 

·         Less is more 
·         Make your banner stand out with an appropriate visual or single line statement

o   And make sure your logo is not hidden down the bottom

·         If you've had a rebrand recently, make sure your materials reflect this and logos and style match
·         Think about your pitch - you've got 20 seconds to capture my attention.  Practice it and keep it consistent

o   A prize draw is a tool for engaging visitors, not the reason for you exhibiting

 

Who and how

The selection of the people representing your stand is crucial to its success.  All too often I see representatives sat behind a table more engaged with their Smartphone or tablet than the people around them. 
·         If your service/product is likely to attract technical questions, make sure you've a mix of sales people and technical people on stand 
·         Make sure your expectations of behaviours on stand are clear and understood

o   Arrive on stand before delegates enter expo

o   Whilst on stand no sitting down or overtly checking emails

o   Refrain from having personal drinks or food on display

o    If someone needs a break or some refreshments, ask them to go to the refreshment area - who knows they even get talking to a potential customer over a latte

 Extra opportunities

·         If you decide that you are going to exhibit, then plan and book ahead

o   You may get a discount for early booking, or a better choice of available stands

·         There may also be other opportunities that can be useful such as:

o   Speaker slots

o   Being part of a panel discussion

o   Though think carefully about the offer of any sponsorship opportunities, be clear about what you will get from any sponsorship - are you simply funding a drinks reception in a room with your banner in the corner?

 Giveaways
Let me ask you a question - has a giveaway ever led you to contact a company or look at their website? 

At a major exhibition recently, it was quite refreshing to see limited giveaways being used - rather than witnessing the 'hello and grab' scenario of the delegate on a free stationary top-up trip. 

·         If you do feel the need to have giveaways, get creative - consider the longevity of the product and its active use/placement by the recipient

·         Pens are cheap, but not when bought in their '000s and they often end up in a desk draw

·         If your prospective companies are large corporates avoid giving away USB sticks, as their IT policies will generally prohibit their use

 

Be a delegate

·         Make time to visit a similar style expo to observe the various stands and help refine what may work or improve your stand

·         These insights will save you time and money, making your stand all the more successful

·         Speak to the stand representatives and listen to the way they engage you and others - are they asking you open questions (and qualifying you as a potential lead)

o   A good representative will be doing this, and if the stand is busy they will have a technique for politely concluding your conversation so that they can focus on the next visitor - this is where the business card prize draw can be a useful tool

 

Follow up

Following up potential leads after the exhibition is the most important part of the activity yet so often overlooked. 

·         When you identify your goals you should be planning and agreeing how the follow up process will work and who will do it, and when

·         Follow up communications should happen within a week of the event, and not end with one email for qualified leads

·         Sift qualified leads during or at the end of the exhibition, with additional notes if a more in-depth conversation has happened

o   This is particularly important if the people following up the leads were not at the exhibition or on stand all of the time

·         Prepare your emails and block out time for follow up calling in advance

·         Send an email follow up even to the card in the bucket that you didn't qualify, and may have only been after the bottle of bubbly - you never know, and the 'cost' of the email is inexpensive

In the past year I have attended over 6 expos and my card has been requested by many a stand rep, however I have only ever received a handful of follow up emails, and one phone call. 

In effect many businesses have wasted the biggest opportunity, which was to start a communication thread with me - I may not be their customer today, however......

 

Summary

·         Plan early

o   Challenge yourselves on why you are exhibiting (is it habit)

o   Select a stand location where there will be natural footfall

o   Consider that you may gain more/achieve your goals by attending as a delegate

·         Agree and capture what will be the follow up process

·         Decide who will represent your stand

o   Are they articulate and confident at interacting with strangers?

·         Stand visuals - are they current and fit for purpose?

·         Giveaways - can you be creative or could your money be spent on other things such as a better stand position?

·         Explore add on opportunities

·         Review your results against your goals and have an open discussion about the amount of success of exhibiting

·         And if you lack the resources/skills to exhibit and/or follow up , consider using an outsourced sales provider

      John is the Director, of Vector Resources Limited, who help growing businesses increase sales and improve sales performance.  Find out more about outsourced sales and sales management at www.vector-resources.co.uk

Outsource this!

Its presence blossomed in the late 1980's and early 1990's, yet outsourcing has been around for centuries in various guises, and it continues to be a growth sector for some specialism's.  Mercenaries are a historic and extreme example of how an outsourced resource provided an entity (country; group) with the skills, capacity and capabilities to achieve their vision and goals (war, battle, and invasion).  Though fortunately these days outsourcing applies more to business orientated functions.
 

Numerous businesses have used (in whole or part) outsourced support and front line services, and doing so can be hugely beneficial to the owner of a growing business.  Accessing the skills and resources needed, without carrying the full time salary and management costs, can be very appealing and make economic sense.  Many of us will be familiar with printing, legal and catering as outsourced services, and during the past decade we have seen a greater presence of HR, marketing, IT and virtual assistants also becoming effective outsourced functions.

Business owners are increasingly seeing the benefits (beyond just the cost savings) of using an outsourcing provider.  Generally these providers will be keeping themselves abreast of the latest trends and market conditions, and have a wealth of experience and knowledge, sometimes beyond that expected of a similar role if they had been the employee.  They are connected to other businesses and may be in a position to connect you with potential customers, partners and suppliers.

Outsourcing can be adaptable to your needs whether that's cost, skills, frequency or volume.  This empowers businesses to gear up quicker, free up internal resources, and test new products and markets.  However the appetite to the use of outsourced services can vary.  Using an outsourced printer or accountant seems quite common place, yet hesitation can creep in when considering the use of an outsourced sales or HR provider.

The benefits should outweigh the cost of any hesitation and as you are the customer, rather than the employer, it gives you greater flexibility (within the agreement or contractual terms) to work with the provider to focus on what matters most to you and your business. 
You are in control.

John is the Director, of Vector Resources Limited, who help growing businesses increase sales and improve sales performance.  Find out more about outsourced sales and sales management at www.vector-resources.co.uk

 

Warm up for your cold calling

For many, calling potential customers is up there with having to do a 60 second pitch to a new group about their business. Even those familiar with calling prospective customers can feel anxious or tongue tied at times. With a bit of forward thinking and preparation, you should find you gain more confidence in your calling and see improvement in getting to speak with your new customers.

Before the call

Start with the end in mind - if you are unsure why you are calling, the person at the other end will struggle to understand too.  Write the purpose of your call on your notepad and speak it back to yourself (see Message).

Who are you calling - if it's a business, have you looked at their website?  I always take a look at the latest news section, about us, and people section, particularly if I'm unsure who I wish to direct my call to.  Use your time wisely and appropriately for the initial call - this will depend on the volume of calls you intend to make, your proposition and the information you would wish to be armed with.

Message - what is your proposition?  Why are you calling this prospective customer?  You may have had success with similar businesses who have found your proposition beneficial.  Be clear about the purpose of your call - keep it clear of jargon and brief, as you may have to state it once or twice before you get through to the decision maker.

Remember it's about the customer - am I really interested in how long you've been established, what ISO's you've have, your special deal or how unique you think your product is?  Build a rapport with me and find out a bit about my world (that is relevant).  Share with me how your proposition will benefit my business and how others like me have benefitted.  Be prepared for longer conversations.

When are you at your best - plan time to make your calls when you are at your best/sharpest; block 30 minute chunks out in your diary to make the calls.   Consider when your customer might be best disposed to take your call - would you expect to have a good conversation with a restaurant owner between 11.30 am and 3 pm?

Role play it - get a colleague or friend to play the customer and role play the call.  This provides a safe testing ground to hear what works and it can provide some crucial feedback and leanings about the messages and conversation you intend to use. 

 

During the call

The clichés do work: stand up to make your call; smile; have your notes to hand to keep you on track.  Be polite and confident - if someone answers your call, I assume they have decided it is convenient to speak with you.  If they tell you it's not, make sure you agree a time for you to call back.  Make every call count - use the opportunity to gain a bit more information, such as what time the decision maker usually starts/works until; name of their PA; email address.

 

After the call

Make sure you update your database with the outcome of the call.   Keep track of your activity and hit rates: calls made/ calls connected/ decision makers spoken with/ appointments made - these can be very insightful.

Make a note of how successful you felt the call was; how you felt during the call, and what you might have done differently.

And most importantly give it time - the more you do, the more proficient and comfortable you will become, and the more success you will have.

 

 

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

Decision by technology

When I recently added a comment on LinkedIn, a respondent highlighted that one of my points - that we should also use our 'gut instinct' - was the worst thing I or anybody else could do.  There enthralled a few more comments between us and others who sang the praises of tests and technology to find the best outcomes. 

This got me thinking of how we are evermore placing faith in models and testing to the point where perhaps we almost delegate our decision making to technology.  Technology and technological products are tools.  Tools that we feel we cannot be separated from and cause us to have our own mini-breakdown when they are not working (as I write I find myself in this group as my email account has not functioned all day). It is however our ability to use technology, and how we choose to employ these tools that is important. 

The example of psychometric tests (which I have used in recruitment and team analysis) being a key method of selecting candidates or defining strengths is fine, yet the important element for me is the human interaction - that's what excites me about working with my customers and colleagues.  When we allow technology to control our actions, even when our experience or gut tells us something is not quite right, may render us almost passive to what we are doing.  A quick search on Google will offer examples of drivers who ignored their environment and ploughed on because their sat nav said the route was ok; and other negative decisions because the computer said no.

When we apply this to sales we can draw some comparisons.  Many procurement systems are based on a points system - you don't make the points, you don't move forward in the process.  Generally these are thought through and offer companies a way of filtering suppliers.  However, there comes a point where a dialogue and getting a sense of who you are and what your company is about has value for both parties.  Price is one factor in a sale, though belief of the ability to deliver, to communicate,  and demonstrate integrity can all feature - would an online test really give you this all on its own? 

A website or profile can within reason tell any story one chooses, and we can spout anything that we believe will make us more credible through our social media and blogs. Yet when we converse we get the opportunity to explore things further, with a person, at that time - and that can give us the confidence to proceed.  In his book (ACCELerate™your social media) JohnCoupland highlights the example of the default invitation on LinkedIn "I'd like to add you to my network", and how it is similar to a cold handshake.  How memorable is that as an introduction or follow up interaction?  LinkedIn and the invitation to connect feature are great tools, yet this is about communication between people, so rather than just letting the software 'do it' we should add something from us - in this case a personal message.

We should embrace technology and tools to help us in our lives and quests - they have transformed business, and if it works for you I would encourage you to acknowledge your intuitions and gut feel as part of your decision making.  It kept our ancestors safe with the choice of flee or fight - perhaps in sales it translates as buy or move on.

 

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

Why the wise should not always choose the best seller

Should the sales manager be a better 'sales performer' than their team? 

Being a sales manager of a team brings its own rewards and challenges – managing sales colleagues, sales performance reporting, financial projections, hitting/exceeding team targets, and developing a portfolio of clients. Most are responsibilities that the 'solo' sales executive may have had limited, if any, exposure to.  Yet there are times where a high performing sales person is promoted to a team manager position as a way of retaining them. 

This often occurs when the companys’ ability to acknowledge the worth' of the sales person is limited, or when the justification for an increase in salary requires them to have a role with a 'higher level of responsibility'.  All too often the 'new' sales manager receives the trappings of their new role - upgraded tools and toys, bigger salary and greater capacity for commission - yet is simply left to get on with it. 

There are many good sales managers out there who do develop their team members and who involve colleagues in various aspects of the sales managers’ tasks; though this is not always the case.  With an absence of support (such as mentoring and coaching) or solid leadership the new manager is at the peril of their inexperience and other ‘forces’. 

Of course it can all work out well, particularly if the sales person has a desire to be a team manager. Though by simply moving your best sales person into a management role, rather than assessing their ability to lead a team, you may have already taken a risk with your customers, the team and their results.

Recognising that it’s the sum of parts (the team) that leads to the greater success is sometimes overlooked. Think of the coaches who have supported successful sports people – some were good, yet few were great in their own sporting career – however it’s their ability to work with and enhance the performance of their protégés that make some of them great coaches.

This is the same for good sales managers who lead, coach and mentor their teams. They are able to demonstrate skills and provide qualitative feedback that enhances the abilities and results of their sales people.  Yes, individuals transcending into sales management should be good at sales, however sometimes just picking the best sales people to be the team manager is not always best outcome for your customers, the business or the team. 

What do you think?

 

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

 

Motivating a sales team is all about money - right?

August 2013

What gets you fired up each day?  Maybe it’s the enjoyment of your job, the people that you will interact with, the chance to participate in your favourite hobby, or even the randomness of your day?

Though how frequently do we share what motivates us with family, friends, colleagues or associates? I imagine not that often. Besides why would they want or need to know?  An interesting thought, yet how regularly have you heard others say “they don’t motivate me” or “my manager doesn’t know what motivates me”- challenging when the insight into what does motivate the individual might be less than obvious.

So surely motivating sales people should be easy and straight forward as they are all driven by the same things – money, company car, gadgets, sales competitions, more money –right? 

Well there is some truth in this and money can be seen as a strong motivator, yet I believe that this list paints quite a superficial picture.  Of course many of us need or want a source of income to pay our bills and to fund our lifestyle, albeit the company car and gadgets are often tools that enable us to do our jobs or perform them better.  I believe there are other factors at play that provide motivation for our sales people, particularly when the individual is established within the company.  This is supported by a TED talk by Dan Ariely that looks at this in more detail and draws on 7 studies that reported on what makes colleagues more productive and happier at work. Ariely summarises that it’s more than money, and that people are motivated by meaningful work, by other’s acknowledgement and by the effort they’ve put in.  I can see his point, that if you value the work you do and the way you do it, hopefully others will do so too – whether it’s your customers, colleagues or boss.

Yet this still seems quite broad, like the earlier list, and we may have to give more effort to discover what really motivates our sales teams and colleagues.  I was faced with such a situation a few years ago. Whilst I was gaining an understanding of what motivated my sales people, this was less evident across our sales division and comments like “my manager doesn’t know what motivates me” were starting to emerge.  It also made me consider whether my colleagues were aware what fired me up each day and what maintained my motivation through the ‘highs’ and ‘not so highs’ of sales leadership.  

The exercise I used was quite simple and required minimal preparation, and became the icebreaker to a sales coaching day I was facilitating for about fifty colleagues.  Each participant was asked to bring an A4 sheet with a drawing or image that represented what motivated them to work in sales and/or work for our organisation.  The sheets were collected and placed on the walls by one colleague and then we circulated and wrote on each sheet who we thought was the owner of the image.

This certainly played to our competitive streak and the results were very interesting, both in what we perceived motivated colleagues and the reality of what actually did.  Some were quite obvious to guess (apparently mine was) and yes there were numerous money images, yet others revealed drivers that some of their co-workers had been less than aware of.  There was a mixture of images of holiday destinations, photos of families, yet also images of our customers, teams and our organisation. Even some owners of the money images explained a deeper purpose that included spending time with family and lifestyle choices. 

So before you get around to purchasing that bottle of champagne, gift voucher or luxury weekend break to thank or motivate your sales people, think about or better still find out what they would truly value. It could be that your timely acknowledgement of a task done well and reinforcement that what they do has purpose and meaning has greater impact than the bottle bag left on their desk months later. 

Or maybe it's always just about the money...what motivates you and your team?

 

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