Transcript Slide 1

Improving Sales Performance
Robert Jones
Ashcroft International Business SChool
Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge
UK
[email protected]
Outline
6 Cs of Customer Service
Sales orientation
Criteria for measuring sales performance
Common errors in measuring sales performance
Improving sales performance
5Es of good sales technique
Why customers do not come back
Dealing with customer complaints
The 6 Cs of good customer service:Customer focus see things from your customer’s point of view
Care
spend time and effort to give better service
Courtesy
politeness makes a nice impression and doesn’t cost anything
Consideration
of your customer’s needs, wants and expectations
Communication attentive listening and careful questioning and clear explanations
Common sense do the sensible thing in order to please your customer
Quick sale or consultative selling?
If your firm believes that a good salesperson should be able to close the
deal, then the job is that of short-term persuasion at any price.
Conversely, if the seller is viewed as the representative of the client within
the company, salespeople should have a long-term outlook, listen to the
client and even be willing to lose an order once in a while.
Selling orientations
Customer’s friend
Problem
solver
Concern for the
customer
Soft sell
Order taken
Hard sell
Concern for achieving
sale
Usunier J-C., (2000) Marketing Across Cultures, Pearson Education Ltd, chapter 15
Which orientation is appropriate for your next selling project?
Sales portfolio
Understand each customer’s business issues.
Identify the real influencers in the decision process.
Identify customer buying procedures early in the process.
Accurately assess the timing for closing the sale.
Minimise discounts and protect margins at closing.
Which of these do you use for measuring
your sales person’s performance? What is missing?
1.
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Volume of sales, in Euros
Time spent in office
Personal appearance
Number of calls made on existing accounts
Number of new accounts opened
Sales orders complete and accurate
Reports submitted on time
Euros spent on entertaining customers
Promoting the company
Accurate pricing & deliveries to customers
Knowledge of the business
Planning and routing of calls
Five common errors in measuring sales performance
1 . Based on sales volume
2. Based on number of calls made
3. Based on comparing sales with last year’s sales
4. Following old established selling methods
5. Too much freedom for sales people
1. Sales volume
will not tell you how much profit contribution the sales person
is making.
Unless you know this, your sales person can actually be losing
money, for example by discounting the price too aggressively in
order to win the sale.
Consider dropping less-profitable and non-profitable accounts,
unless they are a prospect for future, more profitable business.
2. Making calls
on customers and prospects is important – but your sales
person should make calls on accounts in relation to their profit
potential.
Pareto’s 80/20 rule
Generally, 80% of sales are generated from 20% of customers.
Conventional wisdom says that 80% of salespeople’s time
should be focused on 20% of the biggest customers/prospects.
More importantly, 80% of profits come from 20% of sales,
therefore 80% of the salespeople’s time should be focused
on the most profitable 20% of accounts.
Work smarter, not harder.
3. Comparing sales with last year’s sales
can be misleading.
Changes in products, prices, competition and assignments make comparisons
difficult.
It is better to measure cumulative progress towards goals.
Why criticise a sales person for spending too much time in the office
if that brings in profitable orders by telephone, mail or e-mail?
4. Following old established selling methods
senior sales managers expect their team to use the same methods
that worked for them in the past.
But market conditions change and the most effective methods change.
5. Too much freedom for sales people
Sales people are sometimes given too much freedom.
Senior sales managers should keep in touch with
effective selling methods and measures, so that
profitability is maximised.
Quantifiable measures of sales performance
1. Volume of sales in Euros
2. Time spent in office
3. Personal appearance
4. Number of calls made on existing accounts
5. Number of new accounts opened
6. Sales orders complete and accurate
7. Reports submitted on time
8. Euros spent on entertaining customers
9. Promoting the company
10.Accurate pricing & deliveries to customers
11. Knowledge of the business
12. Planning and routing of calls
13. Profit contribution of each account – don’t forget this
The 5 Most Dangerous Issues
Facing Sales Directors Today,
and How to Guarantee a Permanent Improvement in Sales Results
Written & Produced by:
Nikki Owen Managing Director, Trainique Ltd
Andy Miller Vice President, Think Training Inc.
Based on research on 2700 organizations by The Sales Activator® Nightingale Conant
www.businessballs.com/salesdevelopmentresearch.htm
The Five Most Dangerous Issues
(ibid)
1. A poorly defined sales process dilutes sales revenues.
2. Lack of essential skills leads to below average performance and consequently
below average sales results.
3. Failing to focus Salespeople’s activity reduces efficiency and consequently
reduces sales results
4 Allowing self-limiting beliefs to constrain Salespeople’s performance which limits
sales results.
5. Failing to choose and develop a Sales Leadership Team that nurtures and
develops their Salespeople’s potential, which decreases sales results
Solutions
Develop a comprehensive, step-by-step consultative sales process.
Involve top performers and customers and align CRM, sales management
processes and compensation structures for maximum impact.
Use training, mentoring and coaching in bite sized chunks to share best practice
and develop consultative sales skill.
Develop and embed an objective, realistic method of evaluating and rating
customers and prospects based on strategic value.
Train sales managers to identify limiting beliefs in salespeople and create the
opportunities for colleagues to reinforce empowering beliefs in each other.
Recruit and develop effective people-centric sales managers.
Critically, build their coaching skill and provide innovative and easy-to-use resources
for developing the team during regular sales meetings
http://www.saleswork.co.uk/sales_techniques/five_issues_facing_sales_leaders.htm
Improving a Sales Person’s performance
1 . Planning
2. Measuring
3. Correcting
1. Planning
Agree goals for:1. Total profit contribution, in Euros
2. Profit contribution for:Each major product line
Each major market (by sector or geographical area)
Each of 10-20 target accounts
3. Controlling expenses
Total expenses in Euros
Budget for:travel
customer entertainment
telephone, etc.
2. Measuring
Review monthly your sales person’s record for:1. Year-to-date progress toward 12-month profit contribution goals.
2. Year-to-date variances – positive and negative – and reasons
3. Correcting
Review with your sales person reasons for his / her results being
10% or more off target. To help improve his / her performance:
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Give more day-to-day help and direction
Accompany on calls to provide coaching
Increase sales promotion activities
Transfer accounts to more a productive sales person
Tighten control over price variance allowed
Increase or reduce selling prices
Add new products or services
Increase financial incentives
Replace the failing sales person
the 9
Selling Knowledge Areas,
produced by
the United Professional Selling
Association (UPSA) http://www.upsaintl.org/
TRAINIQUE Ltd & THINKTRAINING Inc 2004
TRAINIQUE Ltd & THINKTRAINING Inc 2004
Customers
Customers are our bosses
Our customers pay the bills
The customer is always right
Our customers pay our salaries
Customers are people not numbers
Customers are our best source of customers
Customers do not depend on us, we depend on them
In America, the customer is KING; in Japan the customer is GOD.
Customers do not interrupt our work, they are the reason we are here
What customers value most are our attention, dependability, promptness and competence.
5 Es of good sales technique
Efficient - control costs, don’t waste time and effort
e.g. real commitment to finish the job
for your employer
Effective - do the right job, first time, every time
for your customer
Efficacious - are you having the desired effect?
for your customer
Ethical - do the right thing, behave decently to others for all parties
e.g. open and honest communication
Elegant - service with style
for your customer and yourself
e.g friendly co-operation, personal charm
Balance the needs of your customer and your company:Understand your company’s policies and procedures
Know how these rules and regulations might affect your customer
Be able to explain these to your customer
Keep in mind your authority to make decisions
Be careful before “bending” rules and regs – this can cause problems.
Seek help from your supervisor, who may be able to agree to a change in
company rules and regs in order to satisfy your customer.
Customers need to know the reason why their need cannot be satisfied. The
more information you can give, the better.
Why customers do not come back
1%
3%
4%
5%
9%
10%
14%
68%
die
move away
are natural floaters
move on recommendation
find somewhere cheaper
are chronic complainers
are dissatisfied
go elsewhere because the sales people who serve them just
don’t care
Complaints Procedure (1)
“Good morning, how may I help you?”
Always be courteous with customers
Behave in a way that shows you understand your customer’s feelings
Offer reassurance / assistance / sympathy - whatever is appropriate.
You should have a system in place for dealing with complaints – this is a
basic part of Customer Service.
Your complaints procedure should cover all types of complaint – face to
face, via letter, phone call or e-mail.
All employees must understand how to deal with complaints.
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Complaints Procedure (2)
You should have a maximum length of time that it takes to respond to a letter
of complaint – within 7 days
A standard complaints form is a good idea.
All information you gather must be factual – not based on emotion.
Show a genuine effort to resolve the matter and record details of all complaints
along with relevant materials (eg receipts or damaged goods).
Investigate the complaint in detail; what is the cause, can it be remedied?
Complaints Procedure (3)
Be sympathetic but do not admit liability while the investigation is under
way.
Always try to offer the customer a solution, whether it is a repair,
replacement, refund or money-off deal.
When the complaint has been dealt with, follow it up with a phone call or
letter of apology to ensure the customer is satisfied.
“Whoever received the initial complaint should be at the end of the
process as well. This closes the circle and shows the complainant that
they were taken seriously.” Mike Petrook (CMI).
Dissatisfied customers
4%
96%
91%
of dissatisfied customers typically complain.
will just quietly go away
never come back.
But
70%
will come back again if you resolve the complaint in their
favour.
You will probably spend 6 times more to attract new customers
than you will to keep old ones.
(Robert Craven 2002 “Customer is King – how to exceed their expectations”,
Virgin Books)
Six honest serving men
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When,
And How and Where and Who
Rudyard Kipling (author of Jungle Book) “The Elephant Child”
Questions lead to Answers
Answers lead to Relationships
Relationships lead to Sales
Sales lead to Profits
Profits lead to Growth
Improving sales performance remember Pareto’s 80/20 rule
Work smarter, not harder.