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Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category

China has become the world’s largest maker of consumer electronics, producing more MP3 Players, Digital Cameras, Video Players, Electronic Gadgets, and other high tech products than any other country.

Have you ever wondered how you could buy direct from the source in China and make your own profits from this economic miracle?

1. Hottest Unseen Consumer Electronics And Gadgets
If you work together direct with suppliers in China you will be ahead of your competition. You will be able to buy many cutting-edge consumer electronics, long before they arrive in the retail stores back home. And you’ll have the chance to check out the newest products before they are even released.

2. Don’t Worry, They Speak English
Many trading companies and wholesalers in China are already experienced in dealing day to day with their foreign customers in English. And if you are lucky, you will be able to find partner companies in China which are wholly run by Europeans or Americans. Many of them will provide just the same quality of service and support as you would expect from anyone back home.

3. Isn’t China On The Other Side Of The World?
You can already see “Made In China” labels everywhere you go. Thanks to international logistics companies like UPS and DHL practically any country in the world can receive consumer electronics straight from China. Wherever your customers are in the world, your next buying opportunity will be in China, especially with the increasing number of Chinese wholesale drop-shippers opening their services internationally.

4. Wholesalers, MOQ, Yadda Yadda
In most manufacturing sectors in China, suppliers require a minimum order quantity (MOQ) for their products before the production process even starts. However, recently it’s become much easier to order smaller quantities of electronics: wholesalers such as Chinavasion.com are the leaders in this field. You want one sample, you got it. You need 20 pieces for your online business? No problem! Online wholesalers are opening the electronics market for small to medium business like never before.
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1) Do you monitor and manage tasks or do you identify and train to essential competencies?

Do you want to know the big difference between due diligence and a core competency?

Here’s a classic example:

Collecting 50 business cards per day is an act of data procurement, while training to a 60% conversation to appointment ratio is focusing on an essential component to ensure your sales team’s success.

Don’t focus on accountability to tasks but enlighten to identification. It’s much more important to teach your people the “business” of the business they’re in.

If you currently have your sales team accountable to tasks, then you’re merely “managing” tasks. In order to become more effective – you should be training on measurement of competencies so your people can ‘run their own business.’

2) You measure details not directly related to performance and results.

A telecommunications sales manager proudly told me he requires his sales reps to document ’100 dials per day.’

I was shocked when I heard this. I asked him if he was in the ‘dialing’ business or the ‘communication’ business.

Think about it for a minute. What does the measurement of ‘dials’ have to do with performance or results? Can you ever improve your dialing skills?

It’s insane to waste time and energy measuring that type of stuff when there are so many other “valuable” things to measure.

The focusing of measurement not related to “performance and results” takes you away from the real deal…essential competencies.

In the X2 system ‘Show Time’ begins with the actual conversation, a measurable competency that we can attach to systems and training for critical improvement. By measuring these competencies you’ll spend less time documenting insignificant information and more time analyzing meaningful business metrics.

3) You attempt to manage your subordinate’s ‘time’.

During the playoffs, a winning college coach was interviewed about his coaching philosophy

He said:

“You develop the best game plan you can, build systems and processes to help support it, train everyone how to work within it, and then let the players go out and unleash their natural abilities. You let them play the game between the lines.”

Makes sense doesn’t it?

Most sales reps will be accountable to results if you identify the important competencies required for success. Your job is to supply targeted training with appropriate structures for learning and application, and measure degrees of improvement.
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Last week, one of my clients—we’ll call him Rick—had a demo scheduled with a prospect. The standard “show up and throw up” they typically did early in the sales cycle.

Trying to shorten the sales cycle, I asked naively, “Why does the customer want to buy? What are they trying to accomplish?” Rick couldn’t tell me. I asked if he thought the salespeople knew. He said no. I gave him an assignment: he had to find out “Why,” “Why now,” and “What’s it worth.” Otherwise no demo.

In other words, no compelling reason to buy…No demo.

So Rick took a risk, and is rapidly moving to a fully-paid trial implementation.

Sure, long-term objectives and plans still matter, but I’ve been getting more and more inquiries focused on “what to do now.” Entrepreneurs and executives alike are demanding help on how to improve revenues and profits right away.

How do you make the quickest difference? Focus the bulk of your energy on revenue generation. In other words, sales! And don’t do it the same old way either, because — as you may have noticed — it isn’t working that well.

Here are five ways for your sales force to bring in more business in short order. There are no magic bullets, but just last week I taught one of these techniques to a client (#2) and he used it to close a deal the following day! Use one or use them all. Each technique will have its own effect, and each will multiply the power of the others.

1. Sell return on investment, and sell it to the CFO.

Sales people are complaining that while the pipeline may be full, the deals are taking too long to close. Perhaps that’s why the pipe is so full! What are the reasons for this? Companies have money, and in many cases they have needs. But many people are so scared THEIR customers aren’t going to buy THEIR wares, they are loath to spend any money themselves. The result? They are only willing to spend money when they absolutely see near-term financial payback, and the CFO is killing many deals.

The solution? Sell the return on investment. Sell the payback. And sell it to the CFO. Arm your salespeople with two things: A series of case studies that document the returns from using your product, and a well-defined ROI process worksheet. Work with the CFO to build the ROI case so that he or she owns it. This is the only way they come to believe it. Make it their idea and instead of killing your deal, they will help you close it.

2. Forget USP. Determine your Usage Cases

Instead of focusing on why your product is the latest and greatest, clarify the ways in which potential customers will use your product to solve specific problems and produce tangible results. Then, instead of touting the “benefits” of your product–which often fall on deaf ears, anyway–engage your prospects in conversations about what costly and quantifiable problems they now have, and how they might use your product or service to alleviate those.

And, as sales guru Mike Bosworth says, don’t tell them your offering IS the solution. You’re a sales “guy” and they won’t believe you. Instead, ask them if your possible solution might help them. If they believe it does, they have accepted your solution as truth. Then get them to tell you, in real dollar terms, what fixing that problem is worth.

3. Increase Sales Training. Use the 10% solution.

But don’t expect any one salesperson–even your superstars–to be 100% at every part of your sales process. They almost never are. But there is a way you can raise the level of every person in your sales organization—immediately.

Use this process adopted from W. Edwards Demming’s principle of optimization. Break your sales process into as many discrete–but meaningful–steps as you can.. Cold calling. Letter writing. Setting appointments. Identifying pain. Writing proposals. Presenting. And so on. Find out who in your organization excels at each step, and have those reps explain their methods and mindset to the rest of your sales force. Do all the steps at once in a marathon session, or one step at a time. Either way, the results will be amazing.

4. Use the 80/20 Rule. And get rid of the bottom 20.

There’s no room in today’s world for mediocre producers. Hold each member of your team accountable for reaching two kinds of performance benchmarks: results measurements, which include not only revenue, but perhaps new accounts and repeat business, and action measurements, which might include prospecting calls, appointments, and new contacts.
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1) Is it an essential component to your sales mission or just an ingredient in the recipe?

List 10 actions, routines or tasks that are part of your sales day and considered essential components of your sales process.

Now, ask yourself. How many of these are essential components to my sales mission are just ingredients in the recipe?

Think about a professional golfer’s essential competencies from tee-off to last putt. Is the ball and club a core competency, or is it the golf swing and putting stroke? What about a basketball player with the essential competency of passing, dribbling, and shooting?

2) Can it be measured routinely and accurately?

A Core Competency is a definable entity that is related to performance and results.

Ask yourself. Can I measure this with a napkin, pencil, and calculator? Can I put it on one piece of paper and be able to evaluate the status of my business? Do this first. You can always transfer it later to the million-dollar sales automation system.

Can you apply a universal performance benchmark that is realistic and assures revenue goals individually and collectively?

3) You know you have achieved this when you can tell a sales recruit during the interview process the (3) simple numbers that will assure them success.

Have you identified the ‘Key Performance Indicators’ in your sales process?

A good KPI example in the sales process might be how many times you advance the first sales appointment to the next phase, whether that’s a demonstration, a site visit, a survey or a proposal. Another KPI is how many times you gain a new customer once the first gateway is passed. And when you do gain a new customer, what’s the average revenue you achieve? That’s certainly an important KPI. Because if your average revenue per sale is 40% less than the average peer KPI, you might want to find out why and take focused action to improve it, as you’re leaving money on the table.
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