Solutions for Growth

Certainly, as in any field, there are incompetent sales people in the marketplace. Plenty of them.

But consider the plight of the new sales executive in most companies. To launch an effective sales program, the new salesman needs to learn a lot — about the company, its products, its strengths, and its weaknesses. Importantly, though, the salesman needs to know who to call — what companies, and what individuals — where his offer stands to be "the best choice" in that prospect’s heart and mind. He needs to figure out how to build the list, and how to qualify the list so he wastes as little time as possible.

More, he needs to understand what to say to those prospects. Why is his offer the "best choice" in the context of the prospect’s world? That is, what about his offer makes it, all things considered, a better option than any other available choice. And what is the evidence. Then, taken together, what messaging will the salesman use that will register in the prospect’s mind?

So the salesman begins, and he learns about the company and its prospects. Until one day he asks the fated questions: Who do we serve better than anyone? What about our offer makes it the best choice? Here, too often, his or her world crumbles. His boss has answers — but not useful ones. "We serve manufacturers or other businesses," he hears. "Just call on the CEO." What’s our story? "We have better quality, customer service..." The same truisms that everybody spouts — true or not.

So the salesman begins — without any worthwhile guidance. Until the boss adds, "One more thing. Sell $1 million in six months or we’ll find someone who will."

Without a clear view on who he’s calling, or what’s she’ll say, and without a clear sense of how many calls it takes to get a good lead, or what the selling cycle really is, the salesman hits the phones, and the streets. Perhaps he gives it a gallant try. Likely, he finds himself now many months into the process — with little results yet to show. So he does what everyone else does — he starts calling his friends and family for opportunity.

Perhaps he closes some business — more likely, he’s fired. The executive who hired him turns away frustrated — resigned at the lack of quality sales people available — and begins the hiring process anew — now committed to a more expensive and better quality salesman.

The cycle continues, time and again. Each time, more time is lost. Each time, precious learning about the cycle, and what works, is lost. Each time, the company continues without enough business sustaining revenue results.

The issues hindering effective recruiting are not too far afield of the issues hindering effective selling. The issues begin with insufficient clarity along the strategic dimensions of recruiting:

• What kinds of employees are likely to be most successful, and stay?
• What about the experience of working for your company makes your company their best choice, bar none?
• Where are these best employees working successfully today, and why are we a better choice for them? What is the evidence?
• How can we identify these people, by name and contact information, so that we can contact them?

Recruiting efforts fail most often initially because the answers to these questions are simply not well understood.

But there’s more. Many in-house recruiters love to recruit. They love talking to someone who has raised their hand with interest, or been networked into dialog. They love interviewing, and closing the deal. They are not, however, so keen to call good prospects cold. And if they are, they don’t know who to call, or how to contact them.

Rather than fight through it, many recruiters suffice to call friends and family as a start. Then, when the trail goes cold, they jump to the next logical option.

They ask management to hire a recruiter for them! Doubling the cost and time associated with recruiting.

By some estimates, more than 80% of technology initiatives fail. Why? It’s not because so many IT people and firms are incapable. Rather, it’s because IT people and firms, operating alone, can’t help but fail when they don’t fully understand the business strategy and drivers, the process goals and nuance, or the human issues and dynamics associated with a new information system or technology.

Technology initiatives don’t fail because the technology doesn’t work in its standalone form; they fail because the technology fails to work in the context of a business, it’s processes, and it’s people. Technology people don’t always fully grasp process and people issues. Business people don’t usually fully grasp technology issues. The results get lost in the failed translation and communications.

Lazorpoint was built to change this. We help the business frame the process and people requirements to get business results — employing people on the team who will be charged with later making the technology work. Then, when the technology is being constructed and implemented, those same business people join technology team to assure it delivers the results promised.

Why do companies fail to grow? The reasons can be many, and that’s a part of the reason why growth issues can be so difficult to resolve.

Consider the company not growing. Why not?

• Are we targeting the wrong prospects?
• Is our offer inferior to the like offerings available from our competitors?
• Have we failed to communicate our brand promise?
• Is our delivery inadequate?
• Is our selling inadequate?
• Is our message confusing, or lacking supporting evidence?
• Do our own people have a clear understanding of our message and its value?
• Are we able to hire and retain the right people to deliver on our promise?
• Do we struggle with poor proposals, or weak sales support?
• Are we lacking in our account and/or territory management?
• Have we failed with change management?
• Is our market intelligence about our markets and our competitors too old and off point?
• Has some competitor made inroads or enhancement we don’t understand?
• Is our sales management or organizational leadership lacking?
• Are our metrics and rewards too fuzzy, or not sufficiently motivating?
• Are we too hard to do business with?
• Are we too expensive?
• Have we failed to form the appropriate partnerships and alliances?
• Are we inadequately leveraging indirect selling and distribution?
• Are we not utilizing channels effectively to drive selling results?
• Is our sales process too cumbersome and unwieldy?
• Are we insufficiently leveraging technology to help drive sales results?
• Are we appropriately leveraging technology to better connect with and serve our customers?
• Are our communications compelling, or are they weak and valueless?
• Are we investing wisely on communications in big ways, in the wrong places, with the wrong story?
• Is our marketing approach targeted and focused, or dilute and ineffective?
• Are we distracted with managing compliance with changing government regulations?
• Are our people insufficiently trained and inadequately prepared to sell and deliver effectively?
• Are we simply not patient enough awaiting results? Or are we too patient?

These are just some of the many issues that may in any organization be inhibiting growth. It may be any one of these issues, or any combination of one, two, or more of them.

As with any issue, the solution begins with a clear understanding of the problem. Therein, often, lies the biggest obstacle to reinvigorating growth.

Getting clear on what is impeding growth is at the heart of the Lazorpoint Growth Partners offer.

We’ve all noticed the salesperson join fresh from a stellar career with one company, only to fail miserably with a new one. Why?

Often, its because the salesman and his leadership team fail to understand the selling environment they’re in, and how it differs from what they may have seen before.

A selling environment comes in four distinct flavors:

• Commodity selling — the market understands its problem, and its many like options to solve that problem. In this scenario, there is little worthwhile value in selling. Its more about managing the buying process — helping the buyer see your value, building a relationship, and offering a competitive price. Relationship and price reign.
  • Example: Screws. Buyers know what screws they need, what substitutions they can make, where they can buy the screws, and what those screws should cost. The salesman can help win by building a good relationship — but his price had better be competitive.
• Solution selling — the market understands its problem, but it is not at all clear what its options are for solving that problem, and which is best. In this scenario, the salesman needs to understand the customer’s issues, and match up his or her offering as the best solution. Here, listening to the customer, and matching strong product knowledge, is key.
  • Example: CRM Software. Buyers know they need better technology to help monitor and manage customer relationships, and they know what their general business needs are in that regard. But they don’t know what all of the options are, nor do they know which option will serve them best. The salesman wins who can demonstrate his offering matches the customer needs best.
• Consultative selling — the market knows it has a problem, but it can’t clearly frame what that problem is — let alone hope to solve it. In this scenario, the salesman’s work is primarily about helping the prospect understand his problem, and the possible solution to it. Normally, the prospect wouldn’t even think of shopping the solution — especially while their understanding of the problem is still in its infancy. Here, good analytic problem solving is key.
  • Example: Sales not growing. Buyers are trying to understand why — what is amiss? Until they answer that question, they can’t begin to shop for a solution. Perhaps they haven’t even gotten around to asking the question. The salesman wins who helps identify the deficiency and its cause, and who proposes a credible and affordable solution to managing it.
• Market development selling — the company has created a fascinating solution to a number of possible problems, but its not clear what sectors have sufficient pain to invest in it. In this scenario, the salesman is looking for market pilots to prove out the company’s solution. The salesman’s role is a mix of consultative and solution — helping to identify possible issues he can resolve in some cases, helping to demonstrate the superiority of his solution in others.