Key Elements of the Sales Process: Establishing the Objectives

If you are in the sales profession or are about to enter one you already know the whole premise of your job; get someone to buy what you are selling. That is obviously the main objective. On the surface it seems simple enough, but in order to be successful at this task there a number of variables which must be planned out in advance. First there must be defined parameters which will guide the entire sales process. These will establish company expectations, customer expectations, and most importantly what is expected from the individuals who will be executing the sales call. Clearly defining these objectives is the first step towards building an effective sales process.

When looking at company expectations in light of sales, they must first determine their overall objectives. Do they want to grow sales volume in terms of total units sold, increased sales revenue, improved margin on what is sold or widen the distribution of where their products are sold? In most cases they will want all of the above. The company needs to set the big picture objectives first. Once the overall goals are determined, they can then break them down across territories, divisions, or individual sales personnel. By making each objective as clear and concise as possible they will ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to what is expected.

Another aspect that is equally, if not more important is making every objective reasonable. Unreasonable goals either too high or too low are the main cause for disconnect between those setting the goals and those who carry them out. Realistic
objectives that take into account past performance, market conditions, and the competitive environment are vital to managing and motivating the sales effort.

The next area that needs to be considered is the time frame to achieve the objective. The shorter the time frame the more relevant the objective becomes. The most effective increment, daily, weekly, or monthly will depend on the type of business. All sales objectives should be reviewed at the very least on a monthly basis. Anything longer than this will reduce focus on the selling effort.

The final step is to break down each objective to correlate with individual expectations. This should then be communicated to each and every person involved in the sales process. If everyone knows what is expected of them, they can devote all their effort on achieving their goals. If each individual achieves their assigned objectives, the overall company will surely achieve theirs.

The Fourth Quarter

Next week brings the month of October and for most companies the final quarter of their business year. 2009 has undoubtedly been a challenge for most of us. The recession has taken its toll on business as most companies have had to trim their work force, cut back on spending, and put any plans of expansion on hold. These tough times have put the business world on the defensive trying fend off any further deterioration of their core business.

To liken the situation to a football game, many of us enter the 4th quarter down big on the scoreboard with no real offense to try and close the gap. At this point you have two choices; pull the starters and write this year off as a total loss, or put a few different plays in the game plan to try and shake things up. If what you have been doing all year hasn't worked maybe it is time to survey the team for some new ideas and give them a shot. The worse that can happen is you stay on the same downward spiral, but chances are some new initiatives will yield some different results.

Do not fall into the trap of telling yourself that things will be better next year and you will start anew in January. All that does is put you three months further in the hole.

Now is the time for action to try and put some points on the board. You may very well still lose the game, but you can take satisfaction in the fact you that went down fighting, not sitting it out on the bench.

My Three Keys to Success

When I think about what it takes to be truly successful at something there are many factors that come into play. Obviously, hard work and a certain degree of talent are very important, but they do not offer any guarantee of success. A bit of luck and a break here and there certainly can be helpful but obviously cannot be counted on.

After giving this thought, I have determined my own personal keys to success-perseverance, persistence, and faith.

Perseverance:

The Free Dictionary defines perseverance as "Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness".

My definition is a bit simpler, "Never Say Die."

I have always strived to persevere through all the many obstacles and challenges I faced in both my professional and personal life. I wish I could say I have been incredibly successful in this ambitious endeavor, but that would just be a plain lie. What I have done is continue to keep the whole concept of perseverance "top of mind" as I plow forward. When you take phrases such as "this is hopeless", "I have no chance",or "I should give up" out of your vocabulary you have taken the first step to making perseverance a valuable part of your approach toward life.

Persistence:

The Free Dictionary defines persistence as " To be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious. To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks."

My personal definition is once again is rather simple "Never Ever Quit"

I look at persistence as a family trait that was passed down through the generations. Growing up in a competitive atmosphere, I was given few chances to quit in my life no matter how bad I was getting beat. This has stuck with me over the years as I do not look at failure as an option. While I will be the first to admit there were many times in my life when I wanted to quit and I still fight the urge on a regular basis, I found a way to dig down deep and keep moving forward.

Faith:

The Free Dictionary defines faith as "Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing."

My personal definition is taken from an old Phillies slogan "You Gotta Believe"

For the purpose of this discussion faith is not my belief in God as that is a whole other subject, rather it is the belief in myself and my ability. You have to be able to take past success and translate it into future success. It is my firm belief that everyone who walks this earth has a talent or ability they can rely on to generate some form of success. You need to have faith in that ability and do everything in your power to maximize its potential. When you study people that have been extremely successful in their lives, I would be willing to bet that you will find that faith in themselves was their driving force.

Short and Long Term Marketing Strategies

Whether you have a formal written plan for your business or just a bunch of great ideas in your head, there are always going to be goals you set out to achieve. You will often think in terms of what do I want to accomplish in the next six months, as well as where do I want to be in five years. These short and long term goals are what drive your business. From a planning standpoint, you must also develop short and long term strategies to reach these goals.


Short term strategies revolve around cause and effect actions. You will institute an action and then measure the result. For example, if you run an ad in the paper, or send out a direct mail coupon, you can easily track your response rate. Depending on the amount of new business you generate, you can measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Most of the times these strategies involve costly advertising, so you must be sure you are reaching your target market, as well as creating a “call to action” for your potential customers.
Other examples of short term strategies are Internet websites, informational brochures, press releases, trade shows, and samplings. All these can be used to create a cause and effect reaction from potential customers. These are crucial in launching a new business as well as growing an existing one. As long as you’re reaching your target market, these activities will provide an immediate return on investment. If they don’t, then your overall advertising message needs to be reevaluated.


Long term strategies are much more subliminal in nature. They encompass all the activities that reach people in a subtle way. Networking is probably the best long term strategy you can engage in. Many people have misconceptions about networking. It is not about going to events to drum up customers. Rather it is all about developing relationships. People tend to buy from people they like or feel they have something in common with. Much like planted seeds, if properly nurtured, these relationships will grow over time and yield incremental business. Other examples of long term strategies are participating in trade and civic organizations, giving presentations, and donating time to charitable events. All these activities will generate positive goodwill for you and your company. Word of mouth is your best form of advertising. While this is an overused cliché, it will generate more business than many other tactics.


By incorporating both short and long term strategies into your marketing plan, you will lay the proper groundwork for short and long term success. While very different in nature, they are both effective in building a solid approach to accomplishing your goals. The key is to make sure you properly balance your efforts in order to maximize all the benefits these strategies can provide.

Creating Brand Ambassadors

Everyone in business understands the power of "word of mouth" advertising. There is nothing more powerful than having someone provide unsolicited approval of your products or services to a potential customer. Just think about how you purchase products and services in your own life. I guarantee there is something you bought based upon the recommendation of a friend, family member, or business associate. As a business owner or manager the trick is to harness the power of suggestion by creating your own team of Brand Ambassadors.

A Brand Ambassador can very simply be someone or a group of people that you enlist to spread the word about your products or services to their particular circle of influence. A good starting point to find such a group is always with your current customers. As long as they are happy and completely satisfied with you, they would make an excellent spokesperson to spread the good word to others. To compensate their efforts, you could offer a discount off their next purchase, a referral fee based upon new business, or something as simple as a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. You are not out to buy their opinion as this may lead to unwanted tactics on their part, rather you want to reward them for spreading the word about your company.

Another approach to developing a Brand Ambassador program is to hire and train individuals to professionally promote your product or service. What makes this tactic even more impactful is to find people whom already have positive influence among their peers. Why do you think someone like Tiger Woods makes more money from endorsements than he does from playing golf. You do not have to go out and hire a celebrity, but rather seek out the people in your local community that are well respected as well as well connected.

The most important aspect of a successful Brand Ambassador's program is to fully leverage the power of influence. Traditional advertising is no longer breaking through to the listening or viewing audience. The old ways of reaching potential customers are rapidly becoming obsolete. Social interaction and an open exchange of information have a far greater impact on buying decisions then a radio or billboard ad. Given the way information is exchanged today, it presents a perfect opportunity to utilize Brand Ambassadors as an integral part of your overall marketing plan.

A Novel by Jeff Onorato-The SIN of Addison Hall

An old college buddy of mine from Lehigh University, Jeff Onorato has just published his first novel, The SIN of Addison Hall. Let me be one of the first to congratulate Jeff on a job well done. Below is a brief description as provided by the author.



Review

Shari Goldhagen, Author of Family and Other Accidents, says, “With echoes of Vonnegut, Jeffrey Onorato creates a vivid, chilling dystopia where beauty rules. What's even scarier is how close to home his world hits”. --Direct from ARC review



Description

Breaking the Mold of a Traditional Hero Results in a Gripping Tale of Fiction... First-time author soars with his spellbinding story of a man fighting with human nature... Residing in a country where beautiful people are considered superior, Addison Hall is an anomaly. A mildly repugnant man, he is forced by the twisted hierarchy of his dictator to live in less than adequate living situations. The days become increasingly arduous as he toils in an unpleasant job, stricken with the disappointment of his current situation. Besides the dark comedy of his disastrous attempts at romance and his friend’s antics, Addison s life is fairly dull. Then he meets Otka, a beautiful woman who owns the local coffee shop. After witnessing a chance encounter where Addison risks his life to save the life of a dog, Otka takes an obvious interest in him. Addison is perplexed by her reciprocated intrigue. Past experiences with such a valued creature of the opposite sex has left him tainted and doubting her motives. Jeffrey Onorato sensationally draws us into his world of relatable characters and witty dialect. He victoriously shatters the conventions of the true-blue hero to create a story that has both depth and originality. The SIN of Addison Hall entrances the reader with delicious conflicts of human wanting and wavering uncertainty with an ending that will leave you begging for more.

If you are interested in purchasing the book directly please go to Block Island Books or it can also be found on Amazon.

Making Customer Service your Top Priority

Most anyone will agree that customer service is one of the most important parts of your company’s overall strategy to conducting business. Without customers you really don’t have a business. If this is the case, why is it mostly everyone as consumers can easily cite examples of poor customer service in their daily lives? I believe every company either has or thinks it has good customer service. However, if certain steps are not taken to ensure this, the reality of their situation is often far worse than their perceptions.

The level of customer service begins at the top in any organization. The company’s leaders must buy into the fact that they not only need to meet their customer’s needs, but actually strive to exceed them. They must develop a company culture that understands this concept. In today’s world competition is tougher than ever. If you can’t provide goods or service when somebody wants them, there are often four or five other companies ready to fill this void. You rarely get a second chance once you drop the ball. If the company’s leaders do not accept this fact, or are not willing to provide the necessary resources to meet their customer’s needs, they will soon find themselves scrambling for business.

Proper training is one way to develop a company culture that embraces excellent customer service. Every employee must understand what is expected of them when interacting with customers. Is there a uniform way to answer the phone? Are there set procedures in place when a customer has a question or problem? Is there an established chain of command to make sure that issues are handled in a timely fashion? And most importantly is everyone trained to carry out these company procedures? How you handle the problem is far more important than the problem itself. A customer must always feel their best interests are being taken into consideration, even when you can’t give into their demands. It is far better to say no with a smile, than yes with an attitude.

Getting feedback from your customers is an excellent way to track and measure your level of service. You should not only benchmark your company against your competition, but also against the goals you set for yourself. Once again remember you are trying to not only meet, but exceed your customer’s expectations. Written surveys are one way to gage customer satisfaction. This can be useful to obtain feedback on a wide variety of company functions. Always allow for written comments, as these usually will help shed light on problem areas. Management’s interaction with customers is an excellent way to not only measure the overall efforts, but to also show the level of commitment the company has towards their needs. You always feel better if you have the chance to talk to someone who actually sets policy, not just someone who carries it out.

In today’s world of bigger, faster, better you need to be the company that gets it right the first time, and if you don’t, you quickly rectify your mistakes. If you consistently make this part of how you conduct business, your customer’s loyalty will continue to grow. Meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations in the products and service you provide today is the best way to ensure future growth and success.