Supercharge Your Sales - Cambridgeshire Chamber · • Spotting opportunities—using innovative approaches to meet customer needs; communicating benefits; and understanding the customer's

Simon Atack MCIM FInstSMM

Supercharge Your Sales

Importance of Sales

As businesses evolve and seek to take best advantage of marketopportunities to grow, having a focused and effective sales culture at theheart of any organisation is crucial.

“Cultures don’t change – people change – and changed people, change cultures.” John Kotter

Market Overview

Market Evolution

Changing Landscape

• 1980’s saw rapid shift in business that changed customer power

• Supply outstripped demand

• Sellers had little pricing power

• The only protection for this was through customer relationships

So What Does This Mean?

Customer

Brand

Products

Service

Employees

Competitors

Customers

Customers have the knowledge!!!

The Result

Buyer behaviour changed…

• Customers are now 70% of the way through the

buyer process before they talk to you!

•9 out of 10 business buyers say when they are ready

to buy they will find you.

Why Is It So Vitally Important?

The long term success of a business/brand is intrinsically tied to howwell customers are engaged. This is even more critical now as everyoneis now connected, everywhere, all of the time:

• 4.5 billion social users

• 6.8 billion mobile internet users

• 400 million tweets per day about products, services and brands

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-21/business/37889387_1_tweets-jack-dorsey-twitter

http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/a

http://www.kpcb.com/insights/2013-internet-trends

Morgan Stanley, Comscore, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, Wikipedia

The Silver Lining…

Buyer behaviour has changed but…

86% of customers arewilling to pay more fora better customerexperience*

Highly engaged customersdeliver a 23% increase inprofitability and revenue**

*Customer Experience: Is it the Chicken or Egg? (Forbes, Jan. 2013) http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecrandell/2013/01/21/customer-experience-is-it-the-chicken-or-egg/** Engagement: The New Competitive Advantage -Creating Value by Strengthening Employee and Customer Engagement (Peppers & Rogers 2008) http://www.customerlifecycle.us/pdfs/whitepapers/Allegiance%20Peppers%20and%20Rogers%20Engagement.pdf

To be successful we therefore need to also adapt how we sell…

• Only 3% of cold calls result in appointment….

• But over 66% of second degree LinkedIn referrals result in a meeting!

• 73% of sales people using social media to sell outperform those who don’t!

But We Must Adapt To The Changing Environment

Understand And Look After Our Customers…

And Become Loyalty Leaders

How Well Do We Sell?

How Well Do We Sell?Looking at the current UK Sales skills landscape and where improvements really need to be made:

• In 2011, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills conducted a survey of 87,500 employers across the country to analyse the skills of the country's workforce. The goal was to gain a view of the U.K.'s competitive position during the economic recovery.

• The results show that many core sales skills are lacking. In fact, 56 percentof employers said their salespeople all too often fall short on customerhandling, and 47 percent said job-specific competencies are missing.

• To gain further insight on these sales skills gaps, SalesAssessment.com inconjunction with Sales Initiative magazine conducted the inaugural U.K.Sales Skills Audit in 2014. The audit's mission was to identify these missingjob-specific and customer-handling skills.

How Well Do We Sell?Identifying the problem areasThe process began by analysing skill modules from the current National VocationalQualification curriculum, which was established from research conducted between2003 and 2006 by the U.K. government's marketing and sales standards-setting body.This research identified five "core" skills that are critical for salespeople at all levels:customer contact, customer engagement, negotiation and closing, information andactivity management, and business skills.

After these skills were identified, questionnaires were designed to assess each one.The audit tested for presence or absence of the core skills needed to succeed acrossdifferent sales roles. The norm groups were identified by trials of 500 people, equallydivided in numbers across North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand,and the United Kingdom. The data were then used as the basis for comparison againsta random group of 125 salespeople from across the United Kingdom, of all levels androles.


Customer contactCustomer contact skills are about generating initial interest from the customer in theapplication, product, or service, and starting the process of creating rapport. This includesfour skill areas:

• Spotting opportunities—using innovative approaches to meet customer needs;communicating benefits; and understanding the customer's business

• Using probing questions—understanding of information and what is missing orunclear; listening; questioning to clarify situations; and analysing information

• Communicating—presenting a clear message; listening; summarisinginformation from the customer and other engagements; and using languagefamiliar and acceptable to the audience

• Advising the customer—selecting the right approach; using the customer'spreferred language and style; and engaging the customer.


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Customer Contact Skills

46%

44%

10% 10% - highly skilled44% - acceptable level of skill46% - lacking key skills


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Spotting Opportunities

44%

44%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Using Probing Questions

41%

54%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Communicating

38%

54%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Advising The Customer

46%

41%



The audit's customer contact module shows a very mixed picture: 10percent of U.K. salespeople are very highly skilled in this discipline,while 44 percent of them are at a level that makes them effective in asales role. Unfortunately, 46 percent lack these key skills. Thecommunications element in particular represents a serious gap in U.K.salespeople's abilities: 54 percent of the respondents fall below theglobal average in this area.


Engaging the customerThese are the skills required to effectively engage the customer in conversation and start theprocess of qualification, with the objective of gaining an understanding of the customer'sneeds. The group comprises five skill areas:

• Matching customer needs to products or services—knowing products andservices; analysing needs or problems; and matching the need to offering

• Gaining awareness of competitors—understanding the market; and knowingthe implications of competitor activity on one's own opportunities

• Understanding the customer's needs—understanding requirements; andclarifying

• Testing and challenging assumptions—understanding customer assumptionsabout an opportunity; and questioning identified assumptions to gain clarity

• Keeping abreast of new products and services—assimilating of new products,features, and technology; and understanding the benefits to the customer.


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Engaging The Customer

60%

36%


How Well Do We Sell?2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Matching Customer Needs To Products and Services

55%

36%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Awareness Of Competitors

73%

27%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Understanding Customer’s Needs

64%

36%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Testing and Challenging Assumptions

55%

36%


How Well Do We Sell?2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Keeping abreast of new products and services

55%

45%



The audit shows that 60 percent of the U.K. salespeople whoparticipated in this survey fell below the competency level required toeffectively engage with their customers. Only 36 percent of thesalespeople surveyed had a skill level above the global average, andonly 4 percent demonstrated highly developed skills in this area.

Shockingly, 73 percent do not have the skills to recognize the potentialimpact competitors may have on their ability to sell. What is worse isthat 64 percent of the salespeople surveyed are failing to understandcustomers' needs. 55 percent are below average when it comes totesting and challenging assumptions, while 73 percent are belowaverage when it comes to keeping abreast of new products andservices.


Negotiating and ClosingThese are the skills required to communicate the value of the benefits to the customer, often using simple financial metrics, and to close the deal. Three skill areas are relevant:

• Influencing customer expectations—prioritising activities that movea customer relationship or deal forward; reaching mutuallyacceptable conclusions; and influencing customer expectations

• Negotiating—having a clear view of the desired end result;obtaining information to help close the sale; and anticipating andaddressing customer concerns

• Objection handling—listening; probing and analysing to ensureunderstanding; and having the ability to deal with all types ofcustomer objections.

46%

48%

6%


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Negotiating and Closing

6% - highly skilled48% - acceptable level of skill46% - lacking key skills


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Influencing Customer Expectations

55%

43%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Negotiating

40%

50%



2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Objection Handling

50%

45%



Nearly an equal amount of salespeople in Britain have above-average(46 percent) and below-average (48 percent) skills in negotiating andclosing. Six percent of respondents are highly skilled in this area. Theaudit reveals that U.K. salespeople are most adept at negotiation, with50 percent at or above the benchmark and 10 percent with highlydeveloped skills in this domain.


Information and Activity ManagementThese are the skills required to work effectively and in an organized manner, withclear plans and reports, with the purpose of achieving sales goals and targets. Thisgroup involves three skill areas:

• Paperwork management—timely completion of records; andaccurate recordkeeping

• Achieving goals, objectives, and targets—understanding targets andhow to achieve them; and understanding financial metrics anddrivers

• Planning and managing activities—planning activities to achieveobjectives or solve problems; and managing records.


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Information and Activity Management

50%

50%



The audit found that there are no U.K. salespeople who are highlyskilled in information and activity management, and those with above-average and below-average skills in this area are evenly split at 50percent.

How Well Do We Sell?Business SkillsThese are the skills required to establish personal and company credibility with the customer for the purpose of realizing benefits from the relationship. This final group of skills covers four areas:

• Self-management and professionalism—gaining customer and business awareness; completing actions; improving skills and performance; and setting and adhering to standards and accountability

• Problem solving—analysing problems; using others' expertise; and using logic and new approaches for problem solving

• Exercising judgment and making decisions—prioritizing; evaluating risk; evaluating and responding to customer problems or inquiries; and deciding when and how to seek further information or refer to others

• Resilience and follow-through—coping with multiple conflicting pressures; having persistence; and initiating and committing to delivery.


2014 UK Sales Skills Audit – Business Skills

30%

66%



The study found that 66 percent of those surveyed are at a level thatwould make them successful, but only 4 percent are in a position toachieve excellence.

Time For Change - Examples

SIG operates 80 brands in 320 locations across the UK

SIG – Time For Change

SIG Sales Focus

2008Sales training launched within

Specialist Construction Products by Mark Tomlin with consultant Alan Fry

Office of National Statistics Report

2013 annual data has shown the output of the construction industry has risen

1.3% since 2012

However output remains 12.2% below its peak of £128.2 billion recorded in 2007

SIG Sales Training ImpactTraining Detail Increase in Sales

2012 Vs 2013 %Increase in Sales YTD 2013 Vs 2014 %

£ Value of Increase

12 staff completed course now preparing assignment 2014

17.95 18.23 7,927,931

7 staff completed course and attended area planning workshops 2014

19.71 22.33 5,267,473

12 staff completed course & attended workshops 2014

16.61 16.95 6,203,355

4 staff SIGD completed Key Account course

22.4 23.6 3,203,077

16 staff completed course & received no further training

3.99 6.17 3,069,734

22 staff received no training 2.81 3.09 1,825,545

The Result

Increase of £1.9 million in 6 months!

Key Requirements For Success

High level backing and sponsorship

Sell the message atall levels

Understand the business and the key

objectivesTrain at both ends

Agree how the impact will be measured at the

start

Keep communicating with the business

Prove it works and keep selling the

message

Always look for new ways to deliver training & keep an open mind

Key Requirements For Success

Brother UK LtdKey Drivers For Change

• Engaged companies grow 3 x faster than their competitors

• Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave the organisation

• Companies with lower engagement scores earned operating incomes 32.7% less than those with EE programs

• Companies with highly engaged workforce experienced a 19.2% growth in operating income over a 12 month period

Brother UK LtdCulture Core Principles

• PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence)

• TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More)

Summary

Common Issues• Ineffective sales culture

• Unskilled staff with substandard sales knowledge

• Unclear vision and direction

• Poor communication

• Poor levels of staff engagement

• In-cohesive cultural environment

• Lack of customer knowledge and understanding

• Sales processes and performance not streamlined

• Poorly defined metrics

• Lack of innovation, pro-activity and drive for excellence

Top Tips• Really get to know your people

• Define a clear organisational and cultural vision

• Really understand your customers and their journey with you

• Plan your processes effectively

• Find and nurture your culture Champions

• Encourage open communication throughout your organisation

• Establish an inclusive environment

• Genuinely empower and value individuals

• Manage SMARTER

• Aim for Comprehensive Excellence

Thank You For Your Time!

Documents

Supercharge Your Sales - Cambridgeshire Chamber · • Spotting opportunities—using innovative approaches to meet customer needs; communicating benefits; and understanding the customer's