SALES
Competitor-proof Customer Relationships
Are your business relationships strong enough to survive
today’s tough economic environment?
WHATEVER YOUR INDUSTRY, your customers are most likely delaying
projects and looking for ways to cut costs.
This is a good time to take stock of the relationship-building
capabilities of your team. Are current relationships strong enough
to withstand the destructive pressures of today’s tough economic
environment? Do your salespeople know how to leverage personal
assets and the assets of your company to “competitor proof” their
customer relationships? To build enduring connections with customers
requires two distinctive kinds of skills focused on two distinctive
kinds of relationships.
Importance of “Little r” Relationships
The first type of relationship is based on interpersonal connections
between members of a sales team and members of a buying team. These
relationships might be thought of as “little r” connections. They
are founded on a salesperson’s ability to demonstrate that he or she
is trustworthy, competent and credible as a business consultant and
advisor. Customers are assured of reliability and can count on their
trusted representative to protect their interests, respond quickly
to help meet special needs and offer reliable business results.
Customers become highly averse to risking the loss of these payoffs,
and are inclined to resist offers of discounts and price cuts from
competing vendors. Even when individual contacts are restrained by
budget cuts, they will remember and return to doing business with
people they know and trust.
Even one or two “little r” relationships have value, but the real
relationship benefit occurs when sales representatives develop a
whole network of connections with the right people in the customer
organization. With a wide range of contacts who view the sales
representative as a trusted business partner, inside information
will be shared, and contacts step up as champions, advocates and
coaches. The salesperson will receive advance notice of
opportunities and get critical “heads up” notices when potential
decisions could adversely affect a sale.
On the flip side, if these relationships are weak, or have been
allowed to erode through sub-par performance, they offer no
protection against competitive encroachment. In the worst cases,
where deadlines have been missed or customer concerns have been left
unaddressed, a poor relationship can actually open the door to
competitors.
It may seem elementary, but to build extraordinary “little r”
relationships, it’s critical to ensure your sales team knows how to:
• establish professional credibility.
• build trust.
• demonstrate the value of a relationship with every customer, on
every call.
• exercise a high level of skill in identifying the right people to
contact.
• be fully engaged and capable of carrying out “due diligence” in
learning about each customer’s personal and business issues.
Value of “Big R” Relationships
As important as “little r” relationships are, they can be vulnerable
to promotions, reorganizations and downsizing. An even more powerful
and compelling relationship is the one that exists at the level of
business-to-business — a different type of bond we can call “Big R.”
“Big R” connections are based on business benefits that are highly
valued because they are aligned with the customer’s corporate
strategy, goals and critical success factors.
For example, a company that provides its customers with complex
high-tech solutions may be very concerned about the R&D direction
and technical capabilities of the supplier of a critical component
of their offering. Because “Big R” buyers have a long time horizon
and higher risks, they want to understand the supplier’s marketing
and product strategy, and they depend on the supplier’s stability.
Though not every customer has the potential for developing a “Big R”
relationship, your team needs to know how to identify these valuable
customers, assess their potential and establish the “Big R”
relationship. This requires business acumen and gathering both
internal and external information. Specifically, they must develop
the capabilities needed to:
• fully understand the customer’s solutions.
• analyze the customer’s marketplace and business strategy.
• gain a clear understanding of the customer’s business processes.
• verify and articulate the customer’s long-term goals and the
priorities driving decision making from the top of the organization.
The next step is to know how to create alignment between the way
these select customers are doing business and the way your company
does business with them.
The Bottom Line
Every company is looking today for an edge that will open the doors
to new business and serve as a protection against erosion of market
share. Some are focused on renewed attempts to differentiate a
product offering, some are talking about “building the brand,” while
others struggle to price cut their way to a better revenue stream.
These strategies can’t work for every company — only one can truly
be the lowest-cost provider in its category, and few can achieve
sustainable differentiation.
On the other hand, strong and enduring relationships are not
dependent on product features others can duplicate or price cuts
that can actually hurt the seller’s bottom line. Rather, both
“little r” and “Big R” relationships offer a unique competitive
advantage by delivering real business value deriving from the
relationship itself rather than from a product or a price. The
ability of a sales team to leverage interpersonal connections and
corporate business alignment becomes the best and most reliable
resource for maintaining current market share and driving growth,
even in an unpredictable and chaotic economic environment.
Ed Emde is President of Wilson Learning, with overall responsibility
for business strategy and operations in the Americas. Emde has 25
years of experience working directly with senior level executives in
linking Human Resources Development, Organizational Development,
Training and Education initiatives to strategic imperatives and
business outcomes. He has held executive and leadership positions
with a number of the leading training and organizational development
companies in the industry. To learn more, contact Wilson Learning at
1.800.328.7937 or visit www.wilsonlearning.com.
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T R E N D S
Tapping the global workforce of freelancers
Small businesses increasingly are tapping a new talent pool: the
world. A new generation of online service marketplaces is giving
small companies more opportunities than ever to find specialized
expertise and affordable labor. Main Street businesses can shop a
virtual international bazaar of freelancers to recruit computer
programmers in Russia, graphic designers in San Francisco or data
analysts in India.
Some of these freelance marketplaces are booming. In the first
quarter of this year, oDesk freelancers logged 830,000 hours, more
than double the figure for the same period the year before and five
times the rate in 2007. Nearly 234,000 jobs were posted at Elance
last year, an increase of 64% over the previous year.
These platforms are diversifying beyond mainstay tasks like Web and
software development and graphics. Freelancers increasingly are
taking on assignments like customer service, data entry, writing,
accounting, human resources, marketing, payroll, accounting —
virtually any “knowledge process” that can be performed remotely. In
some cases, the cost savings can be substantial.
Using these platforms does not necessarily mean going overseas. In
many cases, they are used for “homeshoring” to freelancers in the
United States for services like graphic design, writing, sales or
customer service. The research firm IDC says homeshoring is growing
by 18% a year.
Source: The New York Times, June 25, 2009
Loyalty marketing participation rising
U.S. consumer participation in rewards programs is on the rise
across all demographic segments, according to a new study by
Colloquy. Loyalty programs recognize and reward a company’s best
customers. Consumers are leaning on such programs to stretch
household budgets further by earning rewards for their purchases. In
fact, one-third of consumers find loyalty programs “more important”
when battling tough economic times.
The study reports a 19% participation growth by the general
population since 2007. Activity in desirable demographic segments is
up even more. Women as a demographic are up 29% since last measured
in 2007. Participation by Millennials (age 18-25) has soared 32% in
the same time period.
“Millennials present a golden opportunity in a time of economic
darkness for loyalty marketers,” said Kelly Hlavinka, coauthor of
the study. Over one-quarter (27%) of Millennials are actively
seeking to enroll in new programs to help expand their budgets. They
are eager to build relationships with their favorites brands and
eager to engage with those companies through new media channels,
such as social media sites and via cell phone or text messaging.
Source: Colloquy.com, July 2009
Older workers edging out younger ones
Many older workers are planning to work longer to improve their
prospects in retirement. According to a recent survey by Watson
Wyatt Worldwide, half of workers ages 50 to 64 now plan to work past
age 65. Of those workers, 54% say they will work at least three
years longer than expected.
These older workers and returning retirees are edging out younger
workers for jobs. Unlike in previous recessions, employers are
laying off younger workers and deciding to keep older ones, figuring
they get more bang for the buck with experienced workers.
This may be a mixed blessing for employers. Short term, it keeps
valuable experienced people on the job and buys employers more time
to cultivate replacements for departing employees. But health care
and disability costs are often greater for older workers than they
are for more junior employees. Plus, firms may find it tough to hang
on to young talent whose career ambitions are thwarted by older
colleagues who opt to hang around.
Source: Kiplinger.com, July 9, 2009
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N E W S
When is the best time to cold call?
For many salespeople, it’s a necessary evil — the cold call. A
recent study suggests that cold-calling success may depend less on
your sales skills than on how soon you follow up on a lead and the
time that you make your calls.
Dr. James Oldroyd from the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University recently examined the electronic logs of
more than 1 million cold calls made by thousands of sales
professionals inside approximately 50 companies. The results
indicate that Thursday is by far the best day to contact a lead,
while Friday is the worst day by almost 20% when compared to
Thursday.
The best times to call to qualify a lead, according to Oldroyd’s
findings, are from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. In
fact, 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. is 164% better than calling right after
lunch.
How about lead follow-up? Conventional wisdom also says that you’ve
got anywhere from a few days to a week to follow up on a lead sent
from your website. Not so.
The study reveals that in B2B selling environments, the best odds of
qualifying a lead happen within 20 minutes after interest is shown.
Best case, you should call within five minutes, which is 21 times
more likely to result in a qualified prospect than if you wait an
entire half hour.
However, some industries such as financial services and healthcare
can tolerate longer responses. Dr. Oldroyd recommends that companies
measure and analyze their own sales data to see what’s working and
what’s not.
Source: Selling Power, July/August 2009
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T I P S
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Entice shoppers to buy more with
carefully displayed in-store signage. According to Paco Underhill,
author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, customers are
spending more time in shopping aisles, but are buying less. One of the
problems is too many choices. Shoppers are getting easily fed up and
leaving. One way to overcome this situation is to direct shoppers with
signs that say “Our best seller” or “Our best student computer.” Avoid
placing signs just inside the store’s entrance because shoppers use this
area as a decompression zone and won’t notice the signs. Similarly,
customers respond best when employees greet them about a minute after
they enter the store.
Source: www.businessweek.com
Source: www.kcsmallbiz.com
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Steal this recruiting tactic
from Apple. Have you ever been really impressed by the
customer service you received and thought, “I wish that person
worked for me”? You can follow the lead of Apple recruiters who
carry a supply of business cards with an Apple logo and the
text, “You’re amazing. We should talk.” Flip it over and it
reads: “Your customer service just now was exceptional. I work
for the Apple Store, and you’re exactly the kind of person we’d
like to talk to. If you’re happy where you are, I’d never ask
you to leave. But if you’re thinking about a change, give me a
call. This could be the start of something great.”
Source: www.marketingprofs.com
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Should email replace your other
methods of communicating with actual and potential
customers? Probably not. It’s true that email is earth-friendly,
easier to send and considerably cheaper than snail mail.
However, if customers opt out just to reduce email volume or
change email providers without notifying you, you’ve lost them
forever. Plus, many people filter and file incoming email
without even looking at it. Hardly anyone discards a postcard
without at least glancing at it. And with the increasing volume
of email being received while postal volume is dropping, guess
which medium will stand out more. Email can be an important part
of a marketing mix, but it shouldn’t be the only part.
Source: www.yudkin.com
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Looking for an angel investor in
your new business? You’d better try to find more than one
because angels have recently been forking over a lot less. Try
seeking out an angel group or syndicate (two or more groups that
co-invest), which are plunking down much higher amounts than
stand-alone angel investors. Plus, instead of knocking on the
doors of several investors, start-ups need to knock on only one.
The downside is a much more rigorous screening process and due
diligence. Only 2% to 4% of firms seeking angel money actually
get it. There are about 200 active angel groups in the U.S.
today and they account for around 20% of all angel investing.
Source: www.kiplinger.com
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Attract more clicks from your
pay-per-click campaign by using generic domain names. A
generic domain name includes keywords your customers would use
to search for your product or service. For example, in one
study, the researchers compared ElectricBicycles.co.uk to
InAHurry.co.uk. Ads featuring the generic domain name with an
exact match to the product had a click-through rate that was 42%
better than ads featuring the non-generic domain.
Source: www.mediabuyerplanner.com
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Tame “search-and-switch”
customers and boost customer retention. This growing
customer type carefully researches and compares competing
products and services before buying. They scour over third-party
reviews, ratings, spec sheets and comparison charts. What can
you do to win them over? Beat them at their own game by making
the information they seek readily available on your website. Add
third-party testimonials — they distrust company-produced info,
so load materials with testimonials and expert reviews. Finally,
emphasize facts — remove unnecessary adjectives and let the
figures do the talking.
Source: The Marketing Report,
370 Technology Dr., Malvern, PA 19355
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End a difficult business
negotiation on a positive note. During long, arduous
negotiations, keep in reserve a little something extra you’re
willing to give up. Then, when you finally come to an agreement,
offer it with no strings attached. It’s like the candy mint a
good hotel leaves on your pillow before bedtime. Such a gift
helps ensure the deal will be executed with enthusiasm.
Source: Journal of Accountancy,
201 Plaza Three, Jersey City, NJ 07311
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You just sent out a press
release. Now what? Should you call or email the reporters to
see if they received it? No, most reporters hate that. Instead,
wait a few days and give them a call. Ask if they have some time
to talk. If they do, introduce yourself and get to the point.
Summarize your news hook. If it’s more than a sentence, it’s too
long. Ask if they think it sounds like something of interest. If
you get a positive response, say that you sent a press release a
couple of days before, but you’d be happy to resend it. If you
get a negative response, ask either how this could be a story he
or she would be more interested in or what kind of stories would
he or she like to see from you in the future.
Source:
www.cherrycommunications.com
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