Does your proposition make sense?

I am currently stood at the front of a lecture theatre with 180 students working on Marketing, or more precisely the integration of the marketing mix. They are all working on a case study, so I have a few minutes for reflection. One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is that it forces me to do just this – reflect. I can’t be going to meetings or taking phone calls.

Preparing for the lecture also makes me stop, think and then commit those thoughts to writing. It’s a really valuable process.

In assessing the marketing mix we’ve just been through a succession of different businesses identifying their proposition and then evaluating if it makes sense. There are some easy ones here; Virgin Upper Class makes sense. You pay a premium, but get much more in return. Much as I hate to admit it, Ryanair also makes sense. The cost is less but you end up where you want to be – or at least within a couple of hours travel of where you wanted to be. In each of these cases the Price, Product, Promotion, Place, Processes, People and Physical Evidence all make intuitive sense to the customer.

So the challenge for you. Does your proposition make equal sense? If you are selling a premium product, does your distribution channel reflect this? Do all touch points with the customer support it? Do your people, whether on or off headcount deliver their part of the brand promise?

If you aren’t sure, go and try to be a customer of your organisation and see how it feels.

Got to stop now as we have another case to debrief….

How do you get Sales and Marketing to work more closely together ?

I was delighted to speak at Oracle’s Sales Directors Forum in early December.  These events take place on a regular basis and provide a great environment for senior sales and marketing professionals to share best practice and enjoy some lively discussion and debate on the key topics of the day.  On this occasion, the event was a luncheon at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges.  The topic on this occasion was the age old question – “How do you get sales and marketing to work more closely together?”

The event highlighted how fundamentally important a joined up approach to sales and marketing is: it is possible, and when it works, it really works – some of the achievements mentioned by my fellow speakers were striking.  But the scale of the transformational changes described meant that inevitably, much of the discussion revolved around wielding sticks and proffering carrots.  What was also evident was the key role that technology can play in this transformation.

What came out of the day was really informative and worth repeating.

It is generally accepted that only 10% of leads generated by marketing are followed up by sales and only 18% of those are converted into opportunities.  The disconnect between sales and marketing is hardly news but such figures certainly cast the problem in sharper relief.  Businesses exist to create and retain customers, so how can the two functions at the heart of this challenge, sales and marketing, operate together more productively and coherently?

Best practice marketing increasingly comprises multi-faceted approaches, with multiple touch points and sophisticated, intelligent nurturing. The ability to think and operate holistically is vital: there can be no gaps in the pipeline.  By the time the seller makes contact, it should be the logical next step in a relationship that has been carefully managed from an early stage.  In this day and age the sales force should never be contacting any prospect cold – neither should they be searching a list of unsatisfactory leads for a diamond in the rough.

The advantages that can be gained from aligning sales and marketing effectively are fundamental to business success:

• More efficient and productive operations
• Higher win-rates
• Improved retention
• More relevant propositions and communications
• Improved development of new products and services.

Success depends on quality reporting and forecasting, and sharing intelligence throughout the organisation.  Only with the right degree of visibility and communication, along the pipeline and between functions, can leads be qualified accurately and delivered efficiently.

Why is the problem so important now?  In the current challenging economic climate, businesses find themselves having to engage with customers that have higher expectations, more alternative options and more distractions than ever.  Many of the tactics for overcoming this – providing added value, extra advice, new services – rely on up-to-the-minute customer and market intelligence.  There is a wealth of this intelligence concentrated lower down the pipeline, in the sales force.  Harnessing this potential is vital for growth.

Tips for aligning the two functions

Start where it hurts most: when transforming the sales and marketing set-up, begin by stepping back and identifying the pain points in the pipeline.  The old pipeline analogy is still a strong one, and helps focus the mind on the customer journey.

There is no easy, painless way of managing change, and the examples discussed all required a good measure of tenacity, patience and hard work. But by paying special attention to a few key areas, the change can be a more rewarding one:

Structure and leadership

• Don’t be afraid to rethink who reports to whom – reporting to one overarching master can improve both functions’ focus on the objective.
• Discipline is needed to enforce a new process, but good communication skills are also vital to overcome cultural barriers and explain the long-term benefits of short-term inconvenience

Targets and responsibility

• Give marketing and sales a common target – marketing’s responsibility should extend beyond simply handing over a lead.
• Consider further extending the responsibility for sales targets to other functions in the business
• Even more radical structural changes are possible – such as giving marketing ownership of the ‘revenue target’ while making sales accountable for lead revenue and lead management.

Measuring performance

• It is vital to have a clear view of how the change is progressing – measure the changes along the whole pipeline and share good news across the organisation
• Consider how marketing’s performance might be better measured, with input from sales.

Successful alignment relies on sharing intelligence effectively and that requires the sales force to do extra work – taking perhaps an hour a day to input data.  The cultural challenge is clear – sellers will always be inclined to concentrate their efforts on the deal, where they earn their money.   To win their hearts and minds it is vital to make the benefits clear, sharing positive results and demonstrable improvements quickly and consistently – these are often first visible in improved retention rates.

Good internal communication and visibility will help show sales that the time spent is worth it.  Despite this, during the early stages of any transformation, the stick will inevitably need to be used more than the carrot.  Change leaders must be prepared to do so.

Technology’s role: a view from the front line

Given that much of the transformational change revolves around the sharing of customer data, it is unsurprising that large organisations look to software solutions for support.  But it is also clear that the adoption and implementation of this technology often raises its own challenges.

Technology can act as an enabler and a spotlight, but not a magic bullet.  All too often a business acquires a software solution and thinks that the hard work has been done.  But you have to understand and address the underlying structural and cultural challenges first – technology should not be used to paper over the cracks.  The cry for help, “my CRM isn’t working,” is often symptomatic of just such a situation.

If technology is to serve as the enabler, adopters should bear in mind:

• CRM is not just about sales force automation – for best results it has to be marketing-led, meeting the demands of the top of the pipeline, with the benefits filtering down
• Sales and marketing need to be aligned around certain key objectives before implementation, otherwise it could simply exacerbate existing tensions
• Suitable provision for training must be considered – ask your CRM provider how they can support you better
• While strict discipline is required early on, it is vital to share positive results and demonstrate the utility of the new process as quickly as possible.

Finally, one of the most important, yet often neglected points is that the success of a CRM system depends on the uptake by users at the top of the organisation as much as the bottom.  Senior designated users must log in regularly and use it to its full potential – this is one of the most effective means of supervision and enforcement.  If senior decision-makers rely on the data in the system, the value of entering the data is clear to all – as is the penalty for not doing so.

If you would like more information on Oracle’s Sales Directors Forum, join the LinkedIn group (Oracle UK Sales Directors Forum) or contact Tracey Capocci on 01604 246697 or tracey.capocci@oracle.com

Sustainable Marketing – how ‘Green’ are you?

I’ve just spent two days with a group of executives at Loughborough University teaching ‘Green’ or ‘Sustainable’ marketing. One of the reasons I particularly enjoy working with postgraduate students is the level of debate in the room and the challenges that you receive – and this programme was no different. In essence, we were debating the merits of sustainable marketing and whether it is – or should be – driven by altruism or not. Having worked that one out, the challenge is them how you measure customers’ awareness of the issues and their propensity to buy ‘Sustainable’ products and services.

What was surprising to me was the number of people who openly declared themselves as not ‘green’ on the programme. Whether or not senior execs are a cynical bunch as a whole I do not know but I did not detect that their response was in any way driven by cynicism, just an honest appraisal of their own behaviours.

What was perhaps less surprising is that as we explored the different issues that make up ‘sustainable marketing’ and even sustainable behaviour, these individuals who had so openly declared themselves not to be green were in fact already behaving in a pretty green way. As well as many of the elements that are driven by current legislation which all businesses must adhere to, their businesses were investing significant time and money to be sustainable. This ranged from soft areas such as training and management systems through to capex on energy regulators that do not have a payback for 10+ years in financial terms.

When we started to consider personal behaviour the same story was discovered. People did not consider themselves ‘green’ but still recycled everything they could, turned down heating, turned off appliances at the wall and so on.

So what can we learn from this? Well, it is reassuring to find positive evidence of businesses and individuals doing their bit without a doubt. What intrigues me is the way that intelligent and educated individuals appear to be unconsciously setting a high bar for themselves in terms of green behaviour – and this was the opposite of my intuition.

So I finished the programme feeling quietly reassured about the potential future for sustainable business in this country and the changing approach of business leaders.

It’s not just the Job Title

Job Titles seem to have been getting daft for a number of years now – particularly in the world of sales. We’ve more ‘Executives’ and ‘Directors’ than you can shake a stick at. I’m not sure what the reason is. Undoubtedly a mix of financial (“Have a new title rather than a pay rise”), ego, or even alleged sales effectiveness. I know of many people who feel that having the word ‘Director’ in their title makes it easier to get through to decision makers. The problem is that it also raises customers’ expectations about the individual they are talking to.

This was really brought to life for me in a recent interaction I had with a supplier. It was also combined with one of my favourite topics – Telephone Account Management. At Footprint, we believe that it is possible for many sales organisations to improve their performance by critically evaluating how they go to market – in other words which sales channels are used to offer what to which customers. When combined with the appropriate technology this can lead to increased performance and reduced costs. One area where there seems to be much scope for improvement in the UK is this concept of Telephone Account Management. One of the greatest challenges we face when working with businesses to implement or improve this concept is that this is not just a posh name for TeleSales or TeleMarketing. It is genuine Account Management – understanding the client organisation, delivering solutions that add value etc etc.

I was therefore delighted to find that I was talking to a Telephone Account Director. Surely this person would not only be acting as an Account Manager to understand my needs and solve my problems, and build a long term relationship based the value they could add, but as a Director, would also have the authority to address policy and process issues should we run into them. Not really surprising – I thought – as we buy a lot of data from them for ourselves and our clients and must therefore be a valued customer. How rewarding!

How wrong I was. I can only assume that this Telephone Account Director had not had a pay rise in some time. It turned out they could solve none of my problems, and in fact told me that their system could not provide the solution we needed. It was only my persistence with their woeful web interface that proved to them that it could be done.

So please, when creating roles and appointing people to new jobs, be mindful that a job title sets customers’ expectations about what will be delivered. If you use the phrase Account Manager, make sure your people know what this means, and that the rest of your organisation can support them. Putting the word “Telephone” in front makes little difference to this. If you use the word Director, make sure they can Direct!

The design of sales structures is critical to sales performance, so take a look at yours when you have a few minutes. Is it as was originally intended, or does it reflect job title creep over time? Maybe it is worth while going back to basics to ensure that individuals and customers know what to expect.

Is technology the map or the navigator?

I was listening to my morning fill of the ‘Today’ Programme this morning and heard an interesting discussion with author Christopher Somerville about the role of technology in life. It was one of those interviews where they were obviously hoping for some controversy in setting him up to tell us we should not be using our ‘satnavs’ as much, but simply head out of the door with a map.

Instead he put forward a very balanced view where he suggested that technology has a role to play as an enabler, but if all you do is work the technology you may well miss the point of whatever it is you are doing. His example was one of hill walking; it makes it much easier if you have a GPS, but if all you do is to look at it, you will certainly miss the views. My own experience of sailing into Poole harbour in a fog would have been truly terrifying if I did not have SatNav and radar. Technology helps us in many ways, but if we don’t have the appropriate skills and know when to ‘look up’, it can be a destructive distraction. I’m sure we have all read stories of cars driving off a cliff because the SatNav told the driver to, and the driver simply wasn’t paying attention.

It strikes me that business is no different. I was lucky enough to be taught about the world of business by a number of very talented individuals including a Canadian called Dave Brugh. As a new graduate I knew very little about anything and without the aid of a computer or any reports he quickly showed me the things to look out for that indicated if a business was being run well or not. I had a similar experience with an excellent teacher and Harvard DBA called Ram Charan. They both had the ability to bring business back to the basics. Once the basics are in place, you can use a computer to throw more light on the situation, but you can never rely on a computer to tell you what to do.

So my thought for today is this. Stop reading this blog, turn off your computer screen and go walk around your business without looking at any reports. Go talk to the people who are the ‘doers’ look at physical environment in which they try do their thing, whatever it may be. Talk to your customers. Now read the reports again. I guarantee that they will make more sense and you will come up with better ideas as a result.

Making the most of IT

It never ceases to amaze me that despite our collective knowledge of computer systems that now goes back almost 60 years to the first operational run of LEO, the human race is still struggling to understand the weakest part of any computer system – the human race.

Over the years I’ve seen a series of IT projects ‘fail’ for a range of stated reasons, but it pretty much comes down to the way in which people either keep changing their minds (scope creep), didn’t really know what they wanted (failed UAT), or simply don’t use it (low adoption).

To make matters worse, and one of my personal favourites, is the way in which management punish people for being honest when they use the system. Nowhere is this seen more than the ubiquitous CRM system. Measures based on closing rates or outrageous pipelines are often celebrated, when the real reasons for the use of the system have been forgotten. So, have a think. Do you incentivise and reward the behaviours you want repeated, or punish those who are honest? If only every contact with a potential customer was recoded in CRM you might even sell more!

Training the Sales Process – by Keith Francis

Trevor Williams, the trainer was tense. This group of managers he was about to train contained Dave Webster a young manager who many thought was heading to the top. Being new to the job Trevor had never faced him before, but trainers that had said you must get him on your side quickly.

The workshop started fine, all seemed to accept the objectives for the training. At the introductions Dave and the group were positive and said they were looking forward to the session. Few other than Lilly gave much in their expectations however, but that is not unusual.

Trevor had introduced the group to the sales process and was just finishing a more detailed explanation of its stages. The stress had been building up in Trevor, mainly because the group had not asked questions, they only responded to those posed to them directly, and then their replies where short and to the point. It was Dave who broke this seeming disinterest in the group.

“Can I just get this right? You’re saying that this sales process is how our guys should go about selling from now on” enquired Dave. “Yes, absolutely’” Trevor replied assuredly, and continued, ‘”if they follow this process your salespeople can adapt their approach to match the customer’s position in their buying process” . Thoughtfully Dave replied, “And by following this they will be able to forecast more accurately because they will know where each sale is in the sales pipeline. “

“Cool Dave you’ve got it” said Trevor approaching Dave with satisfactory smile. Trevor could feel the pressure lifting. If Dave is on track the rest will follow. Trevor now standing with his back to Dave facing the rest of the group, “You see guys Dave is there. If you know where the customer is in the pipeline you will have a better idea when a decision will be made. But more to the point, as Dave is obviously aware the further a sales is along the pipeline the closer it is to the time when the sale will be made.”

“Yeh, Trevor I see it” said Lilly. “Cool Lilly, I thought you would”, replied Trevor as he headed back to the front of the class.

Dave said, ‘”So this means that if you know where the customer is on the sales process you just adapt your approach according to this chart.” “Yes Dave. Dave you really are getting into this. You see rather than taking one approach to the sale, you use the sales process to decide how best to react at each stage to achieve the sale.”

“So when a salesman reaches stage three he demonstrates the machine, right? And at stage four he presents a proposal”, checked Dave. “Yes Dave, well done, but not only salesmen Dave … not just salesman”. “Who else?” puzzled Dave. “Saleswomen Dave, we all know this is an equal opportunity company” It is doubtful that Trevor recognized the condescension in his voice, even so he was feeling pleased. He was in control.

“This is really easy, yea?” confirmed Dave. “As easy as slicing bread, it’s just about keeping to the process” replied Trevor.  Lilly said “I see it. Just make sure your people take each step at a time. Keep moving the customer along”.

With a kind of summary tone Trevor said; “OK guys Lilly’s got it. Who else has” All eyes immediately focused on the desks in front of them. “Frank. What about you? Where are you on this?”. ‘”There Trevor … I am there”.  “Good Frank, good to hear you are on board. Who else has it?”

Dave looked up slowly and asked, “So this means all customers follow this process when making a buying decision”. ”Yep”, replied Trevor. “All the time?” responded Dave. “Yea… well most of the time” ….there was just touch of uncertainty in Trevor’s voice. “Not always then?” probed Dave. “No, not always” – Trevor was more uncomfortable than nervous, and it showed. This discussion with Dave was monopolizing the class and time. What Trevor had not noticed, yet could certainly feel was that the eyes where no longer looking at their desks, they were fixed on him. Each member of the group was leaning forward with a look of expectancy.

Dave broke the short silence, “So sometimes they do something else when making a buying decision?”

Looking around and smiling in a way suggesting the naivety of Dave’s question, Trevor answered; “Well, yes of course. They do not follow this all the time.” “ What else do they do?” countered Dave.

Trevor trying not to show the annoyance that was creeping up inside him said “I don’t know, it depends…..” –  “On what Trevor?” – “How the customer is approaching their decision”. “So it depends on the customer, this sales process” said Dave in a satisfied way.

“No Dave” countered Trevor, “the customer may think that, but it depends on your salesmen. If they approach the sale the right way, along the lines of the sales process the customer will react as expected”.

“Salespeople” said Brian. “What?” said Trevor sharply. “You said salesmen, not salespeople. Remember equal opportunity”. “You did” said Lilly with a smile. “Yes, yes sorry. I mean salesperson, people” Trevor stumbled.

“So if our people approach each sale along this sales process all customers will approach their purchases the same way” suggested Dave. With a sigh Trevor said “Yes”, and Lilly said, “Got it Trev”.

There was a pause, while Trevor considered how he can bring this back on track. At the same time he realised all were watching him, other than Dave that is, who was looking at the ceiling. Trevor announced; “OK now we have established the sales process, let’s start by looking at how we can use it to manage the sales pipeline more effectively”. He clicked to the next slide, which was a picture of a pipeline with round circles labeled ‘Sales’  running along inside it. On the top of the pipeline were the stages of the sales process they had just been discussing.

“So there is no need to pay our sales people anywhere near as much as we do” suggested Dave

“What?” asked Trevor. “I mean if it is that easy and all the salespeople need to do is keep to these steps, and change their style, we can get cheaper guys. I mean you don’t need graduates to do this. Just smartly dressed guys in suits with a semblance of a brain” explained Dave. “People, people Dave, not bloody men”, retorted Trevor. “I said guys, guys are people aren’t they”

Felix said; “Trevor, so if a sales lead resulted from an exhibition the sale would most likely go straight to the proposal stage”. To the rest of the class Felix explained “We demonstrate the machine to most customers at exhibitions, don’t we.” Dave said “Well that will save time Felix; my people currently spend a lot of time discussing what the customer is looking to gain from the purchase and what they expect to spend. This way it’s straight into presenting a proposal. What a time saver”

‘No, guys you are …” blurted Trevor before Lilly interrupted; “Yeh  Trev,  good. We frequently give the price at the exhibition too” . “You’re right Lilly” said Felix. “So that would place the sale automatically at the end of the process. No need for a proposal. I mean they are all given brochures at exhibitions”, said Dave and went on; “Well that suggests exhibitions are the quickest and best ways to win sales” . “But they are not” said Frank and a chorus of mumbled yeses indicated that they all agreed.

“Look guys you are missing the…..” . This time Frank interrupted, “ I have another problem; how does an existing customer fit into this? They already know the machine so there is no need to demonstrate, they know what it will do for them, and they know the price. Looking at this sales process there seems nothing we need to do with them”.

Trevor started to respond with; “You see Frank you are ….” , but never finished because Dave said, “That’s it Frank with this approach there is no need to sell to existing customers they just buy from us. Easy isn’t it Frank?” Frank replied, “Yeh” and Lilly said, “But that means there is no need for my Major Accounts team”. All looked at Lilly and most nodded. Felix said, “ I guess your people will have to take their  customers through the sales process anyway Lilly, because how else will you get them in the pipeline.”. “Well that’s right” said Lilly smiling , “for a minute I thought I was out of a job”. “No just bore your customers by telling what they already know” said Frank.

Kevin said, “Trevor this is such a simple idea and you believe it is effective. Who came up with it?” . “I don’t Know” said Trevor. “That’s odd Trevor considering the impact you say this will have, you would have thought the guy, sorry person, who came up with it would have been well known to all you sales experts. How long has it been known?” “I don’t know, some time”. “Well is it months or years?”. “Well years, I guess”. “How long have you personally known about it Trevor?”. “I don’t know. A year or two maybe”.  Lilly said she had seen it is a book by Keith Eads. Jack, the old man of the team, thought he had known about it for years but could not remember why. Janet, who rarely said anything at these events piped up and said; “I think it goes back to the turn of the last century. I read this in the Birth of a Salesman”. This was followed by a chorus of “Salespeople”.

“Hold it, Hold it, let’s get a sense of reality into all this” shouted Trevor. “Let’s do” said Dave, and all waited expectantly.

Trevor said in as calm a voice as he could muster, “You see it is all a matter of degrees and judgment. You do not follow it verbatim, but in principle as a kind of guide”. All were quite, so he continued, “You see sometimes you skip stages if that is the way of the customer. You may even go back a stage or two”

Dave said, “So the fact that a sale is at the proposal stage does not mean it is closer to a sale, in respect of time or decision, than one at the demonstration stage”. “That is right” said Trevor. More silence, while all waited for Dave to continue, which he did, “So it is the actions and intents of the customer that dictates the position and timing of a sale through this sales pipeline Trevor”. “Yes Dave you’re right”. “So in reality this is a customer buying or decision process rather than a sales process”

“It is Dave, but you must remember that this sales process mirrors the customer’s buying process” said Trevor. He knew this to be the given answer, but he was feeling uncomfortable, and did not want to go down this road.

Dave said, “It seems to me that we are imposing sales activities on a customer decision process and in doing so attempting to mechanize something that is largely intuitive and dependent of a variety of circumstance. I mean a customer may see a demonstration as a means of proof that our machines will address their buying requirements, or alternatively a means to keep up to date with new developments in the market”. “Like so many do at exhibitions” said Frank. “Precisely, or maybe before they have decided their buying criteria, by simply using the demonstration to help them establish what they should buy”, said Dave. Lilly said she had used demonstrations to do just that with customers. Dave continued; “A proposal may be towards the end of a customer’s decision, but it could be right near the beginning, when they are looking to decide if such a purchase fits into their overall strategy or whether they could afford to buy.” Janet said almost thinking aloud “So it is not that there are fixed sales steps, or even a sales process, but variations in customer decision processes, and the key is establishing where the customer is in their specific decision.” “That’s how I see it, Janet” said Kevin, and went on, “And there are not specific sales tools at each stage in the customer’s decision, but a whole bag full that our sales guys select as when required, and there are no two sales exactly alike”. “That is why we pay our guys, to make those judgments about which sales tool to use and when, not conforming to a set of steps that only occasionally match reality”. “May be we should make sure our people know all the tools available” said Kevin. “

“You know what Trevor”, announced  Dave,  “I think a better idea would be to ask the customer where they , and the rest of the DMU, are in their buying decision rather than trying to follow this sales process”   “How we have always gone about establishing the position of a sale, you mean” said Felix. “Yes Felix, but more how we should have, would be a better description. Our people have never been that good at asking and clarifying these questions” said Dave. “You’re right there” said George.

Trevor, who was now sitting down, said, “This all makes sense, but it does not get away from the problem, I mean fact, that from next week all managers must report the sales pipeline using this sales process. And this is a dictate from Bill Wright the new CSO” .

Dave said in an upbeat way, “Trevor thanks for reminding us, now how many sales opportunities does he want to see at each stage. You said there was a preferred shape. Have you any idea on the ratios between each stage to illustrate that shape. It would help us decide what to enter into the pipeline on the CRM system”.  “We must make sure we do not all enter the same numbers”, said Frank. All seemed to agree, except Lilly that is who was still trying to figure out if her job was on the line.

Trevor looked to clock at the back of the room and felt despondent knowing it was at least an hour before he could break for lunch.