Be a business development stone cutter

I have been looking for an analogy for ages that would help our clients who have committed to increasing sales activity levels, but are struggling to keep the momentum going. In particular, to provide a little encouragement on those days when there are lots of calls and call-backs made, but there are few results to be seen.

In the mind game that is selling, managing our expectations and staying the course can be a challenge, particularly on those frustrating days when nobody seems to be available, or even interested.

We are continually saying that activity gets results and that everything counts - every email, every telephone call, every conversation, etc. The objective is to make the calls, to send the emails and to dial the number. In most cases selling is inevitable, if these other things are happening. But that does not seem to be enough to get the message across.

Then it struck me that the perfect analogy is that of a business development stone cutter – you have to keep chipping away if you are going to crack a market, or an account. But it is difficult to persist, because maybe the next blow will do it, or perhaps another 20, or 30 are required. One thing for sure, it will require more perspiration than inspiration. In fact, no matter what finesse you bring to it, a while lot of effort will be required.

Each time you diall a number, talk to a prospect, send an email, or have a sales meeting is the equivalent of a hammer blow bring you one step closer to carving out the opportunity you want.

However, if you stop chiseling away the stone will never crack. If you stop now all you have done is made the job a little easier for the next salesperson that comes along. Maybe you need to replace, or improve your tools, but you absolutely need to keep hammering. If you do the result will inevitable come.

When you have cracked that account, or that opportunity, it may appear to the outside world to have been easy, but only you will know how much effort it took. Only you will have the satisfaction of knowing that, in spite of temptation, you did not give up.

Sales Alchemy: From Reactive to Proactive Sales Organization

Changed Times Requires Changed Companies

What made your company successful in the boom, is not enough to ensure its survival in the downturn. Times have changed and that means the fundamental character of your company must change too.

In a constricting market, the customers you get are the customers you pursue, with creativity, energy and vigor. That means your entire organization needs to be more active and more proactive about sales. That means more sales calls, emails, meetings and so on. It also means a switch from business development by the few (i.e. sales and marketing), to grass roots and senior managemnet involvement in sales.

A New Era of Pro-activity

After a decade of customers walking in the door and RFPs arriving in the post, responding and reacting are no longer enough. Your organisation’s efforts must switch to the proactive pursuit of customers.

Your organization must make an alchemistic transformation from reactive to proactive – from inward looking to outward reaching. It must become more innovation in the solutions being offered and more flexible in term of how they are packaged and priced.

The objective is to magically transform what has been common, into what is uncommon and of great value. A change of attitude and behavior is required, from the top to the bottom - from the board room to the sales office and from customer service to administration। Also required are the appropriate underlying business metrics, systems and processes.

Making the transition

Henry Ford famously said ‘your business, like a chicken, is at its healthiest when it has to do a little searching for its food.’ However, we have become accustomed to having our food served on a plate and at regular intervals. Going back to the old ways is going to come as a bit of a shock.

For many organisations making the transition from reactive to proactive in terms of the changing marketplace requires rewriting the organization’s DNA. We have watched the transition in sales organizations, as well in professional services organizations, manufacturing businesses and retail organisations. Some have employed a bullwhip to drive staff to adopt more proactive and sophisticated approach to sales, while others have offered gentle encouragement. Neither is guaranteed success.

Lessons from those who have succeeded, as well as those who have failed

Here are some of the lessons from those who have already made the transition, as well as those stumbled in the process.

For most companies the transition will not be easy, as it involves changing deep rooted organization habits and cultures laid down over many years. The main reason it will be painful: because it requires people moving outside their comfort zone – for example it requires sales reps, customer service and other staff to increase the level of sales activity and in particular to undertake some element of cold calling.
1. Many organizations, having endured the trauma of downsizing, lay-offs, lost business, etc. find themselves at a low ebb currently. However, those organizations paralyzed by negativity and reeling from shock find it most difficult to rise to the challenge. Keeping in tact the essential esprit de corps of the organization is key. Managers must win hearts as well as minds.
Managers tell us they are tired of telling staff of the urgent need for more sales activity, but that the message is not getting through. But prophesies of doom, fear of redundancy and constant nagging fall short of empowering staff to take up the baton for a more proactive approach to sales and run with it.
How to make it easy for people? The answer is to provide the support required, ensuring that people have the confidence, skills and tools, as well as the encouragement and leadership that is required. Also required is to identify and remove, ahead of time, any barriers that may exist. The most important one of these is not having the time, but there are many more.
Arguably most important of all is to set modest/realistic expectations at the start. That includes a slow and modest take-off in terms of the level of activity, rather than a mad burst of activity that quickly dissipates. That often means focusing on the activity required as opposed to the target to be achieved. For example, remedying a sales deficit (250,000) based on targeted conversion rates becomes less daunting and more meaningful when it is couched in terms of each person on the team talking to an extra 10 potential customers per week, or spending the necessary 6 hours per week calling potential customers.
Leadership is the vital ingredient in the success of any program of proactive sales and marketing, once off as well as ongoing. That is not to be mistaken for ‘charging over the hill leadership’, but the most subtle and more effective forms that entail coaching, as well as setting an example. Quite simply managers have no legitimacy in asking staff to do things that they themselves have not demonstrated themselves willing to do the same. That is why it is important in sales meetings and progress reviews that the manager are first to report on what they have done.
If managers want something from staff (more calls, more activity, etc.) they have to be willing to give something in return. That goes beyond the obvious rewards and recognitions to include new levels of openness, honesty and communication.
It is important to rally activity around a sales campaign that provides a new reason to contact customers, or prospects, including perhaps a new message, or a special promotion. It is also important to combine a number of sales and marketing ingredients together, for example supporting cold calling with direct mail, or PR for example.
Getting started won’t be hard, but maintaining momentum that is tough. That is because as management attention turns to the next immediate priority sales activity and pro activeness will return to its previous default level. For this reason regular coaching of staff, ongoing meetings, revisions to the sales campaign, new initiatives, etc. are required to keep the oxygen of flowing to revitalize sales. It is vital that the manager regularly 'drops by' to enquire how things are going, show interest and offer encouragement.
Inevitably there will be casualties along the way, with some staff being simply unable to meet the challenge at this point in their professional lives. There will be other setbacks and disappointments too. For example a sales message that fails to tempt buyers, a target sector that proves to be dry, etc. All this is to be expected - the success requires experimentation and ongoing correction. Many successful business development initiatives are borne out of a false start, with the ability to start again with enthusiasm being key.
Job descriptions are being widely rewritten, with the addition of business development to the tasks and responsibilities of so many. However, even though the balance of power has swung very firmly in favour of the employer, care is required to avoid an arbitrary change of employment terms that could result in a a claim of constructive dismissal, or unfair selection for redundancy. Now, in our view sales is everybody's job, however it is a mantel that people must take up for themselves, as opposed to one that is forced upon them.

The new business development equation

There is a new equation to calculate the rate of success you can expect to from your business development activities.  Well, it is actually not new at all, although for many people it is newly discovered. 

It states the obvious - new business generated is a function of the number of sales; calls, emails, letters and meetings.  It works on two levels:

First, the building of the sales pipeline is directly related to the volume of each of these elements.  Sales is not just a once off email, or meeting that is required to close a deal, but an ongoing and systematic process of calling, emailing, meeting, etc.

Second, the level of success with any prospect, or sales opportunity.  That means calling prospects and keeping in touch by email and letter, sending the occasional useful piece of information (a case study, white paper, etc.).   

Related posts:

Keep in touch.  Nobody gets left behind.  People are interested in people who are interested in them.  You cannot trust people you don’t know.  Relationship selling.

Even in a downturn there are opportunities - one company's story

Market conditions are tough, but some companies are finding it tougher than others.  That is because while everybody is facing the same downturn, not all are reacting to it the same way. Here is an encouraging example.

A large services firm that has hit their revenue target month on month for the first quarter of the year this against a backdrop of:

• Tighter budgets in the sectors they are selling to
• Their local competition closing offices and cutting headcount

In Sept 08 the situation was as follows:

• This firm didn't have to sell proactively in years
• They had very few new local projects to work on
• They faced stiff competition for international projects
• Making contact with past clients, prospective clients was at an all time low

Over a three month period this firm took a number of key steps to address the situation:

• Firstly they asked people at the grass roots to help with business development
• Secondly they held workshops with all customer facing staff to remind people about staying in contact with clients
• Thirdly they reviewed all their old contacts, centralised them and began to make proactive contact
• Finally they started to note conversations they were having with clients at all levels and got senior staff to come along to meetings to share their insights and expertise with contacts

All quite simple you might say. Well the results have been interesting to see.

• Activity levels have increased without hiring a single sales person
• Over a six week period four of their project team handled 20 proposals and won 7
• In-house experts without any background in sales are spending a few hours a week on business development
• Their sales target hit 3 months in a row
• A new pipeline of real work that will bring delivery headaches

I highlight this story because it shows that new projects can be secured despite all the doom and gloom we hear on a daily basis and as this company proved everyone can and should contribute to business development.

A tale of two companies - the difference between failure and success in a downturn

There is no question but that the construction sector is fareing the worst in the present global down turn.  But, scratch beneath the surface and you will quickly see that some in the sector are suffering more than others.  The lessons are clear for all companies and all industries.

Over the past 6 months we have worked with Ireland's largest architectural practice, as well as Ireland's largest engineering and technical services firm.  Both are doing better than the average, as as blood is spilled right through-out their industries these firms have managed to maintain an even keel.  Why?

A tale of two companies...

The story is best told by reference to two leading arhcitectural practices.  Both with fancy offices  and glossy brochures, as well as international offices and prestigeous portfolios.

One however, did more business development than the other, started it earlier and involved more people throughout the organisation.   That company has met its sales targets for the last 3 months running, while the other has gone out of business.

Even in markets that appear to be in free fall there are opportunities.  It requires a lot more searching to find them and a lot more innovation to win the business, including new forms of pricing and packaging of projects.  It requires applying new skills to develop new services and most of all a concerted effort and increased sophistication in respect of business development.  That is the difference between success and failure in a downturn.