Top Ten Questions Toward Growth Capability
Test your company's or your clients growth capability with these top ten questions.
Question 1 - Does your product or service save your customer's time or money?
Your customers are most likely saying "Save me time or money and I will do business with you." However, I (the customer) need to understand how it will save me time and money Look at your product or service - does it save time or money? If it doesn't - can it? If it does; do your customers understand how? However, make sure it does save time and money! What if Google was intuitive to your search request but was very slow?
Question 2- Which customers utilize the full benefits of your product or service?
If you don't know - FIND THEM! Model their behaviors. Learn (from them) what makes your product or service unique to them. Innovate around them - they are your future! Then find more customers that are just like them through market segmentation and data mining and innovate around them! I work with a number of consulting firms that are very good at getting to this kind of data. Please call us and we can pass along that information.
Question 3 - Who holds the product knowledge?
Sadly the answer to this question is usually "The Seller". Of course they do - they built designed or delivered it. However, you can greatly increase your growth capability if you give that knowledge to your customers. We are in a knowledge based market these days, therefore if you aren't giving them the knowledge, your competitor probably is. We will have more on this topic in upcoming articles. So be sure to read your monthly Salesfarce!
Question 4 - Do you have a reputation?
Remember in High School - some had good reputations while others maybe did not! So what is your reputation in the marketplace? Are you known for something? Anything? How about for quality? For low price? As a knowledgeable resource? If you are not known for anything - you need to start. In today's market, if you don't have a reputation for something - why would anyone do business with you?
Question 5 - "Are you a wandering generality or a meaningful specific?"
This is one quote from Zig Ziglar that I can truly remember! It hit me between the eyes five years ago - I was a wandering generality. I really didn't have plan for growth - just a list to call. I didn't test what worked and what didn't - I just stayed busy! Are you or your salesforce just staying busy? If you do not have marketing and sales process in place - it's difficult to become a meaningful specific that has growth capability!
Question 6 - Do you make a lot of cold calls?
Perhaps many of you are already answering - Yes of course I do! I'm a great salesperson! Wrong! One of the biggest SALESFARCES out there is that cold calling works. Sure you will pick up an occasional sale - but you WILL NOT have growth capability! Do you say - We need more revenue - increase the cold call activity! We all know it doesn't work - but we still all DO IT - because we feel like we just need to do something! Oh yes - another quote I can remember - "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result."
Question 7 - Do you plan a 30 mile trip with 20 miles worth of gas?
Sales IS a numbers game based on the number of quality touches not on how many times you interrupt your customers with a cold call! If it takes on average (and you should know this) 10 meetings to close a deal - don't plan for 8! How is your companies' follow-up process? Can you even tell? Finding enough QUALITY reasons to touch base can be very difficult - but necessary to close a deal. This should be a cross-functional goal of both sales and marketing.
Question 8 - Do you fish where the big fish are?
OK, if it takes 10 calls to make a sale - DON'T use that plan on a $1000 sale! Makes sense right? I can't tell you how many companies I see deep sea fishing in a Kansas pond! Your growth capability is directly in line with your market segment. You need to know who your target is (Market data), who is the decision maker for your product or service, and lastly who else is fishing in your pond (your competition). Without this data - you're dead in the water - up the creek without a paddle. A critical element to true growth capability is to arm yourself with the tools required to do the job - a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System!
Question 9 - Do you preplan the call?
I've been on a lot of windshield preplanning meetings - these are the ones that you or someone briefs you and the rest of the sales team, during the drive, on what the prospective customer needs and how the meeting should be conducted. Come on! You have one shot at this meeting that might have taken you 10 attempts just to get - why blow it at the last meeting.
Question 10 - Are you a Sales Driven organization?
I leave this one for last - but it really encompasses everything so far. If you answered the other 9 questions correctly; chances are that you are a sales driven organization. If not - ask yourself this - do ALL my employees work together toward creating an environment that my customers and prospects value? Sales is a four letter word to most people. If you ask your customer service people if they are selling and they probably will say - "heavens no - I help them". Well folks - helping your customers is selling! Selling SUCKS - so stop selling and start helping!
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