I N ST I T U T E O F SA L E S M A N AG E M E N T
WINNINGEDGE R A I S I N G T H E VA L U E O F S A L E S
Number 3 2019 | ismprofessional.com | £4.95
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BESMA 2019
NOMINATE NOW! The British Sales and Management Awards 2019 Entries close at midnight on 11 August
l A BESMA trophy represents the UK’s highest level of recognition for outstanding sales achievement and highlights organisations that demonstrate best practice in sales l The awards acknowledge the vital role sales professionals play in today’s fast-moving business arena – and motivate them to produce more sales. BESMA offers employers an opportunity to demonstrate the value they place on their top individual salespeople and teams. And BESMA helps raise the profile of professional selling l Anyone can put forward themselves, another individual, or a sales team for a BESMA. There is no limit on the number of entries. Simply select the appropriate categories and complete an entry form for each l Accepted nominations will go through to a BESMA Judging Day on 11 or 12 September, under the direction of Head Judge, Kerry Nutley
The BESMA dinner and awards presentation ceremony will take place on 15 November at Wembley Stadium To book your places or for more information, contact Adam Brook, ISM Head of Marketing Email abrook@ismprofessional.com or call 020 3870 4949
Categories l Best Employer l Corporate L&D Team of the Year l Customer Service Team of the Year l External Sales Team of the Year l Innovation in Sales Technology l Key Account Manager of the Year l Lifetime Achievement l Rising Star of the Year l Sales Development Programme of the Year l Sales Director of the Year l Sales Manager of the Year l Sales Professional of the Year l Sales Support Team of the Year l Sales Team of the Year (over 50) l Sales Team of the Year (under 50) l Sales Training Provider of the Year l Student of the Year l Telesales Team of the Year
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
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WINNINGEDGE NUMBER 3 – 2019 ismprofessional.com
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36 3 Cover and ISM editorial In praise of Corporate Partnership
4 Sales talk The latest sales news and research
6 Smarter selling Institute of Sales Management 18 King William Street London EC4N 7BP Telephone: +44 (0)20 3870 4949 Email: abrook@ismprofessional.com Website: ismprofessional.com Chief Operating Officer: Roger Bradburn Director: Thomas Moverley Corporate Account Director: Dave Millichap Head of Marketing: Adam Brook Head of Membership: Rachael Bourke Editorial: Marc Beishon, Tom Nash Design: Del Gentleman Advertising: Adam Brook Telephone: +44 (0)20 3870 4949 Email: abrook@ismprofessional.com Printed by: Ridgeway Press © ISM 2019.Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the ISM.The publishers endeavour to check all facts and figures prior to publication,but are not responsible for errors in material supplied to them for publication.Any article published will automatically be deemed to carry the sole copyright and be the property of the ISM.
Understanding T-levels,plus setting effective objectives
11 Tools for the job Smart tech for savvy sales pros
12 More than money Commission is not the only key to motivation,says Cassi Roper
15 Stress in sales Zoë Douglas-Judson urges action at the top on mental health
16 Staying in the flow Adrian Hales on how neuroscience can inform sales leadership
19 Sales leader profile Meet Showpad’s Jim Preston
22 Education’s what you need A sales degree is fuelling growth at ISM Corporate Partner,Yara UK
24 Driving up sales ISM qualifications boost BESMAwinner Mercedes-Benz Vans
28 Propping up prices Peter Colman explains how to improve your pricing process
32 Focus, focus, focus! Concentrate on what matters,say Richard Higham and Alan Timothy
36 Prove your points Back up your proposals with evidence,advises Sarah Hinchliffe
40 Develop yourself Ruta Misunaite on the importance of planning and goal-setting
44 Meaningful mentoring Rachael Bourke gains feedback from an ISM mentor and mentee
International Standard Serial No.UK ISSN 1746-6849
20 All about alignment Sales matters in the marketing mix ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
48 Corporate partner profile We talk to Billy Lyle of Redspire WINNING EDGE 1
EVENTS 2019 THE ISM OFFERS AND SUPPORTS A RICH VARIETY OF EVENTS FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS
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Our programme of events offers unique learning and networking opportunities to sales professionals at all levels
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The ISM also works closely with other professional bodies and selected commercial partners to provide the most topical events programme to both our members and the wider sales profession
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Listed below is a selection of forthcoming dates for your diary
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For the most up-to-date information on all ISM and ISM-supported events, visit www.ismprofessional.com/events
ISM 30-MINUTE WEBINARS 25 July 30 July 27 August 29 August 24 Sept
11am 11am 11am 11am 11am
How to help employees find meaning in work Why membership is the new revenue generating opportunity Combining #3brainselling with neuroscience to accelerate growth The science of B2B sales Lack of pipeline: the No 1 reason you are not hitting quota
Andre Andersen Gordon Glenister Mark Erskine James Isilay Steve Burton
ISM REGIONAL EVENTS ISM Regional Events have been created to ensure that ISM members get maximum engagement with, and benefit from, the ISM wherever they are located. They provide an active forum for members from a diverse range of industries, organisations and sales disciplines to network, exchange views and share best practice with their peers. Members are free to attend as many events as they wish. Non-members are welcome to attend one group meeting, but will then be required to join the Institute to continue. To find details of events around the country – and catch up with our Regional Events blog – visit ismprofessional.com/events
BRITISH EXCELLENCE IN SALES MANAGEMENT AWARDS (BESMA) 2019
NATIONAL SALES CONFERENCE 2019
Nominations close at midnight on 11 August
NSC19 will again be co-located with National Sales Exhibition at the Ricoh. This year, the event will host five conference streams for different sales roles, including Leadership, L&D, Academy, Inside Sales, and Graduate – aimed at rising sales stars – which launched successfully in 2018. Visit www.nsconference.co.uk
A BESMA trophy represents the UK’s highest level of recognition for outstanding sales achievement and highlights organisations that demonstrate best practice in sales. Anyone can put forward themselves, another individual, or a sales team for a BESMA. There is no limit on the number of entries. Simply select the appropriate categories, which are listed on the inside front cover of this edition, and complete an entry form for each.
11/12 September – BESMA Judging Day 15 November – BESMA gala dinner and presentations Visit ismprofessional.com for the latest BESMA news
28 November – Ricoh Arena, Coventry
20% ISM member discount, plus early booking discount
For the most up-to-date information on all ISM and ISM-supported events, visit: www.ismprofessional.com/events
INSTITUTE OF SALES MANAGEMENT | EDITORIAL
NEW AND VIEWS FROM THE ISM TOM MOVERLEY highlights corporate partnerships, notes other themes in this issue, and pays tribute to a great salesperson
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n this issue of Winning Edge we are highlighting partnerships we have with companies in a number of ways. The centrepiece is the feature on Mercedes Benz Vans, and its development programme for sales and after-sales skills in the van sector. The case study, written by Winning Edge co-editor Tom Nash, describes a three-way partnership we often see in our corporate members, namely Mercedes Benz Vans, a training and development specialist, in this case RTS Group, and the ISM. The article includes interviews with all parties, including two “break-outs” on salespeople who have been through the programme. We have featured corporate case studies before, and they have always been an integral part of the ISM’s activities, and I’m pleased to showcase Mercedes and also other aspects of partnership in this issue. See also the profiles of Jim Preston, Showpad, and Billy Lyle, Redspire, which highlight partnerships we have with technology suppliers in the sales industry, and also Paul Norman’s story on gaining a sales MA at partner Yara UK, after a lead from the ISM. ISM ACTIVITIES On other ISM matters, I must of course mention that nominations for our awards programme, BESMA, close soon (see inside front cover for more) and I’d like to thank all the award sponsors. On digital matters, check out our new Sales Stories page on our website – this is your opportunity to contribute a blog on how you came to be in sales and what your achievements are. You get to include a link to your LinkedIn profile and company website, so don’t hesitate to spend some time doing an entry. Meanwhile we’ve now got more than ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
“Corporate partnerships have always been an integral part of the ISM’s activities” 3,000 subscribers to our webinar channel – webinars are tried and tested learning and communications platforms and we are pleased with this success. Finally, thanks to our marketing manager, Adam Brook, who’s reached 2 years at the ISM, and is responsible for Winning Edge, among many other things. LEE IOCACCA While drafting this editorial, I read that one of the world’s great business figures, Lee Iacocca, had died at the age of 94 in the US. His business was the car industry, and he was known for launching the iconic Ford Mustang and saving Chrysler from bankruptcy. But above all, as the Washington Post noted, he was a worldclass salesperson who also, crucially, understood the power of great marketing. He knew that cars needed to be marketed as much more than a means of transportation, and he had the “cunning, ingenuity and swagger” that transformed the car sales pitch and propelled him to the top. A turning point was when at a failing Ford sales district he came up with a finance plan called “56 for 56” – customers could buy a 1956 Ford for 20% down and payments of $56 a month for 3 years. The district’s sales soon came
top. One of his most famous pitches was simple – in ads for a new Plymouth, he said: “If you can find a better car, buy it!” This was later turned into a rap version by Snoop Dog: “If the ride is more fly, then you must buy.” While we probably won’t see the likes of Iocacca again on TV or billboards, there are no doubt plenty of other ingenious salespeople using modern techniques to rise to the pinnacle of their companies. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE... Talking of pricing, you’ll want to read Peter Colman’s article on page 28, in which he highlights price as a fundamental aspect of business, and so pricing management should be a core competence of every firm, but rarely is. The salesperson’s role in prices is of course also fundamental and there are a number of biases that stand in the way of the best return, as Peter discusses. Learning from rather different figures to Lee Iocacca is key to the article by Richard Higham and Nick Timothy on focusing on the right aims in sales. Frederick Lanchester is one – a great engineer, he argued for application of maximum force only at the point where it could give compelling advantage, which was picked up by legendary quality expert Edward Deming for use in business. The article will help you determine if you are selling to the right people in the right organisations on the right subjects. Finally, in keeping with our Stress in Sales programme, we have a reminder of the key issues (see page 15), Ruta Misiunaite’s personal development essentials of goal setting and planning (page 40), more on being “in the flow” (page 16), and a mentor story (page 44). The twin powers of personal development – both in training and mental/lifestyle preparation, enabled also by corporate partnerships – and addressing key aspects of sales process, are very much to the fore in this issue. Tom Moverley is director of the ISM.
WINNING EDGE 3
SALES TALK INDUSTRY NEWS STATISTICS
DID YOU KNOW… The proportion of consumers who, since the 2016 referendum on EU membership, have been buying more British-branded products:
ISM CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP
PARTNERS IN PROFESSIONALISM The ISM is proud to welcome Ground Control as a Corporate Partner
30%
OF ALL CONSUMERS
22%
36%
OF LEAVE SUPPORTERS
33%
WILL PAY OF REMAIN MORE TO SUPPORTERS BUY BRITISH Source: Survey by pricing specialist Simon-Kucher (www.simon-kucher.com)
BUZZWORDS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability of individuals to recognise their own and others’ emotions, and use this to anticipate or influence thinking and behaviour. Every decision we make is driven by emotion, but measuring it in real time has been impossible – until now. New research from Rotterdam School of Management has used electroencephalography (EEG) to successfully track how someone really feels. Being able to measure emotional experiences means businesses can understand the emotional effect their products, services and sales and marketing initiatives have on customers, so RSM’s method could become a valuable tool for tracking customer experience.
4 WINNING EDGE
Ground Control is one of the UK’s leading external maintenance and commercial landscaping providers, with 5,000 staff servicing 45,000 commercial sites across the UK, and generating annual sales of £150m. Ground Control has achieved sector-leading sales growth and customer retention by providing each customer with a dedicated key account manager and account director to ensure high service levels and value for money. Andrew Hollyer, group sales and marketing director, is focused on increasing market share, regionally and nationally. “This will be achieved by listening closely to our customers’ needs to build and improve the overall customer experience,” he says. He continues, “Although we’ve grown into a sizeable national company, we strive to maintain the feeling of a family business. We place great importance on our values, which include an ethical and professional approach to selling. Our customer-facing staff never put customers under pressure, because we believe in building lasting long-term relationships with them.” And that’s where Ground Control’s Corporate Partnership with the ISM comes in. Initially, it means that about a dozen of the company’s team
can access the benefits of individual membership of the ISM, facilitating their ongoing professional development and enhancing their work with customers. “The ISM will help them build on their existing strengths through learning resources and networking opportunities,” says Hollyer. He believes the collaboration will also help with recognition and teambuilding – not least through future participation in the ISM’s BESMA Awards, which recognise the contribution of salespeople, rewarding top performers and generating a strong team ethic. “Some people may also want to pursue ISM qualifications – which we would certainly encourage them to do,” he says. Dave Millichap, ISM corporate accounts director, adds, “We’re delighted to be supporting Ground Control and its customer-facing team. Engaging with ISM networks, events and learning resources helps build a culture of continuous improvement as professional and ethical salespeople, which can only have a positive impact on the already high standards of service given.” The collaboration is the latest in a string of recent ISM Corporate Partnerships, including industrial chemicals business Yara UK (see page 22) and software company Redspire (see page 48).
SALES MANAGEMENT
PREPARING FOR A SALES DOWNTURN There will always be downturns, not least ongoing Brexit uncertainty Sales leaders under pressure to cut costs must look beyond the “quick wins” and instead focus on long-term, productivity oriented investments, according to research firm, Gartner. “When faced with a looming economic downturn, it’s easy to see ‘quick wins’ as a palatable solution to save money in the short term,” said Brent Adamson, a Gartner VP. “However, these types of decisions can inhibit sales strategies coming out of that tough economic environment and make bouncing
back that much harder. Sales leaders instead must focus on making small but powerful changes to start positioning their teams to take advantage of the opportunities that economic uncertainty and a downturn can create.” Gartner recommends getting on now with analysing sales productivity; making more of subject matter expert, as they add much value; and communicating early on any travel and entertainment cuts for clients.
ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
SALES TALK | INDUSTRY NEWS
SHORT SELLING
Talking Point
N EW S ROUND- UP
FLUSHING OUT FACTS
“While nearly all UK decision-makers (91%) rate the customer experience they provide as above average, this isn’t what customers experience – with 67% saying they would rather clean the toilet than have to contact a customer service team” Source: Study by Pegasystems: The good, the bad, and the ugly: 2019 global customer service insights.
HURRY FOR BESMA!
PERK UP YOUR PERFORMANCE Improve your sales with free online assessment tools
RESEARCH
SALES HOLD UP – FOR NOW Global economic growth masks sales flaws New research from CSO Insights, part of Miller Heiman Group (MHG), finds that EMEA sales organisations have weathered recent tough economic conditions very well, with a 6% increase in hitting revenue targets and a 9% increase in their staff hitting their quotas. But Seleste Lunsford, chief research officer of CSO Insights, says sales leaders need to dig beneath the surface to understand what’s really going on. “Taken at face value, this year’s numbers appear promising – sales organisations have increased revenue attainment for the third consecutive year. And for the first time in two years, sales teams are making their numbers, with the percentage of sellers earning quota increasing to 60% from a record low two years ago. But these findings aren’t telling the whole story.” She continues, “Half of the deals that are forecast to close don’t. Customer retention has decreased as seller attrition increases. These indicators suggest strong economic growth is the variable that powers sales organisations – and to achieve long-term world-class status, sales organisations need to apply greater focus to sales transformation initiatives.”
ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
SalesSense (salessense.co.uk), run by ISM Fellow Clive Miller, is offering free online content and tools to help individuals and companies improve their sales results. The portfolio includes: l Sales aptitude assessment – with an additional top performer comparison chart l Sales skills assessment – with individual feedback as well as a 60-page sales professional’s toolkit l Sales knowledge challenge – to find out what you don’t know, to compile a manual of what others should know, to help with onboarding or training, or to use to guide learning l Work motivators – to reflect on your own or others’ intrinsic work motivators – with a sales impact analysis, if requested l Sales management practices assessment – to prepare yourself for a broader role, or to see if there are things you should or could be doing as a manager – with improvement recommendations and resources on request l Sales operations and planning assessment – to guide organising and optimising a sales team through operating governance and procedures – again, with improvement recommendations and resources on request.
Nominations for the British Excellence in Sales Management Awards (BESMA) 2019 close at midnight on 11 August. Run by the ISM, BESMA is the UK’s leading award scheme for sales professionals and teams. See the inside front cover for details on how to enter.
CONTENT IS KING
Aberdeen, a research firm and provider of so-called “intent-based” sales and marketing systems, has issued research showing best-in-class B2B firms benefit by creating content that speaks in a consistent voice across all channels to create a “frictionless” customer experience. The research was supported by content platform provider, Kapost.
REVENUE OPTIMISING
The market for customer revenue optimisation (CRO) systems is expected to grow to over $3bn by 2024, according to Aragon Research. The firm explains that CRO automates the selling process into a set of definable actions needed to win deals, grow accounts and maximise revenue. It sounds like a new term for an established approach but check out Aragon’s website for more.
REVENUE OPTIMISING
Normally we’d worry about a new sales book with the title, Sales Badassery: Kick Ass. Take Names. Crush the Competition. But as it’s issued by Wiley, a most respectable business publisher, we’ll bring it to your attention. It’s written by Frank Rumbauskas, who’s also authored Selling Sucks, The Never Cold Call Again Online Playbook. He’s American, in case of doubt.
GOING UP?
ISM members who would like to be considered for a membership upgrade, to reflect their knowledge and experience more accurately, should send an up-todate CV or LinkedIn profile to Rachael Bourke, ISM membership manager, at rbourke@ismprofessional.com. All members studying an ISM qualification automatically qualify for Associate membership, but some of these members, in particular, may be entitled to upgrade.
ANY IDEAS?
ISM members wishing to contribute to Winning Edge, should email articles or ideas to Adam Brook, head of marketing, at abrook@ismprofessional.com
WINNING EDGE 5
SMARTER SELLING
SALES EDUCATION
LET’S GET TECHNICAL Patricia Seabright discusses T-levels and sales management, business administration or human resources. The T-level includes the requirement to do a placement of at least 45 days that will be instrumental in them acquiring real-world skills. Apprenticeships for 16-18 year-olds are a parallel educational stream. Like apprenticeships, T-levels also focus on practical skills, but they are collegebased and offer the young person a chance to get a broader grounding in a subject area before having to decide on a specific role. A T-level qualification will give them the option at 18 to move on to further, degree-level education, a higher-level apprenticeship or straight into work. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BUSINESS? 1) For decades businesses have complained that
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magine being able to recruit a young person to your sales team who already has professional behaviours and a sound knowledge of business processes and skills – someone who could hit the ground running and add value to your business immediately, with minimal induction training. Think of the time and money that could be saved. This is what T–levels are about. WHAT’S A T-LEVEL?
T-levels are the technical equivalent of A-levels and are being introduced in 2020. They are part of the government’s industrial strategy, which includes among its aims seeking to improve the quality and reputation of technical education in the UK. At the moment, most technical or vocational training for 16-18 year-olds is seen as a poor relation to the ubiquitous and well-respected academic route of A-levels. In countries like Germany, however, technical education is as highly valued and respected as academic education and, as the pace of change continues to increase, we need young people to be better equipped to move seamlessly from education to work to improve their prospects and our national productivity. A business T-level is a 2 year study programme (like A-levels) where young people spend the first year learning the basics of business and the second year specialising in a particular area such as line 6 WINNING EDGE
PATRICIA SEABRIGHT is director of UK-based Archimedes Consulting, which helps businesses analyse and optimise their sales processes and their selling, communication and influencing skills. She is currently also chair of the Business and Admin T-level panel. The panel’s role is to advise government on employer’s views on what the content of T-levels should be to meet the needs of business. Call 01727 850668, email enquiries@ archimedesconsulting.co.uk, or visit archimedesconsulting.co.uk
young people entering the workplace are ill prepared and place high resource demands on employers to get them to a point of usefulness in their business. T-level graduates in business will be providing potential recruits who are more focused, more knowledgeable and better able to hit the ground running and contribute more quickly and easily than in the past. So be prepared to embrace T-level graduates. 2) Your business may be asked to provide work placements to support T-levels. Grab this with both hands. It’s your chance to encourage young people into sales. Sales has often had a poor reputation with young people, who tend to think of it narrowly in terms of retail sales, call centres, or selling double-glazing. Many remain unaware of the range of professional and sophisticated opportunities afforded by B2B sales and national account management, for example. It’s your opportunity to help create a pipeline of interest and talent for commercial roles in your area. 3) Currently, there is no T-level planned in sales, marketing and procurement. There is an apprenticeship in this field, but not a T-level. This is something that I feel is very wrong and reflects a real misunderstanding of the nature of this discipline among many educators and the Department for Education. HELP US GET A T-LEVEL FOR SALES
I am currently lobbying the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to change this. If you agree with me that this is something that should be addressed, please let me know so I can represent your views, or write directly to the minister to express your opinion. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO BECOME A PARAGON OF SELLING Rachael Bourke reviews Robert Spence’s latest book
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s it states on the front cover, The Paragon Mindset, by ISM member Robert Spence, sets out to give you the right attitude and skills to sell more. In order to sell as effectively as possible, it is crucial to maintain the right mindset at all times – without it you can’t succeed. The book focuses on three areas: “the paragon mindset”, “selling the paragon way” and “the future”, which encourage the reader to push their boundaries to further themselves and their career. The first section, the paragon mindset, opens with some tough questioning to provoke thinking in the reader: who are you, and what do you want from life? Without addressing these questions, you can’t challenge yourself to move out of your comfort zone and better yourself to maximise your performance. Having established exactly who you are and what you want to achieve, you’ve laid the right foundations for success. Next, you can focus on setting goals to drive yourself forward and keep performing at a high standard. The second section, selling the paragon way, explores the key tools needed to further salespeople in their career and boost their sales skills. It contains practices that every salesperson should know, and yet many fail to implement in everyday life. These techniques include uncovering your creative side to prospect successfully, becoming a confident cold caller, effective questioning and objection handling to close the deal, and maintaining the customer relationship after the sale. Section three, the future, reiterates the importance of having the right mindset, skills and personal traits to become a truly successful salesperson, and to keep practising the skills learnt in the book to continue developing yourself. Spence is managing director of sales consultancy Paragon Sales Solutions. As a sales manager, coach, mentor and author, it is clear he is passionate about sales, and has the knowledge and experience to give sound advice. Importantly, he also has the humour needed to convert a worthy theme into an enjoyable read. The Paragon Mindset will nourish and entertain any sales professional at any level who seeks to acquire or refresh sales knowledge and develop themselves. Both this title and Spence’s first book, Relationship Selling, are available on Amazon, or visit paragonsalessolutions.co.uk ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
BUSINESS BID S
PUBLIC SECTOR POTENTIAL
PHILIP NORMAN says you can win a bid with poor grammar, but not with poor content When it comes to bid documents, the grammar police come out in force. Written content is endlessly reviewed and constant changes to grammar, spelling and punctuation are made, many of them inconsistently. I was a civil servant in a previous life and so experienced the best and worst of this at first hand. To make matters worse, there are different views on the correct grammar. I have experienced bid development meetings where the group lengthily discussed the use of the Oxford comma or the correct pronoun. I may get lynched for saying this, but it’s not that important! I’ve never seen a bid fail because of poor grammar, but I’ve seen many bids fail because of poor content. With bid writing and reviewing, there must be a certain standard of grammatical correctness, of course, and the presentation of the bid response must reflect your organisation in a positive manner. But a balance must be struck. Don’t spend excessive time making the document grammatically faultless, if that time could be better spent ensuring the response answers the questions effectively and will be evaluated positively. There are some people whose review of a written document adds value to the content, using
grammar well to articulate key messages and themes effectively, but others are so singularly focused on the grammar that they miss the document’s purpose. Every document has an objective and needs to present this as a priority, and bids are no different. So, if the review needn’t focus too heavily on the grammar, what should it concentrate on? Easy. The entire focus should be on whether the tender response maximises the chance of winning the evaluation points on offer. Challenge your review team by asking the following: l Does it clearly address your offering? l Are the sentences in bite-size chunks and easy to digest? l Is there a consistent theme throughout? l Will it be easy to evaluate? l Will it score well against the published evaluation criteria? l Are the benefits to the buyer clear? (Ask yourself the allimportant “So what?” repeatedly). If these questions are answered honestly, the bid review will be effective. If you answer “no” to any, then address them. If you are not entirely sure, an independent review is what you need. PHILIP NORMAN is founder and MD of Bidbetter, which provides large and small businesses with public sector bidding advice. Email philip.norman@bid-better.co.uk or visit bid-better.co.uk WINNING EDGE 7
SMARTER SELLING
thought is given to setting sales objectives. A great sales objective gives you purpose. It moves your business forward, and it moves your customer’s business forward. A business is never ticking over. It’s growing or it’s dying. A compelling sales objective for every call will ensure your business is growing and that you’re helping your customer’s business to grow. THINK SMART
SETTING OBJECTIVES
THE SHOULDER TAP TEST Matthew Hotten explains the importance of “smart” objectives
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ant to know the best part of my job? It’s the part where I think I can have a real impact – being out in the field working with a sales professional – seeing them in action and getting the chance to meet and talk with customers. I love getting to know a colleague better. Finding out what makes them tick. Understanding their motivations, ambitions and, sometimes, their anxieties and fears. I’m not sure if the person I’m out with is looking forward to it as much as me... I remember having sales managers out with me and I’d always be a little nervous. I wanted to make sure we had a cracking day. When we’re driving to an appointment, or outside waiting to go in, I always ask the same question: “So, what’s our plan for this call? What’s our objective here? What do we want to achieve with this customer?” It’s the “shoulder tap test”. Can the person I’m working with that day clearly articulate their goal for this customer call? A selection of answers I’ve had over the years includes: “I’m going in to find out more about their business”, “I said I’d drop some literature off for them”, “I want to agree marketing plans for the next quarter and agree promotional activity”, “I always pop in on a Friday – it’s doughnut day...” I’ll let you decide which objectives are good ones. But here’s the point: knowing what you want to achieve in a call seems obvious, but having been out with hundreds of salespeople from a gamut of industries, I’m still surprised at how little 8 WINNING EDGE
MATTHEW HOTTEN is people and organisational development manager, UK & Ireland, at Geberit, a sanitary products manufacturer. Geberit is an ISM Corporate Partner. Visit geberit.co.uk
SMART = Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely
I bet there is a section in every sales training workshop you’ve ever attended that talks about planning and preparation, about setting objectives. And I bet you’ve been asked what the acronym SMART refers to. I deliver sales training and I’m one of those who ask this question. Most people have come across SMART many times in theory, but what about in practice? Is your objective specific? Is it measurable? Is there a timeframe in which it will be achieved? Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Is it worth it for them? Will it help them achieve their business goals? Our customers are busier than they’ve ever been and the days of sticking our heads around the door for a coffee and a chat are long gone. In fact, wandering in hoping to get some time with your customer is a sure-fire way to kill your business. If you’re at the sharp end of selling, ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve in this call that will drive my business and my customer’s business forward?” If you’re a sales leader, “Will this call drive our business forward and our customer’s business forward?” As sales professionals, we need to add value to our customer and their business every time we go in. You can quickly tell if a salesperson isn’t adding value because the buyer stops agreeing to appointments. They don’t see it as a good use of their time, and that’s disappointing. ACT FAST
Somebody told me once that the best time to set an objective is right after your sales call with that customer. I love this thinking. Everything is still fresh in your mind and you can build on the momentum of the call. It’s done and dusted, and when you have an admin day later in the month and are planning your return call, you can review your objective, make sure it’s still relevant, and ensure you have everything you need to achieve it. SMART has been with us a long time and I think that’s because it’s still a useful way to make sure your objectives are as clear and well-defined as possible. There’s nothing worse than a woolly, vague objective. If you’re a sales manager and you’re going to be out with one of your sales team over the next few days, give them the shoulder tap test. A smart sales objective separates the great sales professional from the mediocre. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
GEBERIT. INSPIRED INNOVATION
A GUIDING LIGHT DURING THE NIGHT ODOUR EXTRACTION GENTLE DRYING HEATED SEAT REMOTE CONTROL PRACTICAL AND EASY TO MAINTAIN A TOUCHLESS LID GENTLE HYGIENE
D PROU
TO
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EVENTS TO INSPIRE • CREATE • INNOVATE
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ON THE MOVE
E Q U I P M E N T F O R D I S C E R N I N G P RO F E S S I O N A L S
WHAT’S MORE
TOOLS FOR THE JOB
PROJECTOR
LASER SHARP
Epson’s first portable laser projector, the EF-100W/B, measures 23 cm along its longest edge, and projects an image up to 150 inches, which is said to be clear even in daylight, so there’s no need to turn lights off, block windows or even use a screen – you can project onto a wall. It has HDMI and USB ports, and also comes with Bluetooth to pair with external speakers, although it does have internal sound. It weighs 2.7 kg, so it’s not that light to carry though.
BMW 3 SERIES TOURING
SIXTH SENSE It’s been 32 years since the first BMW 3 Series Touring, made its debut, and the carmaker has launched a 6th edition of a model that’s a shoo-in for many a sales rep. The latest version has larger exterior dimensions than its predecessor, and can fit more in the boot, and comes in three trim levels: SE, Sport and M Sport. There’s also a M Sport Plus Edition exclusive to the UK market. There are newly designed seats and automatic tailgate operation remains standard. You can choose from a range of petrol and diesel engines with either four or six cylinders and BMW TwinPower Turbo in the petrol versions. An all-wheel-drive system is standard on the range-topping BMW M340i xDrive Touring, which is powered by a new six-cylinder inline petrol engine with eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission. There are many extras of course, such as a 464 watt Harman/Kardon surround sound system.
APP TABLET CASE
Dropbox is one of the best cloud storage systems but hasn’t been of much use beyond sharing and backing up files. It is now launching a new desktop app that will bring traditional documents and cloud content together in one place, and connect content stored in Dropbox to tools such as Slack and Zoom. It will also allow various team communications actions. You can get early access to the Windows and Mac apps now.
SMARTPHONE
BEAST MODE FOR ONEPLUS The OnePlus 7 Pro – now also available on EE’s network in a 5G version – has been described as a “beast” of a smartphone, packing in premium specs but at a price lower than the top end Samsung and Apple equivalents. You get a huge top quality 6.67 inch screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 855 processor, 128 or 256 GB storage, up to 12 GB ram, and a pop up camera that’s also up with the best. But the screen is the winner here.
PAIR AND PROTECT If you are a tablet person and have a third generation 11-inch or 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Logitech’s Slim Folio Pro gives you a backlit keyboard case. It has Bluetooth pairing and a magnetic latch that keeps it closed when not in use to protect the screen. The scissor mechanism of the keyboard is said to deliver fast, accurate typing. Prices start at £109. DASHCAM
SMART CAM
This is Theo, a device that goes a lot further than a basic dashcam. It records video and has crash detection, but also has voice assistance, a 24/7 emergency centre, rewards good driving, has forward collision warning, 4G connectivity, SD card slot and more. The £180 price includes installation, and the monthly service charge is £4.99. See drivetheo.com
WINNING EDGE 11
PUZZLING OUT
MOTIVATION
CASSI ROPER, Sales Director of the Year at BESMA 2018, explains why the real motivator for great salespeople isn’t commission
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hen you talk about being a salesperson, people often assume that the biggest motivator, perhaps the only reason for doing the job, is commission. The more you reward someone for making a sale, the more sales they’ll make, the happier everyone will be – or so the thinking goes. The problem is that this is simply not the case, a view backed up by lots of research papers. One from the London School of Economics analysed 51 studies and found that financial incentives 12 WINNING EDGE
actually reduce motivation and have a negative impact on performance. Instead, you need to give people what the best-selling business writer Dan Pink outlines in his Ted Talk, The Puzzle of Motivation, namely, autonomy, mastery and purpose. They have the urge to direct their own lives, the desire to get better at something that matters, and a yearning to do something larger than themselves. It sounds counter-intuitive, but at Redgate Software we’ve found that it’s the ideal building block for a selling approach that is professional, ethical and good for the business. Commission ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
MOTIVATION | FEATURE
“I do believe you should offer commission to a sales team. It’s part of the story, but nowhere near the whole story”
does come into the picture, but it lies further down the career route, at the point when the autonomy, mastery and purpose that Dan Pink talks about have already become second nature. IT STARTS WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE Instead of recruiting experienced salespeople, we prefer to hire at entry level and then develop people and promote them within the company. We deliberately look for people with little or no sales experience and run assessment days based on their ability to talk to people, work in a group, and communicate well. If they’re hired, we then train them from the ground up to work initially in our inside sales team. There, their task is to take calls from customers who want to buy our software. The deals are typically worth less than £5,000 and it’s a relatively straightforward sales process, but there’s a lot of technical knowledge for these fairly recent recruits to get up to speed with. We also have them interacting with other teams in the business, such as our people in software development and marketing, so that they realise it’s not just a one-person sale. We educate them on the customer coming first and get them in front of some customers as soon as possible, so they build their confidence and really understand who they’re selling to. It’s enforced from the top down too. Our CEO, Simon Galbraith, stresses to new hires that we’ve built a great brand, our customers love us for a reason, and that’s how we’ve become successful. We don’t sell “shelfware”, and our sales policy is the same in every instance: Is it the right thing to do for the customer? Do they need what we’re selling them, and will it make them come back to us for more when they’ve grown their business? Is it the right thing to do for Redgate? For example, if it’s a sale that would involve a lot of extra work from the software development team to customise the tools in some way, or need additional support above and beyond the capacity we have at Redgate, we’ll pass up the opportunity, whatever its size. This is important, because it makes the salespeople realise from day one that before the topic of commission even comes into the conversation, we have to be sure we’re doing the right thing for our customers and our business. IT CONTINUES WITH A CLEAR CAREER PATH We spend a lot of money developing our new hires so that they can get from an entry-level inside sales position all the way through to an enterprise account executive role very quickly. In fact, we’re proud that all our current enterprise ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
account executives started in a junior role. I’m a firm believer that anybody we hire should have the ability to move on to a senior role and it’s just about how quickly we can develop them, and how much they care about their own development, in order to achieve that. We stress to them that their future isn’t solely driven by a manager wanting to promote them – their progress is also largely driven by them wanting to get developed. I’ve also found that knowledge plays a major part in driving really intelligent people, and our best sales representatives want to learn more about what they’re selling. They look for domain knowledge, find out what’s changing in the industry, and go to events and seminars. Remember the autonomy, mastery and purpose that Dan Pink talked about it? After a surprisingly short time in the inside sales team, that’s what increasingly drives our people. They have a clear career path ahead of them, they’re being given the tools to be better at what they do, and they’ve been shown they’re working for a company that does the right thing.
CASSI ROPER is sales director at Redgate Software, heading up the EMEA and APAC regions. In 2018, she received the Sales Director of the Year award at the British Excellence in Sales Management Awards (BESMA). Having worked in software sales for over 15 years, she has experience across all aspects of the sales process, with a focus on team leadership and the accountsbased sales approach. She particularly enjoys the challenges of building sales teams in new territories and bringing stakeholders across the company together to land complex technical sales. Contact her at cassi.roper@red-gate.com
IT RESULTS IN PEOPLE BEING WELL REWARDED Once they’ve learned about Redgate tools, been shown the way we sell them, and soaked up the Redgate culture, our inside sales representatives are ready to take on a more senior sales development role. This is where the commission kicks in because it’s about outbound selling, which is a lot harder, involving targeting and messaging people who may not have heard of Redgate before or, if they have, they last looked at our tools many years ago. The route is then clear to get promoted further, right up to enterprise account executive, which involves face-to-face visits, negotiating seven-figure deals and working across the rest of the business in order to make sure that customers are getting the help they need to use our tools. But at each stage, while commission increases along with responsibilities, the foundation of doing the right thing for the customer and the right thing for Redgate always comes first. I do believe you should offer commission to a sales team to motivate and retain your best talent. But I don’t believe it’s the only thing you can use, and I certainly don’t believe you need it for entry-level roles. Commission is part of the story, but nowhere near the whole story. WINNING EDGE 13
ZOË DOUGLAS-JUDSON URGES SALES LEADERS TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO COMBAT EXCESSIVE STRESS
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he recent Stress in Sales survey among ISM members marked the start of the Institute’s commitment to reducing dangerous levels of stress among sales professionals. As a sales leader, the solution starts with you. Take responsibility to understand and value your own mental health and that of those around you – for your own benefit and for the success of your organisation. Sales leaders must...
OPINION ST RES S IN
– often an individually unique line – between constructive stress and damaging stress opens S ALES up a raft of new approaches. Leaders should also consider how they are recruiting their salesforce to improve the match of performance management techniques with the psychological profile and motivational mindset of new candidates. As leaders become more aligned and creative in how they motivate their sales professionals they will foster improved psychological contracts, performance results and overall job satisfaction.
IT’S TIME T O TA K E A L E AD
TAKE A VISIBLE LEAD As improved internal communications increase awareness, trust and bravery for the salesforce to “talk the talk”, leadership styles must receive appropriate training to “walk the walk”. Demonstrable change must be seen through the behaviours of sales leaders if stigma and selfstigma are to reduce. Reducing stress requires two-way strength and understanding between those supporting and those suffering.
SEEK CLARITY Leaders must fully understand the causes of stress in sales, so as to remove them and make a positive impact on performance and work-life balance. The ISM survey found that work-related stress hinders performance, affecting 37% of sales professionals. But clarity is needed about non-work related stress too, raising the value of the sales professional as a human being living a full life, as opposed to a “human-doing” enacting a sales life. If sales leaders were to improve their awareness and knowledge of the drivers of stress, impacts would be felt through reduced rates of attrition, absenteeism and presenteeism. Such improvements and ways of working should naturally improve morale, employee longevity and sales performance.
“Barriers will begin to drop when leaders demonstrate new styles in leading, listening, communicating and motivating” Fostering a culture of bravery and trust needs more than simply telling someone “It’s OK”. Leaders must be given opportunities to put their training into action and show how they have changed, to allow others to follow. Barriers will begin to drop when leaders demonstrate new styles in leading, listening, communicating and motivating. As the sales community is encouraged to grow in confidence, so too will the leader. The workplace will soon feel the benefits of focusing on people as a valuable asset.
CREATE TRUST Leaders must create a culture of bravery and trust. With over half of sales professionals feeling unable to discuss stress, an improved sense of “It’s OK to not be OK” must be achieved. Stress and mental health issues may be invisible to many, even the sufferer themselves, but this is no excuse for ignorance or lack of ownership of its existence. When leaders improve internal communications to raise awareness of stress, and gain clarity over mental health, favourable impacts will result. Creating a safe and supportive place of work will reward the business and its people. RETHINK PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Salespeople often behave in relation to how they are measured, so leaders must take a fresh look at how performance is managed. They must give renewed attention to innovative ways of setting targets and balancing workload to improve motivation. Understanding that in order to achieve optimum sales performance there is a fine line ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
ZOË DOUGLAS-JUDSON is founder and CEO of mental health consultancy Mindologists, the ISM’s partner in the Stress in Sales initiative. She is a consultant, practitioner, motivational speaker and coach specialising in mental health, culture and performance. Visit www.mindologists.com
COMMIT TO MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING Leaders must recognise and respond to the need for more specialist mental health training and support. It could include “mental health first aid” and employee assistance programmes (EAP). As members commented in the ISM survey, “It needs to be more than a tick-box exercise” The case for such action is strengthened by the finding that 55% of line managers, despite feeling some confidence about dealing with mental health issues within their sales team, still wanted to learn more. Additionally, three-quarters of the ISM members surveyed declared they had either never, or did not know if they had ever, received mental health or stress training at work. WINNING EDGE 15
STAYING IN THE FLOW ADRIAN HALES considers how sales leaders can be more creative, compassionate and courageous
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ost of the time in business we lead with our heads. We must evolve as leaders by becoming more creative, compassionate and courageous – so important within organisations, teams and personally. The latest research in neuroscience (see mbraining.com) shows we have three “brains” that allow us to do just that. We have complex, adaptive and fully functional neural networks, or brains, in our heart, our gut and our head. Each intelligence brain has different wants and needs, and when out of balance will create things like stress, conflict, mental burnout, fear and anxiety – which aren’t conducive to high performance. BEING IN THE FLOW When athletes and coaches are “in the flow”, they are alert, calm and focused, allowing them to perform at a consistent level, and remain 16 WINNING EDGE
ADRIAN HALES (FISM) is a professionally certified mBIT trainer and coach. He is an expert in overcoming stress and burnout, rectifying underperformance, and increasing motivation and confidence. He works with new and developing managers, and directors and executives, to help them become compassionate, creative, courageous leaders. Email him at inspired@adrianhales.com or visit adrianhales.com
balanced when doing so. It allows them to excel consistently, makes them more resilient, and increases their wellbeing. Imagine you are a ship sailing for a new destination, and in order to reach it you must remain calm, focused and alert so you make constant progress. Now, imagine that the wind blows only slowly and gently – you won’t reach your destination quickly enough. Next, imagine the wind picking up and throwing you around – pushing you off course and causing fear and anxiety. For you to reach your destination in good time, while remaining stable, you want wind that is neither too slow, nor too fast, but balanced between the two. Flow is the balance between what the Chinese refer to as Yin and Yang. Staying on that balanced path is what they call Tao or Dao. You’ll know when you have been in the flow – perhaps when you last experienced doing a task and time flying by? Or when everything you ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
LEADERSHIP | FEATURE
seem to touch just works? You are “in the zone”, performing at your best, in control and excited by the progress you are making.
l Personal development – ensure you are not an analogue leader in a digital age; there are countless courses, blogs, videos and qualifications, so ensure you prioritise this to enable you to change, grow and transform, so you can continue to excel l Coaching – learning to develop your team should be a priority because your people have untapped potential. Coaching enables you to navigate and guide them to higher performance. What books and courses could you go on? And how will you apply that new knowledge? l Values alignment – ensure you understand what your unconscious motivators are for each member of your team, and build those values into your mission to create alignment and motivation throughout the team l Feedback loop – when we don’t have a feedback loop it creates burnout, so ensure people know specifically what they have to do to be successful, and how they, and you, will know when they get there. In team meetings, ensure you create open discussion and, instead of seeing criticism as negative, ask yourself what is being learnt, how you will share your feedback, and how people want to receive that feedback.
WHAT TAKES US OUT OF FLOW? We all have basic human needs – to be accepted, to be liked, to feel secure, to be valued for the work we do, and to feel equal. When these needs are not met, the by-products are negative feelings, underperformance and job insecurity. This creates a lack of trust, reduced confidence and inaction. Because we are following our head, and our three brains are not in sync, we leave a trail of misaligned values, broken relationships, unfulfilling work, conflict and fear for our security and identity. We have lost our way as teams and leaders. HOW DO WE REMAIN IN THE FLOW? Sometimes leaders will say, “My team is just not good enough.” But change starts with leadership, because a basic human need is to follow a hierarchy. So, if you are a leader in business, a new manager or an aspiring manager, it’s important for you to prioritise your own personal and professional development. Numerous studies in neuroscience, behavioural modelling and positive psychology have proved that using your three brains allows you to be more effective and aligns your energies so you remain in the flow. You can use memories and feelings to craft alignment and improve your ability to make decisions. Imagine you could operate at your highest expression, wisdom and decision-making ability. What could that mean for you personally or your team in business? Here are some things I do to create and maintain flow and peak performance: l Meditation – focus on being still and breathe in and out. When your mind wanders, bring your focus back to the present moment with the breath. Notice how the breath feels on your lips. Aim for 5 to 10 minutes to start with l Yoga – this stimulates your autonomic nervous system (ANS) through challenging holds and positions, ensuring you stay balanced, focused and calm l Breathing – our ANS is what enables us to be in flow. Access this by breathing in for 4 to 6 seconds, and breathing out for the same amount of time, for about 5 minutes in total. After this, you will notice you are in a state of calm alertness l Health and fitness – it’s important you have fitness sessions that challenge you and keep you in peak physical condition, building your physical and mental resilience. You should ebb and flow between challenging sessions and those that regenerate you, such as swimming and stretching ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
C O N D U C T YO U R OW N M B I T P RO CE SS Here are some questions to ask yourself when you are in a calm and focused state (see the guidance on breathing on this page). Start by asking what you want more clarity on: 1. THE HEART BRAIN: WHAT DOES MY HEART TRULY WANT? Highest expression is compassion Prime functions: EMOTIONS – How does this make me feel? How do I want to feel?
COGNITIVE PERCEPTION – What is my perception? What are others’ perceptions of me? MEANING MAKING – What does this really mean? 3. THE GUT BRAIN: WHO AM I DEEPLY BEING? Highest expression is courage Prime functions: CORE IDENTITY – Who am I? What do I identify with?
VALUES – What’s important to me? What conflict am I experiencing?
SELF-PRESERVATION – What needs are not being met? What needs, if met, would I identify with most?
RELATIONAL EFFECT – How can I connect with this person? What do I desire?
MOBILISATION – What actions could I take? What’s stopping me? What could I do instead?
2. THE HEAD BRAIN: WHAT DO I REALLY KNOW?
For each question, note useful insights and positive learnings you see, hear, feel and sense. What do you feel like doing differently?
Highest expression is creativity Prime functions: THINKING – Is this useful or not useful? Is this true? How do I know? What stories am I holding on to? What new stories could I create?
Note: mBIT = multiple brain integration techniques
WINNING EDGE 17
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Source: CSO Insights: Selling in the Age of Ceaseless Change
ISM PROFILE
SALES ENABLER Winning Edge meets JIM PRESTON, sales director at Showpad, which is a BESMA 2019 sponsor What is your current role, and how did you get there? I’m the sales director across UKI and Nordics at sales enablement market leader, Showpad. I’ve held leadership and sales roles at Salesforce and ExactTarget, but I started my working life on a butcher’s stand in a supermarket. I wasn’t one to hang around, and 5 years later I’d worked my way up to become a store manager. Then I met a salesperson who tried to sell me a pension. I didn’t take them up on their offer, but I did ask to meet their manager because I liked the idea of doing what they did for a living. Before I knew it, I was in sales. What attracted you to the sales enablement sector? I was working for Pitney Bowes in 2011 and considering my next move. At that time marketing automation was the new SaaS technology, so I moved to ExactTarget, which was acquired by Salesforce, so I learned about both marketing automation (MA) and CRM in the same role. It was a fantastic experience, but after 7 years I felt there were new peaks to climb. When I considered my next move, I was conscious that the software industry had made great progress in the areas of CRM and MA, but sales itself still had a lot of room for improvement. Sales enablement was the new tech category that completed the triangle with CRM and MA, using AI to help salespeople have better conversations with prospects and ultimately increase conversions. As a clear disrupter and market leader, I felt Showpad was the right company for me to join. What was your biggest individual sales challenge and how did you overcome it? For a long time, I had imposter syndrome. Because of my background of working my way up through a supermarket to get into sales, I thought my successes were down to luck rather than skill or judgment. I was good at building relationships, negotiating, keeping my word and thinking about life from the customer’s perspective – but everyone else in the industry seemed to have more experience than me, and I suffered self-doubt over whether I belonged. It took many years for me to realise that my skills were what made me a good salesperson, and my experience had simply sharpened that. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
“The sales industry still needs to listen more – customers are tired of being talked at rather than listened to”
What has been your most satisfying achievement in sales? Earlier in my career, I would have said consistently exceeding my targets, but over time that has changed. I find it enormously satisfying to develop the next generation of salespeople and promote them to the next role. I’ve found that, at the same time, I’m developing in how I manage others as I start to see patterns of success. I thrive on getting 360-degree feedback, taking action accordingly, and sharing with my team what has been achieved, how we will develop, and how we need to change. Great ideas come from everywhere, and I have really learned to value EQ over IQ – emotional intelligence over “traditional” intelligence. We’re in a people-driven industry, and we’re in it together – driving that change. I’m genuinely proud of supporting my team to achieve maximum impact. How important is culture to a sales team? Culture is vital for building successful teams. When we hire at Showpad, culture and talent are the two most important factors. We consider whether candidates have the natural skills and capabilities to perform well in the role, and whether they will fit in. We look at the current team and whether they will bring a fresh approach. Experience is useful, but it’s not the dominant factor in our hiring. What can everyone do straightaway to become better at selling? Build your network. You can learn a great deal from company resources and colleagues, but it’s vital to understand how the wider world works as well. Meet people in other industries, join associations like the ISM, stay in touch with former colleagues, and don’t ever burn your bridges – many of my roles and promotions came about because I spoke to the right person at the right time. You will learn a lot and it will be great for your career progression as well. Similarly, I believe that the sales industry still needs to listen more – customers are tired of being talked at rather than listened to – and many salespeople have a long way to go before they can truly say that they are consultants. In an ever more competitive market, being relevant and responding to buyer needs are essential to success. Read Jim Preston’s sales enablement feature on page 20. WINNING EDGE 19
ALIGNING SALES AND MARKETING
JIM PRESTON says sales must not be the forgotten marketing channel
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ixty percent of respondents to a recent study from LinkedIn and the Content Marketing Institute say the misalignment between sales and marketing could damage financial performance. Furthermore, research by CSO Insights reveals that 46% of salespeople missed their individual targets in 2018 – the fifth consecutive year of decline. What this research tells us is that a strong connection between sales and marketing is essential for successful selling. They are the main drivers of an experience that will establish the value of a product or service to a prospect. The core of this partnership should be sales enablement – the discipline of ensuring the sales team is provided in real-time with the knowledge, content, coaching, training and tools needed to optimise buyer engagement. Content and messaging, the key ingredients of sales success, 20 WINNING EDGE
need to be the end product of a collaboration between marketing and sales: dynamic, relevant, shareable and tailored to buyer needs. CONTENT THAT CLOSES DEALS When reps don’t have effective content, sales cycles are longer and deals are lost. In a 2018 survey by my company, UK B2B buyers say that, after price, the main barrier to making a purchase is insufficient, confusing or irrelevant content. However, all too often marketing teams produce what they think will be useful, then “throw it over the wall” to sales without having consulted them. When it comes to understanding which content really motivates prospects there’s a surprising dearth of data and performance insights. For many marketers, the bottom of the funnel is a black hole – which means they’re spending substantial amounts of money with no way to measure a return on that investment. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
SALES ENABLEMENT | FEATURE
KEYS TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Although qualitative conversations with sales reps are useful, this approach isn’t scalable for large, global sales organisations. Nor does it give marketing any insights or analysis around how sales teams are using content. Technology has a vital role to play here, with CRM, marketing automation and sales enablement platforms able to deliver actionable performance insights. However, these systems will only be effective if they are implemented as part of a digital transformation programme, and integrated to ensure seamless data flow between the systems. CRM and sales readiness technologies have helped B2B sales organisations improve predictability and effectiveness, just as marketing automation technologies have helped B2B marketers scale targeted campaigns. But because marketing technologies are at the top of the funnel and sales readiness technologies are at the bottom, there’s an inherent gap between the stacks. The answer is to add a SaaS platform specifically designed with the needs of sales in mind. Implementing a shared digital sales enablement platform will help close the gap in the sales funnel and boost results. The platform can provide a one-stop-shop for creating, sharing and measuring the effectiveness of content. Marketing can make it easy for sales to find the right content at the right time by ensuring they have access to the latest, on-brand versions. Organising information by business area, product or persona will enable reps to tailor it quickly to the buyer’s business, project, questions and specific challenges. AI FOR MARKETING EFFICIENCY For many B2B marketers, the main benefit of marketing automation software is the ability to generate more and better leads, but they’re missing a trick. When incorporated into a sales enablement platform, artificial intelligence (AI) through machine learning tracks which content works best in specific scenarios, and then makes recommendations to reps in real-time. The analytics will also inform the development of the content strategy, by enabling marketing to evaluate the impact of content on revenue. It will also make marketing more effective. Better visibility of what is being viewed and shared most often, and which content is tied to closed deals, means they can focus on creating content that works and “retire” anything that doesn’t. ANALYTICS FOR IMPROVED TRAINING Prospective customers increasingly conduct extensive online research before contacting a salesperson. But according to Showpad’s survey, 32% of B2B buyers say they struggle to find the ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
information they need, so reps still have a vital role to play. Once buyers do engage with sales teams they expect compelling information, insight and answers they can’t get on their own. As well as enabling them to create and manage powerful content, advanced analytics and AI will provide organisations with insight into who their best performers are. Armed with this knowledge, they can leverage their star players’ successes across sales teams, as well as pinpoint where the skill gaps lie. Sales training programmes can then be tailored to target skill gaps and inefficiencies. JOINT SALES AND MARKETING PLANS Sales and marketing should be seamlessly aligned and work towards shared goals, with shared ownership of pipeline and revenue to optimise results while improving efficiency. It is essential to develop joint plans to focus on target customers. Both parties should agree on who they are selling to, working together to define ideal customer profiles that all marketing and sales efforts will be focused on, and creating buyer personas that will inform all sales enablement activities and the content strategy. Success for sales tends to be measured in closed deals, average deal size, average sales cycle and time to ramp up new reps. Marketing metrics tend to be aligned to raising awareness, driving leads and building the brand. Alongside goals, marketing and sales should work together to determine what metrics and KPIs are most important to track and how often. While revenue should be the top metric, you may well need to track pipeline, marketing qualified leads, sales qualified leads and sales qualified opportunities.
JIM PRESTON is sales director at Showpad, a sales enablement platform for the modern seller. He is responsible for leading the mid-market sales team and growing the business across the UK, Ireland and Nordics. He has over 15 years’ experience of business development, leading teams and building the pipeline for growth for top global SaaS companies including Salesforce, Pitney Bowes and Neopost. Read his profile on page 19. Showpad’s all-in-one platform empowers sales and marketing teams to engage buyers by integrating industry-leading training and coaching software with innovative content solutions. Visit www.showpad.com
COMMIT TO ONGOING IMPROVEMENT Sales and marketing alignment is not a one-off activity; to drive better performance and growth it needs to be an ongoing relationship. To succeed, the two parties should have regular meetings to review results, trends and the pipeline; optimise performance; brainstorm; and discuss and agree on how to evolve current plans. Quarterly business reviews will provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to get together and feel like one team: aim to spend one-third of the time looking back and two-thirds looking forward. Sales and marketing alignment has a major impact on sales maturity, the pipeline and, ultimately, business won. The two teams must work in partnership to ensure they reach key audiences with the right messaging and content, invest resources where they will have the most impact, and deliver a seamless buying experience that provides real value to today’s increasingly professional and more informed buyer. WINNING EDGE 21
EDUCATION’S WHAT YOU NEED
PAUL NORMAN explains how his MA in sales management drives customer value
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’ve spent nearly all my working life in sales. I’ve always tried to extract customer value from what I’m selling, and in more recent years I’ve developed this in ways that aren’t always obvious. This can be particularly important in today’s increasingly commoditised society. Initially I chose a career in engineering by studying for an HND in production engineering in the early/mid-1980s, but my career quickly developed within the sales function. Having secured a position as an internal sales engineer, I realised that a customer-facing role was where I was comfortable and I was determined to move into external sales. To be candid, supporting and working with suited and booted field sales engineers made for a glamorous image to which I aspired in my early 20s. There was the immense attraction of a company car as well. 22 WINNING EDGE
PAUL NORMAN (FISM), pictured on the right with the ISM’s Dave Millichap, is UK and Ireland manager – transport and industry reagents for Yara UK, a leading supplier of industrial chemicals. Visit www.yara.co.uk
TURNING PROFESSIONAL And so it was that I gained a role as a B2B technical sales engineer selling and providing technical support for a range of solenoid valves and pneumatics. I generally wore a suit and had my company car – an inherited bright red Ford Sierra Sapphire. I had made it. However, it was tough to the extent that I remember thinking at first that perhaps this wasn’t for me. In part this was due to my demeanour not being naturally that of the archetypal salesman. I didn’t have the gift of the gab, and being a young guy mostly dealing with older, experienced engineers and purchasers, it could be quite intimidating. I also had a high level of integrity and trustworthiness, which weren’t qualities that always reconciled with the sales profession in the late 1980s. I persevered though, and came to enjoy the role and the successes. Over the years I was able to develop a sales career in several organisations. Furthermore, sales has become much more professional with values much more aligned to my own. The ISM should be recognised for the part it has played in that. Today, having integrity and being trustworthy are essential qualities for a successful sales career. I was very aware that generally my education and qualifications were technical. Although I attended company sales courses (which in the early days could be quite manipulative in their format) I felt I needed a qualification to underpin my chosen vocation. Plus, I had become interested in selling and really wanted to study it further and embrace the latest thinking. MY MA IN SALES MANAGEMENT So, through the ISM I was introduced to the MA in sales management, which I embarked on as a part-time mature student (in my 40s) at the University of Portsmouth. I learnt so much and was fortunate to attend lectures with superb experts, including the course leader, Beth Rogers, and visiting professor, Neil Rackham. It was very demanding though, particularly when balancing the challenges with a full-time job involving a lot of UK travel. Of course, a degree concludes with the required dissertation. I was, and still am, supplying the truck and bus sector with AdBlue and associated equipment, and I opted for the rather wordily entitled “Internal communication strategy involving customer-facing contractors in the commercial road transport sector”. Previously, the principal strategies for success in industrial markets have focused on customers’ product requirements, producing high-quality products to meet those requirements, and marketing them competitively. Research and ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
QUALIFICATIONS | FEATURE
writings in the field of B2B marketing had also been dominated by a product focus. For some time, as businesses strive to compete in ever more competitive environments, there has been an ambition to add value to gain and retain customers, thereby drawing attention away from price. A keen focus has, of course, been on customer service and the “wow” factor. The dynamics behind achieving a high level of customer service can be complex though. In particular, as organisations contract out activities to other companies that may have a customer facing responsibility, internal communication and engagement become critical. These third party organisations may have people in such roles as lorry drivers, service engineers, customer service staff and credit controllers who all represent your organisation, but who are employed by another company. They may even interact with your customers more often than any of your directly-employed personnel do, and yet the influence these colleagues have is often underestimated and undervalued. From the customer’s perspective, these colleagues may be their main touchpoints with your company. APPLYING MY LEARNING The MA dissertation that facilitated my study of this topic has led to real world application of the learning in my organisation. Previous to my work, there had been no real focus on the impact of such “human resources” on the customer relationship, even though many of these colleagues may actually be working exclusively for us. Of particular note were the road tanker drivers and service engineers. As part of my studies I conducted interviews with relevant contracted and employed colleagues. My key conclusions suggested there was much misalignment between the views expressed by contractors’ employees and our own. Questions about communication appeared to indicate that what may be acceptable to contractors was not acceptable to the perceived higher standards of our company. The lack of understanding of our business’s objectives, priorities and values indicated that some contractors were not engaged. However, it appears in many cases they were not aware of our objectives, priorities and values because nobody had actually told them. Contractors were nevertheless excited about the business and enthusiastic about the future possibilities. There was less clarity among contractors regarding what the business does, how it does it and what it wants to achieve, which indicated a lack of communication of these factors by us. A very visible and symbolic start in developing ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
engagement can be to ensure staff who wear uniforms and overalls are wearing the livery of your organisation and not the company that actually employs them. The same can be applied to vehicles, of course. This concept isn’t new, but can often represent the limit of “contractor alignment”, and this can be dangerous. Engagement and value benefits extend way further than having your company logo on uniforms, trucks and vans. If a thirdparty company’s employees are not aligned with your own organisation, then behaviours and values may not be representative, resulting in potentially bad behaviours, negative publicity and poor reputation. So, in combination with the symbolism, an ongoing communication and engagement programme is essential. In the case of our drivers, we now have “Contractors may have a an annual Drivers’ Day, which is customer-facing role, yet the anchor for the activity during their influence is often the rest of the year. At the event we provide updates on our underestimated” initiatives and outline and agree expectations, as well as having an open forum for drivers to pose questions to management. We involve the whole employed team including the sales managers who support the day and develop relationships with those others operating in the field. There are workshops on safe working and open discussions regarding customer service to ensure alignment of behaviours with our own. The day always ends with a 10-pin bowling contest and meal. Aside from the Drivers’ Day, new recruits from across the business will, where possible, spend time out with a tanker and a service engineer. I myself regularly spend a day out in a tanker, and it can be quite astonishing what you can learn, including spotting many inefficiencies that have been previously overlooked. DRIVING UP VALUE All these softer activities translate to real value. We’ve established some driver-friendly technology-based communication, which has proved very valuable for day-to-day operations. They communicate important information to us as well, and this has resulted in us gaining more business. We feel confident that drivers and service engineers are now representing our organisation in the most professional way, which helps business retention. Clearly, this all amounts to a more artful and less analytical approach than many sales development and account management initiatives. But our experience is that it definitely enhances professionalism and customer service, and ultimately drives up customer value. WINNING EDGE 23
EDUCATION | CASE STUDY
DRIVING UP SALES STANDARDS TOM NASH reports on a BESMA award-winning sales development programme from Mercedes-Benz Vans, which is underpinned by ISM qualifications
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utomotive industry leader Mercedes-Benz Vans UK achieved the accolade of Sales Development Programme of the Year at the latest British Excellence in Sales Management Awards. The BESMA 2018 success for Mercedes-Benz Vans’ Talent Development Programme marks a fresh high point for a scheme that, since its inception 5 years ago, has broken fresh ground and set new standards for sales training in the motor industry. Mercedes-Benz Vans initiated the programme because of a desire to bring in “new blood” – salespeople who would be comfortable with stretching targets, innovative technologies, and a new generation of informed buyers. Vikki Aitchison, training manager, joined the company at a key moment, in February 2014, and was immediately given the urgent task of getting the Van Talent Programme underway. “The first cohort of 18 delegates had been nominated by their dealers and selected to take part, and the programme was due to start in just a couple of weeks,” she says. “It was a very steep learning curve for me, but everyone was committed to making it work because we knew it was absolutely the right thing for us to be doing.” Mercedes-Benz Vans selected RTS Group, an ISM Recognised Centre, to run the programme. RTS already had a track record of designing and delivering effective learning programmes in the automotive industry, supporting both new starters and experienced team members working in sales, after-sales, parts sales, or dealership management. It had knowledge of, and practical experience in, areas such as conducting training needs analyses, creating learning curriculums, measuring performance, assessing results, and instigating recognition schemes. The Van Talent Programme is comprehensive and demanding. It focuses on sales and after-sales skills in the van sector, and exposes trainees to all sales opportunities including new and used vans, 24 WINNING EDGE
fleet, financing, service and parts. It includes formal training, feedback and coaching, combined with on-the-job experience. All the modules are delivered by specialist trainers who are experts in their field – and even professional actors have been used for role-plays to make them as realistic as possible. All delegates benefit from both a business and a field mentor to support them through the intensive course. The programme is forward-looking too, not just covering sales and product knowledge, but also management topics such as finance and employment law, with the aim of enabling delegates to continue to pursue their career within Mercedes-Benz over the long term. ORGANISATIONAL BENEFITS Mercedes-Benz Vans and its dealerships started to see positive outcomes from the earliest days of the programme. “As delegates returned to their dealerships, we could see a powerful impact on them right from the first modules,” says Aitchison. “Salespeople were clearly learning and talking about sales issues in a way that hadn’t happened to the same extent before.” She continues, “We also evolved our candidate profiling and functional tests. By the time we got to the fourth cohort, our recruitment professionals were also doing video interviews.” The results are sent to the company’s dealerships to give them a better idea of candidates’ aptitudes and abilities. “We also developed a ‘true profile’ for a salesperson, which specified what we wanted our ideal recruit to look like, not just in terms of their competency, but also from a behavioural perspective,” says Aitchison. “From this, we could test from the outset to see where candidates matched with the values of the programme.” She adds, “While this involved a significant investment in both time and money, it meant that the candidates put forward to take part in the programme were culturally aligned with what we were trying to achieve. And because people were better aligned, our retention rate improved.” ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
Mercedes-Benz Vans UK won Sales Development Programme of the Year at BESMA 2018
EDUCATION | CASE STUDY
LIZZ Y H I N C H L I F F E – FROM A J O B TO A C A R E E R Business graduate Lizzy Hinchliffe joined Northside Truck & Van, a multi-site Mercedes-Benz Vans dealership operating across Yorkshire and the North of England, as part of the 2014 graduate intake for the Mercedes-Benz Van Talent Programme. She was attracted specifically by the offer of a place on the Programme. With no previous sales experience, she was not initially intent on a sales role, but was more concerned about having a career with prospects. “I was missing out on that in my previous role. I wanted something interactive, with good training and development opportunities. The Programme was offering that, and the prospect of gaining an ISM Diploma in sales was also a big attraction for me. Within two years, Lizzy qualified as a van sales executive at Northside’s Leeds dealership. “I enjoy working with people and discovered that sales suited me well,” she says. “I hadn’t worked in the automotive industry before and I needed to understand the business, the vehicles and the customers. Everything I needed to know was learned on the job and through the programme.” The modular nature of the training – with periodic courses slotted into longer periods of routine day-to-day working – also enabled her to feed
back valuable learning to colleagues in the workplace. Looking back on the programme, Lizzy says, “It gives participants all the insight they need to find the right role – which might not always be a sales position; it could be in aftersales or parts, for example – and then it equips them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in that role.” Above all, she says, it gives them the confidence they need. “I’m the sort of person who needs to be sure of myself – I wouldn’t have been comfortable taking on a sales role without the self-confidence that the programme gave me.” Lizzy faced the added pressure of being the only woman in her cohort of delegates, but she now sees that as a positive factor. “It was actually quite helpful to get used to a maledominated environment because most of our customers are men.” She has since been followed by a further 13 women successfully completing the programme. She adds, “It’s a sort of fast-track – it starts to prepare people for a management position in future.” And she is living proof that it works. In July 2016 she was promoted to her current role of Business Development Manager in Northside’s Fleet Sales Department.
INDIVIDUAL REWARDS Successful participants derive equally valuable benefits from the programme (see case studies). Formally, their training achievement is recognised by the award of both the manufacturer’s coveted C-Sales qualification and also Level 3 certification in sales from the ISM, the UK’s leading professional body for salespeople. Crucially, it equips them with the practical skills to succeed in their current sales role, while preparing them to take future strides in their career. Simon Snowdon, automotive L&D programme and development “We see ISM qualifications consultant for RTS Group, as a way to embed learning, manages the programme from an and as a badge of RTS perspective and acts as field professionalism” mentor for the participants, assisting them as they progress 26 WINNING EDGE
towards gaining their ISM Level 3 certificates. He explains that learning and development leads to long-term success “by taking frontline people on their learning journey, improving their knowledge, skills and confidence, and developing them into advocates of their brand.” Snowdon continues, “We see ISM qualifications as a way to embed learning, and as a badge of professionalism that graduates of our scheme can take with them throughout their sales careers.” He praises the practical nature of the ISM’s Level 3 qualification requirements, which allow delegates’ learning to be “contextualised” by RTS to suit their varying roles, as well as differing ways of working among the dealerships. “ISM assignments and assessments are robust enough to be demanding, but also flexible enough to be workable,” he says. ISM membership also facilitates delegates’ ongoing professional development, enhancing their approach to working with customers. The Mercedes-Benz Vans team is able to tap into a host of ISM member benefits, including sales resources, knowledge sharing, training, and networking opportunities outside their own industry. “With
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CASE STUDY | EDUCATION
tough global competition and ever more informed buyers, the world of sales can be daunting, but the ISM plays a vital role in helping to keep sales professionals up to speed with this ongoing process of change,” says Snowdon. MOVING WITH THE TIMES Working together, RTS and Mercedes-Benz Vans have constantly refined and improved the Van Talent Programme. “We’ve listened to what the dealership network has told us,” says Aitchison. “For example, we’ve reduced the length of the programme from 2 years to 18 months, without jeopardising any of the learning, by making the early modules more intensive.” They have also recently rewritten the true profile of a salesperson to reflect the changing nature of the company’s business. “We’re no longer a vehicle manufacturer,” posits Aitchison. “Of course, the core of our business is still to sell, lend and mend vehicles, but we now regard ourselves more holistically, as a provider of technology driven mobility solutions that incorporate both products and services.” She continues, “Our focus is on the customer, and our value proposition is based on their total cost of ownership and their overall experience of our whole package of service and support, not just the vehicles. So the type of salesperson we need to take us forward has evolved.” With service and support now such an important and permanent feature of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ sales, the company requires salespeople who can build lasting customer relationships, rather than merely close one-off transactions. It is about collaboration and partnership, so they must be customer orientated. With the latest vehicles and services incorporating sophisticated software, the revamped recruitment process has also been helpful in identifying people who are tech-savvy. In response to more rigorous candidate selection and higher retention rates, delegate numbers have
now been trimmed to about half the initial annual intake of over 30. For Aitchison, this is very much a reflection of quality over quantity, “It’s about making sure you get the right individuals because this is about their career – their learning and development with us as a brand,” she says. Dave Millichap, corporate accounts director for the ISM, is delighted that the Institute is supporting Mercedes-Benz Vans in developing its sales team. He sums up, “Engaging with ISM networks, learning resources and reflective learning journeys helps participants to build a culture of continuous improvement as ethical and professional salespeople, and this can only have a positive impact on the already high standards of service given to Mercedes-Benz Vans’ customers.”
G A RY B R I D G E – CO N F I D E N CE I S K E Y Gary Bridge is Bolton Sales Manager for Ciceley Commercials, a long-established family-owned Mercedes-Benz Van, Pickup and Truck dealership operating across the North-West of England and Scottish Borders. Gary, now 28, joined the business 6 years ago, but not as a salesperson. As he explains, “Initially, I was dealing with used vans, and preparing them for resale. I started to become involved in selling them, but at that stage I had no experience of sales.” Recognising Gary’s sales potential, Ciceley put him forward for the Mercedes-Benz Van Talent Programme, which he completed in 2017. “I only started selling full-time during the programme. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have had the self-assurance or skills to go into sales,” he says. Gary cites increased confidence as the most important benefit he has derived from the programme. “From the start, they had me presenting and role-playing – I was always being placed outside my comfort zone – but finding I could do it was incredibly confidence building,” he says. He continues, “The programme covered a whole range of sales skills, such as negotiating and objection-handling, and it was very
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practical. That suited me, with lots of simulated sales situations and realistic, hands-on exercises. There wasn’t too much course work, but there were some important classroom modules covering knowledge of our products, our competitors’ products, and the wider automotive industry.” Gary is quick to praise the quality of the five trainers from RTS group, who each brought different knowledge, skills and teaching styles to the programme, making the content comprehensive, and creating a varied, stimulating learning environment for participants. “We didn’t just learn from them about sales – we got a much better understanding of management and broader business issues too,” he says. The programme quickly paid off for him. His successful selling performance on the back of it propelled him into a sales manager role in 2018, where he has since run a team of five sales professionals. He has also continued his professional development, and is currently undertaking a MercedesBenz Vans C-Management training programme to equip him for the next step on his career ladder. With the Ciceley business also continuing to flourish, picking up recent dealer and retailer awards, he looks well placed to take it.
WINNING EDGE 27
FEATURE | PRICING STRATEGY
GREAT... BUT CAN THEY SELL A PRICE RISE? PETER COLMAN presents the fifth article in his series on behavioural economics in sales management – reacting to biases to grow profits. Here, he focuses on how too many pricing opinions and too few facts mean that a company’s most powerful profit lever is usually poorly managed or not managed at all
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he best thing a salesperson can sell In previous articles I’ve covered a range of topics is a price increase. Pricing is so including incentives, sales strategy and tooling. This important – in fact, it is the most time I’ll turn my attention to how commercial important profit lever. Pricing is leaders need to think about pricing, and how it can one of the most fundamental affect the perceptions of everyone from customers aspects of any business – every and competitors through to their own salesforce. company has to set prices for its products and Here is a list of the six most commonly occurring services. If the world was a rational place, pricing psychological biases when it comes to salespeople’s management would be a core competence of every pricing behaviours. firm, but in reality it almost never is. The beauty of pricing, and price increases in 1. “THEY STARTED IT” particular, for sales leaders is that it all drops straight (ATTRIBUTION BIAS) through to the bottom line. As one recently “Our competitors are so aggressive on price.” remarked to me about her salesforce, “If they can’t In our study mentioned earlier, about half the sell a price increase I don’t want them on my team.” respondents said they were in a price war. When But we know that many asked who started it, 77% salespeople hate even the of those attributed it to a “The best thing a thought of price-related competitor. In other words, salesperson can sell is customer conversations, let “We’re sensible and everyone alone price increases. So it else is a barbarian.” Hear it a price increase. Pricing should be no surprise that in enough and it becomes is so important” my firm’s global pricing and accepted wisdom. sales survey (among 1,925 Just note that those same companies in major industries in over 40 countries competitors are probably saying exactly the same – see tinyurl.com/y2o2nrbw), companies said they thing about you. In our experience, poor price typically achieve only 37% of their price increase management accidently starts a tit-for-tat target (ie. what they get versus what they set). This reaction that can often become a damaging race to means that even if firms are setting increases to the bottom. keep pace with inflation, there is a high chance that In a management meeting I attended, a their prices are going backwards in real terms. recently joined executive asked me to guess why 28 WINNING EDGE
FEATURE | PRICING STRATEGY
their company’s profitability had suffered in the 2. “WHO WOULD BUY A CHEAP past. I suggested, “You’d reduced prices to win BULLETPROOF VEST?” some more volume and your biggest competitor (FRAMING EFFECT) didn’t take it too kindly, so retaliated with a price This was a great example of a sales leader framing decreases of their own?” There was a nod across a conversation around “value to the customer” the table. rather than cost-plus pricing. The firm in question I wish I were psychic, but alas was a yarn manufacturer, I’m not. Like Groundhog Day, whose material was used in a “Pricing can transform I have this conversation about variety of applications from profitability and needs to once a month, except with a tyres and heat protective be part of the toolbox of different firm each time. “You clothing through to ballistic every sales leader” didn’t get any volume did you?” protection. I asked. This time, a shake of The price per kilogram was the head. The unfortunately significantly higher when sold predictable result was that the market shares stayed in the most critical applications, even though the the same while the profits of the warring firms took manufacturing costs were roughly similar. As the a nosedive. question posed above suggests, some things are The task then is to claw those prices back. One worth paying more for. way to reduce the chances of a price war is to try to This framing issue is so important for a sales estimate how competitors will react if you reduce team, and the sales leader needs to lead by example your prices, as this is often overlooked in the if they want to make a success of a “value before estimates of increased volumes. volume” sales strategy.
“WHO OWNS P R I C I N G ? ” When we asked this question across various departments in one company we got some interesting answers. Responses from salespeople included: “finance”, “marketing” and “don’t know.” Answers from finance people included: “marketing” and “finance and marketing”. And the replies from marketing people included: “finance” and “marketing”. It was obviously a confusing picture, so the commercial team created a checklist (shown in the panel below) to create greater clarity over the whole pricing process.
PRICING PROCESS CHECKLIST ✔
Pricing manager
Full time resource to ensure focus on the topic of pricing
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Pricing committee
Monthly meeting with senior representatives across pricing, sales, marketing, product management and finance
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Escalation scheme
Installation of clear discount authority limits
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Pricing dashboard
KPIs and charts to track/analyse prices, discounts and rebates
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Pricing training
Covering pricing basics, techniques and pricing psychology
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3. “YOU’VE JUST GIVEN AWAY A HOUSE!” (LAZY HEURISTICS) It started as a discount request for a large deal from the account manager to the VP of sales. Would she approve an extra 10% discount? But where did the 10% figure come from? The VP of sales suspected it was not from a careful consideration (let alone any real knowledge) of the customer’s budget but rather just defaulting to a convenient heuristic. She knew that discounts are invariably packaged up in nice neat 10% increments. So the VP of sales denied the request, with a demand that the account manager return with a more thought-through proposal. To make sure the lesson stuck, she translated that 10% into something tangible based on actual euros. She knew that it pays to think in absolutes rather than percentages. From a practical point of view, if you have a discount escalation policy, it would be worth moving the escalation points away from any nice round percentages to counteract these damaging heuristics. 4. “WHEN DOES MARGIN GUILT KICK IN?” (SUBSTITUTION BIAS) Substitution bias is when we swap a hard-to-answer question for one that’s similar but much easier to answer. When it comes to pricing, a hard question is “How much is a customer willing to pay for this?” Consequently, salespeople will often substitute it for the much easier question, “At what gross margin will we start to feel guilty for making too much?” This magical guilt margin percentage varies from firm to firm but there usually is one. One answer is to hide cost information from the salesforce – they can’t affect costs. Instead, you can just steer their behaviour on price levels, which they can influence. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
PRICING STRATEGY | FEATURE
5. “THERE’S A MARKET PRICE” (AVAILABILITY BIAS) Salespeople rarely get to see all their colleagues’ proposals, let alone their competitors’ prices. This lack of available information means that they tend to believe their experiences are the true market reality (and some will be right). So where does reality end and perceptions and bias become the dominant factors behind their price setting? It’s difficult to tell. If you ask them to talk through some of their high or low price submissions there will be an entertaining story behind every single one. One nice way to get insights on this is to do a controlled request for proposal. We often include this exercise in our price training sessions. First, we create an imaginary yet realistic and familiar deal. Then we ask the salespeople to write down what discount they believe they would have to offer to land the deal. (By asking the salesperson to write down their answers, we avoid them being influenced by the opinions of their colleagues, ie. to counteract “groupthink”.) Considering the fact that all the salespeople are presented with exactly the same information, the wide range of answers is usually pretty worrying for their sales leaders. For example, in a recent training course with 14 participants, we received 10 different discount answers, ranging from a 45% discount all the way up to a maximum of 75%. All for exactly the same deal. We then showed the results to the sales team members and had them discuss how they would try to avoid their biases in the future. 6. “TELL THEM £400” (LOSS AVERSION) The fear of losing a deal is a strong influencer of sales behaviour. A few years ago, we had a meeting with a managing director of an asset rental business who had commissioned us to do a pricing excellence project. Our analyses and mystery shopping had shown a huge range of prices being charged under fairly similar deal situations and this had prompted the MD to test this himself. On one of his visits to a depot, he sat with an inside sales rep and listened in to a few of their inbound calls. The rep had a list price and limit rate card on the desk in front of them. While listening into one of the calls, the MD pressed mute and told the rep to quote the list price. The rep looked at him in disbelief as he rarely ever quoted that number, but rather a much lower “street price” he thought he needed to use to win deals. The MD told him not to worry about whether it was won or lost as it was “underwritten by him” but to just quote the £400 per day number. To the amazement of the rep, the customer accepted without trying to negotiate. After trialling ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
C A S E S T U DY: T H E P OW E R O F P R I C I N G This international company had lagged behind its peers in terms of profitability for many years. Cost cutting and new product introductions had helped close the gap a little, but the gap was still there. Our thinking was, “If you’ve tried everything else, perhaps it’s time to grasp the nettle and focus on pricing?” That said, a (mistaken) belief on the part of the executive team that they were already pretty good at pricing meant they were sceptical at first. Where to start? As the firm was too big and diversified to cover all markets, four pilots were selected as tests, each with different geographies, sectors, products and customers. List prices, discounts, rebates, terms and value added service charges were all reviewed and optimised where needed. Pricing managers were installed to lead the implementation of the changes and to sustain them in the long run. The result was that operating profit margins increased in all markets, averaging around 3.5 percentage points overall. The most commoditised market saw margins increase by two percentage points, and the highest increase measured was eight percentage points. The initiative was then rolled out across other markets, further transforming the firm’s bottom line.
a few more examples, and combined with the analyses insights, the pricing steering committee recommended changes to the rate cards. A MATTER OF GUTS In general, when compared with the other profit levers (costs and volume), pricing is far less professionally managed. I presented a keynote at a recent conference with the provocative title “If you managed costs like this you’d be bankrupt”. I got some smiles at the start that slowly changed to worrying nods as the audience spotted a few too many home truths in the project cases I presented. When done well, however, pricing can transform the profitability of the firm and so needs to be part of the toolbox of every sales leader. While its foundations lie in traditional economics, to do it well you have to also focus on behavioural economics and human psychology. As Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, observed, “Costs are a matter of facts, pricing is a matter of guts.”
PETER COLMAN is a partner at global strategy and marketing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, where he leads the sales effectiveness practice for the UK and Ireland. He specialises in commercial excellence programmes to address strategy, sales, marketing and pricing topics. You can email him at peter.colman@simon-kucher.com or visit www.simon-kucher.com
WINNING EDGE 31
FEATURE | GROWING SALES
FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS! RICHARD HIGHAM and ALAN TIMOTHY urge sales leaders to concentrate on what really matters
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his feature continues our series on a data-led approach to sales performance improvement. So far, we’ve looked at goal-setting, ways of monitoring and analysing results, and getting activity levels right. Here, we consider concentration of focus. Selling is not the random set of actions that some outside the profession see. It’s also clear that we have to achieve a result with limited resources – we can’t do everything everywhere. Let’s start by looking at the need for a focused approach and then work on three areas of focus: the right customers, the right contacts, and the right products and projects. SELLING ISN’T RANDOM Some time ago we were working with a company making sewing thread. In a sales performance workshop, we were working on coverage and the need to spend the right time with the right customers. One rep explained his strategy: “As I go out of my front door each day I have a sense of excitement because I don’t know who I’m going to visit that day. At the end of my road is a set of traffic lights with a three-way filter. Whichever filter turns green first, that’s the direction I go, and I visit the customers who lie that way.” Challenged on the somewhat random nature of his territory planning, 32 WINNING EDGE
he responded, “By the law of averages I’ll cover my territory in the course of a month so my approach is logical. Plus it keeps every day fresh for me and my customers.” You have to admire his originality. One of my favourite Tales from the Far Side cartoons from the outstanding Gary Larson features a sheriff looking across at a pile of rifles, spurs, boots, stetsons and horses. He explains to his deputy, “Dawkins, a posse isn’t something you just throw together.” The same is true of sales. It is not random. It takes planning and it takes discipline. LEARNING FROM THE GREATS One of the greatest exponents of taking a focused approach was Frederick Lanchester, an exceptional engineer who built the UK’s first petrol-powered car (the Lanchester), among other great achievements. Lanchester was appalled by the waste of life in the First World War and turned his brilliant mind to looking for ways to ensure success. He carried out extensive quantitative studies of the number of casualties on both sides in land, sea and air battles, ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
strong possibility of abrupt shifts in the competitive environment. Here, there may be some entry opportunities for startups or new products from existing players. However, the calculations also conclude that if you attack a market that has just one dominant player, you must be prepared to spend three times the combined sales and marketing budget of that player. In a market that has multiple participants, the cost of entry is lower, but you still need to spend 1.7 times the combined sales and marketing budget of the company you attack.
and from these studies formed “Lanchester’s laws”, which quantified the difference between the strengths of competing forces. His laws argued for the application of maximum force only at the point where it could give compelling advantage. This meant being highly selective in picking one’s battles. Lanchester’s approach was adopted by military leaders and used to great effect by the US in the battle for the Pacific. After the Second World War, the legendary quality expert Edward Deming applied the laws to operations research. The Lanchester strategy was introduced in Japan in the 1950s and was used extensively to capture market share, with Canon being one of the first companies to utilise it globally in its fierce battle with Xerox in the photocopier market in the 1970s and 1980s. The strategy has been refined by several thinkers since then and applied particularly to entering new markets. For example, it has been applied to markets where there are monopolies or duopolies and compares them with unstable markets where the market leader has 26-41% market share, with a ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
“Focus only on sales opportunities you are confident you can win, and concentrate on these”
SO WHAT FOR SALES? When you combine Lanchester’s thinking, the application of his theories in business, and the ideas expressed by Sun Tzu in The Art of War, the message boils down to: be selective – focus only on sales opportunities you are confident you can win; and concentrate your resources on these opportunities, planning and preparing thoroughly. In practice, this means the following clearly defined steps: l Identify your “sweet spots” – draw up an initial list of the prospects or opportunities where you believe you are best equipped to succeed l Narrow this down through research to identify where your competitors are comparatively weak l Analyse each opportunity – be rigorous over the “first go/no go” point. Avoid the compromise of going for an opportunity where you are saying, “I don’t fancy our chances, but let’s give it a go.” l Qualify in detail and make initial approach – giving rise to the second yes/no point. Is this really winnable? Is it as attractive as we first thought it? What resources will it take to win it? l Once committed to an opportunity, do not be diverted. Focus your resources on winning. Applying Lanchester’s strategy takes courage, determination and, above all, focus. The payback can be enormous, but it requires a rigorous approach. In particular, you must accept the concept of “displacement” – you can’t do more in one area unless you do less in another, or else significantly increase the resources available to you. Sales organisations (except those involved in scaling strategies) will usually need to “do less, better”. Let’s look now at the three places where this approach can be applied. FOCUS ON THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS Early on in my sales performance career, my then boss had been meeting with the CEO of a coatings business and had asked, “Who are your most important customers?” The CEO struggled to answer, but came up with a list. “If I asked your management the same question would they come up with the same list?” After some discussion the CEO agreed to convene a meeting. Different departments sat at tables around the room – marketing at one, customer service at another, WINNING EDGE 33
RELATIONSHIP STRENGTH
FEATURE | GROWING SALES
finance at a third, sales at a fourth… My boss buying behaviours etc. Strength of relationship then asked each table to write down their list of the measures might include access to decision-makers, company’s top ten customers. There should have responsiveness, number of points of contact etc. been the same 10 answers across the room. Instead there were over 40 answers... FOCUS ON THE RIGHT CONTACTS Marketing said, “You can’t have them in your top It is one thing to identify and focus on the right 10 – they don’t match our demographic profile.” customers and prospects. It is another to know Customer service said, “These are the ones that take which contacts to focus on. most of our time, so they’re our top 10.” Finance Adopt a data-driven approach said, “They can’t be – they’re slow payers.” Sales While experience and “sales smarts” are useful in said, “This is our top 10 – this area, nothing beats hard they’re our best relationships.” sales data. For example, data “Without concentration There was no agreement across gathered using iSnapshot of focus, the efforts of the business about where the has allowed one selling the business were focus should be. Without organisation to analyse the concentration of focus, the conversion ratios achieved diluted and ineffective” efforts of the business were when a sales approach starts diluted and ineffective. with a finance director as The answer is to apply “multi-dimensional opposed to a financial controller. Another sales prioritisation” (MDP), which plots customers and director has been able to see that when his reps visit prospects on two axes: the horizontal axis in terms architectural specifiers less than X times a quarter, of attractiveness; the vertical axis for strength of share of wallet of that client drops by Y%, but if relationship (see below). While this can be done on they visit the same contacts more than Z times a the back of an envelope, it is much better to apply a quarter there is no corresponding increase in result. more analytical approach. Attractiveness measures Using this data, sales management is able to target should include not just current and potential the focus of salespeople in the most efficient way. income, but aspects such as margin, profile/ Increase emphasis on buyer personas reputation of the customer, sector, geography, Contact strategies can be enhanced by creating personae for different buyer types in the sales process. We will deal with this in our forthcoming article on effectiveness, but categorising buyers by PRIORITISING CUSTOMERS personas and classifying their key issues, their likely AND PROSPECTS concerns and trigger points, and then adapting content and approach to suit, can make a big difference. Tools like Showpad can help in flexing 7. Unattractive but 4. Medium 1. Very attractive, with a content and technique for different buyer personas. with a very strong attractiveness with a very strong relationship. Understand buyer roles relationship. Look for very strong relationship. Top priority Another way of focusing the right resources on the low cost options to Good results for now, right points of contact is to categorise contacts by manage – inside sales/ but limited potential. distribution etc. Nurture but don’t their role in a particular buying decision. There are over-resource several approaches, but most distinguish between: l Economic or strategic buyers, who will ask the question, “What impact will this have on my 8. Unattractive, with 5. Medium 2. Very attractive, business?” They can say no when everyone else has a medium strength of attractiveness, with but relationship can said yes. They are more focused on “why?” relationship. Reduce a medium strength be improved. Good questions than on “what?” or “how?” resourcing to a of relationship. Is the short- medium term minimum effort needed worth opportunity. Requires l Technical buyers, who are concerned with the the potential reward? and merits some spec and the solution’s technical aspects. They are Nurture as time allows resources very interested in how the solution works and will often make comparisons with other solutions 9. Unattractive, with 6. Medium 3. Very attractive, l Process buyers, who may be in procurement or a weak relationship. attractiveness, with a but with a weak compliance, are concerned that the purchase Leave well alone. weak relationship. Look relationship. Worth decision follows due process and that the solution for lower cost ways of developing, but will and seller meet the required criteria developing take significant time l Users, who will be putting the solution to work. and resources Their main questions are, “How does it work?”, “Will it make my life easier, more effective, more comfortable?” “How will I get started?” ATTRACTIVENESS RATING l Coaches, who want you to win because they trust
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GROWING SALES | FEATURE
you, your organisation and your solution. They will probably have won with you before. Their role in the decision making process is to advise you. Note that one individual can have more than one buying role in a decision. Alongside the buyers’ roles, it is also important to identify their power and their preference and to map where they sit in the political ecosystem of the buying organisation. Mapping contacts in complex organisations One consulting firm we worked with identified it had over 200 points of contact in one of its banking clients and more than 50 people involved from its own side. Mapping this spread of inter-relationships manually or via a traditional CRM system is almost impossible and absurdly time-consuming. In these situations, it becomes immensely valuable to work with relation capital mapping tools, such as Introhive, which map and measure individual relationship strength while at the same time reducing the effort required to record contacts. FOCUS ON THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES How do you pick which projects to go for? Do you respond to every incoming enquiry or are you selective? The answer varies greatly from organisation to organisation. It also depends on the state of the market. There are times when “If it moves, sell to it” may be the right strategy, but by and large businesses that are selective in the projects they go for tend to be more successful. My colleague Chris Lonergan, who has worked in business development in several accountancy firms, has contrasted the response of two firms when an enquiry or invitation came in. In Firm A, when an opportunity came in, it was vetted against agreed criteria. In about half the cases the firm declined to respond – either because it did not think it was winnable or because it did not believe it would be profitable. But if a decision was made to proceed, the firm committed the resource and did not pay lip service to its response. The team members literally cleared their diaries: “It was like a detective being put onto a murder case – all other cases were taken off their desk.” A meeting room was allocated as a “war room”. Generous quantities of time, resources and expertise were applied. And Firm A achieved a win-rate of better than 50% on the projects it decided to go for. Firm B was much less selective. It went for virtually everything. Because of this, it was less focused. Although, in theory, a partner would be dedicated to the pursuit of each opportunity, in reality the diary stayed congested and the project to win the new business had to be fitted in around everything else. As a result, the hit rate achieved was under 10%, the cost of sale was higher, and the profitability was lower. And it found that many of the projects it won had been rejected by Firm A! ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
Now, maybe Firm A had the luxury of many incoming enquiries, whereas you may feel that you have little option but to go for every opportunity. But if you have limited resources (and most of us do) then indeed a wise maxim when it comes to winning big projects is, do less better. HOW DO OTHER ORGANISATIONS SELECT SALES PROJECTS? The starting point has to be your client selection criteria. Would you rather win a smaller piece of business from the right client than a larger piece from the wrong client? One client we worked with used the following approach for the projects for its global accounts team. Three global account managers were appointed to the selection team for 3 months at a time. Every Monday, they held a teleconference with the head of strategic accounts. Any account manager who wanted to initiate a project that was above a certain value, or would require a certain level of resources, needed to make the case to this peer group. The greater the risk, the greater the reward needed to be. The result was that some projects simply never made it to the selection group. Most that did were approved. But this discipline meant that account managers and the company knew what the risks and opportunity were and had committed themselves to resource the pursuit before any problems started to appear. Another professional services firm used a set of mainly qualitative criteria to decide which projects to go for. This tool created a robust discipline and provided a clear basis for decision making. Some people prefer a more quantitative scoring mechanism, where a “go/no go” calculator allows a percentage score to be applied to every opportunity. Depending on the current levels of business, resources available and future pipeline, only projects scoring above an agreed percentage will be committed to by the business. All the stakeholders know that they will not be over-committed by the sales team. The sales team knows it must justify why it should get resources. The disciplines make for a more professional approach that produces results. This quantitative approach does not suit everyone, but whether you opt for a qualitative, quantitative or hybrid approach, it is highly likely that being selective will result in better business. THE ACE UP YOUR SLEEVE The ACE up the sales leader’s sleeve is to balance Activity (“Are we doing enough…?”) with Concentration of focus (“…with the right people, in the right organisations, on the right subjects…?”) with Effectiveness (“…in the right way?”). While in this feature we have looked at concentration of focus – the “C” of the ACE model – in the next edition we’ll look at the “E” – sales effectiveness.
RICHARD HIGHAM (FISM), above, and ALAN TIMOTHY, top, are directors of SalesLevers. Together with co-director Martin Allison (FISM) they cover the art, science and business of sales. Call +44 (0)7712 588757, or email richard.higham@saleslevers.com
WINNING EDGE 35
PROVE YOUR POINT! SARAH HINCHLIFFE considers the importance of evidence in making a compelling case in your proposals
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SALES PROPOSALS | FEATURE
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urchase decisions are influenced by a combination of factors. Buyers will choose a product that does the required job for the right price. And because they like it. And because they trust it will meet all their expectations. Those of you who read my earlier article on Aristotle will recognise the connection with his three pillars of persuasion – logos, pathos and ethos (logic, empathy and character). In our sales proposals, we must logically explain how our products satisfy the buyer’s needs at an affordable price. We must also come across as likeable and trustworthy. THE ROLE OF EVIDENCE Evidence (also known as proof points) plays a part in supporting all three pillars but is particularly vital in establishing trust – without it, our proposals can sound pompous and shallow. Claims such as “we are the leading provider”, “the best” or “better than” are unconvincing without supporting evidence. The best evidence is: l Relevant: Don’t just scatter your evidence around and hope it works like fairy dust – select it wisely to back up each key point. Make sure each point is relevant to the customer by linking it to the features and benefits of your product l Quantified: Make your evidence tangible by including measures such as money gained or time saved l Attributed: Always cite your source, unless you have genuine confidentiality reasons to withhold it. And always give the date of the evidence, making sure that it still has currency. With that in mind, let’s think about the various types of evidence we can use in our proposals. EVIDENCE TYPES Customer evidence What better evidence than a satisfied customer? If you have online reviews, you can use these individually (customer quotations) and collectively (star ratings or equivalent). If you have results from customer satisfaction surveys and net promoter scores for all or part of your business, these are also valuable. And get into the habit of writing up successful projects into a case study approved by the customer for publication. A full case study should be professionally written and include: l The customer’s situation before they made the purchase. Ideally, this will include baseline measures from which improvements can be seen l A description of what you provided l The results achieved, presented as quantified benefits. Where you had baseline measures, compare before and after to show improvements ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
“Claims such as ‘we are the leading provider’ or ‘the best’ are unconvincing without supporting evidence” l A testimonial from the most senior customer representative confirming the value you brought to their business – again, quantified if possible l Photos if appropriate. Get permission to use the case study whole or in part. This means you can snip soundbites as well as show the full picture. Where you have a genuine confidentiality reason to withhold a customer identity (often the case when working in defence or security), write an anonymous piece with an explanation – as long as the case study is relevant, buyers will understand. Third-party evidence Beyond your customer base, you may have received praise or endorsement from other third-party organisations. Here are a few ideas. l Have you or your staff ever won or been nominated for an award? As long as it’s from a reputable source, an award recognises superior capability (perhaps a skill, creativity or innovation) or achievement (maybe a first or an endurance). Always get a photo of the award presentation and keep the application or nomination, so you can tell the story including what you did, why you won and who you beat (especially good if you are competing against them in your proposal) l Have you been cited in an analyst report – plotted on a Forrester Wave or a Gartner Magic Quadrant? Providing it is a complementary positioning and supports your argument, these are excellent independent assessments of your product. Beware of any independent reports that require you to pay for the status – that’s not the unbiased commendation you are seeking l Have you been mentioned in a publication or been on television or radio? Being sought out as an expert in your field and asked for comment can be seen as an affirmation of your credibility. Evidence of compliance It’s common in proposals to have to present evidence of compliance with the standards relevant in your industry and proof of key facts and figures. For example: l Certificates l Audit reports l Accounts l Policy documents l Credit reports. Build a checklist of all the possible proof WINNING EDGE 37
FEATURE | SALES PROPOSALS
points your customer may ask for and develop good explanations for anything you cannot produce. For example, you may have a robust business continuity and disaster recovery policy, but without having sought to achieve an ISO 22301 certificate to prove it. If your customer asks if you are compliant with this standard (or any of the many others available), they probably think you should be, so you need to explain why not and show them what you have is adequate. In-house evidence Within your organisation, there will be rich sources of evidence. Anything based on auditable facts and figures is admissible. Below is just a starter for 10: l Think about customers or users, projects completed and products sold. For each of these, consider the totals overall, in different geographic areas, sectors and lines of business, and new ones added in a period. Capture the information using different metrics – value, percentages and ratios l Employee statistics – retention/attrition, average length of service, qualifications and training, résumés, apprenticeships and diversity records. Find out the industry averages for all these statistics and know how you stack up, so you can boast about it if it’s positive (and take steps to address it if it’s not) l And these days a big topic is “social value”, set to account for 10% of every public sector competitive tender before long. Start collecting data on community benefits, charitable work, environmental performance and how you’ve boosted the economy l Don’t forget the value of any online or traditional content you’ve published. Measure and keep records of blog readership, numbers of books sold or whitepapers downloaded, to prove their popularity l If you do research and development, calculate how much you spend on it as a percentage of your turnover or profit and compare it to industry averages – if you’re a front-runner, you’re demonstrating thought-leadership. And compile a list of “firsts” to show innovation. Opportunity evidence Given that your proposal is to win a particular opportunity, don’t forget to tap into any evidence that is specifically related to it. If you have been smart enough to influence the prospect’s request for proposal (RFP), you will have had conversations with them to shape their thinking. Did you create a proof of concept? Did you build diagrams or slides together? Anything you co-created before the RFP can be replayed to them as evidence. 38 WINNING EDGE
An award recognises superior capability or achievement, as demonstrated by Aggregate Industries’ regional customer services team (pictured above), which won Sales Support Team of the Year at BESMA 2018
Did you take your prospect on a successful reference visit to a customer or put on a demonstration that they loved? If so, mention it in your proposal and include a photograph if you have one – but remember to ask permission. Where you are an incumbent supplier, think about whether stability is important or whether your prospect is hungry for change. Match your evidence to support what your prospect is seeking – replay positive aspects of your relationship, remind them how you have addressed issues and demonstrate new ideas if appropriate. PRESENTING YOUR EVIDENCE Once you have your evidence all present and correct, you need to think about where and how to include it in your proposal. The “where” should resolve itself – remember that evidence must be relevant, so connect each evidence point to a benefit linked to a feature of your product. For the “how”, always consider if you can present your evidence visually (known as a “graphic” in the proposal world). Think about the photos you’ve taken, and about graphs, charts, diagrams, process flows and tables. Graphics need numbers, titles and an “action caption” to explain the message behind them.
SARAH HINCHLIFFE is a director of i4 Consultancy and Design, helping companies improve their win rates through sales and bid excellence. Visit www.i4salesperformance.co.uk or contact her by email at sarah@i4salesperformance.co.uk
KEEPING YOUR EVIDENCE TO HAND Having trawled the web, combed the archives and captured the gems, it’s a shame not to store all that valuable evidence to use again next time around. In the last edition of Winning Edge, I shared thoughts about setting up and maintaining a bid (or proposal) library. Evidence is a vital component of your library. Store it, maintain it, and make it available for everyone searching to improve the credibility of their proposals. You will be the richer for it. Please note: although this article focuses on proposals, many of the principles apply across the full sales cycle; and the term “product” is used for brevity and should be taken to mean product, service or solution.
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT | FEATURE
TO DREAM? RUTA MISIUNAITE explains her personal development essentials of goal setting and planning
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eople are creatures of habit. essentials, which focused on three key areas: Once we get used to a certain how to set an exciting goal, how to create a routine, it can be a rather solid plan, and how to find the time to turn gruelling process to change our your dreams into reality. Here, I will tackle the ways, even if we know it’s the first two topics, and in the next edition I will right thing to do in the long run tell you how I managed to find over 100 extra for the benefit of both our career and our hours for my own personal development – personal development. In fact, according to a and how you could do the same. recent US News & World Report, 80% of us fail to stick to our New Year’s resolutions by CREATE YOUR OWN February. I find this statistic both eye-opening MISSION STATEMENT and extremely worrying, and so should you. When I talk to my friends and colleagues We are halfway through about their personal the year now, which development, the “Imagine if we gave up on means that the vast majority say their key our sales targets before the majority of us have long challenge is not really end of Q1... Yet we keep given up on a promise to knowing what they want do something differently. to do with their lives. giving up on our dreams” Get fit, save more, quit Some are following a smoking, learn a new traditional career path language, spend more time with family, find a that sounds sensible, stable, pays well and new job, and so on. It’s just more of the same makes their parents proud, but that’s not what every year and yet, despite the extraordinary makes them get out of bed in the morning. surge of motivation that we seem to have in Others like their job and the people they work abundance of at the beginning of the year, with, but they don’t love it and often feel nothing ever seems to change. That’s why reluctant about leaving their comfort zone or gyms are packed in January and go back to taking risks in order to make progress. normal capacity by March. And why, on Sometimes, it’s all down to personality, but average, it merely takes us 5 weeks to give up more often than not lack of motivation is on a new diet, or a friend’s birthday to find an caused by a poorly constructed personal excuse for a cheeky G&T. development plans (PDPs), at the centre of Imagine if we salespeople gave up on our which are goals that simply don’t reflect your sales targets before the end of Q1. That true dreams and ambitions. If that sounds like sounds mad, right? And yet we keep on giving something you’re struggling with at the up on our personal dreams and goals before moment, I have a solution for you. even getting properly started. To help you figure out what you want to do Earlier this year, I ran a three-part ISM with your life, Simon Sinek, a respected webinar series on personal development author and motivational speaker, urges us ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
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FEATURE | PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
to take a step back and spend some time finding (emotional and creative). If your goal stimulates just out “why” we do what we do. In simple terms, the one part of the brain, you will only ever be able to number one task when creating a PDP is to come achieve 50% of it. But if you engage both parts, up with your very own personal mission statement. you’re in for a win. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated but it Let’s take the left side. It’s the definition of a does have to be a positive call to action. SMART goal. In order to stimulate this part of For instance, my “why” is to inspire and enable your brain, you must make sure your goals are fellow sales professionals to realise their full Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and potential by sharing my skills and experience, Timely. If your goal isn’t realistic and achievable, leading by example, and your left side of the brain will helping to break down a few quickly get disengaged and “If your goal is too dull barriers for future generations file it away in the “non-urgent and generic, you won’t along the way. and unimportant” folder, have enough motivation Although this has always never to be looked at again. been the driving force behind The right, on the other to see it all through” everything I do, it took me hand, is all about those Big, quite a while to put it into Hairy, Audacious Goals words. It’s definitely not an easy task but it’s (BHAG). This is where your imagination, creativity, certainly worth investing your time into, because as and dream life scenarios come in handy. In other soon as you know what your mission statement is, words, this is the part where you have to dream big you will be able to create a PDP that will make the and force yourself out of your comfort zone. whole goal-chasing lifestyle so much more BHAG is what gives you that extra boost of energy rewarding and exciting. and motivation, and helps you see light at the end When you start working on your “why”, make of the tunnel when things get tough. sure to dig deep into your past and think of all the It’s so important to have the right balance things you have done that have made you feel between the two, because if the goal is super happy and proud from when you were little. Once exciting but unrealistic, after a while, you will get you have a solid list, try to figure out why that was goal-chasing fatigue and eventually give up. For the case and find the overarching patterns to see if example, let’s take something like completing a half there’s a common trend connecting it all. marathon in less than 2 hours with little to no For example, maybe you were willing to work training. Sure, this sounds absolutely amazing and extra hard on those literary analysis essays at a great story to tell to your family and friends but is secondary school, not just because you wanted to it really achievable? I have actually attempted that get straight As to get into a university of your in 2016 and can confidently say that it simply won’t choice, but because you genuinely felt excited about end well. Somehow, I did cross the finish line and reading some of the greatest works of prose and got the medal, but it has put me off long-distance poetry in history and uncovering the true, deeper running for good. meaning behind seemingly mundane and On the other hand, if your goal makes perfect straightforward stories. If so, perhaps a career in sense but is too dull and generic, you simply won’t literary criticism or investigative journalism would have enough motivation to see it all through, be more rewarding than spending your life in that especially when things are not going your way. For small, dark office of yours? example, I have always wanted to be fluent in five Remember, when it comes to finding your languages. Last year, I started learning Spanish “why”, there are no right or wrong answers. What because it seemed like an easier language to tackle, really matters is finding the “why” that speaks to but because I didn’t have a specific reason why I your soul, encourages you to take risks and get out wanted to learn it, I quickly became tired of all the of your comfort zone more often, which is not an homework and gave up within a year. In contrast, I easy task otherwise. am now learning Korean and, even though it is definitely more difficult than Spanish, because I am THE BALANCE BETWEEN SMART genuinely interested in all things related to South AND AUDACIOUS GOALS Korea, including the country’s rich history, culture Now, that you have carefully crafted your own and cuisine, I’m always looking for an excuse to personal mission statement, it’s time to turn it into spend time on improving my vocabulary, writing a set of actionable goals. It’s really easier than you and listening skills whenever I get the chance. think and I also have a secret formula for creating The point is, goal setting is not easy and you exciting goals. My theory behind this is super should not brush over this part of personal simple. You all know about the two sides of your development planning. So, when you’re next brain – the left (rational and calculated) and right updating your PDP, make sure your goals satisfy 42 WINNING EDGE
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT | FEATURE
both the SMART and BHAG criteria – and you will have a set of solid objectives that the whole office will be jealous of.
sense. The format I find most effective is called OGSM. In a nutshell, OGSM is a strategic planning process that provides clear goals and identifies the strategic priorities to achieve them. REVERSE ENGINEERING Here’s what the process means for your PDP in I want you to imagine that it’s the day when you terms of structure: have finally achieved every single objective you set O is for Objectives. In other words, this is your out in your PDP. You are at the height of your overall mission statement. What are you trying to career and as successful as can be. Think about achieve? This is your grand plan, the dream life where you are, who you are with, and try to scenario. Just think back to Simon Sinek’s start with imagine the smells and sounds around you. For “why” theory. You should always start with this instance, if you’re dreaming of becoming the CEO step, because once you have your “why” figured of your company, think about where your office is out, everything else will fall into place. situated, the layout and the furniture inside. What G is for Goals. What must you accomplish in sort of chair are you sitting in? What view can you order to achieve your objective? These will be your see from the window? Can you smell the coffee both tactical and strategic milestones you need to (or tea) that your assistant just brought for you hit along the way in order to succeed. For example, while you’re catching up on the morning news? this would be promotions, qualifications, At the same time, what new skills and experiences and so on. experiences have you acquired along the way and S is for Strategies. In other words, how are what are your proudest achievements? Can you you going to achieve your goals? This could mean see any of those certificates or photos proudly signing up to evening training courses to acquire a displayed in the office? Maybe you have finally got new skill, raising your profile at work so that you your MBA? Or successfully finished a marathon in can be considered for more opportunities, or record time? Or perhaps you are now perfectly attending industry networking events to meet fluent in Mandarin and are about to jump on a likeminded individuals or find new mentors. conference call with a major client from Singapore? M is for Measures. This one is really Take a few seconds to take it all in. How does important. If you don’t know how to measure your that make you feel? Now, slowly rewind the clock performance, you will never know how well you’re back to the present day and think about your doing. This should be your timelines (ideally, current situation. How are things different? And precise dates rather than something vague like what needs to happen for you Q4 2019) and ways of to reach that level of success? determining when you have “Think of your personal If you have a pen and paper, successfully accomplished development plan as your make a quick list. If not, your goals. personal roadmap to simply make a note of it all in This is the format that has your head. This could be skills, helped me stay focused on the your future success” experiences, qualifications, big picture throughout the promotions, connections, and years and, as a result, I have so on. Don’t overthink it, but be specific. For achieved every single one of my 5 year PDP example, “I need to gain a PRINCE2 qualification objectives. You might prefer a different format and by the end of September 2020 so that I can apply that’s absolutely fine, because the “personal” in for a more senior position” or “I need to become personal development plan means that it has to fluent in Spanish within the next 18 months ahead work for you. However, if you take away one thing of moving to Madrid for a work assignment”. from this article, remember that a good PDP What you have just done now is called reverse should provide you with the appropriate structure engineering, and it’s the planning method that and guidance you need to be proactive, and helped me achieve all my objectives over the past actually take the right steps needed to reach your few years. In a nutshell, this is where you start with goals. Think of your PDP as your personal the end goal in mind, before working your way roadmap to your future success. backwards by determining key milestones you need to reach in order to succeed. It’s as simple as that. STAYING ON TRACK In my next article, I will tell you all about what to STRATEGIC PLANNING IS NOT do to get back on track when life throws you a JUST FOR YOUR COMPANY curveball (which happens more often than you I have always been a big fan of the personal might think) and how to find extra time for branding practice and so structuring my PDP as if personal development, even when it feels like there it were a long-term business plan made perfect are simply not enough hours in the day. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
RUTA MISIUNAITE (LISM) is senior business development manager, mid-market, at IRI, which provides integrated big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights on technology platform IRI Liquid Data. In 6 years, she has progressed from junior salesperson at IRI to leading her own team. She is dedicated to continuous personal development, and to helping fellow sales professionals by sharing her knowledge and experience in blogs, webinars and, from now on, Winning Edge articles. Visit: linkedin.com/in/ ruta-misiunaite
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ISM MENTOR SCHEME | FEATURE
MEANINGFUL
MENTORING RACHAEL BOURKE talks to two more early participants in the ISM Mentor Scheme
I
n December 2018, the ISM launched a pilot of its Mentor Scheme to provide ISM members with the opportunity to gain guidance and advice from senior ISM Fellows with vast experience across a wide range of sales and business backgrounds. In the last edition of Winning Edge we featured Anna Britnor Guest (CISM), who mentored Mall Baller (EISM). Here, we continue our series by talking to Darren Bayley (FISM), vice president marketing at Dentsply Sirona and a mentor to Craig Watts (EISM), who has recently taken up the role of sales consultant for St. Modwen Homes. What made you decide to participate in the ISM Mentor Scheme? Darren – After participating as a judge at the
CRAIG WATTS (EISM) is sales consultant for housebuilder St. Modwen Homes. He won the CPD Practitioner of the Year award at BESMA 2018.
British Excellence in Sales Management Awards (BESMA) 2018, my fellow judges and I discussed how great it would be to continue to be able to give something back after BESMA was over. As judges of the Rising Star category, we saw some incredibly talented up-and-coming sales professionals over the course of the day and this really inspired us. As a result, I reached out to the ISM to find out what options were open to me. Craig: The ISM Mentor Scheme could not have come at a better time for me. I was about to embark on some important career decisions and really needed some guidance. I was looking for some impartial advice from someone successful in sales, experienced in management and enthusiastic about mentoring. I didn’t know anyone well who met all of these requirements, so when the mentoring scheme came about, and I saw several mentors that met these criteria, I jumped at the opportunity to take part in it.
What were your objectives when you joined the scheme? Darren: I have been a mentor for the University of DARREN BAYLEY (FISM) is vice president marketing at Dentsply Sirona, a leader in dental products and technologies.
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Portsmouth and Chartered Institute of Marketing for a number of years now, so had a good idea what to expect when I agreed to participate. My goal was to help any member I was mentoring to achieve their goals and to enjoy the process along the way.
Craig: When I joined, although I had some idea of
some of the goals I wanted to achieve, I was still not 100% sure of the direction I wanted to go in. I was really split between progressing in my industry and trying something new.
Craig, what made you choose Darren as your mentor? The first thing that made Darren stand out to me was his varied academic and business background. He had expertise in many areas that I have an interest in, and I wanted to tap into his knowledge to become more effective in sales. I also wanted to work with someone who has reached a high level in sales management, as this is one of my goals.
How did you juggle mentoring with other commitments? Darren: As a vice president within my company
my role is quite demanding, so most of the mentoring sessions were carried out in the evening after work, which suited both of us. Craig: Although I had a good idea of what I wanted from being mentored, I was unsure how the mentoring was going to be structured. Now, we have familiarised ourselves with a consistent format, so I can mentally and practically prepare for our sessions to obtain most from them.
Did your goals change as you progressed through your journey? Darren: Throughout the mentoring process we
used the GROW model of coaching and mentoring. During our first meeting we established Goals, the current Reality, Options/obstacles and a Way forward. This simple model provided us with clarity on the desired end point and options on how to get there. Craig is an ambitious and talented sales professional and had a very clear set of objectives in mind, which was very helpful. Craig: The great thing about Darren is the strategies he suggests. These helped me think out what I really wanted and then refine the appropriate goals to match. After that, my objectives didn’t really change much, although new smaller goals did appear naturally in the process on the path to my overall objectives. Today, I have strong and defined goals to head for.
What have you taken away from participation in the scheme? Craig: It has equipped me with a variety of skills.
First, it gave me the motivation to aim for my biggest goals. Second, it has given me knowledge on how to create effective plans to reach my goals. Most importantly, it has given me the selfconfidence to believe that my goals are achievable. Specifically, one of the most significant things I learnt through the scheme is how to evaluate a WINNING EDGE 45
FEATURE | ISM MENTOR SCHEME
new career opportunity. During the scheme, I was approached for a new role. I was unsure how to judge if this was the right opportunity for me, so I spoke to Darren and he guided me on how to source the right information to weigh up the role effectively. Through this, I have learnt how to evaluate future job opportunities. Darren: Just as I saw during the BESMA Judging Days this year, I have taken away a strong “Joining the ISM Mentor Scheme impression of the high was one of the best career number of talented sales decisions I’ve made. To have that professionals who are members of the Institute. support and advice is priceless” It’s fantastic to see Craig, as a winner of the BESMA CPD Practitioner of the Year award for 2018, embracing the learning and development opportunities open to him, in order to accelerate his personal development and career success. I would encourage other members to do the same.
What are your next steps? Craig: I have recently joined St. Modwens so, at
Darren’s suggestion, I am currently working through The first 90 days, by Michael Watkins. This book will be valuable to anyone making a transition into a different organisation or role. I will also be undertaking an ISM Level Four Diploma. This will prepare me for when the opportunity arises for my first steps into sales management. Darren: I am grateful for the small part I have been able to play in assisting one member’s development and career journey. I remain open to participating further in the ISM Mentor Scheme, as it’s been an enjoyable experience. I am particularly keen to support sales professionals within the export sales management area. I’m currently working with the ISM to support the launch of a special interest group focused on export sales, as it’s an area I feel very passionately about.
Will the mentor relationship continue? Craig: Yes. I’m going through a very significant
period in my career, so we have agreed to keep in contact. I’m also sure when I go through my next big steps we will be talking again. Darren: Yes, Craig’s career journey is progressing, and I’m excited about the new opportunities opening up for him as a result of his hard work. As a result of this, we have agreed to continue our sessions as he starts his new role.
Do you think organisations should encourage mentoring? Craig: Yes, because I believe collaboration is key to RACHAEL BOURKE is head of membership at the ISM
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success – and the ISM Mentor Scheme illustrates this. When making business decisions, we frequently look to those around us, but the advice we receive
can be subjective and driven by emotional influences. Mentoring gets over this hurdle by giving the more objective perspective of an outsider with industry knowledge and experience. Darren: The skills and capabilities of sales professionals are critical to the performance of companies across the UK. As such, it is also critical for the success of the economy that we continue to invest in these skills. Being engaged in a mentoring relationship provides a host of benefits to those participating. They include being asked challenging questions and providing advice; offering a different perspective; identifying development needs and supporting the individuals to find a pathway to address those needs; and building confidence. It’s often difficult to identify an individual in one’s own organisation who can act as a suitable mentor. Mentoring requires both parties to be able to speak freely and in confidence, so schemes such as the ISM’s are a fantastic way to find the right mentor.
Would you recommend the ISM Mentor Scheme to other ISM members? Darren: Yes – along with all of the resources made
available to them by the Institute to support their ongoing professional development. For anyone considering becoming a mentee, just go for it... Why not take advantage of the scheme, which is provided free of charge by the ISM to members. Investing time in professional development is critical for all of us, no matter what stage we’ve reached in our career. I would recommend that those interested in participating in the scheme either reach out to the ISM to find out more about it, or visit the members section of the ISM website where potential mentor profiles are listed. For those considering becoming a mentor, many Fellows of the ISM are leaders within their own organisations. As such, one of their most important roles is to coach their teams to help them make better decisions, solve problems, learn new skills and progress within their careers. Participating within the ISM Mentor Scheme not only helps you practise those skills, but also allows you to meet and share valuable new perspectives with other members of the Institute. Craig: Most certainly. The scheme has helped equip me with the tools to make bigger, more effective decisions. Please don’t underestimate the value a mentor could offer you, and the benefit they could bring to your professional life, particularly if you’re at a career crossroads. The scheme will create an enriching dialogue with an experienced, objective outsider. I really do think joining the ISM Mentor Scheme was one of the best career decisions I’ve made. To have that support and advice is priceless.
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ISM PROFILE
CEO AND SALES LEADER Winning Edge meets BILLY LYLE, chief executive officer of Redspire, an ISM Corporate Partner example, artificial intelligence for sales, customer What is your role, and what are your main experience and marketing are revolutionising how areas of expertise and experience? people sell, and consumers use, goods and services. I’m the CEO of Redspire, a CRM consultancy that This creates new options for how our clients attract, specialises in Microsoft Dynamics 365. As part of convert and retain their own customers. my role, I lead the sales operations within Redspire. A major sales challenge today is that everyone is We focus on working with our clients to enhance so pressed for time. It can be difficult to get that customer experience, increasing new business initial conversation to inform prospects of the conversions, streamlining processes and increasing potential value of technology, and really make them customer retention. aware of the pace of innovation within the I was born on the Isle of Bute. My parents sector. We work hard to spread that always ran their own businesses, so naturally “ISM offers services, support message through digital and social media the entrepreneurial spirit was built in from an and ongoing development to channels, but we much prefer getting early age. I left Rothesay to pursue an face-to-face to build a strong relationship. electronics degree, converting to a post both new salespeople starting graduate degree in IT in the late 1990s. out and experienced What have been your most Beginning my career as a developer, I rapidly professionals” satisfying achievements? realised that I much preferred the business Redspire’s growth, especially over the last consultancy side, so I progressed to become a 4-5 years, has been a real achievement for me. consultant and then set up Redspire in 2003. We’ve developed the ability to not only generate high volumes of new business, but also retain our What attracted you to a career in sales? customers. Our first customer came on board over When I launched the business, sales was a key skill 15 years ago, and has stayed with us ever since. that I invested time in developing. I’ve always been interested in what makes people tick and the What are your future ambitions? psychology of selling and persuasion. I thoroughly My goal is to grow Redspire – to double in size over enjoy meeting new people and getting under the the next two years, enabling us to reach and educate hood of their businesses to uncover opportunities to more organisations on the benefits of modern cloud improve. For me, this is one of the best elements of CRM and transform their customer experience to working in consultative sales – you really get to see ensure they thrive in the future. the potential of the organisation, how your services can drive improvement, and then work with the What advice would you give to an client on how best to deliver this. aspiring sales professional? Start by focusing on the customer, being positive How easy is it to combine your CEO and always look for solutions. Understand your and sales roles? sector and product and how they will benefit your It can be a challenge to find the time to fulfil both client. And stay on top of technology – although roles. I try to find a balance of focusing on the nothing beats a face-to-face, your routes to engaging overall business strategy, while taking on my passion with prospects are mostly online these days. of developing my employees and working with my sales and marketing team to continually improve What do you like about the ISM? our service to clients. I love being hands-on in both Sales is the lifeblood of business, yet sales isn’t a skill areas, but as the business grows over the coming that’s taught by most traditional education systems. months my focus will shift onto my role as CEO. It can even be looked down upon as a career. This is totally at odds with how dynamic, hungry and What are your biggest challenges? skilled our salespeople are. This drove us to partner Technology moves so quickly. Personally, and across with the ISM, which is an invaluable resource. It the business, we invest a lot of time in staying on offers services, support and ongoing development to top of innovations to ensure we add value at every both new salespeople starting out and experienced client touchpoint. While this can be a challenge, it professionals learning new ways of working. also creates huge excitement within our teams. For 48 WINNING EDGE
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Become an ISM Corporate Partner The ISM is proud to partner with a wide range of organisations, from major blue-chip companies such as Aggregate Industries, AO, Geberit, Redrow, Siemens and Virgin Media Business, to many smaller firms, education providers and others
Corporate Partnership with the ISM provides unique engagement, learning and networking opportunities. Join us and boost your sales performance REAP THE REWARDS OF CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ISM: l Position your organisation as an ISM Partner, dedicated to sales methods that are professional and ethical l Align your organisation with the ISM’s code of conduct l Reinforce your organisation’s professional status, enhancing customer conversations and sales proposals l Benefit from a sales skills audit – to identify key areas for salesforce development and coaching l Achieve company-based Professional Sales Certification for your sales teams l Access OFQUAL-approved sales qualifications
l Support your sales staff with a continuous professional development (CPD) plan l Attend unique networking events with top business leaders and sales experts l Influence the ISM’s mission to gain Chartered status, to elevate our representation of the sales industry l Strengthen existing recruitment and retention strategies l Deliver and/or take part in webinars to the ISM’s global audience l Be a part of BESMA (the British Excellence in Sales Management Awards) the UK’s top sales awards
Find out more… If you are interested in enhancing your brand’s credibility, while developing and recognising your salesforce, ISM Corporate Partnership can help! For more information, contact Dave Millichap, ISM Corporate Account Director, at dmillichap@ismprofessional.com or call him on 07481 109875
ISM MEMBER BENEFITS
Don’t delay, benefit today! Did you know that as an ISM member you are entitled to a wide range of benefits and services? We can help you progress throughout your sales career in a number of different ways, such as by providing learning opportunities through our high quality content and insight from senior leaders within the sales industry
ISM MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE: PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION Displaying your membership designation, such as EISM or FISM, from the leading professional body for the sales industry demonstrates your commitment to ongoing development as a sales professional. It also significantly strengthens your customer proposals and enables you to stand out from the competition QUALIFICATIONS We offer professional and accredited sales qualifications approved by the Government’s qualifications regulator OFQUAL REGIONAL EVENTS ISM events provide great networking and learning opportunities as we invite senior speakers to present on topics relevant to the sales industry CPD SYSTEM Track your Continuing Professional Development activities, such as event and webinar attendance, and salesrelated reading, here. Engaging with the ISM’s CPD system ensures that you are kept up-to-date with industry knowledge and enhances your ongoing professional development
ISM MENTOR SCHEME All our mentors are ISM Fellows. They come from a range of sectors and are on hand to provide guidance and support to other members, assisting in their professional development. The scheme operates on a one-to-one basis, with mentees choosing the ISM mentor they would like to be paired with, based on which profile best matches their specific individual requirements SALES LITERATURE Members can borrow the best in informative sales and business books for up to 21 days across a range of titles and topics VIDEO LIBRARY Bite-sized thought leadership interviews with senior professionals from a wide variety of different industries, including both SMEs and large blue-chip organisations
WEBINARS Our webinar programme brings the wisdom of top sales leaders straight to you, with essential insights into improving your sales techniques WINNING EDGE Free subscription to the ISM’s industry-leading quarterly magazine, which comprises news, comment, advice and thought leadership on all aspects of the sales profession FREE LEGAL HELP Access instant, authoritative support from Lyon Davidson solicitors LIFESTYLE DISCOUNTS On travel, insurance, shopping and more, bringing down the cost of consumer and business purchases A 30% DISCOUNT On all purchases from leading business publisher Wiley
ISM RECOMMENDED READING Further videos, podcasts, articles and blogs relevant to your ISM membership level, helping develop your career through professional knowledge and understanding
For further information, visit ISMprofessional.com
