¿Porqué No? ¿Porqué Si? - Parte III

Preguntas - El Secreto Del Arma No Secreta

Las Cinco Clases de Preguntas

Bueno, ahora que sabemos lo que queremos saber, ¿cómo lo sabemos?

Se dice que el poder hacer preguntas es todo un arte. Todos estamos familiarizados con los reporteros entrevistando a una personalidad y nos percatamos de quién NO es diestro en su profesión cuando observamos a un reportero que habla más que el entrevistado. Si vamos a escuchar al reportero dominar la conversación ¿para qué necesitamos al experto, político o artista entrevistado? 

Cuando nos entrevistamos con nuestros Clientes o Prospectos el tiempo es limitado y hay que ser efectivo en el proceso de indagación. El buen entrevistador es aquel que utiliza varias de las siguientes preguntas:

1) Preguntas Abiertas - 

Por definición aquellas cuya respuesta es una explicación. Ejemplos son preguntas que incluyen las palabras interrogativas:

- ¿Cómo...?

- ¿Cuándo...?

-¿ Dónde...?

- ¿Quién...?

- ¿Qué...?

- ¿Cuánto...?

Una pregunta abierta no es aquella cuya respuesta es un simple "si" o un "no" aunque este tipo de preguntas son necesarias para confirmar o validar la información. Las PREGUNTAS ABIERTAS son la verdadera clave de obtener conocimiento amplio y detallado.

Los buenos abogados son expertos en hacer este tipo de preguntas pues gran parte de su labor es construir el caso para presentarlo verídicamente al juzgado o jueces.

¿Porqué No Porqué?: Esta pregunta es generalmente interpretada como desafiante a la persona y a veces puede generar resistencia. Propongo alternativas como: ¿Podría Usted compartir las razones por las cuáles...?  O bien, ¿qué los motivó a considerar...? ¿Cuales fueron las causas...?

2) Preguntas Para Diagnosticar -

 Puesto que lo que se intenta es encontrar las causas, las preguntas pueden ser para aclarar los síntomas o condiciones. Por ejemplo: ¿Es esta alternativa mejor que la otra? ¿Cómo detectan el cambio? ¿Cómo lo miden? 

No es fácil armar este tipo de preguntas por eso es que los médicos requieren de entrenamiento para diagnosticar pero nosotros podemos prepararnos, antes de la entrevista, para postular este tipo de preguntas. 

3) Preguntas Sobre Temas o Cuestiones-

Por ejemplo: ¿Cuál es la preocupación principal de la organización? ¿Qué tendencias están observando y cuándo? ¿Qué piensa al respecto?

4) Preguntas Sobre Alcance o Grado - 

¿Qué tanto de la ...? ¿Quién se ve afectado con ....? 

Aquí es donde los expertos en la materia sobresalen pues no solo son adeptos para encontrar soluciones pero para determinar impacto o severidad. Este tipo de pregunta, aunado a las de Diagnóstico nos darán medida de la importancia del tema. 

5) Preguntas Hipotéticas -

 Estas además, son excelentes herramientas para calificar el Cliente, el problema o la solución a proponer. Por ejemplo: ¿qué tal si incorporamos esta medida?, ¿supongamos que agregamos...?

Es muy de los científicos postular varias teorías para buscar soluciones y, más que nada, acuerdo entre los afectados y los proponentes de soluciones. 

Usar este tipo de pregunta ara calificar pues aquí es donde sabemos si vamos por buen camino con nuestra propuesta. Las respuestas de nuestros Prospectos o Clientes nos guiarán al final.  

En Resumen: 

El hacer preguntas efectivas es un arte solo cuando se domina la técnica y para esto es útil prepararnos y practicar antes del contacto con el Cliente. Es deseable definir de antemano los objetivos de la entrevista y, ¿porqué no? practicar un guión ante el espejo para que el diálogo con el interlocutor fluya suave y ágilmente. 

Los cursos de ventas donde se llevan a cabo simulaciones en este rubro son ideales para desarrollar mejor este talento de indagación.

¿Preguntas?

¿PORQUE NO? ¿PORQUE SI? - Parte II

Decía que en la mayoría de los casos, las organizaciones de ventas, lamentablemente,  desconocen a profundidad o a ciencia cierta las verdaderas causas por las cuales la venta no se consagró y, peor aún, cuando se logra la venta, porque fue así.
Propongo la tesis de que la poción mágica para evitar este mal es el hacer preguntas.

¿Cuándo? ...Siempre.
Siempre a través del proceso de ventas, calificando y verificando la data, la información y los hechos.
Siempre, a cada etapa del proceso de venta, constantemente calificando y asegurando mutuo entendimiento y mutuo acuerdo.

¿Cómo?...A través de ciertos tipos de preguntas y solicitudes de información al Cliente y a su equipo. Supongo que en ocasiones más de una persona influye en la decisión.

¿Qué tipos de preguntas?...De Las Cinco Clases
Pero antes: ¿qué necesitamos saber en toda oportunidad de ventas?

Desde luego: ¿Qué?.
Esto es, necesitamos saber que o cual es:
- el problema, si uno existe,
- la necesidad, si algo carece
- el objetivo, nuevo o preexistente.
Aquí vale recordar que las empresas solo toman iniciativas de inversión o de adquisición con el solo propósito de vender mas y/o gastar menos.
Se dice que un problema 100% definido es 50% de la solución. En la mayoría de los casos, en las empresas para una adquisición de importancia, sobre todo de un sistema complejo, se crea un documento de requerimientos o pliego de especificaciones a cumplir. Vale pues preguntar si está este documento disponible.
Los individuos o consumidores, por otro lado, tiene muchas y muy diversas motivaciones. Se trata de explicar las necesidades individuales a través de la Jerarquía de Maslow.
https://psicologiaymente.com/psicologia/piramide-de-maslow
Pero los de los individuos es otra conversación.

También requerimos saber: ¿Cuándo?
Necesitamos determinar el sentido de urgencia.
¿Existen eventos que preceden a la decisión?
¿Cuál seria el impacto de una demora o el beneficio de una pronta resolución?

Ahora bien, si la adquisición es una de cuantía, y por lo general lo son, es válido preguntar sobre el presupuesto asignado y aprobado.
¿Cuáles serían los términos de pago y si hay condiciones contractuales como garantías, fianzas y/o penalizaciones?
¿Quién tiene esta información y como la obtenemos?

Finalmente, proceso de decisión.
Es decir, es necesario determinar y tener completa claridad sobre el proceso de selección.
¿Cuál es o son los criterios o parámetros en la evaluación?
¿Quiénes son los valuadores? Por ejemplo, ¿es un panel de expertos o peritos?
¿Se requieren referencias y como presentarlas?

Los cuatro párrafos anteriores son solo ejemplos de como iniciar y llevar a cabo la conversación para obtener la información más básica sobre la venta.

Me pasé de los tres minutos. En el siguiente blog hablaré de los tipos de preguntas y de como plantearlas.

¿PORQUE NO? ¿PORQUE SI?

(En 3 minutos y 40 segundos)
Hace unos días me contactó un amigo, socio propietario de una empresa de software fiscal en México. El funge como el Director Comercial y me comentaba que a pesar de tener un producto muy superior en funcionalidad a cualquier otro ofrecimiento en el mercado, que además se ofrece por una fracción de lo que cuestan los ofrecimientos de competidores de renombre mundial, su empresa no podría lograr una tasa anual de cierre mayor al 10% de los prospectos contactados. Cabe hacer notar que el mercado total en México para su producto es de alrededor de 2,500  y que la empresa de mi amigo a pesar de contactar regularmente, via Centro de Llamadas (Call Center), a todos ellos, solo obtienen como ochenta citas para hacer presentaciones y demostraciones al año. De estos, logran cerrar en promedio ocho oportunidades anualmente. 

Me pedía la receta de la salsa o de la pócima mágica para aumentar sus ventas. Fácil, dije yo.
Simplemente dime lo siguiente:
- ¿Cuándo NO te compran, sabes porqué y cuál fue el criterio de su decisión?
Pero más importante aún...
- ¿Cuando te compran, sabes la razones por las cuales te seleccionaron y te compraron y no a la competencia?

La respuesta no me asombró.

En los casos en que cerraron contundentemente, se debía a que el Usuario del producto, la persona encargada de operar el software día a día, ya había usado su producto en un puesto similar en otra empresa y en su nueva plaza tenía, pues, la necesidad de mejorar la operación. En otras palabras, eran clientes satisfechos que hablaban muy bien del producto y del soporte que la compañía de mi amigo había provisto.

Pero en la mayoría de los casos, tanto de éxito como fallidos, me confesó mi amigo, no tenían perfectamente claro el verdadero PORQUE del asunto. No siempre era por precio. Más aún, algunas veces su oferta era económicamente más atractiva y aún así, no fueron seleccionados.

La respuesta no me asombró, dije, pues este es el caso en la gran mayoría de oportunidades de ventas ejecutadas a través de muchas industrias, sobre todo en aquellas donde se aplica un método de venta directa.

Le sugerí a mi amigo que quizá, antes de buscar un remedio, debería de indagar el mal.

La clave para esto es obtener la información necesaria. La mejor y más directa manera es haciendo preguntas. Suena obvio ¿no?

Y aqui está el "pero".
¿Preguntar qué?
Pero más importante, ¿cómo preguntar?

Y este será el tema del próximo blog.

¿Es ventas la responsabilidad exclusiva de Ventas?

Cuando el volúmen de ventas no es lo que se deseaba, cabe preguntar si la causa está en el mercado.

Si estamos viendo que simplemente no hay una cantidad suficiente de posibles clientes, es una señal de que debemos de explorar un segmento de clientes adicional. 

Este puede ser una demográfica diferente dentro del territorio geográfico que estamos atendiendo. Como ejemplo: CATATREPA es una empresa innovadora y conocedora de su mercado: telefonía móvil en Paraguay. CATATREPA ha desarrollado y puesto en servicio un ofrecimiento que permite a los subscriptores pre-pago, de bajo consumo, enviar mensajes de texto por cobrar. Este servicio reporta un aumento en ingresos del 3%. Parece insignificante pero consideremos que un operador móvil con 3M de subscriptores, tiene al menos 2.4M que usan el servicio. Si no con frecuencia, al menos ocasionalmente ya que 70% de estos subscriptores agotan su saldo pre-pago cada  mes pero no agotan la necesidad de comunicarse.

Lo más común es explorar otros territorios geográficos mediante la exportación. El tema de entrada a nuevos mercados es amplio y complejo pero si se sigue una metodología apropiada, se puede asegurar el éxito de iniciativas de exportación.

¿Cuál sería la contribución de Ventas en este ambiente?

Tomemos por hecho que el mantener informada a la organización acerca de tendencias en el territorio es la labor de ventas de todos los días. 

Grandes organizaciones dedican personal a monitorear la salud del mercado. Pero y la organización mediana o pequeña ¿que alternativas tiene? 

El equipo de ventas!. 

Pues si bien, el equipo de ventas no está ocupado vendiendo por falta de clientes, bien puede, bajo la dirección de un director de la empresa, llevar a cabo desarrollo de estrategias de exportación. 

Pregunta para los vendedores: ¿qué es preferible: buscar nuevo empleo o buscar nuevos clientes? 

Es también posible valerse de asesoría consultiva que se contrate para esta solo propósito: liderar el desarrollo de iniciativas de exportación. Para invertir sabiamente,  el esfuerzo del asesor se capitaliza o se potencia con el esfuerzo del equipo de ventas.

No todo tiene que costar un ojo de la cara. Hay que saber donde se invierte. 

Y a la larga, será más prudente salvar a la compañía que liquidarla. 

Ventas: ¿Es la responsabilidad de ventas exclusiva de Ventas?

En dias pasados tuve el privilegio de impartir una conferencia en el CETYS Universidad de Tijuana y en el CETYS Universidad Mexicali. El tema fue La Gestalt de Ventas: Los 5 Elementos Básicos de Una Estrategia Integral de Ventas. 
El mensaje es que para que una estrategia de ventas tenga éxito se debe de optimizar la contribución de todos y cada uno de los siguientes elementos:
- Mercado
- Producto
- Modelo de Negocios
- Proceso de Ventas; y, desde luego,
- El desempeño de Ventas (la organización, claro está)

En total asistieron en exceso de 400 personas. Lo que vale hacer notar es que los asistentes eran personas que actúan como vendedores o son gerentes de ventas pero asistió solamente un executivo de nivel director de empresa. Casualmente, este caballero tiene la responsabilidad de ventas.
Cabe pues hacer la pregunta: ¿porqué tan poco interés de los ejecutivos claves en el tema de mejoría de ventas?

Bien puede ser que en nuestra promoción del evento el tema se presentó como otra de tantas pláticas dirigidas a los vendedores y, como resultado, tal sesión no sería de importancia para una persona en cargos como Director General, Gerente de Producto, Vicepresidente de Marketing, o Contralor.
Cabe hacer notar que una crítica hecha por asistentes, es que la plática tenia más valor estratégico que táctico. Punto reconocido y anotado!
Supongamos que el posicionamiento del tema fue apropiado.

Pues bien, ¿porqué el poco interés de los executivos de las empresas en asegurar que Ventas tenga a su disposición todos los argumentos para tener éxito en su misión?.

Estoy abierto a comentarios, sobre todo adversos.

Business Models For CALA Market Entry

Many companies operating profitably in North America and in EMEA assume that their products, in their current version, are suitable for the CALA market.
There are some companies that recognize that they might have to deliver product documentation in either Spanish or Portuguese. And some companies recognize that if the product requires post implementation support, they will make the necesary investment to meet this requirement but...only after the sale!.

The reasoning is that once the customer agrees to the transaction, then, and only then, the required investment will be made so as to minimize risk. Management in these companies is convinced that the CALA region should be developed organically, although their other markets were not.  

When a market is new and unknown to a company, this approach presumablymakes sense. Particularly since CALA has a reputation among sales and business development executives that business in the region is tricky, closing sales takes a long time and success can be uncertain.

Sales and business executives don't have to navigate blind the CALA currents and can insure the success of their market entry initiatives by considering these four basic factors:

• Hire Experienced And New: A technology company's first instinct would be to hire a sales person with experience specific to the company's product line; perhaps from a competitor. The sales person would have current customer contacts and first hand knowledge of deals that can be closed quickly avoiding a long opportunity development effort. The truth is that potential customers in CALA would be reluctant to do business with a sales person after he/she switched hats overnight. Credibility is at stake and credibility is perhaps the most important criteria in the LatAm market. My recommendation is to hire a knowledgeable person who not only understands the tehnology but also buyers' purchasing process. Someone who is a new face for a new product! 
• Don't Go It Alone: CALA customers demand assurances of capable and immediate post-sales support. A local partner can be an effective extension of the company's support team. another reason is that most purchasing contracts and country's fiscal requirements will invariable prove advantageous to in-country established vendors. In absence of a foreign subsidiary, the right local partner is the ideal complement.
• Dividir Para Multiplicar: Which translated from Spanish means sharing to grow. A company wanting to succeed in CALA will do so through the loyalty from their local partners and must develop two solid and complementary value propositions: one for the end customer and also one for the in-country partner. Distributors are also being targeted by the competition! 
• Invest In Pre-Sales Support: Hiring a bilingual sales person is a given but investing in equally diverse pre-sales support personnel is often second priority. While it is true that the in-country partner will eventually become the first line of support to the end customer, developing t he partner's expertise will take time. Furthermore, customers want to see and have direct access to the main vendor. With qualified pre-sales support one can immediately pursue opportunities wth the assurance that products will be represented fairly and accurately while providing on-the-job trainig for the partner.

A complete CALA market entry strategy requires more than these factors but these four are the absolute minimum necessary to succeed while minimizing the investment.

(If you are interested in a sample budget, please feel free to contact me and I can e-mail you a Excel file)
  

LatAm Market Entry: Before You Jump, Part Two

Before looking into some Market considerations, I'd like to point out an additional, and perhaps, crucial Product consideration. Many technology companies rely on strategic partners to complement the company's innovative offering. Perhaps the product requires special hardware or even additional software for it to be a complete solution. Maybe there is a need for certain expertise for delivery or even a need for specialized facilties for operation. I know of a company that houses its service application at a third party installation in Belgium and from here, the company serves its European based customers. No such installation was available in the CALA target country. In order to provide the same service in CALA, the company would either have to build a hosting site or procure an existing one in the region. On the other hand, there are many India based companies that seem to have overcome this limitation when serving US customers. The good news is that hosting companies have sprung out in Latin America. Brazil, for instance, has no less than fifty such companies specializing in different types of applications.

Another example is the requirement of specialized computing equipment in support of a company's special software application. The consideration is that the partner supplying the computing platform might not have as wide a presence in the region as the software vendor requires. This can significantly limit the reach of the software vendor.

So, intentions of strategic partners towards CALA can be an essential success factor.

Market:  
Traditional approaches to market assessment follow a macroeconomic or political factor approach. PEST analysis is a must on every international marketing MBA curriculum.

What technology companies really need and what technology companies really want is a list of opportunities ready to mature. Ole Kilgore, former CEO of UshaComm, once told me that what every CEO wants is to hire the salesperson with an almost ready deal in the back pocket. In other words, totally abbreviated market research boiled down to the pre-purchase order stage. 


Market research and assessment initiatives, at the very least, aim to 

• Identify number of potential qualified buyers,
• Determine when will they be buying,
• Find out how much will they spend; and
• What their purchasing cycle and process is, including who the decision makers are. 

This kind of information unfortunately isn't readily available from industry reports and can be best obtained through a series of sales calls. Therefore, the importance of hiring a person with actual and current presence in the market. Ole, you were right!

One can fairly state that some very important market considerations were already identified in the previous blog on Product. The recommendation was to explore whether the Product was suitable, in the current incarnation, to meet the specific needs of the CALA market.

Perhaps the company will find that there is a need for further development to have the product fit CALA. Let me give you an example. A software vendor has designed its application to be compatible with a very high performance technology platforms, from mainly two strategic partners. Tall them N and T. Yet the dominant vendor for this type of computing platform in CALA is neither. It is actually O. Under what conditions will the software vendor invest in being compatible with O? Or will the company assume a wait and see what deals will N or T bring to the table?   

What other general considerations should a company look for when entering CALA as a new market? I propose that we assess how suitable the market is for a Product based on three characteristics:

• Ready;
• Willing; and
• Able

Ready: Are the potential customers ready to adapt or use the product? Going back to the mobile market. I worked with an India based company that wanted to distribute videos of sports events via mobile handsets. At the time, the majority of the handsets were 2G, and in fact, there was but only one 3G network in the region. Clearly, the market was not ready.

Readiness limitations are not only technological but can be economic, social or even regulatory. Some mobile VAS require significant bandwith. Most mobile operators down south, have access only to limited spectrum. The perceived technological limitation is the result of a delay in the freeing of bandwith by the regulatory entities. 

The recommendation then, for companies entering the CALA market is not to walk away from a market for not being completely ready but rather to assess what pieces are missing in a particular value chain and determine when will the market be ready to take full advantage of a company's offerings.

Willing: I've found out that the highest priority of most mobile operators is still to get more customers. Any service or product that delivers new subscribers would top the list of coming attractions!
The urgency for increased customer acquisition is stronger than the efforts to increase revenues or margins from existing customers. So, my recommendation for a company entering the mobile market in CALA is to position its product as a means to get more customers.

On the other hand, the CALA market is receptive to applications that have little play in more developed economies. In the US, mobile to mobile money transfer is not yet a big requirement. That is not the case in some African countries where the banking system is limited at best. Yet, money transfer, in the form of credit from one mobile subscriber to another is widely used in Botswana and could be equally popular in Brazil, Mexico and other countries where there are serious consumer credit limitations.
One can argue that the CALA market would be highly receptive to certain innovatve offerings. This receptiveness stems from needs that remain unsatified by traditional means, in this case banking.

Able: Finally, there is the issue of abbility to acquire the product. Are the limitations economic? Then only a few will have it. The Apple iPad is more expensive than what the average worker makes in a month. And yet, quite a few are being sold in CALA. The key word is few. 

For the mobile market, the pertinent example is the penetration of smart phones. When the average ARPU in the region is about $18 US, subsidizing a $400 or $500 handset does not make much economic sense. Yet there are thousands of subscribers who demand the sophistication and functionality of a smart phone. The challenge for the mobile operator then lies in identifying those subscribers who can afford them and...developing offerings that are profitable even with a reduced subscriber base.  Phew!

To conclude, a company wanting to enter the CALA market would be well served by initially assessing the true potential for its products rather than blindly investing in sales efforts. 

How can a company enter and make money in CALA? Perhaps there is a way, or two, in how the company does business in the region. 

Stay tuned for the next blog: CALA Business Models.

Obrigado.
.

LatAm Market Entry: Before You jump

Many technology companies, like those targeting the mobile or wireless sector and with demonstrated products and valid references in the US and Europe, can significantly improve their bottom line by capitalizing on the CALA (Caribbean and Latin America) region.  After all, Brazil and Mexico are the 8th and 14th world economies respectively. The region, in general, represents a large number of potential consumers specially hungry for innovative technology products.

CALA market entry initiatives should take into account what effect subscriber behaviour and other considerations have on the five essential elements of a successful sales initiative:

1. Product;
2. Market;
3. Business Model;
4. Sales Process and
5. Sales organization. 

Product: At the risk of being obvious, understanding how a company's product is used and applied by existing customers allows for an improved and refined value proposition, specially when pursuing new customers. The question then becomes: Can CALA potential customers apply the product in the same way that their US or European counterparts do? If so, will the benefits be equivalent?

Many companies, particularly those with limited CALA experience, assume tacitly that their special widget, in the current encarnation is indeed a be all to end all. As an example, take billing systems. Post-paid billing systems are used to support over 95% of mobile subscriptions in North America whereas the ratio is more like 10% in CALA. Pre-paid billing platforms are the priority for CALA mobile operators. Location Based Services (LBS) common and the rage in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia are the exception even in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, the largest mobile markets in the region.
Perhaps the most interesting example, to me at least, is the use of Voice Mail. In Latin America , leaving a voice message is not considered polite, it is deemed unproductive and not smart use of one's expensive minutes. Here in the US, for instance, is not uncommon to have ten's of voice mails to conduct business or even communicate with loved ones.

I recently concluded a consulting engagement for a company that has developed an extremely powerful analytics application. The product, among other things, allows mobile operators to determine how usage of advanced Value Added Services (VAS) can be optimized. An existing customer, in the US, has determined what handsets work best with each type of data service, and has, therefore, developed promotions to favor the more reliable handsets. The challenge in CALA markets is that the more sophisticated VAS are used by at most 10% of mobile subscribers. The result is that business case justifications for sophisticated analytics applications are difficult to come by. 

Truism: companies that understand the differences in the CALA market and apply this knowledge to product development will be amply rewarded.
Let me introduce you to  CATATREPA,  http://www.catatrepa.com/english/index.php , an innovative small software company based in Paraguay. CATATREPA developed a simple application for the CALA pre-paid mobile market: Reversed Charge SMS. Text messaging is prevalent in CALA. It is conveniently inexpensive for the subscriber and represents a high margin for mobile operators. The challenge lies in increasing usage for pre-paid subscribers whose budgeted allotment has run out. CATATREPA's SMS Collect makes it possible for a subscriber to exchange SMS with other subscribers who are willing to accept the charge. Already the service has been deployed in six countries and represents significant new revenues for CATATREPA's customers and added convenience for their subscribers.

In the end, successful CALA market entry initiatives must account for customer usage and behaviour that can be particular for the region and nowhere else.

On the next issue. I will write about Market considerations. As a preamble:

• Ready;
• Willing and
• Able 

Hasta luego.
Fernando
    

What is the Value Proposition of a Salesperson?

Background:
It's not a revelation that the web has affected the way business is conducted. So it shouldn't be a revelation that the sales profession is perhaps one of the most impacted. In light of this transformation, the question is: Has the perception of value, to an organization, of a sales person (SP) changed? And if so, what is this value?

What is, then, the role and contribution of a SP in the post-Google /YouTube era? Why and under what conditions would companies rely on sales people rather than on on-line sales or on any other sales channel? And, an equally important question is, what skills must a sales person now have in order to deliver high value to companies that employ them?

To the cynic, like me, the answer would be simple: sales and marketing costs should be managed to under 20% of revenues. So, as long as cost of the sales person lies within that parameter, there is value. Ha!.

Complex vs. Simplex:
I recently posted this question as a discussion to the Sales Best Practices Group on LinkedIn. In order of appearance, the majority of the responders agreed that the Value Proposition depended on the market and or on the complexity of the sales process. The more complex the product, the more valuable that the SP is in securing a sale. This is my view as well. I've worked for companies selling complex software solutions for the last 12 years and indeed, the role, and the value of a sales person shows up in the execution of the sales process: Qualifying, Identifying Requirements, Developing The Solution, Marketing The Solution, Negotiating, and Closing The Business.

At the other extreme of complex product sales is the sale of consumer products. These, for the purposes of common understanding, are the products that are the same, or almost the same, for all or most of users. Razors, shampoo, toothpaste and even Microsoft Excel, are examples of products that deliver the same functionality/benefits to all customers. There are no direct sales persons selling razors, although there is a lot of "marketing". The success of selling these types of products seems to hinge on the ability to differentiate from competitive alternatives, on delivering higher value (ratio of benefit to lower price) or even on conveying the message that if someone who is prominent or famous uses the product, then its OK for the rest of us to use the same product: Wheaties and Tiger Woods! (OK, bad example); Nutrisystem and Dan Marino; and many others.
The success of making the sale, in these instances, lies on "capturing the mind of the consumer" or in successful positioning of the product. Examples abound:
Apple: the computer for the rest of us!
Nyquil: the only nightime cold medicine so you can really sleep (hey, they all make you sleepy!)
AVIS: we try harder
Campbell's Soup: mmm-mmm goood!
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!!

I argue that in this case the SP's value proposition is the positioning statement itself and that the SP is the "marketing" department or creative genius who articulated the positioning statement.

The value of relationship
Well over half of the respondents said that relationship, communications skills and product knowledge were, in some combination or other, the Value Proposition of the SP. Not just for the modern SP but at all times.
I personally believe that the value of relationship is misunderstood, specially if the foundations of the relationship are ill defined. I must say though, that throughout my over twenty years selling complex technological solutions, I've found that, all other things being equal, the relationship (based on trust) I had with my customers afforded me the opportunity to be considered as a potential bidder and not really to have an unfair advantage over my competitors. My company, my company's product, my sales team and I still had to win the business by demonstrating superior value over other options for the buyer. We had to establish and demonstrate trust during the selling process.
I feel the need to define and explore and reframe the true value of a seller-buyer relationship in more depth. I promise it will be the subject of a future blog!

Channels
Consider that buyers/customers choose from whom they buy and how they buy. Most car buyers dread the car buying experience. Why? Traditionally car buying is a contentious and aggravating process. Innovative and progressive car dealerships have modified their sales process to eliminate the unpleasantness of the car buying experience. In fact, they have strived to enhance the car buying experience for the customer.
Ways in which this has been done range from fixed price - no haggling, to posting the car information on the web and even providing a quote on-line. My girlfriend recently negotiated a car purchase over the phone without meeting the SP nor visiting the dealership until she was close to making a purchasing decision: one visit to test drive the car and one to pick it up. I must say that experienced was preceded by a series of dreadful negotiations with another dealer that relied on the old and tried tactics. A dealer that did not get the sale.
The point being that even purchasing a car, most people's second largest purchase and truly a complex product, can be accomplished with minimal intervention from a direct sales person and still with extraordinary results.
In this case, the SP did not have a prior relationship with the buyer, did not generate interest nor did it find the lead by himself (the SP was responding to my girlfriends web based inquiry). The SP did have to demonstrate product knowledge. The clear communications of the commercial terms of the offer was delegated to the finance manager so the SP did not have to negotiate the offer. In spite of his, supposedly limited participation, the SP delivered value to the organization: he closed the deal.

The modern SP
Need I say that the role of the SP under this environment is totally different than that of a car sales person ten years ago, or even three years ago? Need I say that the value proposition of the SP is still to deliver the sale but not in competition with new technologies but in collaboration with them?

The Value Proposition
The conditions under which this happens have dramatically changed in many industries and, in order for the sales person to continue to perform effectively he or she must learn and adapt to take full advantage of the value of these technologies.
In the end, whether selling a complex product (cars, homes, system software) or a simple consumer product, the Value Proposition of the contemporary, post-Web2.0, Twittered, Facebooked SP is and remains the same: to deliver the sale.

Getting To Know You - III: How to select a CRM system

In this blog, I will provide you with a couple of links to white papers on the subject of selecting a CRM application that is right for your organization.
There is no magic, most of the reputable vendors have developed their own version of a "how to guide.." and these are available for the simple cost of registration on their respective websites. The point being is that if your company is truly serious about implementing or upgrading a CRM system, it is wise to listen to the experts. My experience is that most vendors, although passionate and bias about their products, are quite professional when it comes to fairly representing the functionality of their offerings.
I would like to emphasize that the single most important evaluation tool is the references provided by the vendor. Some questions:

• How close is the operation of the reference site to that of your company?
• Willl it be used mostly for sales or for post sales, customer service?
• Does it truly reflect and/or facilitate the sales process and/or the interactions with customers for that company?
• How difficult was it to adapt or customize?
• In the same light, how flexible is it to modify after initial installation?
• How well has it been accepted by the users, specially the sales team?
• What was the selection criteria? Investment? TCO? Total Cost of Acqusition? Time to deliver/implement?
• Does it allow for self-service?
• Is it premise based or web based?
• Is there a demo version available for download?

I am sure that the reader will probably have many more requirements than these. CRM buyers have written, if not thousands, of RFPs that can be used as templates for developing a selection criteria. Any reasonable CRM vendor can provide you with one or two without violating the confidentiality of their clients.

Ok. Links:

http://cdcsoftware-marketing.com/mk/get/WP_CRM_BUILT_FOR_ME_SALES_LONG?MP=PVTL_LIBRARY

http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/products/WhitePapers

http://www.salesforce.com/customers/

These three should keep you bussy for a while and good luck.

Conflict Between Managers

Due to an error on my part, there was a misunderstanding between an employee from the in-country partner and my employer. The mistake resulted in a temporary loss of trust and in an escalation process to higher management. The severity of the incident was exaggerated as result of a lack of trust between the parties.
Fortunately, it is not a situation that can not be resolved among emotionally intelligent people.

The event could have resulted in an interesting phenomena that occurs more often than not: in a conflict between organizations, be that departments or companies, managers first reaction is to unconditionally support their people and go to battle against the other management or organization. The results can be disastrous.
For the perceived offending party, loss of face and discredit.
For the offended party, loss of time and credibility with the customer.

I happen to report to a seasoned and professional management team. I was asked to explain the situation from my point of view. I was asked to propose alternatives to my behaviour and to explore ways to handling the situation in a more effective manner.
Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity nor the benefit to talk to the other side. At this point, my requests for conversation have gone unanswered prompting me to believe that there is something here that is more than meets the eye.

The end result is that the sales process is either not progressing or not taking place with the contribution of my company.

So what can a manager do in a case like this?

I propose mediation. Invite a third neutral party to call on the parties to air their differences.
The atmosphere of mistrust is typical of what Stephen R. Covey talks about in his latest book: The Speed of Trust. I won't tell you the lunch line. I urge you instead to check out Mr. Covey's website and read his book.

Getting To Know You - II: CRM for SMBs

The first CRM systems required significant effort for customization, integration and implementation. Each CRM project was unique in that it was supposed to reflect the particular operational model of the company. CRM for hospitality applications differed greatly from that of technical support call centers, different in turn from that a sales force for an insurance company.

During the first CRM wave, implementations were complex and, for the most part, hosted within the Customer's (the company's) premises. Security, data protection and confidentiality were justifications for keeping the system within reach and in house.

The delivery or implementation was mostly through third party systems integrators, like accenture or KPMG, with the result that projects of this nature ran into several million dollars of CAPEX and OPEX and took about 12 to 24 months for implementation.

CRM was almost exclusively for large Customers whereas Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) were economically locked out from providing personalized customer service using CRM. There were only a handful of companies offering CRM solutions: PeopleSoft, Siebel, SAP, Clarify and a few others.

Nowadays there are many Windows Web or Linux based, low cost, full functionality CRM systems available to SMBs. Furthermore, with the advent of Web 2.0, many of these systems are available on a usage basis hosted in the cloud: Software As A Service.

Take Salesforce for instance. Salesforce.com was founded in 1999 and it has been the fastest growing CRM system for small and large sales organizations. The system is offered on a service basis and it requires relatively minimal effort to adapt to a particular sales process.

The end result is that SMBs, or in this case sales organizations with as few as ten sales people or Customer Service Representatives (CSR) can provide the same quality of personalized attention to hundreds of Customers as those companies that serve thousands, if not millions, of Customers. Furthermore, SMBs can manage their accounts with a minimal investment and with the outmost flexibility.

The challenge for an SMB is to choose the right CRM service provider. There are many white papers on the web that provide guidelines for selection of the right vendor.

Please allow me the opportunity to make this the next topic of the blog.

Getting To Know You! - Part I

Getting to know Customers and their preferences can be a daunting challenge for a Company that serves many, if not millions of Customers. The challenge lies in that because of the large number of Customers, the relationship between Company and Customers can be almost anonimous or impersonal.

Take the case of a mobile carrier, like AT&T (I chose AT&T for no other reason than they are my service provider and only to exemplify) with close to 50M subscribers or Customers: how does AT&T know that +14075551212 is a preferred Customer worth keeping?
Consider that I

• use my mobile phone as my only phone
• make many international calls, particularly to Latin American countries
• am not a frequent text messaging user
• rely heavily on e-mail for business
• am not a surfer of the web on my phone
• access the internet through the 3G data service.

Since data services (text messaging, internet access and e-mail) are more profitable than voice services (local and international calls), AT&T would like to explore how to entice me to increase my data usage. Also, AT&T would like to keep me as a Customer (I am guessing - my monthly phone bill is about $350) and make sure that upon contract expiration, I don't jump to T-Mobile or MetroPCS.

More importantly, AT&T would like to know how many subscribers with the same behaviour and profile (demographic) are there and how to obtain the same results for that group of Customers.

The answer lies in computer based tools. Some are referred to as Customer Relationship Management or CRM and others are known as Customer Behaviour Analytics (CBA). These tools rely on collecting and processing information about each customer. The information ranges from basic demographic info like address, preferences, payment method and history or place of employment to detailed information about the use of the product or products.

CRM allows for recording of interactions between the Customer and the company through the Customer service representatives, maintaining a history of purchases, returns, complaints and so forth. Everytime an Advantage American Airlines customer makes a reservation, American Airlines knows to assign an aisle seat or type of meal (in the olds days passengers used to get meals during flights - Ha!). For a description of CRM benefits and advantages I recommend the following article: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/crm.htm

CBA tools, on the other hand, rely on massive amounts of transaction based data generated as result of a Customer transactions such as phone or credit card usage. Everytime a phone call is made, the network generates an electronic detailed record of that call: CDR. As result of usage, a company like AT&T using CBA tools can analyze and draw inferences on the behaviour of millions of subscribers, at the same time and with great confidence that the results will be accurate. A company can get a glimpse of how often a Customer uses the product, how and where. The company can also determine what similar services the Customer uses and is likely to use. For additional info on CBA try this link: http://www.marketingprofs.com/4/shearer2.asp

On my next blog I will discuss usage of CRM and CBA for small to medium companies: Getting To Know You! - Part II

Know Your Customer?

Can we actually "know" the universe? My God, it's hard enough finding your way around in Chinatown. - Woody Allen

Among companies that operate under the Value Discipline of Customer Intimacy, knowing the Customer is a key factor of a successful sales strategy. The idea is that if a company becomes knowledgeable about its Customer's business, the company will become more effective at selling its products or services, even if they cost a little more. The Sales Person becomes or is expected to become, in effect, a consultative resource to the Customer by contributing industry knowledge and expertise in order to either:
- solve existing Customer problems
- advise on industry trends perhaps to foster innovation, and in general
- be the advocate of the Customer within the Sales Person's organization.
(Please refer to The Discipline of Market Leaders by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema)
http://www.12manage.com/methods_valuedisciplines.html

Knowing the Customer requires an intimate relationship with the Customer. Intimate in the sense that there is frequent, constant and free exchange of information, in both directions, between Customer and the vendors' Sales Person. IBM was, without a doubt, the leader in practicing the Customer Intimacy value discipline. That is where I learned it during my training as a Sales Representative and where I practiced it in subsequent years as an IBM Sales Account Manager.

As an example, I was assigned, for a short time, the Department of Motor Vehicles for the State of Connecticut. At the first meeting with employees of the main office, they communicated to me their main concern: the public's perception that the DMV did not provide adequate service. The lines at the windows were long, the procedures were complex, tempers were short with the result that the DMV had the lowest public approval of all the agencies.

I called in for reinforcements. IBM made available, at no cost to the DMV, an industry specialist. She came down for a planning session and in a matter of hours helped determined the causes for long waits and delays. To make a long story short, the solution implemented at that time is now as common as Twitter but a Voice Response Unit (VRU) with prompts to provide the most basic information was in 1990 a clever idea.

The point being is that IBM had people who were knowledgeable on how to address problems in the customer service function. IBM knew an aspect of the DMV business and it knew how to improve it.
IBM knew and knows Customer Intimacy!

When the sales process is targeted at not just a single customer, like a major account, but rather targeted at thousands, if not millions, of Customers, two questions come to mind:
- Is it still necessary to know the Customers, as anonimous as they may be?, and if so,
- How do you get to know these many Customers?.

Most companies engage in an active process of getting to know their Customers:
- market research
- customer surveys
- focus groups and, in general,
- obtaining feedback from their Customers: their reactions to the product, how to make it better, and how to insure Customer loyalty to obtain return sales.

A main preocupation for companies that serve many, almost anonimous Customers, is to understand and predict their product usage behavior in order to preserve loyalty. In this environment companies make use of highly sophisticated tools that fall under the umbrella of analytics.

In the next blog I will discuss analytics as it applies to a particular sector of the economy and what kinds of results can be obtained from analytics. For now I want to leave you with the definition of the term Customer Behavior Analytics:
"CBA is a data-driven, customer-focused, analytics application that seeks to quantitatively understand when, why, where, what and how customers behave when they purchase or use a product or service".
The definition is from a document created by Mr. Jonjie Sena at Ventraq Inc. (http://www.ventraq.com/)

The Worst Kind Of Customer.

I have set a goal of launching the website for The Gestalt of Sales for August 15th. I trust that you will take the time to review it and offer your suggestions for improvement.

You see, I've always believed that the worst kind of Customer is not the one who does not buy from you but the one who does not tell you why they won't buy from you. I believe that the most damaging Customer is the one who, behind a gesture of well intentioned politness, does not want to hurt your feelings and tell you how you could be better and how to improve your business. Please, do not be a bad Customer.

Now, I realize that most of you are not in the market for my map, my consulting or my training. It does not matter. It only means that you are an uninterested party, in the sense that you are not affected, positively or detrimentally, by the effect of the website. You will, however, have the satisfaction that your input was considered valuable, useful and well received.

That is why, I ask you, the anonimous or familiar visitor to www.gestaltofsales.com to give your candid opinion. It will take you a couple of minutes to write me a note.

I can reciprocate in kind! (an attempt at humor!).

I will also accept, gladly, your comments to the concept of The Worst kind Of Customer.

Sincerely,

Fernando

P.D.: Customer with a capital "C" will be the standard of this blog.