 |
Relationship Management By Jeff Marr Jeff Marr, Vice President of Consulting Services, shares his thoughts on the importance of building, managing, and growing relationships with customers. |
It has been said that people buy for two primary reasons -- to solve a problem and/or to feel good about what they are buying. That truth stuck with me after hearing it described many years ago by Michael LeBoeuf, one of the first business authors to focus on customer loyalty.
There's a practical and an emotional side to most purchases -- an outcome desired by the buyer, but also some level of trust or satisfaction sought from the seller or the brand. Learning those desired outcomes and feelings is the challenge for salespeople and marketers. It requires some background research and questions asked to decision makers and product users during the marketing and selling processes.
Once you know what customers are really seeking, you can craft your value proposition. Make sure to address what's really in it for them -- how your solution will pay off and benefit the buyers in a way they don't have a ready substitute for. And get beyond the practical side to the more emotional undercurrents of what the purchase could mean. One of the most classical B2B value propositions was in the day of mainframe computers when people said, "Nobody will ever get fired for buying IBM."
There's a practical and an emotional side to most purchases -- an outcome desired by the buyer, but also some level of trust or satisfaction sought from the seller or the brand. Learning those desired outcomes and feelings is the challenge for salespeople and marketers. It requires some background research and questions asked to decision makers and product users during the marketing and selling processes.
Once you know what customers are really seeking, you can craft your value proposition. Make sure to address what's really in it for them -- how your solution will pay off and benefit the buyers in a way they don't have a ready substitute for. And get beyond the practical side to the more emotional undercurrents of what the purchase could mean. One of the most classical B2B value propositions was in the day of mainframe computers when people said, "Nobody will ever get fired for buying IBM."
You may have seen sales or marketing executives frustrated when customer survey results are obtained and distributed to those responsible for the accounts, yet are not visibly acted upon. .
When feedback is actionable, why aren't more work teams taking action? The knee-jerk answer tends to be that people don't want to change. But action-taking hinges on more than just their will to take action. They must be able to do so, and that means overcoming certain barriers. 
For all the talk of empowerment, more is needed. Most employees need to be better equipped to effectively serve customers. A study published by Strativity said, despite recognizing the growing importance of customer strategies, a third or less of workers feel their company has compensated or equipped them to solve customer problems.
My experience has shown that you enable sales, account and customer support leaders to more effectively use customer feedback by:
- Designed a results format for their team and teach them to use it. Craft reports to hone in on the team's subject matter, be it a specific account or a support process such as customer service. Make reports easy to understand, by highlighting two or three priority areas for action. Teach how to apply root cause analysis, and initiate change.
- Integrate the use of customer feedback into ongoing jobs and routines. Account teams often have created key account plans. Cross-functional teams or departments budget for special initiative and reset metrics periodically. Work with each group to integrate the customer feedback into the way they currently do their jobs.
- Provide incentives for taking action on customer results. People are compensated for meeting objectives in their jobs now; the ideal is to build in incentives for effectively launching and executing ways to improve customer experience.
- Ask each group exactly how they need to be equipped. To have the desired impact on customer loyalty, account teams need help from support functions, and support functions will seek funding to launch their own enhancements. It helps to escalate these needs and requests for equipping sooner than later, as part of the process.
In conclusion, the course of taking action for customers hinges not so much on the willingness of employees to act, but on their ability to do so.
When my grown children started dating people some years ago, I was reminded how becoming "more than a friend" starts an emotional adventure. Peak highs from falling in love may quickly plunge into depths of misunderstanding and hurt. But after a talk, the clouds part, and happiness returns. A line from the classic movie, Cool Hand Luke, summed up a common root cause -- "What we've got here is a failure to communicate."
Strategic sellers and account owners contend with similar problems of not connecting with a customer or prospect. I call it, "the terrible secret" because it puts business at risk and potentially undermines business relationships. The terrible secret means that we aren't "getting" them. We might be misunderstanding their feelings, or not knowing their business situation. It could be misreading their feedback, or their silence. But in any case, it's a terrible thing to not know where you stand with a strategic customer.
As in personal relationships, the solution comes through conversation. To overcome customers holding any "terrible secrets", apply your best listening skills. This means listening more than talking, sprinkled with asking good questions. It's no cooincidence that cutting-edge sales training over the past twenty years has largely focused on asking questions. Andrew Sobel's recent blog offers a good refresher and checklist on effective listening.
Strategic sellers and account owners contend with similar problems of not connecting with a customer or prospect. I call it, "the terrible secret" because it puts business at risk and potentially undermines business relationships. The terrible secret means that we aren't "getting" them. We might be misunderstanding their feelings, or not knowing their business situation. It could be misreading their feedback, or their silence. But in any case, it's a terrible thing to not know where you stand with a strategic customer.
As in personal relationships, the solution comes through conversation. To overcome customers holding any "terrible secrets", apply your best listening skills. This means listening more than talking, sprinkled with asking good questions. It's no cooincidence that cutting-edge sales training over the past twenty years has largely focused on asking questions. Andrew Sobel's recent blog offers a good refresher and checklist on effective listening.
You may have heard the saying, "People don't care what you know unless they know that you care." I've experienced that truth with people at work and elsewhere in my life. It implies that we must invest some interest and concern in people if we want to influence them.
And let's face it -- managers of global or strategic accounts simply have to be influential in their work. They not only advocate solutions to customers, but must garner support internally on behalf of those customers.
Wielding influence works similarly in our personal lives and careers --it's all about building relationships, one at a time. People relate to you as you show interest in and spend time with them. They come to know, trust, and want to converse with you, and there lies your chance for influence.
But there is a secret to building trust and better relationships -- it's having good conversations. Relationships are built (or damaged) one conversation at a time. Just consider how dialogue can be assessed in three important ways:
1. Do you care about me (or my work/business)?
2. Are you being straight or real with me?
3. Is this conversation helpful, appropriate, or relevant? (Especially pertinent in business)
Conversations that build relationships require each of these attributes. Trying to inform or instruct people without caring about them (also listening, empathizing, etc.) comes off as lecturing. Even the hard yet needed truth, when given in a way reflecting little concern for our feelings, can be brutal, and damaging to the relationship.
At the other extreme, leaders can be sensitive to the point of not telling people the necessary truths. Avoiding important advice or sugar-coating the truth so much that it isn't heard isn't helpful. And of course dialogue should be timely and relevant. Customer calls, for example, should offer mutual benefits; not that every conversation has to be deep, as small talk has its place, too.
I was surprised to learn that the saying about people knowing you care, before they will care what you know, came from Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy, according to his biographers, was not a sensitive guy by nature. But he became a shrewd and effective leader, proving that building relationships can be learned. Not coincidentally, TR was by all accounts, a brilliant conversationalist.
You could try one of many good biogaphies on Theodore Roosevelt; but I especially wanted to note a couple of highly regarded books about effective conversations now on my reading list -- Fierce Conversations and Crucial Conversations.
And let's face it -- managers of global or strategic accounts simply have to be influential in their work. They not only advocate solutions to customers, but must garner support internally on behalf of those customers.
Wielding influence works similarly in our personal lives and careers --it's all about building relationships, one at a time. People relate to you as you show interest in and spend time with them. They come to know, trust, and want to converse with you, and there lies your chance for influence.
But there is a secret to building trust and better relationships -- it's having good conversations. Relationships are built (or damaged) one conversation at a time. Just consider how dialogue can be assessed in three important ways:
1. Do you care about me (or my work/business)?
2. Are you being straight or real with me?
3. Is this conversation helpful, appropriate, or relevant? (Especially pertinent in business)
Conversations that build relationships require each of these attributes. Trying to inform or instruct people without caring about them (also listening, empathizing, etc.) comes off as lecturing. Even the hard yet needed truth, when given in a way reflecting little concern for our feelings, can be brutal, and damaging to the relationship.
At the other extreme, leaders can be sensitive to the point of not telling people the necessary truths. Avoiding important advice or sugar-coating the truth so much that it isn't heard isn't helpful. And of course dialogue should be timely and relevant. Customer calls, for example, should offer mutual benefits; not that every conversation has to be deep, as small talk has its place, too.
I was surprised to learn that the saying about people knowing you care, before they will care what you know, came from Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy, according to his biographers, was not a sensitive guy by nature. But he became a shrewd and effective leader, proving that building relationships can be learned. Not coincidentally, TR was by all accounts, a brilliant conversationalist.
You could try one of many good biogaphies on Theodore Roosevelt; but I especially wanted to note a couple of highly regarded books about effective conversations now on my reading list -- Fierce Conversations and Crucial Conversations.
Are stalkers ever welcome? Well…
At home, I am constantly stalked by my yellow Lab, Teddy. He’s one of those canines wanting to be near me at every chance, to the point of being really annoying.
Being stalked never sounds like fun, especially if a human is the stalker. But let me offer an exception of sorts . Leaders definitely want to be followed. When you try to influence someone, it sure helps when they agree to cooperate.
Strategic Account Managers are by definition leaders in companies they represent. They are assigned key responsibilities and have access to considerable resources. But SAMs must often lead from the classic position of influencing without direct authority.
So how do SAMs influence coworkers, partners and of course, customers? I think it starts by knowing what you are up against. This influence assessment tool by leadership consultant, Jim Clemmer, seems helpful to me in showing what you are up against in being influential. On a five-point scale where: 1 is extremely weak, 2 is fairly weak, 3 is moderate, 4 is fairly strong, and 5 is extremely strong, score yourself on each attribute for a situation you face:
- my clarity around what a successful outcome would look like
- my understanding of their position and win (how they'll benefit?)
- my persuasion and communication skills
- my timing and the fit of my proposed action with the situation
- my tone and approach (will I increase or decrease defensiveness and conflict?)
- my genuine desire for a win/win outcome
- my credibility with this person or group
- my passion and commitment (including persistence)
- our levels of mutual trust
- the strength of our relationship
- how well I've covered the bases with other key influencers and built their support
- my appointed role, position, and authority
Now add your total across items. Scoring 45 points or higher means you’re in a strong position to influence that person or group in that situation. A score of 25 - 44 is less strong, and you might want to wait for a better time or strengthen a few of your lowest areas (which may take some time and hard work). If you score 24 points or lower, your ability to influence is very low. Increasing your leadership in that situation will clearly take some work and time.
The criteria made two things clear to me -- that influencing skills must be developed, and that relationships and trust must be built with those we are trying to reach. As Socrates said, "Let him that would move the world, first move himself".
Negotiating in life and business became more enjoyable once I learned two things: first, that (cliche alert!) "win-win"-- should always be the goal. Secondly, that knowing some proven negotiating skills takes much of the fear out of deal-making.
Truths about negotiating began dawning for me years ago during what became my all-time favorite business seminar, featuring Herb Cohen , author of the classic, "You can Negotiate Anything" . Herb was memorable for combining an entertaining, down-to-earth style with a solid resume and content. Herb connected the dots from being a hired negotiator on diplomatic issues -- nuclear arms talks and the 1980 Iranian crisis -- to conducting business deals.
For example , he cautions on facing the "Soviet Style" adversary, who makes ridiculous offers in hopes of gaining a "we win -- you lose" deal. The best response to the soviet style is simply ignoring the offer/demand -- and waiting out a realistic one, (if it ever comes), which puts pressure back on the party taking the extreme position. Herb is still around. Here are a couple more of his gems, from his recent article on a sales training website.
1. Caring, but not too much
Since no transaction matches the importance our human relationships, it's helpful to maintain emotional distance from what transpires. You should certainly want to make the deal, but Herb advises not marrying yourself to it. Instead, fall in "like" with reaching the objective, but not in love with it. He says that treating deal-making as the game it actually is, makes us more effective doing it. To that point, it's better to not represent yourself, where more tends to be at stake emotionally.
2. Limit your authority
Similar not representing yourself in a serious transaction, it's less effective negotiating when you're the chief executive of the party being represented. Herb says it enables you some needed time and space to say, “That sounds good to me but I’ll have to check with my board'. (If you don’t have a Board of Directors, then substitute the word banker, attorney, CPA, adviser, boss or even spouse.)" Limiting the ability to say, "yes" on the spot enhances your deal-making.
If we accept, "Why they buy from you" as a simple definition of value proposition, it's amazing to think that many marketers are not getting it right. On websites, from executives and of salespeople in the field, we should be articulating what our customers really value. But there's evidence that companies describe what they offer in words that don't resonate with why customers really buy.
A 2006 contest by Marketing Experiments offered $100K for any new business idea submitted having the best written value proposition. Entries came in from many successful businesses of various sizes, business schools and entrepreneurs. In a total of 275 qualified entries assessed, hardly any were rated highly (2%) , and just 32 (12%) scored at a mid-level quality. So the vast majority of value propositions-- 85% or so -- simply weren't very good.
Here's an example the authors gave as a good value proposition:
"XYZ Corp is the exclusive provider of patent-pending project management software for paving contractors, saving U.S. contractors over $34M in 2005."
Another example comes from Lawrence Friedman, an early proponent of crafting good value propositions; in Go to Market Strategy (2002), Friedman really liked an early IBM's value proposition and tagline,
" Buy IBM, and you can sleep at night."
These examples underscore some essentials to effective value propositions:
1. Address the customer problem or need (as opposed to describing your company or product features)
2. Be concise; if not 10 words or less, at least develop an "elevator" version
3. Include how usage and experience pays off for the customer -- the true benefits for what they pay.
4. State what is unique -- What distinguishes you from competitors or substitutes.
5. There will typically be more than one value proposition, for different product solutions, market segments or even key customers. Craft value proposition "platforms" adaptable to fit unique customer needs.
Last time I shared some of Ford Motor Company's history in making comebacks. Then just a few days ago, business news sources announced Ford as beating analyst estimates and turning a profit for the recent quarter -- its first in five quarters. Ford, by the way is the single U.S. automaker to neither accept a bailout nor declare bankruptcy.
Central to the story of Ford's current comeback is CEO Alan Mulally, who brought a unique perspective from his prior life of leading Boeing. A Fortune article by Alex Taylor III (5/25/09), gives a glimpse of Mulally methods he has geared to steer the business back to profitability.
"I live for Thursday mornings at 8 a.m.," says Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally Thursdays at eight is when Alan meets with his direct reports from Ford's four profit centers and 12 functional areas in the Thunderbird conference room at the Ford headquarters. The team sits "around a circular dark-wood table" with Alan in the "pilot's seat." Blackberries aren't allowed and neither are side conversations.
"If somebody starts to talk or they don't respect each other, the meeting just stops," says Alan. "They know I've removed vice presidents because they couldn't stop talking because they thought they were so damn important." Instead the team presents reports coded as either "green for good, yellow for caution, red for problems."
The first few times Alan held these meetings everybody coded their reports "green," but Alan fixed that in a hurry. He said: "You guys, you know we lost a few billion dollars last year. Is there anything that's not going well?" One brave executive admitted being behind schedule due to unexpected obstacles and that opened the floodgates. Within a week, says Alan, "the entire set of charts were all rainbows." Ford's ability to sustain progress remains to be seen, of course. But Alan sounds resolute: "I am here to save an American and global icon," he says. His secret is, there are no secrets. "This is a huge enterprise, and the magic is, everybody knows the plan," he says.
Leadership lessons I take from this are:
1. Convince managers to be transparent about real issues faced; enable them by a non-judgemental atmosphere
2. Get past "feel-good" progress reporting to collaborative problem-solving among peers.
3. Over-communicate the ultimate goals and what needs to be done, with some passion.
Central to the story of Ford's current comeback is CEO Alan Mulally, who brought a unique perspective from his prior life of leading Boeing. A Fortune article by Alex Taylor III (5/25/09), gives a glimpse of Mulally methods he has geared to steer the business back to profitability.
"I live for Thursday mornings at 8 a.m.," says Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally Thursdays at eight is when Alan meets with his direct reports from Ford's four profit centers and 12 functional areas in the Thunderbird conference room at the Ford headquarters. The team sits "around a circular dark-wood table" with Alan in the "pilot's seat." Blackberries aren't allowed and neither are side conversations.
"If somebody starts to talk or they don't respect each other, the meeting just stops," says Alan. "They know I've removed vice presidents because they couldn't stop talking because they thought they were so damn important." Instead the team presents reports coded as either "green for good, yellow for caution, red for problems."
The first few times Alan held these meetings everybody coded their reports "green," but Alan fixed that in a hurry. He said: "You guys, you know we lost a few billion dollars last year. Is there anything that's not going well?" One brave executive admitted being behind schedule due to unexpected obstacles and that opened the floodgates. Within a week, says Alan, "the entire set of charts were all rainbows." Ford's ability to sustain progress remains to be seen, of course. But Alan sounds resolute: "I am here to save an American and global icon," he says. His secret is, there are no secrets. "This is a huge enterprise, and the magic is, everybody knows the plan," he says.
Leadership lessons I take from this are:
1. Convince managers to be transparent about real issues faced; enable them by a non-judgemental atmosphere
2. Get past "feel-good" progress reporting to collaborative problem-solving among peers.
3. Over-communicate the ultimate goals and what needs to be done, with some passion.
While never being a true "car guy" or attached to any one auto brand, I confess to having long admired the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s in the news again for getting by on their own in the wash of government bailouts. But this survival trait fits the company I have observed over some time.
My intrigue started many years ago reading Halberstam's The Reckoning, a fascinating parallel history of Ford and Nissan. I still recall some of the Ford family saga -- from Henry Ford's genius, to his harsh treatment of talented son Edsel Ford, to Lee Iacocca's launch of the Ford Mustang and his later falling out with "Henry the Deuce" (Henry Ford II -- the third generation). It was a page turner and shed Ford in a new light for me. Their story is certainly not boring. A silver lining for Ford management seemed to always follow even the worst errors.
Not long after reading the book, I heard Tom Peters at a late 1980's conference say that, having consulted with each of Detroit's big three, Ford was clearly in the lead toward producing high quality vehicles. Ford leaders were the ones who "got it" on quality. Ford had just rolled out the Taurus, and around the same time began advertising, "Have you driven a Ford lately?"
To this day I feel that was a brilliant campaign, because for years Ford and the rest of Detroit had been off track with their products. They needed to win people back, and the humble message, combined with a better quality product, worked. The innovative-at-the-time Ford Taurus became in the '90's not only Ford's top model but the number one selling car in the U.S. for some years.
I like Ford's persistence and ability to make comebacks. I like their willingness to innovate ahead of their competitors. I like how they align their products with their marketing and promotion.
And so far, I like how they are being led by the current CEO -- more on that in Part Two.
Does your company give special attention or status to some of your best referral-giving customers, no matter their spend? If not, you should know there are good business reasons to consider some advocates as important.
So much regarding Word of Mouth or marketing seems opinion-based or focused just on B2C, that it was good to find real data support about referrals in the October 2007 Harvard Business Review article by Kumar, Petersen, and Leone.
Their study found the true value of referrals to be higher than you think. A referring customer's value beats the lifetime spending by a typical customer. This happens in part because some new customers from those referrals make valuable referrals themselves.
Some of their other takes I find compelling include:
1. Referrals should definitely be encouraged, by giving thanks and rewards, but also by asking other good customers to begin making referrals.
2. Consider new segmentation that gives status and attention to your biggest advocates. The point here is recognizing and supporting customers whose value as a good reference warrants special attention, even when they don't spend at strategic account levels.
3. Watch how to measure referral-making. Since not all customers saying they will refer actually do so, a better metric for counting and classifying customers comes after the fact -- noting who actually gives referrals. In counting the value of a referral-giver, remember as well that not all prospects actually become customers ...unfortunately!
So much regarding Word of Mouth or marketing seems opinion-based or focused just on B2C, that it was good to find real data support about referrals in the October 2007 Harvard Business Review article by Kumar, Petersen, and Leone.
Their study found the true value of referrals to be higher than you think. A referring customer's value beats the lifetime spending by a typical customer. This happens in part because some new customers from those referrals make valuable referrals themselves.
Some of their other takes I find compelling include:
1. Referrals should definitely be encouraged, by giving thanks and rewards, but also by asking other good customers to begin making referrals.
2. Consider new segmentation that gives status and attention to your biggest advocates. The point here is recognizing and supporting customers whose value as a good reference warrants special attention, even when they don't spend at strategic account levels.
3. Watch how to measure referral-making. Since not all customers saying they will refer actually do so, a better metric for counting and classifying customers comes after the fact -- noting who actually gives referrals. In counting the value of a referral-giver, remember as well that not all prospects actually become customers ...unfortunately!
Want a quick tip on how customers think? They not only see your company as a whole, but assess each interaction with you.
Every customer encounter adds (or detracts) from that overall view or brand image. That's why companies do both relationship customer surveys and service transaction ones in their customer survey research.
Every customer encounter adds (or detracts) from that overall view or brand image. That's why companies do both relationship customer surveys and service transaction ones in their customer survey research.
Now there's the problem. The exact same question asked on both survey types -- relationship and transaction -- produce different results. And that can cause confusion in the ranks, not to mention the boardroom.
For example, let's say the score for technical support in the relationship survey is 60 percent favorable and flat. Well, the same question in the technical support survey may be 70 percent and climbing. So what gives?
The fact is, you are measuring different things, despite the questions being the same. Your technical support is improving in this case, but customers as a whole (scored on the relationship study) aren't aware of that yet. Transaction study customers rate what just happened to them – their immediate experience with you. There's a lag for all customers to learn that.
So what do we do about this? My suggestions are:
1. Clarify for executives and others the difference between the survey types.
2. For KPIs, use the transaction-based version of an overall score for that service type.
3. When transactions processes improve, tell the rest of the customers you are making strides -- don't just wait for word of mouth.
4. Do keep both types of feedback – actual experience ratings, but images of those on your relationship study also, because those are key drivers to be enhanced in building customer loyalty.
"Engagement" remains a popular business term, although it's not so new. By the way, aren't business people faddish? When you come across a new term in a meeting or an article, you can count on hearing it repeatedly until it runs its course.
I remember first hearing, "engaging the workforce" a few years ago. Workforce engagement happens when employees are more involved than just showing up. They get it or are into it. They're involved in their jobs and what your company is trying to accomplish. They support the direction their team or company is taking. Now I hear "engagement" applied to various business relationships -- customers, partners, suppliers. I recently heard a college administrator discuss "alumni engagement".
Customer-facing workers being engaged would seem to be the first step of customer engagement. As a customer I think you can always tell when someone seems less than engaged serving you. If it's too much for them to be excited about their jobs, front line people should at least care about what customers are experiencing.
Showing customers you care goes a long way, especially in problem situations. Doctors had to learn bedside manners. Now in the economic downturn, even attorneys are being forced to learn and practice customer service. In this article, one lawyer had been directed for the first time ever to follow up on past clients, and was stunned to learn they not only appreciated it, but sometimes had further business to render. The lawyer concluded, "Everyday I need to be thinking about these existing clients."
That's actually a good mantra for any customer-facing professional.
I remember first hearing, "engaging the workforce" a few years ago. Workforce engagement happens when employees are more involved than just showing up. They get it or are into it. They're involved in their jobs and what your company is trying to accomplish. They support the direction their team or company is taking. Now I hear "engagement" applied to various business relationships -- customers, partners, suppliers. I recently heard a college administrator discuss "alumni engagement".
Customer-facing workers being engaged would seem to be the first step of customer engagement. As a customer I think you can always tell when someone seems less than engaged serving you. If it's too much for them to be excited about their jobs, front line people should at least care about what customers are experiencing.
Showing customers you care goes a long way, especially in problem situations. Doctors had to learn bedside manners. Now in the economic downturn, even attorneys are being forced to learn and practice customer service. In this article, one lawyer had been directed for the first time ever to follow up on past clients, and was stunned to learn they not only appreciated it, but sometimes had further business to render. The lawyer concluded, "Everyday I need to be thinking about these existing clients."
That's actually a good mantra for any customer-facing professional.
It's a shame to pursue a sales lead and then not only lose the deal, but not learn much from the experience, either. Gaining wisdom from win/loss outcomes is apparently an overlooked practice. It was the lowest-scoring metric in the sales process, according to a recent study on sales performance optimization.
The vast majority of companies -- eight in ten -- rated their win/loss intelligence as average, poor, or even "dismal". From the same study, salespeople are typically making multiple calls over the course of weeks if not months, trying to close deals, but only winning half the deals forecasted. This is like paying tuition at the "school of hard knocks". Sales leaders would do well then, to learn more about why bids are won or lost.
Brief surveys with customers can be productive in this regard, combined with internal debriefing among sales team members to sort out the useful facts from pursuing the opportunity. The "money" facts are learning the main reasons for the outcome. But it's also helpful knowing the type of solution being pitched, customer business issue, size of the deal, upside potential, etc. Use the results to adjust who you target, how you screen leads and other changes to your sales process and communications.
The main challenge in retrieving win/loss data? Salespeople instinctively put deals behind them and move on to the next ones, rather than dwell on post-mortems. Consider a process requiring just a limited amount of time from salespeople. Help them see the reward in debriefing each deal, including learning more from their colleagues' ideas and mistakes.
The vast majority of companies -- eight in ten -- rated their win/loss intelligence as average, poor, or even "dismal". From the same study, salespeople are typically making multiple calls over the course of weeks if not months, trying to close deals, but only winning half the deals forecasted. This is like paying tuition at the "school of hard knocks". Sales leaders would do well then, to learn more about why bids are won or lost.
Brief surveys with customers can be productive in this regard, combined with internal debriefing among sales team members to sort out the useful facts from pursuing the opportunity. The "money" facts are learning the main reasons for the outcome. But it's also helpful knowing the type of solution being pitched, customer business issue, size of the deal, upside potential, etc. Use the results to adjust who you target, how you screen leads and other changes to your sales process and communications.
The main challenge in retrieving win/loss data? Salespeople instinctively put deals behind them and move on to the next ones, rather than dwell on post-mortems. Consider a process requiring just a limited amount of time from salespeople. Help them see the reward in debriefing each deal, including learning more from their colleagues' ideas and mistakes.
While I remember reading Charles Dickens, Hard Times, as assigned in college English Lit, little of the plot comes to mind except his dreary depiction of 19th century industrial England. Hard times then didn’t just mean an economic cycle – life in the working class was hard all of a lifetime.
Hard times for at least a season, are upon many now in B2B, causing strategies to be reconsidered. One learning in times like these is how strong a relationship you really have with key customers. When budgets are pressured enough, buyers have "the talk" with their vendor contacts about delaying or reducing orders, discounting, etc. Sellers or consultants, in turn, offer rejoinders showing the value being provided. And of course nobody's enjoying these converations.
On the selling side, it's a good time to leverage the trust built into these relationships. Listen carefully to your customer's tales of economic woes, and to some degree grieve along with them. It’s not like there’s any question that times are tough. People can well know the value of your offerings and still face harsh budget realities, and feel conflicted. Probe and clarify what’s really going on.
At the right moment, you'll be able to offer suggestions. But customers appreciate your hearing and showing concern, vs. being distracted by your own arguments. Rather than reacting in disbelief or frustration with their intentions to spend less, stay focused on the main issue which is, "How do we get through this together?"
Stay visible and communicate by various means. The ideal would be proactively checking in with key customers to note how their business is adjusting to economic pressures and collaborating on ways to help their performance and your own.
A final point is to resist the temptation to chase as many leads as possible and frantically contact every customer to make up for the loss of spending by some. Now more than ever is the time to focus on the most valuable accounts and prospects. Seek out customer segmentation insights from sales support or finance that identifies the relative value of customers to your company; then use that data so your resources and time are spent on the ones offering the most in return.
These are hard times. Managing customer relationships won't seem ideal during this economic cycle, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work to make it optimal.
Only in business do we keep score of our relationships. We don't seem to keep tallies on on friendships, or track ratings of our marriages over time. But businesses keep score on nearly everything -- financials, operations and yes, even their relationships with (really, the performance of) suppliers or vendors. This offers a twist to listening to the voice of the customer, when customers are at the same time rating the vendor firms. Here's one "vendor scorecard" example I found online from Honeywell.
Do you know if vendors ever take their own customer survey research into these scorecard meetings? If I were a the sales manager of an account this would seem handy in preparing for that discussion, particularly if my customer contacts knew the business relationship better than those doing the scorecard ratings at the bidding of Procurement.
So if any readers have been taking your own VOC ratings and insights into "vendor scorecard meetings" it would be great to have you share here with a comment. Thanks.
Powered by Compendium Blogware