How do Your Customers USE Your Product or Service?

From the MD&M Trade Show in Anaheim, CA

The MD&M trade show in Anaheim was very well attended, and full of impressive technology and innovation for the medical device industry. Of the 20 or so salespeople I spoke to at different booths in the show, only a few could articulate how their customers used their product or service. When I asked that question, most sellers went into a description of what the product did, or how it was made, and the variety of features it had. But that is not what your customers care about; they are concerned with how your product helps them to increase revenue, decrease cost or offset risk.

It was a pleasure to run into Alison Smith again (pictured above), with Meritech in Golden, Colorado. Alison continues to have sales success using the process we worked on together in 2012, and can clearly articulate how her customers use their products to maintain hygiene in the workplace. In fact, while she demonstrated the product to me, Alison was fluently telling me a success story of how one of her food service industry customers reduces their risk through the use of the Meritech hand washing system. Well done Alison and the Meritech  team, and continued success !

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Sales Managers Must Coach Selling Skills

coaching selling skills

How’s that title for a “Challenger-esque” way to tell first-line sales managers what they need to be doing with their sales team? Does it inspire you? Or have you already checked out of this article, turned off by being told what to do, despite whether you are doing it or not?

For those of you sales managers who are coaching selling skills on a regular basis, you understand the importance of why, and the rewards that come from doing so. Your salespeople no longer come to you with the following requests and/or challenges, because you’ve already developed their skills:

  • End of the month/end of the quarter discount requests to “close a deal” (rarely does price prevent a seller from a getting a yes)
  • A request to review a presentation full of proprietary information that is directed to the wrong key player
  • Rationalization of why your technical specialist should go out to do a demo
  • Explanation of the features and benefits of a product or service without a clear understanding of the commercial objective the customer is looking to address

 The Training Department Won’t Improve Skills

All sales managers are “deal coaches”, meaning they help their sellers to organize the right product/service mix, plan the delivery/install/training, and set prices/margins, all of which are very important to winning business. But too many managers rely on their training departments to improve rep skills, or they leave this job to the reps themselves. While some degree of this is okay, managers must also take it upon themselves to continually assess and develop the skills of their team. One of my favorite managers used to say: “if you are coasting, you’re usually going downhill”. I love this quote in relation to skill development – it drives home the point that if you’re not actively improving your team’s selling skills, it’s likely their skills are rusty and adversely affecting sales performance.

 Getting Started on Skill Development

It’s easy to agree in theory that improving selling skills is important, but much harder to know where and how to start developing your team. Every team is different, and no two coaching plans look the same. To get started, email me at john@drive-revenue.com, and I will forward you a simple Selling Skills Self-Assessment that will give you clear and concrete direction on where your coaching should begin.

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On Taking Market Share: T-Mobile’s Legere Leads the Charge

The article in the January/February Harvard Business Review (HBR.org) regarding the unconventional approach to taking market share in the wireless industry that John Legere, CEO of T Mobile, is utilizing is similar to what Nextel Communications did in the mid 90’s.  Granted, the market, products and players have shifted significantly from 22 years ago, but the aggressive style that Legere embraces reminded me of the position that Brian McAuley and Morgan O’Brien created for the new-kid-on-the-block (Nextel) in the digital world. The tactics are different (Nextel didn’t trash talk), but the end goal remains the same; how to take business away from the competition.

Below are excerpts from this great read. For the full article, go to https://hbr.org/2017/01/t-mobiles-ceo-on-winning-market-share-by-trash-talking-rivals

The following four initiatives are what Legere has embraced to grow T Mobile’s market share. It is working, as T Mobile has 69 million customers now, and increase of 110% from when he took over in September of 2013.

Ask Why Again: challenge the status quo on the core beliefs and mission of the organization.

Pick a Villain: who will you go after to take share from? AT&T has been T Mobile’s target.

Tweet Reach: employ Social Media to get the message out, as well as to LISTEN to what your customers and competition are saying.

Number One in Service: Legere has a live feed to his phone where he can listen in at any time to Customer Service calls. It is working, as the churn rate (when customers fire you) has been cut in half.

In summary, Legere says the following: People want authenticity from leaders, not canned phrases full of legalese. When you practice what you preach, you don’t have to preach so loudly.

 

 

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