Getting back to basics

‘Getting back to basics’ is our 2010 sales trend number three as voted by you, our readers. Despite the positive start to 2010 in Australia, especially compared to other post GST economies, we cannot forget the fundamentals when it comes to creating a healthy, viable sales team, culture and business.

One of the real challenges of 2010 will be keeping sales momentum while understanding how changes in customers, competitors, markets, innovations, media, technology and all manner of things will impact on our businesses and our people. Getting our heads around all this to find the right ingredients for our plans and strategies will be demanding. We need to recognise the new ‘things’, in themselves, will not make things better, it is how they are integrated and applied in ours and our customers’ current situation and circumstances.

Often with new technologies, new trends, new ideas and new innovations people become distracted thinking that these new things will promise to make life better, easier, faster, or more effective or efficient, all the while missing two key points:

1. In taking on the ‘new’ how does this support our real intentions and purpose as a business and leader?
2. How will these new innovations make our business and, more importantly, our customers’ lives better in action and deed?

Throwing away the ‘tried and true’ and rushing headlong into the ‘new and shiny’ without considered thought can pose great risks. If we look at this from the customer’s perspective we will see their wary cynicism of the new and shiny, and recognise their desire for transparency, continuity and familiarity, as well as their need to be up with the latest. Many have long memories and know from lessons learned that often the new and flashy dates quickly.

Equally being closed off to the ‘new’ is just as bad because we could miss vital signals that may lead us to better places. Either way throwing out the basics or being closed off to the ‘new’ will leave us worse off.

In 2010, wise business/sales leaders and people will embrace the ‘new’ but not forget the basics.

The back-to-basics checklist includes having:

1. A vision with clear intention, purpose, values and actions – what do we stand for and how do we act?

2. Clear sales strategy and tactical plan articulated at a business, state/regional and sales person level. This would include:
a. Sales goals.
b. Clear market message.
c. Client segmentation including account management, new business development and service support.
d. Competitor analysis – direct and emerging.
e. Go-to-market sales tactics including how we make contact with prospects and customers.
f. Clear input and output measurements (role clarity, clear performance expectations, team unity, etc.).

3. Sound sales processes and frameworks including:
a. Sales management knowledge, skills, and mindset (coaching, performance management, strategy, recruitment, leadership, etc).
b. Sales planning knowledge, skills and mindset.
c. Prospecting knowledge, skills and mindset (sourcing leads, networking – new social media opportunities; proactive prospecting activities like making telephone calls to new prospects, existing or lapsed clients; doing and monitoring your activities on a daily basis).
d. Selling knowledge, skills, and mindset (client meetings, pitching, presentations, negotiation, account management, customer service, conflict resolution, territory management, proposal development, etc).
e. Self management knowledge, skills, and mindset (monitoring self talk, analysing a situation accurately, taking care of personal health and wellbeing, working with a sense of purpose and clarity).

Keeping our sales basics in tune will help us while we integrate and experiment with the ‘new’ such as social media and other new advances coming into our markets. It’s about finding out what is effective and then weaving in the ‘new’ and trialing it to see how it enhances or detracts from our sales efforts.

Investing large amounts of money and effort into one sales approach leaves us vulnerable. It’s about having a blended sales approach and fine-tuning it to meet our customers’ and our needs for being in business.

By knowing who and how to target customers and being well skilled in sales planning, prospecting and client communication we will keep sales happening. By sticking to the basics and integrating the ‘new’ bit by bit we will work out how Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Sales 2.0, social media and all the other innovations will work best for us and how we need to keep on selling. With change comes opportunity and challenges.

I suggest we repeat the mantra ‘hasten slowly’ and keep doing the basics while considering, trialing, evaluating and integrating the new. In 2010 the focus will be on selective incorporation, based on customers, community, company and self, while still remembering the basics that got us where we are today.
Remember, everybody lives by selling something.

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Sue Barrett is a Thought Leader on 21st century sales training, sales coaching, sales leadership, sales capability and sales culture. She practices as a coach, advisor, speaker, facilitator, consultant and writer and works across all market segments with her skilful team at BARRETT.  They help people from many different careers become aware of their sales capabilities and enable them to take the steps to becoming effective, and productive when it comes to selling, sales coaching or sales leadership. Sue and her team are your first and best reference when it comes to forging out a successful career as a competent sales professional and leader . If you have an idea, capability, product, service or opportunity that can benefit another and make their life better in some way then Sue says you need to be able to sell – ethically, honourably, and effectively.  To hone your sales skills or learn how to sell go to www.barrett.com.au.