Debbie Depp
Research indicates that sales prospects need to be contacted, or 'touched', at least 6-7 times before they will consider your sales message.
For many companies, that can be a big problem. Why? Because most salespeople simply don't have the time or where-with-all to make all these touches due to the administrative tasks their companies require them to perform. Simply put, the majority of a salesperson's time is spent on non-selling activities.
A second, and perhaps even more important reason that most salespeople fail to produce optimal results is because they do not practice a systematic approach to business development. As a result, salespeople are often engaged in a myriad of other activities instead of being in touch with the prospect at the critical point when the prospect is ready to buy.
Overcome the Obstacles
So often it's not the salespeople but rather the sales process, or lack thereof, that is the chief barrier to sales success. If a company is to generate more revenue, the amount of time its sales force spends on non-selling activities must minimized, so that its selling activities can be maximized.
If an individual salesperson is to be successful, he or she must have a well-defined, documented sales road map to follow, one that ensures that the customers and prospects are being touched continuously and at just the right time.
By themselves, individual salespeople can only do so much. If they are to succeed, they must have the right tools and information to get the job done. They need the support of a system that will help them overcome these obstacles to sales productivity.
High Tech + High Touch = Higher Sales
About ten years ago, Bill Horrigan, Director of Sales at Tribute Incorporated, wanted to grow the revenue of his small company. But Tribute, which is a leading provider of enterprise-wide distribution management software for the industrial distribution industry, was in a highly competitive market. Bill watched the expenses while the company did its marketing internally and did it admirably with the resources available. The reviews were mixed. At best it was an ad hoc approach without sales effectiveness. The results were low response rates, high cost of sales and a distraction from the sales effort. While Tribute realized it had to spend money to make money, it also knew that it had to be smart. There was little room for error.
Over the past decade, like most companies Tribute experienced fluctuations in the economy. Bill Horrigan knew that true growth was in the acquisition of new business. When we first met, he told me that a cookie-cutter approach to business development would jeopardize his chances for successful implementation. So, together we implemented the formula of high tech + high touch = higher sales. Tribute invested in GoldMine© for high tech and The Fenemore Group customized a concept called the Business Development Center (BDC) for high touch.
The Business Development Center (BDC)
The concept of the BDC is based on a proven sales success formula -- which says that the willingness of customers to buy your products increases the more times you 'touch them,' whether the touch is a mailing, phone call, email, or face-to-face meeting.
The BDC is a well-defined and documented sales process dedicated to growing revenue - the development and acquisition of new business and increasing the productivity of the sales force. In addition, the BDC has been used by Tribute to ensure that the company continues to nurture its relationships with existing customers, while increasing their incremental value.
Since implementing this highly effective methodology, Tribute has gained top-of-mind awareness of its prospects and customers while, at the same time, optimizing one of its most precious assets -- the time of its salespeople. For Bill Horrigan it has created a closed-loop system that helps him monitor and control his pipeline, regardless of economic fluctuations.
Three-Dimensional Selling
This unique combination of methodology and technology enables Tribute to leverage the art, science and discipline of selling to increase revenue:
- The art of selling requires providing the information in the right form.
- The science of selling is being there at the right time to provide it.
- The discipline of selling is to do it persistently and consistently.
Today, Bill Horrigan's salespeople now produce predictable and reliable results. They are better able to convert investments like advertising, trade shows, seminars, and direct marketing into profits. What's important is a well-defined, documented sales process enables a fully orchestrated interaction between Tribute and its customers.
Achieving Sales Effectiveness
Technology makes you efficient but the process makes you effective. A major benefit of the BDC is that it helps the sales force reduce the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and maximize the time they spend doing what they should actually be doing ...selling.
Since he first implemented the BDC, Bill Horrigan says that, "The quality of leads has improved significantly. What came out of our sales funnel was higher quality and sustained us through economic downturns. We were able to do more with fewer resources because the sales force no longer wasted time on unqualified accounts. With increased productivity we decreased our sales costs, shortened our sales cycle and improved our closing ratio. We can now differentiate between lookers and buyers, so we prioritize our face-to-face visits. We're focused on people truly committed to change."
But that's not all. Tribute has not only increased the quality of its leads, but it is now generating more revenue-per-lead. "Over the years the average size of a sale has increased and we're selling more profitably," says Horrigan. "While deepening our penetration in existing markets, we have also broadened the scope of contacts within existing accounts. We hired a BDC Coordinator to focus full-time on leads generated by the BDC. Top-of-mind awareness is constant. We leave a long-lasting impression on our prospects. In fact, they tell us they thought we were bigger than we actually are. Implementing the BDC has given us our best years ever."
Information At Your Fingertips
Today, the information generated and maintained through the BDC system helps Bill Horrigan determine what size pipeline is required to meet his sales goals. It also enables him to add salespeople with the knowledge of how much revenue they will be likely to produce. Now he has the ability to correlate current activity to project future revenue and profits. It also gives him important visibility into the pipeline. Forecasting improves because hockey sticks are eliminated. And the BDC ensures that Tribute is systems-dependent rather than people-dependent.
Just Like The Energizer Bunny
With predictable results Bill Horrigan now says, "I feel relieved that we have a marketing vehicle that's on autopilot. The BDC is by far our most effective marketing tool. I'm thankful that we invested the time and money to make this commitment to grow our business. We were able to optimize good times and sustain through the bad times. It's a marketing machine that keeps churning out qualified leads, just like the Energizer Bunny. In the future if we decide to expand our markets, instead of adding labor and cost, we can do it easily and cost effectively with the BDC."
"It reassuring to know that our sales staff is no longer cold calling, chasing leads twelve months out, or spending energy qualifying leads. Our sales staff is provided high quality leads that are within 60 days or less of making a decision, willing to invest the necessary resources to implement our solution, and are only in our industry niche."
Ten Years After
So what has the result of the BDC process meant to a company like Tribute? According to Bill Horrigan, plenty! "Looking back over the past decade, I see what a profound impact the BDC has had on our business. Typically, we experience a slowdown during the third quarter but we have been receiving a steady flow of quality leads. This process allows are sales staff to concentrate on closing the business. We not only embraced the concept, but more importantly, we executed relentlessly!"
So as this year draws to a close and we look forward to new goals and greater business pressure in the year ahead, now is the time to put process in your new year's business planning. Many of you are now planning your 2005 sales and marketing kick-off meetings. Wouldn't it be great if you could give your salespeople a road map to success by focusing their time and efforts on what they do best? Next year why not take a page from Bill Horrigan's playbook and help them manage their customer relationships through the BDC process...and then watch how your company too will profit from the process! |
