If your business is stuck in a recession rut, you definitely need to do something drastic to get out before the road ends!
The primal instinct (especially if you come from accountancy) is to cut cost. But nothing could be worse than this. Why?..
Cutting cost would typically lead to:...
Cutting cost would typically lead to:
1. Cutting staff = lower morale, lower motivation, lower productivity = lower product quality and quantity.
2. Cutting expenses = less facilities, less infrastructures, less available resources = lower product quality and quantity.
3. Cutting production = this is arguable as if your current production is in a surplus then you may be able to afford some cuts, but if it is not then you'll have less product quantity = less sales.
Any of the above results in less sales = less revenue = Spiral of death.
What you should do instead is to increase your intelligence. Work smarter instead of work harder.
Here are my top 5 picks:
1. Staff are assets, not liabilities
The primal reaction to cut cost by cutting staff first will greatly hurt you by losing the very valuable experience. Experienced staff members contribute a lot and can keep the company going in a flick of a switch. New staff, on the other hand, may not be as quick, gives low productivity, and may even make costly mistakes. Even hiring new staff in itself would pose great cost to your business.
Experience takes years to cultivate. Negotiate temporary pay cuts if possible to retain your experienced staff. Worse yet, when your experienced ex-staff get recruited by your competitors you're effectively signing your own death warrant. Make sure cutting staff is only your ultimate last resort before your business is about to go under!
2. Concentrate on Product Offerings
Invent new products and concentrate on low-competition or niche products which has sufficient market to breakeven. Breaking even ensures your business to keep running.
Look at your current products and think about how to add values to them. Provide your customers with more reasons to buy the same products. Minimise your margin, or temporarily go 0% margin, just to maintain your market share. If people like your product enough, they wouldn't care when you decide to increase the price at later date to top up your dollars.
Thugs are known to sell drugs by giving freebies to get people addicted. It worked for them and it should work for your business too!
3.Slow your rate of descent
Temporary low rate loss is probably more affordable than revenue stop as the cost to restart production (hiring new staff, repurchasing equipments, etc) may easily become prohibitive and spell the death of your business at the rebound cycle of the recession (not good!). If you can stay afloat by selling products (especially surplusses) at the cost of slight loss, then by all means do so. Make a little hole in your pocket that you can easily fix later. It is easier to mend a wound than to give birth.
4. Sales! Sales! Sales!
Employ the best sales person you can get. Sales brings in the money like engine power can get your car out of the mud.
Lots of businesses make the mistake of firing sales staff first (as they are commonly the most expensive), assuming that recession means less people will be interested in buying. Well duh! If people are less interested in buying then you should be out there pushing more! Get the best sales persons you can afford = more sales drive = more sales = more revenue = better business!
5. Incentify
Giving more money to your employees sounds counterproductive?
Chinese San Guo (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) story mentioned a number of generals who are said to be worth 10,000 soldiers. These generals were exceptional in their skills and greatly affected the course of battles.
Incentifying your staff on performance may give them inner motivation and drive to perform, even with you asleep on your desk. Greatly motivated staff may become 'heroes', great performers who function above their line of duty. This is just what you need to optimise your resources/assets! Set specific, well-defined, concrete and achievable goals, and specify the rewards accordingly. Concentrate on minor and achievable goals with small-but-noticeable rewards, instead of monumental goals with $1Million rewards but 0.01% chance of being achievable. 100 minor achievements are better than 0 major breakthroughs.
Kamis, 23 April 2009
8 Specific Simple Sales Process That Works For B2B And B2C..?
A simple sales process that works, and has proven itself worldwide, is the ABC, 123 Sales Results System. It is based on the book Up Your Bottom Line and the author has been ranked #7 among the world's top 30 sales gurus.
The A stands for Attitude, B for Behaviour and C for Competency. Each of the A, B and C components has three sub sets. In Attitude and Behaviour the three subsets are:...
The A stands for Attitude, B for Behaviour and C for Competency. Each of the A, B and C components has three sub sets. In Attitude and Behaviour the three subsets are:
1. You
2. The Organization
3. The Market
In C, Competency, the three subsets are: Building Relationships, Qualifying prospects, and Prescribing solutions.
Each of these subsets breaks down into another three subsets. This leads to a sales process which is as simple as the following eight steps, particularly when it applies to face to face selling B2B or B2C.
1. Build Rapport
This 1st step in the sales process is most important in order to build the required trust necessary to move forward. Without rapport, you might as well pack up and leave. Through the use of advanced NLP techniques and the asking of open ended questions, the prospect feels comfortable and starts to open up. The job of the sales person is to make their prospects comfortable and to initiate conversation. The more they talk, the more you listen, the more you learn and the more they like and trust you.
2. Set Parameters
Parameters or ground rules in the sales process are set once rapport has been established. The parameters are set around the amount of time required for the meeting, and what the prospect's objectives are for that time frame, followed by your objectives.
You must request permission to ask questions and to take notes, then, ensure the customer is comfortable with the fact you may not be able to help them in the end. Remember you cannot solve everyone's problem. A simple statement like, "I may or may not be able to help you. If I can't, are you ok with me telling you that I cannot help? If I'm able to help, I will inform you immediately... Are we comfortable this honest approach with each other and working on a "yes or no" basis? "
3. Uncover buying motivators
Buying motivators are the reason people buy and they are usually emotional reasons. Your job is to ask questions during this part of the sales process in order to uncover the buying motivators. Without buying motivators, there is no reason to buy. No pain, no gain.
4. Uncover financial ability In this step of the sale process, you summarize the buying motivators and uncover the extent of their budget by asking a question such as, "Do you have a budget set aside for these issues?"
If the answer is no, ask, "How do you intend to proceed?" However, if the answer is yes, ask, "Can you share it with me in round numbers?" If not, use bracketing techniques. It is your job not to quote a price but to get them to quote their budget.
5. Uncover decision making
This step follows summarizing buying motivators and financial ability. You need to ask, "When will you be making a decision?" and "Who, other than yourself, is involved in the decision making process?" If you don't ask these questions, you don't get it!
Remember this is a step by step sales process and each step has to be fully completed before moving onto the next step.
6. Summarize
In this step of the sales process, you summarize all that you have learned with regard to the buying motivators, the financial ability and the decision makers. You have now qualified the prospect and should be in a position to know if you can help them or not.
If not, tell them honestly just as you mentioned earlier in setting the parameters. If you can help them, tell them you can and ask this question, "As discussed earlier, I believe I have a solution to your needs. Are you still ok with giving me a yes or no answer subsequent to my presentation?"
7. Prescription
This is the presentation step in the sales process. This is where you only present solutions specific to the needs, the budget and the timing previously identified, but nothing more. Sell today and educate tomorrow. Now is the time you can help them buy. The closing line is "What would you like me to do next?" They will say, "Where do I sign?"
8. Relationship follow up and maintenance
This final step in the sales process is to thank them for their order and to educate them on value added items that are included. It is essential to follow up and to maintain a relationship with the client thusly, enticing referrals and introductions.
The A stands for Attitude, B for Behaviour and C for Competency. Each of the A, B and C components has three sub sets. In Attitude and Behaviour the three subsets are:...
The A stands for Attitude, B for Behaviour and C for Competency. Each of the A, B and C components has three sub sets. In Attitude and Behaviour the three subsets are:
1. You
2. The Organization
3. The Market
In C, Competency, the three subsets are: Building Relationships, Qualifying prospects, and Prescribing solutions.
Each of these subsets breaks down into another three subsets. This leads to a sales process which is as simple as the following eight steps, particularly when it applies to face to face selling B2B or B2C.
1. Build Rapport
This 1st step in the sales process is most important in order to build the required trust necessary to move forward. Without rapport, you might as well pack up and leave. Through the use of advanced NLP techniques and the asking of open ended questions, the prospect feels comfortable and starts to open up. The job of the sales person is to make their prospects comfortable and to initiate conversation. The more they talk, the more you listen, the more you learn and the more they like and trust you.
2. Set Parameters
Parameters or ground rules in the sales process are set once rapport has been established. The parameters are set around the amount of time required for the meeting, and what the prospect's objectives are for that time frame, followed by your objectives.
You must request permission to ask questions and to take notes, then, ensure the customer is comfortable with the fact you may not be able to help them in the end. Remember you cannot solve everyone's problem. A simple statement like, "I may or may not be able to help you. If I can't, are you ok with me telling you that I cannot help? If I'm able to help, I will inform you immediately... Are we comfortable this honest approach with each other and working on a "yes or no" basis? "
3. Uncover buying motivators
Buying motivators are the reason people buy and they are usually emotional reasons. Your job is to ask questions during this part of the sales process in order to uncover the buying motivators. Without buying motivators, there is no reason to buy. No pain, no gain.
4. Uncover financial ability In this step of the sale process, you summarize the buying motivators and uncover the extent of their budget by asking a question such as, "Do you have a budget set aside for these issues?"
If the answer is no, ask, "How do you intend to proceed?" However, if the answer is yes, ask, "Can you share it with me in round numbers?" If not, use bracketing techniques. It is your job not to quote a price but to get them to quote their budget.
5. Uncover decision making
This step follows summarizing buying motivators and financial ability. You need to ask, "When will you be making a decision?" and "Who, other than yourself, is involved in the decision making process?" If you don't ask these questions, you don't get it!
Remember this is a step by step sales process and each step has to be fully completed before moving onto the next step.
6. Summarize
In this step of the sales process, you summarize all that you have learned with regard to the buying motivators, the financial ability and the decision makers. You have now qualified the prospect and should be in a position to know if you can help them or not.
If not, tell them honestly just as you mentioned earlier in setting the parameters. If you can help them, tell them you can and ask this question, "As discussed earlier, I believe I have a solution to your needs. Are you still ok with giving me a yes or no answer subsequent to my presentation?"
7. Prescription
This is the presentation step in the sales process. This is where you only present solutions specific to the needs, the budget and the timing previously identified, but nothing more. Sell today and educate tomorrow. Now is the time you can help them buy. The closing line is "What would you like me to do next?" They will say, "Where do I sign?"
8. Relationship follow up and maintenance
This final step in the sales process is to thank them for their order and to educate them on value added items that are included. It is essential to follow up and to maintain a relationship with the client thusly, enticing referrals and introductions.
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