Sales Management

“Wait? Wait for what?” asks George Bailey. One of the greatest conversations about taking action takes place between Mr. Potter and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra. James Stewart. 1946. George passionately asks Mr. Potter what people should be waiting for when he suggests to George they should be waiting longer before building a home. Makes you think doesn’t it? Waiting for the perfect time. How often do we get caught in the trap of waiting for the “perfect time” to: revise our business plans, attend a networking event, launch a new idea, hire or fire an employee, make a change in our personal life, read a book or ask for a referral? Perhaps the “perfect time” is another myth to add to my list – just like ‘time management’ is a myth! Both are about managing events and actions to bring about the results you want.

Put first things first. No, I don’t mean putting together another to do list, but rather, determine your priorities and actions based on your purpose, value and focus. This is the time of year to reflect back on last year and use that information to shape what you want this year to be. Take the time to write down your goals and objectives for 201. And no, having them “in your head” is not the same thing as writing it down. Right now is the perfect time! Send me a note letting me know when you’ve completed this.

The recent Small Business Day did a lot to create awareness and buzz about ‘keeping it local’ (however you define local for your business). But small business owners have been asking consumers to do this all along! As a business owner, your job is the “Chief Selling Officer” whether you accept the title or not. Some of my clients will argue that they do not know how to sell, but I promise you, when they are thinking about how to generate new business, more clearly defining their target prospect, or designing a new customer care plan, they are sitting squarely in the selling seat. The challenge for many business owners is coming up with fresh ideas for solutions that will address the ‘pain’ their customers and prospects feel. Here are a few ideas for your consideration:

5 New Campaigns You Can Create Today:

1) Create Your Own Small Business Day Stimulus – Boost business on a slow night in a restaurant by offering tasting menus, ½ price on a bottle of wine or specialty appetizer. How about offering discounts on multiple purchases? What extra value can you add when a customer does business with you? Brainstorm with your staff – they are the front line to your business and will have lots of input.

2) Declare Your Own Holiday – How can you celebrate what you do for your customers? How about planting a tree to honor your customers on Earth Day? Have fun with this – combining this with effective use of tools like Twitter or Facebook, you could really create your own community buzz.

3) Create a Report or Write a White Paper – Create a report based on recent survey results, for example, and write up a summary of your research. Your clients want to do business with an expert. And you are an expert! Make the results available on your website, or offer to send it when they sign up for your newsletter.

4) Create an Ask the Expert Column – Add an Ask the Expert Form to your website and use the questions to create new blog topics and email campaigns full of tips your customers actually want to learn about. You’ve been asked lots of questions – offer the info to your clients.

5) Create your Own Award – Award your loyal customers with a special status. They will feel good about doing business with you; that’s value added to your relationship.

Remember, you don’t have to do this all on your own. There are many experts in your networking spheres of influence who can help you. That way, you have the mutual opportunity to learn more about each other’s business. What a great way to grow your business and theirs! So, tell me, what other things have you done in your business in your role as “Chief Selling Officer”?

When we keep learning, we keep growing. Sometimes, as business owners or executives, we think there are some ideas that are ‘all set’. And we never revisit the belief to see if it still works. To grow as leaders, we may need to consider ‘unlearning’ a few of those things. Here are a few leadership thoughts to get over that I’ve adapted from Stephen Wiehe, Sciquest:

1. Leadership is a process. Leadership is a behavior, not a process. We lead people and manage their activities. A process implies a routine set of repeatable steps, but true leaders continually lead others by what they do in any particular circumstance —not by what they say. Stop worrying about choosing exactly the right words, and think about how you act. Everyone’s watching.

2. A leader needs to always be ready with the answer. Better to be ready with a great question and be far more productive. Questions allow for clarification. Asking for input doesn’t make you weak – it gets you closer to what you need to know!

3. Great ideas come out of debate and conflict. Here’s my take on this – healthy conflict is a myth. Conflict creates situations where people take ‘sides’ or ‘positions’ and then all communication stops. Asking questions will drive more positive interaction than having to protect your ‘turf’. Asking questions gets you closer to finding out what you need to know, remember?

4. A leader needs to maintain power and authority. Wrong. Give power and authority away every day. Isn’t this the most liberating news you’ve heard today? One way to give away authority is to ask for feedback (here’s the asking questions idea again). If you as a leader are willing to receive that feedback, you’re teaching others how to receive it. Remember actions speak louder than words. (Everybody is still watching!)

5. A leader mandates change. Only in a crisis – but at all other times, it’s a slow, process of gaining buy in by asking questions, allowing questions to be asked, and dealing with that change openly and honestly. Let people understand the ‘why’ behind the change and then get out of their way while they implement it.

Simply start by ‘unlearning’ today!

Business management by the numbers. As a business owner, your company’s numbers are talking to you everyday. Are you listening? I know, you are probably going to tell me you are too busy to fuss over ‘the numbers’. And you might also tell me that if you are staying ‘busy’ then the numbers will take care of themselves. Really? Your business success is all about paying attention to and acting on relevant numbers. But are you paying attention to the right numbers? I’m not talking about cash flow or your P&L (that’s another day!). Today is paying attention to the basic numbers of your daily activity. How do you track that? Your ability to select and focus on improving them is the key to your success.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. List 3 ways that you generate prospects – how could you generate more? Once you find your prospect, what percentage convert to becoming clients?

2. What is your sales process (you do have a process, right?)? How long is your sales cycle?

3. What is the average dollar amount of your sale?

4. How many prospects do you have in your ‘pipeline’ today?

The answers to these questions help you to forecast your sales each month. The more accurate your answers, the more accurate your forecast will be.

You may tell me this is fairly elementary stuff. But would you really be surprised to know that many business owners never take the time to go through a process like this?

Have you done this recently? Take the time today and let me know what you found out!