To help you reach your sales goals
Archive for February, 2010
From the Street: A True Tale of Internal Capabilities and Resources
Feb 26th
From the Street: A True Tale of Internal Capabilities and Resources
By Mike Krause
Can you describe your internal capabilities and resources? Are you absolutely sure? I cannot emphasize enough how critical this information is to your organization’s ability to sustain a competitive advantage and thrive.
Do any of these describe you?
• You’re starting a new business.
• Your company is developing or launching a new product line.
• Your business or division is offering a new service.
• You’re facing direct competition.
• You’re not satisfied with your current levels of growth.
If you answered yes to any of these, please read this true story.
A number of years ago a business opened its doors to service the golf population. The enterprise wanted to provide an indoor environment where golfers could practice and perfect their swing anytime of the year. Golfers would be assessed digitally and receive personalized instruction and feedback on how to improve their stroke.
It was a strong idea. The enterprise was located in a city that claims the highest density of country clubs and golf courses in the U.S. The targeted demographic was comprised of people who have the desire and income to purchase ancillary activities related to their game. The business is located in a city with long winters that shut the courses down. Golfers look for alternative places to play and this business filled that need.
Three years later they shut their doors. What happened? They failed to acknowledge their internal capabilities and strengths.
This upstart faced a franchised competitor with a strong national presence, established marketing campaign, and sales process. What the competitor lacked was the connection to the local community.
Instead of capitalizing on the competitor’s weakness, our upstart company tried to beat them at the same game. What they did wrong:
1. The upstart’s owners were absent which weakened the infrastructure.
2. They had no outbound sales process that would maximize their local presence to a community which welcomed and supported local businesses.
3. They chose a golf pro to be a spokesperson for their company whose personality offended the local community.
4. They selected a geographic location too close to the established franchise.
If they had leveraged their internal capabilities and resources their strategy would have looked much different. Here’s what they could have done right:
1. Maximize their local story and appealed to the community’s desire to support local business.
2. Establish a revenue-sharing referral program to local country clubs.
3. Use local but highly-visible events and golfing celebrities to establish rapport with the local golfing community.
4. Develop a personalized sales-process that emphasizes multiple touch points and follow-through for customers and prospects.
Lessons Learned
You need to develop an awareness of what you don’t have and don’t know. To do this you have two options: 1) invest in hiring an outsourced analyst who has the capacity to give you the knowledge and information you need to avoid making on-going costly mistakes or 2) do it yourself. Which one do you think is most qualified to provide the objective, hard-hitting advice your business needs to make an educated, strategic plan? Choose carefully…your future income is on the line.
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps business owners stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales assessments and strategies.
Webinar:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/609469051
4 Telemarketing Questions Every Business Owner Needs to Ask (Do You Know Them?)
Feb 11th
4 Telemarketing Questions Every Business Owner Needs to Ask (Do You Know Them?)
By Mike Krause
If you’re a business owner, you know the simple truth. When you strip away all the rhetoric and analysis your business is ultimately supported by one thing: sales. Whether you’re running a small home-based business or a multi-million dollar corporation, sustainable sales require sales-related phone calls.
Let’s be honest, sales calls aren’t sexy or fun–they’re a pain. So who handles them? You? Your staff? Maybe you outsource but wince at the bottom-line cost.
Ultimately, the decision is driven by your perceived value. Why perceived? Because telemarketing is an investment and all investments are subjected to a cost-benefit analysis. A cost-benefit analysis only works if it’s comprehensive and this is where most business owners make their biggest mistake. I’m here to help.
Ask yourself these four questions to make sure you’re assessing the true costs and benefits of a telemarketing campaign.
1. Who is making my sales calls right now? If I’m making them, what owner-specific activities am I giving up in order to make these calls? As the owner is this the best use of my time? There are activities that only you, as the owner, can do. Lead generation sales calls aren’t one of them.
2. Do I have the expertise to maximize the effectiveness of a telemarketing campaign? A truly effective campaign requires thorough staff training, experience and a top-notch database. It takes hours of invested time to be able to honestly answer “yes” to this question.
3. Are my sales calls happening consistently with regular follow-through? Anyone who has tried to lose weight will tell you–sporadic, yo-yo dieting doesn’t work. Telemarketing is no different. A surge here an there does not create the momentum you need for consistent, reliable results.
4. How much money am I saving by doing my telemarketing in-house? Let’s say it costs $30,000 to outsource your telemarketing needs. But it only costs $20,000 for a full-time employee to do it in-house. You’re saving money, right? Wrong. Don’t forget to factor the true cost of an in-house employee. You have to spend time hiring, training, and managing. You have employee maintenance costs in their payroll, taxes, benefits and compensations. And don’t forget about turnover costs. I hate to be blunt but it’s time for the adult conversation: if the time it takes you to do all of this is only worth $10,000 then you don’t have enough respect for the value of your time and even less for that of your staff.
No doubt, these are tough questions. The answers make you realize that yes, managing your own lead generation telemarketing is a waste of your time and money. Outsourcing is the smart answer. (For the record, this isn’t a long-winded sales pitch–Sales Sense Solutions can set you up with a qualified telemarketing service but we don’t handle that ourselves). Bottom line: spend your time closing the sales on qualified leads because when you outsource you will have more of them to handle. And that’s what you ultimately want…right?
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps you stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales strategies.
Your 5 Competitive Threats: Are You Digging Deep Enough?
Feb 8th
Your 5 Competitive Threats: Are You Digging Deep Enough?
by Mike Krause
Assets, strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities–the ability to pinpoint these items are critical factors to your organization’s potential for long-term success. True strategic planning comes from analyzing these factors on the internal and external forces affecting your business.
Competitive threats represent one such force. Yet understanding competitive threats is where most business leaders fall short. Why? They simply don’t dig deep enough. As a result these threats can sneak up on an unsuspecting company and leave the staff wondering what happened as they scramble around trying to contain the issue.
Scrambling. Wondering. Catching-up. These aren’t words you want to use to describe your business. Fortunately, there is a powerful tool at your disposal: The Model of the Five Competitive Forces developed in 1980 by Michael E. Porter.
Porter identified five competitive forces that sculpt every industry and market, including yours. Identifying these forces is not an academic exercise. They directly impact your sales. Here’s what you need to know.
Porter’s Five Forces are:
1. Competitive rivalry within an industry. This is your direct competition and sits at the center of Porter’s model. Most businesses limit their competition by geography. This is a fatal mistake.
Example: Let’s say you own a pizza place. Your competitors are other pizza shops within your geographic vicinity. Right? Dig deeper. Is pizza sold in the local grocery store? What about the online store specializing in quick delivery of frozen pies with the promise of “best in the world?” What about the baker who sells dough for people to make it themselves? Or the cooking school that teaches people how to cook pizza?
2. Future Threats. This summarizes how easily a new competitor can enter your industry.
Example: How easy is it to move into your industry? Your service? Is your customer based easily reached? Can a new competitor easily access your distribution channels? Are your customers loyal to your brand?
3. Determinants of Buying Power. Think of this as a customer’s buying power.
Example: Can you compete with other pizza sellers like BJ’s, Wegmens or Sam’s Club? Is your pizza differentiated? Is choosing a competitor’s pizza easy and not related to any costs of a customer’s time, wallet or effort?
4. Determinants of Suppliers. This is your suppliers’ buying power and refers to everything you need to provide your goods and services.
Example: Are there only a few suppliers to those who make pizza? Is your ability to be different dependent on a supplier’s special product (an imported cheese, fresh tomatoes, etc.)? Can your competitors easily access your supplies? What would happen if one of your suppliers closed their door or started selling to your competitor? Don’t forget your employees as a service supplier. Is finding and retaining reliable help competitive?
5. Threat of Duplication. This threat comes from the availability of alternative products with lower prices or better performance.
Example: How easily can a competitor access your customer base? How easily can a competitor duplicate your pizza and service? How loyal are your customers? Does your pizza reflect the whims of a trend? Or is it a commodity, easily substituted with another pizza?
Bottom line: if you want sales you need a sales process that considers this comprehensive competitive analysis. Without one you’ll discover that one day your business is…you guessed it…scrambling, wondering and catching-up. A sales strategy is about staying four moves ahead and enjoying the income, confidence, and peace-of-mind that comes with it.
Mike Krause is the Chief Sales Architect and owner of Sales Sense Solutions where he helps you stay four steps ahead of the competition with stellar sales and high performance sales assessments, strategies and practical advice.
