Don't Sell , enable a Buy

Don’t Sell, enable a Buy

Did you hear that right?

Let me repeat, don’t sell, enable a buy.

How can someone buy when you won’t sell?

That’s right.

Let’s flip it around .We will sell when someone wants to buy. Rather than “we sell, hence you buy”.

Does it make a difference? It is still a buy and sell, right? A sale is a sale, after all.

It indeed makes a BIG DIFFERENCE .It changes the approach, the mindset and the “win “.

Said one “I have been selling for ages now, what do you mean?”

Ever so often we hear and also see sales is selling .The sales guys are always out in the market selling.

“The sales team has to be in front of the customer .Nobody can be seen in office, your time is out in the market.”

“We do not need a sales office .The guys can operate from home since they have to be with customers all the time “.

So, let me take a moment and inquire.If everybody is selling all the time, then why do we not have record sales month after month, year after year?

Some reasons that are frequently given are:

1. Sluggish Market
2. Change in Customer Plans
3. Not getting required support from the customer
4. Inadequate internal price approvals
5. Internal Supply Chain issues
6. Quality issues
7. Tough Competition
8. Customer having cash flow challenges
9. Credit risk of the customer
10. Our pricing being too high

Among a host of other reasons .Which to be fair are correct, but then what is the sales person doing going out each and every day out in the market.

Tough questions, right? But we need to ask, evaluate and support to find answers and solutions ….

There are many ways to approach the challenge above and find possible options leading to solutions

We will be discussing this throughout the next 12 months , there are many reasons ,why we fail or struggle to make “that sale “ , but first let’s look at what is controllable and in our hands before we evaluate the possible influences that are external.

Let us keep it simple to start with.

Can we ask, do we have the right person for the job? If yes, is he doing the right thing?

Right Person for the job:

Does this mean a “good guy “of “good character “?

Certainly, but what it mainly means is if he is the “Right Fit “.

Does doing the right thing mean there is way to do it?

Bingo! You are smart …There is something to be done and there is a way to do it.

The “what “and “how “is called the “process “.

A simple 2 by 2 matrix shall help us in understanding this better.

Before we discuss the matrix, let us develop an understanding of

Right Fit

Just as for clothes, to be comfortable in, feel confident with , we need good fabric and a good fit , similarly we every job has a particular requirement and needs a good fit .

Too tight a garment and we feel stiffened, suffocating, hampered for movement and if too loose may look ungainly, uncomfortable and sometimes downright funny.

In terms of the Right Fit, we can simplify it to two attributes

1. Aptitude
2. Attitude

“You are joking right? What about skills experience etc?”

You are correct but I am not joking .Let me borrow something from the net for you.

APTITUDE 

Capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent:

“She has a special aptitude for mathematics.”

Here, we need to focus on two key words “Capacity “and “talent “.

This means does the person have it in him requirements which shall help perform his job?

If it is innate or natural, it is called talent and if it is acquired through learning, practice, execution over time, it is capability.

For our purpose here , aptitude is the desired skill set or capability we seek in the sales person .If he has been building his capability over time , we measure his experience .

Since, it is difficult to know candidates personally before hiring in most cases, typically selection criteria is based on

1. Skill Set (Education, expertise etc)
2. Experience (Number of years practicing or exercising skill sets, roles or responsibility)

We , often select candidates based on the elimination process ( one is the least fit , goes out first and the last man standing is the right fit – for the present )

ATTITUDE 

A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior:

"She took a tough attitude toward other people's indulgences"

This is the person itself .Their character and personality .This comes naturally.

At times external intervention through mentoring, coaching can support but it is high investment and returns are quite difficult to measure to arrive at a ROI .More often than not mostly culture, upbringing and personal experiences bring out changes, so we are best when we leave this topic to behavioural management experts .

But I can cite a simple example, close to me, witnessed by me and often quoted by other people as well as it resonates with every Indian.

Cricket is religion in India .Sachin Tendulkar is revered like God.

It is believed that his childhood buddy, Vinod Kambli actually possessed more talent than Sachin, but it was Sachin who honed his skills with dedication and focus to become one of the greatest players while Kambli faded into oblivion.

For football lovers Pele can be a reference similar to Sachin, while another Brazilian Garrincha can be Kambli’s counterpart.

In summary, the right fit is a good balance of aptitude and attitude.

And now begs the question? If there is a formula, why does it wrong?

There could be many reasons but here I highlight some key ones …

Wrong hiring

Sometimes , we hire the wrong person .To cite a few it could be attributed to a wrong selection criteria , an inadequate interview process , internal organizational adjustments, bias , lack of proper candidates , budget restrictions , poor judgement .

Lack of role clarity

Many a times, I have been told by sales persons “I am confused what to do.”

Organizations grow, goals change, priorities change and somewhere along the lines, there develops a lack of clarity since the hiring took place.

An example could be, that at the time of hiring requirement was for a candidate for market expansion but then the Organization priority shifted to managing existing accounts and the expectation of the hire now is to manage key accounts.

Lack of motivation

This is quite a common feature among sales persons .They need to be continuously motivated as they are always on the move .But the reality is they do lose motivation that can be attributed to

1. Lack of a good and supportive supervisor
2. Lack of organization support in meeting customer needs
3. Frequent shifts in company policy and goals
4. Stagnation in the specific role
5. Lack of incentives ,promotions , career opportunity
6. Inadequate training and coaching
7. Temporary placement
8. Wrong assignment
9. Personal issues
10. Organization politics

Market changes

Sales approaches , buying techniques and customer behavior is constantly evolving .One needs to continuously adapt to the changing environment .Here not only the attitude of the person but the company’s investment in developing the capability of the sales person play a key role in meeting developing demands of the job role and market requirement.

Right Process

Yes , you are hearing this for the second time now .True , there is something to do and there is a way to do it .The “what “ to do and “how “ to do it , is called the “Selling Process .”

Can it be done right?

Of course, it can be done right through the right training, coaching, and practice and on the job learning.

Now, let us revisit the Matrix again.

Let us evaluate the results of the various combinations in terms of The Right Fit and Right Process:

1. Average sale

If we do not have the Right Fit with the sales person but he follows a diligent process, he might not be a star performer but would still continue to make sales .The person can be assigned to small accounts, routine follow ups, internal sales, back up for big accounts, make joint visits with supervisors.

This often is the case, when people have risen from very basic assignments and moved to a sales role they are still useful to the organization and very loyal as well.

1. Potential for super sales

We have the right fit .That solves most of the challenge already .However , the company has it’s products to sell , a policy to follow , a culture maybe , a way of doing things …

At the same time, maybe the sales person relies too much on personal charm and approach which helps make good sales initially but beyond a time reaches stagnation.

This is the perfect opportunity for the organization to intervene and provide the required support to move our candidate into the super sales quadrant.

Since the person has good attitude, he can be well coached, trained to really rise up the ranks and become a star performer.

It is quite common to see Organizations provide Sales Coaching periodically to their Sales Team, even to Sales Managers and Sales Leaders who may have been selling for much time now.

A periodic refresh, revision and even a push is enough to reignite the spark which may have been idling in the background.

1. Disaster

When we have a candidate who is neither the right fit nor understands or follows the process, we are likely to be heading for disaster .The best option in this case to evaluate the candidate profile and opt for a role change.

Such candidates land up in such roles more so due to internal organizational adjustments often enough and this is best corrected and checked at the organizational level.

Wrong hiring and further investment in the candidate is the ideal recipe for the potential disaster.

1. Super sale

Having the Right Candidate who follows the right selling process is the best situation to be in but is it that common?

Please do conduct an exercise to check within your organization and try and evaluate what percentage do “star performers “ comprise within your sales organization and you shall find the answer .

So, since everything is hunky dory shall we just leave the star performers alone?

A good approach is to keep continuing to motivate them and also utilize their services to benefit others having potential to become one of them.

One easy way of doing this is to provide coaching or mentoring roles to Star Performers and periodically reward them as a motivation to others.

In summary , to maximize sales from Sales Team , it is best advised to apply the simple combination of “ Right Fit “ supported by the “Right Process “.

Selling is the unique combination of both art and science .The personal and the professional.

Strangely though, most sales training happens on the job and in school/college or university curriculum the thrust is always been on marketing rather than sales.

So, have you bought my story? Was I able to make a sale?

Happy selling and best wishes of the New Year!