Documens Boss

Basically, this is probably the most appealing, but also the most ridiculous headline to begin an article with. If you have started reading, it is because you are looking for ways to increase your sales. However, deep down, you already know the answers to the questions you have to ask; they can be found in one or more of the following strategies:
 
-          Increase the performance of your sales people
-          Ensure you have the right sales people
-          Open up more cross-sell and up-sell opportunities
-          Open up new regions or verticals
-          Identify new partners that will embed or re-sell your products
-          Improve profits for more investment capability
 
The list could go on and on and each item requires in depth analysis to ascertain whether it would be a constructive way forward for the company. Programs and workshops can be organized to get all staff into synch and a lot of pump and energy generated in the organization to “make it happen”.
How difficult though, is it really, to achieve tangible, measureable results from a strategy aiming at organic growth?
 
During 2009, I witnessed the struggles of many companies as they tried to maintain their revenue stream in line with expectations. I saw, for instance, examples where programs were launched to turn Sales Executives into product experts, so they would know exactly 1.) Who you are 2.) What you do and 3.) What you have done for others. Typically, these programs generated no significant improvement. At the end of the day, really successful sales people have simply developed the expertise to dig for answers as to “why the prospect will buy from them”.
 
Under too much pressure, even successful sales people can easily “hit the wall’. Despite being armed with all the features, benefits and the requisite objection handling tools, they can easily run into a downward spiral. Why? - Simply because pressure renders them reactive instead of proactive. How often do you allow a Sales Executive to say ‘No’ to a client and to concentrate only on qualified prospects that can really make significant impact on your company’s bottomline?
 
It seems that, under difficult economic circumstances, everyone chases each potential client, regardless of whether it is the right fit for their company.
 
Let me share a small anecdote: some time ago I met a CEO from a DMS company from Romania. He was interested in acquiring clients in Germany by presenting at a show. I shared my opinion with him that the worst thing that could happen to him was finding a few clients that would lead him to believe that companies would be waiting for him in this region. As this was a small business, following such a plan would have caused massive distraction and disruption to his company, with additional costs created, no sustainable revenue and, in addition, loss of his domestic market share. I advised him that he could generate far greater value by developing vertical solutions on top of his DMS system and dominating a few verticals in his own region. 
 
In many cases, I believe the real issues are not within the sales organization but within the management. When revenue is not growing or maybe, is even declining, it creates an extreme condition within the company that automatically creates extreme behavior within management. To continue with our example of the sales staff, management will more than likely push sales people to invest more time and energy into meeting the wrong key performance indicators, such as how many client visits they make, more first time prospect contacts, etc. .
 
Throughout 2009, we saw new sales staff hired to replace existing people, without any real or positive change in results.When we ask companies (perhaps we should survey this) what sales methodology they have implemented, we get all but the right answers. They vary from, ‘We send our people to training XYZ, We have our own systems, We comply with Siebel or any other CRM system’, etc. And that is if they send people to proper training. We rarely encounter any companies that truly adhere to a sales methodology (process) throughout the organization, in which discussion can take place regarding how or if a prospect is qualified and including proper analysis of why customers would want to buy from them, instead of a competitor.
 
These are management decisions. After many companies have found a way to get through 2009, in my opinion, 2010 will be the year in which success will be measured by whether management have made the right decisions to generate and accelerate organic growth.  It won’t be just about doing ‘more of the same’.
 
Of course, there is also a significant number of companies which, as a complete antithesis to organic growth, will be creating an exit strategy by considering growth via merger or acquisition. However, during 2009, we encountered a number of companies who contacted us when it was almost too late to realize a good sale value for their company.
 
In summary, the search for the right strategic, organic growth is not a luxury but a ‘must have’ or, as an alternative, be sure to consider the M&A option sufficiently early on to realise the best price for your business.