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The Power of Sales Process Thinking
A revolution
is taking place in sales, marketing and customer service, driven by the
power of sales process thinking. This view holds the credo that
in the long run, the most effective way to increase customer
satisfaction and profits is to view sales as the outcome of a process-a
process that can be improved systematically-and that should be
carefully considered before automating. This is a larger view of what
sales is all about than the old “sale-as-discrete-transaction” approach.
Many companies have shown that the new view just works better
than its predecessor did. The old point of view puts the sales rep at
the center of the universe and usually seeks to improve sales volume by
narrowly focusing on how sales reps can close deals. The old way is not
wrong, per se, just too limiting. Consider how the old view
treats four key dimensions:
Money
Old Way Focuses On: How much money
can I make off this deal?
Recommends: “See each customer as a bag of groceries.” Ignores:
Economic principle that the lifetime value of a customer is often 10-20
times larger than any single transaction.
By contrast, sales process thinking shows up in the work of Dan Sewell,
who calculated that his lifetime customers will spend some $332,000 at
his Dallas auto dealerships. Sewell created systems that increase the
likelihood that his customers will do just that, remarking, “Systems,
not smiles,” are the most important part of customer service. At the
time he made that observation his reps were selling 15 cars per month,
nearly twice the national average.
Time
Old Way Focuses On: Techniques to
create quick close.
Recommends: Verbal tricks, such as “Get the prospect to say YES
seven times, and they’ll say YES to your offer.” Ignores: Behavioral
principle that customer satisfaction AFTER the sale is a major factor in
governing repeat purchases.
By contrast, sales process thinking shows up in the action of retailer
Nordstrom, whose people are trained to treat their customers as honored
friends and family. This policy rewards Nordstrom with PR worth a
fortune, giving their name legendary status.
Quality
Old Way Focuses On: Sales personnel
best practices.
Recommends: “Watch the best reps and teach what they do to the
rest.” Ignores: Process principle that total output is limited by the
tightest constraint, which may not have anything to do with the sales
reps.
By contrast, sales process thinking opens opportunities to sell that do
not involve sales reps at all. This type of creative thinking led
Vaughan’s Seed Company (a division of Swiss giant Novartis) to outfit
their biggest customers with computers, modems and the ability to
directly place their own orders through Vaughan’s on-line catalog.
Millions of dollars of orders now flow in through this new channel. Of
course, Dell uses essentially the same approach in its hugely successful
Internet site.
Quantity
Old Way Focuses On: How much time
reps spend with customers.
Recommends: “Increase customer face time and watch your sales
soar.” Ignores: Engineering principle that the best alternative is one
that most efficiently satisfies customer requirements.
By contrast, sales process thinking understands that the best approach
may mix techniques and cut across traditional functional departments. In
1993 Victor Hunter bought a floundering company called Team TBA, a
distributor which sold Shell-branded products to Shell service stations.
Hunter immediately asked his customers how they would like to receive
information about new products and receive service: by email, fax,
phone, or in person? Many dealers chose to receive information by email,
fax or phone, only asking to see a sales rep as a last resort. Hunter
cut his field force from 83 people to 18, hired six outbound telesales
reps and seven inbound customer service reps. The result? Dealer
satisfaction increased, total sales expense dropped 65%, revenue
increased and Team TBA made its first profit in years. Amazingly, even
though the number of face to face contacts went down by 70%, dealers
perceived that face to face contacts increased by 17%. Sales process
thinking connects its practitioners to a huge body of knowledge in
proven fields like quality engineering and process improvement. Instead
of hopping from fad to fad, sales process thinkers systematically chart
a tangible course toward ongoing improvement.
Learn to think “sales process.” You’ll leave the competition far
behind-and build more successful systems when it comes time to automate!
© 1999 Paul H. Selden All Rights Reserved Please call for permission
to reprint or republish.
Originally published in Sales & Field Force Automation magazine, July
1999.
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