28 December 2009 | Uncategorized | Miller Heiman

The wild and crazy ride that was 2009 is just about over. Are you ready for 2010? Some dedicated planning can help you meet the new year with confidence.

We’ve highlighted a few actions you and your organization can focus on now to improve sales results. The following recommendations are featured in Miller Heiman’s Year-End Guide for Sales Leaders: Strategies for Finishing the Current Year Strong and Starting Fast in the Coming Year:

• Work on closing the gap between leadership and field-team forecasts.
• Know where your organization is investing in growth and incorporate those priorities into next year’s plan.
• Invest in ways to help salespeople build strong customer relationships.
• Invest in ways to help salespeople improve their performance.
• Encourage salespeople to aim high; assure them that they won’t be penalized if they don’t hit their ambitious stretch targets.
• Determine the amount of new business, existing business and churn you expect next year; make sure your plan includes specific strategies for addressing each.
• Review the sales pipeline and set priorities about which opportunities to pursue.

Together, those steps will go a long way toward making the new year be exactly what it should be: an exciting time brimming with fresh opportunities for growth.

To read more, download the entire resource guide here. Additional articles include “When’s this Sale Going to Close: A Best Practice for Shortening Sales Cycle Length” and “Strategic Planning for Dummies and Experts Alike.”

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21 December 2009 | Uncategorized | Miller Heiman

If you could only ask one question of your sales team this week to move sales forward, ask this:

Are we pursuing opportunities we have with customers to strengthen or expand the business?

Many times, trends in a customer’s world can translate into opportunities for your company. The trick is learning how to recognize these opportunities and position your company’s products or services as a valuable solution. Consider looking for:

• Trends that will have at least a one-year impact
• Trends that have both a positive and negative effect on the customer’s organization
• Changes that have occurred in their market place
• Whether executives (if the company is public) have discussed challenges in quarterly reports or high-level addresses

To further understand if an opportunity is truly present, consider whether the solution will bring lasting value to the customer. If you aren’t confident, the answer is no.

Leveraged an opportunity with a strategic account recently? Don’t be shy – share your experience!

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08 December 2009 | Uncategorized | Miller Heiman

If you could only ask one question of your sales team this week to move sales forward, ask this:

If you don’t have credibility, what will you do to establish it?

Much like a solid foundation is absolutely necessary for a  structurally-sound building, solid credibility is imperative for successful selling. Without credibility, winning business becomes undeniably harder. But this key element isn’t just handed over on a silver platter, it’s most often earned through one of four methods:

• By relating your customer’s challenge (in which case you must be sure you truly understand the customer’s concept) to a past organizational success that addressed the same issue.
• By bringing in someone with expertise in an area your client would appreciate. This highlights your position as a valuable resource who can add knowledge and insight to your prospect’s business.
• By scheduling meetings between professionals in the buying and selling organization that are of like rank. This is one way to demonstrate your company’s commitment to your prospect’s success.
• By affirming established credibility: present recent results with clients at an executive briefing; suggest future projects that can help their company achieve additional goals.

You can read more about building credibility here.

Do you have additional techniques that help you build credibility? Share them with us.

photo credit: jon gala

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01 December 2009 | Uncategorized | Miller Heiman

If you could only ask one question of your sales team this week to move sales forward, ask this:

Have you identified all competition for the sale?

It’s a common misconception that the only type of competition sales professionals have to take into account is other sales professionals.  The reality is that there are three additional forms of competition. The trick is in considering not who could take away the business, but what. Yes, your prospect could ultimately choose to buy from a sales rep at an alternative company, but they could also choose to:

• Use internal resources to attempt to fix, accomplish or avoid the challenge.
• Use the budget in question to accomplish something else.
• Do nothing.

These other choices are not always so easy to spot, though. To identify all possible competition, the best approach is often a direct approach: asking what alternatives are being considered and what additional initiatives may be competing for the same budget.

Learn more about identifying additional forms of competition.

photo credit: Digital FotoFusion Library

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