by Bill Poole | Feb 19, 2019 | Sales
In the office technology industry I serve, we talk about Machines-in-Field (MIF). Every 3-5 years the leases on these machines expire or the machine wears out. Sales reps “flip the MIF” when they upgrade customers to new equipment.
MIF-flipping plays a critical role. After all, we need to maintain our customer base. However, we also work in a mature market. That means that average selling prices are dropping faster than cost of goods. Each year the delta between sales price and cost gets squeezed a little tighter.
What does that mean?
Companies and sales reps that have historically depended on MIF-flipping will suffer a slow and painful decline.
Some businesses are counteracting the revenue decline by purchasing more MIF to flip. The top line revenue of these businesses look good, but ultimately, these businesses will also feel the pain. (more…)
by Bill Poole | Jan 15, 2019 | Sales
How consistent is your sales team at bringing in net-new business? Without a consistent stream of opportunities entering the top of the funnel, the end-of-month results will be disappointing. Instead of net-new, the revenue will be primarily be from flipping the MIF.
A process is a series of steps for a repeated outcome. Processes bring predictability, efficiency, and consistency to net-new business.
Every business has processes:
- Service processes like service call entry and ticket management ensure happy customers.
- Financial processes like order fulfillment and collections ensure a controlled financial environment.
- HR processes like on-boarding and benefits administration ensure compliance and happy employees.
While businesses have all kinds of critical processes, when it comes to generating net-new sales, it’s often hard to find documented processes in place.
Without processes in place, business becomes chaos. (more…)
by Bill Poole | Jan 2, 2019 | Resources
There are only two types of prospects: those who are looking for your products and services, and those who aren’t. If you want to grow sales, you’ll need to find ways to connect with both groups:
- Prospects who are actively looking for solutions to their problems need to be able to find your dealership online.
- Prospects who aren’t actively looking for a solution need to be strategically interrupted by your sales team. (more…)
by Bill Poole | Dec 20, 2018 | Sales
As the manager of a sales team what is the biggest thing you can do to drive success? The answer may be to build a culture of success. Why? You can only be physically present with the members of your team for a small amount of time. The culture you create is always present.
Create a great culture is like a farmer nurturing the soil for a successful crop. Without proper cultivation, fertilizer, and watering, plants will struggle to grow. Create good soil and plants will thrive.
“Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game.”
– Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Former CEO of IBM
Here are a few thoughts on enhancing your sales culture: (more…)
by Bill Poole | Dec 19, 2018 | Sales
You need net-new business to hit your number. Net-new business requires appointments. When sales reps fail to consistently schedule appointments it shows up at the end of the month.
What does it take to get appointments? Could there be a way that is more effective, efficient, and measurable?
Salesforce.com research tells us that it takes 6-8 touches to get an appointment. When it comes to prospecting, the problem is that sales reps rarely get this many touches. Most prospecting is neither strategic nor systematic.
Fortunately there is a better way to make sure your sales reps get multiple touches with prospective clients. We call this a Prospecting Sequence. Here’s what this looks like: (more…)
