JUNE 24th 2009 / IssUE 25

How Three Coffees Can Get You Better Strategic Alliances

CompeTinG wiTH ‘e’ASe

Gaining A Competitve edge

nZ’s e-mag for sales leaders

SAleS ForeCASTinG How To Build A Simple System

CoFF

ee p

ower

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 2

JUNE 24th / IssUE 25

THiS weeKS mUST reAD

CoFFee power

sean D’souza explains how

three coffees can get you

better strategic alliances.

CompeTinG wiTH ‘e’ASe

Go beyond the traditional four P’s

of sales (Product, Price, Place or

Promotion) to the four E’s (Emotion,

Experience, Esteem, Ethics).

nZSm CAlenDAr

SAleS ForeCASTinG

how to create a simple

and accurate forecast for

your business.

SAleS TrAininG DireCTorY

reSoUrCe Corner

AFTer THe pAniC

this is a must-have book for anyone

with super, Kiwisaver or investments

of any kind.and discusses how best to

navigate investing now.

THe CloSe

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ABOUt /

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Manager is a free e-magazine delivering

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EDItOR / Richard Liew

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ADVERtIsING/CONtENt ENQUIRIEs /

Phone Richard on 09 523 4112 or email

richardl@nzsalesmanager.co.nz

ADDREss / NZ sales Manager, C/- Espire

Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell,

Auckland 1151, New Zealand

WEBsItE / www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 3

the difference between selling

and marketing has often been

a hazy one and it is often to

the disgust of both salespeople and

marketers, that the two professions

are lumped in together.

In my experience most marketers don’t give salespeople the respect they deserve, seeing them merely as the expendable “grunts” out there on the front lines, nothing more than high maintenance skivers or schmoozers. On the other hand most salespeople don’t give marketers the respect they deserve, seeing them as desk-bound spreadsheet-ers, too scared to put themselves on the line and get out there and sell. Clearly neither belief is helpful for the company who employs these people! I’ve often argued that if you want to be a great marketer you should first get a job in sales, learning how to identify and engage prospects and customers, learning what works and what doesn’t, what your market wants, and how to sell it to them. that “coalface” experience is invaluable when it comes to understanding your customers, and if anyone should know what the customers want it’s the salespeople. they are the ones working the phones, having the meetings, submitting the proposals and finding out exactly what problems their customers want to solve. In this respect salespeople should be the marketing department’s closest allies. But whether intentionally or not, while in most companies the salespeople are also expected to be marketers, very

rarely are marketers expected to sell.

And as a sales person I’ve suffered the

consequences of working for companies whose marketing messages are not what the customers want to hear, or don’t make sense, or that make promises which are simply undeliverable. I’ve also sold for companies who provide no marketing at all. those salespeople fortunate enough to have a marketing department should be their biggest fans. to me salespeople and marketers need to form a synergistic relationship. that is, the results of a marketing team and sales team together should be more than the sum of each team’s individual results. Marketers are responsible for identifying and generating qualified leads and salespeople are responsible for converting those leads into paying customers.

In battle terms, marketers are the advance guard – the overhead bombers, softening up the market in preparation for the salespeople, those in the frontline who will ensure the investment in marketing gets a return. Without cooperation and mutual respect between the sales and marketing teams, neither team will fulfil its potential. Maybe it’s time that marketing departments treated their salespeople like their Number 1 customers, and that salespeople treated their marketing departments like their Number 1 suppliers? happy selling!

Richard Ps. thanks to all the readers who contacted me about my article in the NZ herald on Friday – glad to hear

it was readable! Maybe I’ll save them for NZ sales

Manager in the future!

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 4

t h I s W E E K ’ s M U s t R E A D

have you ever bought a house? No sooner than

you buy the house than the real estate refers you

on to an insurance agent. And a lawyer. And

assorted services.

In most cases, the real estate agent doesn’t get paid a

commission for her referrals.

But the lawyer, insurance agent and the other assorted

services refer their clients back to the real estate agent.

And as a result, everyone’s super-busy. And they’re busy

because they’re all alliances of each other.

so yeah, it makes sense to have strategic alliances.

But not all businesses fit as neatly as real estate alliances.

so how does a business owner get an alliance started? And

how do you know if you’re succeeding in creating an alliance?

Um, you’ll need a benchmark. so what’s the benchmark?

Do we get the alliance to promote our products?•

Do we get them send out our articles?•

Do we do simply wait, or bug the hell out of them?•

You do none of the above.

Rushing in to get an alliance to promote your product is like

meeting someone at a party, and then jumping into bed fifteen

minutes later.

Rushing in to get them to send out articles, is like kissing

someone eleven minutes after you’ve met them. Bugging them

COFFEE POWER

How Three Coffees Can Get You Better Strategic Alliances

By sean D’souza

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 5

is not really designed to get results.

so what’s the goal?

the goal is start a conversation.•

the goal is to keep that conversation going.•

the goal is for you to keep that conversation going for •

long enough that the other person recognises you on the

‘street’ and says hello.

that the other person gets your email and doesn’t trash it.

that the other person gets a letter from you and doesn’t use it

as toilet paper. that the other person gets a phone call from

you and actually takes it, or returns the call. that’s the goal

and this recognition comes from conversation.

You talk. they talk back.

You talk. they talk back.

You talk. they talk back.

No talk about jumping in bed quite yet. You’re just having

coffee after coffee after coffee. that’s it.

these three coffees are critical. they’re the benchmark.

they’re what gets the other person to know you and like you

(in some way). this is how you know you’re succeeding.

so the question arises: what should you do when drinking

all that coffee? You should be talking about ‘what you can

offer’ the strategic alliance. the only real thing an alliance is

interested in is what’s in it for them.

And you’re more than likely to have something that’s of value

to two groups:

their prospects.•

their existing clients.•

It’s important to spend that caffeine time finding out how the

alliance attracts prospective clients. Find out how they attract

clients. Offer to give them a physical product or information

product ( I’ll call them goodies) that will help the alliance

attract even more clients.

then watch as your alliance’s ears perk up. Notice how their

eyes become less glazed. this is because you’re talking about

them, and not pushing your own product or service. In the same

manner, you can ask how the alliance rewards existing clients.

In nine cases out of ten, the alliance will have no reward

for existing clients at all. If you step in and provide

something of value, then immediately the alliance is going

to be interested.

Of course you’re smart enough to know that when the

prospective or existing client gets the goodies, you’ll get

access to a whole new audience.

the more generous you are, the more likely the alliance’s

prospective or existing clients will have a look at your

website, or try your product, or come to your seminar.

Keep talking, as long as you see that the potential alliance is worth the trouble. Because one day, they’ll accept the goodies you’re offering and send those goodies to their clients and that’s the day you’ll open the floodgates to hundreds, even thousands of customers.

You’ve not only created an incentive for the alliance,

you’ve created an incentive for the alliance’s client

and in doing so, created business for yourself.

so now you’ve downed enough coffee,

you’ve started a conversation, how

long before you get results?

It really depends. sometimes it

takes a few weeks, sometimes it

takes a few months, sometimes

it may take years. Keep drinking

the coffees.

Keep talking, as long as you see

that the potential alliance is worth

the trouble. Because one day, they’ll

accept the goodies you’re offering.

And send those goodies to their

clients.And that’s the day you’ll open the

floodgates to hundreds, even thousands

of customers. And it all starts with a simple

coffee. Or two. Or two hundred. And no, I don’t

have any alliance with the café.

Not yet, at least!

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 6

Sean D’Souza is a marketing strategist, speaker, author, and the principle of psychotactics.

Visit Sean’s website at www.psychotactics.com for more articles.

http://www.businessmentors.org.nz

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 8

Competing with ‘e’ase

By hannah samuel

Go Beyond the Four P’s For A Competitive Edge

traditional marketing theory tells us we can gain

a competitive edge by adjusting one or more of

the four Ps: Product, Price, Place or Promotion.

the only problem is, your competitors use the same four

Ps to create a competitive edge against you! Whilst the

4 Ps shouldn’t be ignored, in today’s highly competitive

markets, they rarely give us a truly competitive edge for

any length of time.

Change the product, and before you know it someone

else will have an almost identical one in the market-place

too. Change the price and risk eroding your profit margins

or pricing yourself out of the market altogether. Change

the place, and your products and services may get lost

amongst similar offerings competing in the same place

and changing the promotion may or may not provide the

returns you want for the time and money spent.

Most of us are more critical and more cynical than ever

before and it’s way more competitive than it’s ever been.

to create a truly competitive edge we need to deliver more

than the 4 Ps, we need to deliver what I call the 4 Es.

NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 9

Hannah is an Auckland based specialist reputation advisor, professional speaker, author and founder of online

performance-based service directory, TrUSTcite. Visit her website at www.hannahsamuel.co.nz for more info.

EMOtION

Above and beyond the 4 Ps we need to

connect with customers on an emotional

level. We all want to feel good about the

transactions we enter into. Why should

they choose you from an emotional

perspective? how will doing so make

them feel great? Demonstrating your

values in practice will attract people

with similar values to you.

ExPERIENCE

Research suggests the actual or

perceived customer experience accounts

for around 50 percent of a purchase decision. You

can have the best product or sharpest price, but if the

experience the customer has lets you down, not only are

you likely to lose that customer in the future, you’re also

likely to miss out on everyone they tell about it.

EstEEM

Nobody wants to be treated like an idiot, yet so many

businesses treat their customers like numbers without

any manners or respect whatsoever. Genuinely caring

about your customers and treating them with respect

will place you way ahead of competitors who focus

solely on ‘closing the sale’ at any cost.

EthICs

Acting with integrity is one of the most important

differentiators you can provide in a world full of ‘it doesn’t

matter’ thinking and behaviour. things won’t always turn

out the way you’d like them to, but when you find yourself

under pressure, and held to account, how you choose to

respond will show what you’re really made of. stepping up

to the plate and maintaining open, honest communications

is essential if you want to maintain a positive reputation.

By acting with integrity and focusing on the 4 Es at both

a business and individual level we can create a truly

competitive edge; attract loyal staff, customers and investors

and build a sustainable business. Make it ‘E’asy on yourself

and watch your competitive advantage grow!

\

Business NegotiationZealmark GroupAucklandAdvanced serious sellingGeewizAucklandhit the Road Running sales seminartop Achievers sales trainingWellington

sales ManagementDavid FormanWellington

Cold Calling & Prospecting Workshoptop Achievers sales trainingAuckland

Key Account ManagementDavid FormanAuckland (13-14 Julysales DevelopmentDavid FormanAuckland (13-16 July)sales ManagementDavid FormanAuckland (13-16 July)

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sales ManagementDavid FormanWellington

Managing PerformanceZealmark GroupAckland

sales DevelopmentDavid FormanAuckland

Workplace Coaching & MentoringZealmark GroupAuckland

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sales ManagementDavid FormanWellington

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telephone salesZealmark GroupAucklandExceeding Customer ExpectationsGeewizAuckland hit the Road Running sales seminartop Achievers sales trainingWellington

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sales PlanningDavid FormanAuckland(20-21 July)

NegotiationDavid FormanWellington

sales skills OneEssential sales skillsZealmark GroupAuckland

hit the Road Running sales seminartop Achievers sales trainingAuckland

sales DevelopmentDavid FormanAuckland

Leadership With ResultsGeewizWellington

NegotiationDavid FormanWellingtonsales BasicsGeewizAucklandNegotiation skillstop Achievers sales trainingAuckland

In the last issue we looked at the familiar situation where

the sales manager doesn’t find out their team won’t hit

their monthly budget until half way through the month –

far too late to really do anything about it.

today we look at how to start building a simple

forecasting system that will provide enough notice that

your team is falling behind for you to take corrective

action well in advance.

the underlying problem is sales forecast reliability

- something which is merely a dream for many sales

managers.

NZsM / NOV 12th 2008 / 11

SAleS ForeCASTinG pArT 2: How To CreATe A Simple AnD ACCUrATe ForeCAST For YoUr BUSineSS.By Michael taplin

So first things first, what do we mean by reliable? A reliable

forecast must satisfy three tests:

Does it predict future revenues with an acceptable •

degree of accuracy?

Does it extend out further than just your sales cycle •

(from suspect to prospect to completed project)?

Does it guide the corrective action you must take when •

your forecast will not achieve your budget?

the following forecasting model has been used successfully

by some of my clients for over 20 years.

Creating Your Forecasting model

Many company sales reports are simply too detailed,

measuring anything and everything and therefore becoming

just another distraction from getting on with managing your

sales team.

What we need is to create a simple spreadsheet that

generates reliable numbers and accurate information on

the present status of the sale.

We must be able to see at a glance whether last month’s work

has created value for the company, or whether the wheels of

the company car have been spinning like a boy racer on a

saturday night so that we can quickly identify what has to be

done to keep things moving in the right direction.

NZsM / JUNE 3RD 2009 / 12

michael Taplin is a business mentor and strategy consultant with special expertise in sales forecasting. You can visit his website at www.bizlearn.biz.

STep 1:

Your forecasting model should be probability based,

so first list all the milestones in your sales process in a

separate table and assign each milestone a probability

of being turned into cash. Eg When a new prospect

has been identified you might allocate the sale a

5% probability; after the second meeting you might

increase that to 15%; after a quote has been requested

that may go up to 25%; etc.

STep 2:

You then list the value of each sale on-the-go for the month

in a spreadsheet, and ask your reps which milestone in the

sales process each sale is up to.

STep 3:

You then multiply the value of the sale by the

corresponding probability, to get the expected value

of the prospect at this time. some managers and

salespeople may already use some sort of “weighted”

sales forecast but in my experience, most of the time

the sales person allocates a probability figure based

on nothing more than their own wishful thinking.

For example, they may tell you they have an “80%

probability” of closing a particular sale, based on

nothing more than their own guess at how well the

sale is going. And this is why their forecasts are often

so unreliable.

STep 4:

Add them up and you now have the total expected value

of your sales funnel for this month. You can rely on these

numbers because you can measure the probability value

by checking historical success rates. No guesswork and no

subjective assessment by your sales reps about the “quality”

of their relationships with customers.

You’ll now see that there are two ways to increase the value

of your sales funnel:

prospect/ name Stage in sales process Job value probability of winning expected Value Timing m/Y

ABC Company 3 $10000 10% $1000 sep-09

DEF Company 4 $21400 25% $5350 sep-09

GhI Company 2 $25000 5% $1250 sep-09

JKL Company 2 $15000 5% $750 sep-09

MNO Company 7 $22750 70% $15925 sep-09

PQR Company 6 $14990 60% $8994 sep-09

stU Company 8 $17450 80% $13960 sep-09

Totals $215580 $91147

Add more prospects in at the top. this is obviously to

be welcomed but is unlikely to show a large short-term

improvement in how monthly sales are tracking, because each

new prospect starts at the beginning of the sale process. they

will therefore have a low probability assigned to them when

entered into the spreadsheet which means that the expected

value for the month will not really change that much.

this means the only real way to get noticeable increases

in the expected value of this months sales is for the reps

to move the prospects they have along the pipeline by, for

example, submitting a quote, or closing the sale. this is

real activity and if your salespeople do enough of it they

will increase sales and meet their targets. If they don’t you

will notice from their reports that certain sales are going

nowhere alerting you to potential problems.

Reports are no good unless they create action, and

building a sales report like this creates the basis for

turning it into a simple sales action plan which we will

look at in the next issue.

next issue: part 3 in our look at sales forecasting. “How to

turn your sales reports into a sales plan.”

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NZsM / JUNE 24th 2009 / 15

“ “

I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay. Madonna

have you subscribed to New Zealand sales Manager? It’s free!simply visit www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz to get a copy of New Zealand sales Manager delivered

straight to your inbox every third Wednesday!

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