And in the B2B sales market from. Until we meet again
- Translation
Online purchases and sales by companies are constantly growing. Ordinary network users buy a lot on the Internet, and businesses even more. In 2012, Forrester Research projected $559 billion in online orders from US companies and government agencies, more than double the projected B2C spending.
However, in many ways B2C has outpaced B2B in terms of ease of purchase and flow. But everything is changing. For example, 46% of B2B e-commerce executives said in a Forrester Research survey that they expect up to a third of their customers to go online within three years. In the same survey, 67% of executives said their companies' IT budget would increase this year, and 49% said they would completely overhaul their company's ecommerce platform within 18 months to sell to other companies, government agencies, educational institutions and other businesses.
This article will discuss three steps you can take to increase online sales and attract more B2B customers without spending a lot of money.
Retailers can increase sales through three approaches:
- Selling more products to current customers.
- Selling current products to more customers.
- Selling more products to a wider range of customers.
Step one: find out who your customer is
| B2B | B2C |
|---|---|
| Company sells to another company | |
| Buyer needs a solution | Buying is often driven by emotion. |
| Longer sales cycle: research → approval → approval | Short sales cycle: product availability→price→purchase |
| Many decision makers are involved | The decision is made by one person |
| Brand loyalty matters | No brand loyalty |
| Major sales (volume) | small volume |
| Bulk prices | Retail price |
| Postponed purchases | Buying here and now |
| Various payment terms | Instant payment |
| High risk, long term relationship | Low risk, short term relationship |
The paradigm of B2B sales in e-commerce has changed. Smart corporate clients are moving away from long and resource-intensive negotiations, phone calls and orders by mail or fax. Now they need convenience, service availability 24 hours 7 days a week, an informative and beautiful website, the ability to instantly order automatically, flexible payment terms, reviews from other users, etc.
Moreover, the way it is worth getting in touch with such customers is also changing - they no longer need to call, very often they themselves find the right product via the Internet, so you need to have a good website. These changes also affect how B2B sellers should work to attract customers and build a sales process. To build a successful and long-term B2B sales channel, you need to provide customers with the same level of convenience, support, and technology that decision makers at this company are accustomed to as individual online shoppers.
If you don't have such B2B solutions yet, or if they are far behind B2C in terms of level, then the next step could be personalization.
Step Two: Personalized B2B Buying Process
You will need an attractive - that is, professionally made and appropriately looking - and user-friendly website. Here are some of its features and mandatory things:- SEO and metadata tags - to rank higher in search.
- SSL certification is a guarantee of security.
- Desktop and mobile version - flexibility and scalability.
- A clear way to make a purchase. Information→Demo→Offer→Contact→Purchase.
- Detailed product catalog with good pictures- detailing of goods, specifications, information on availability.
- Product positioning - expert reviews and reviews, comparisons with competitors, etc.
- Possibility to tie the client with "club membership", rewards and promotions.
- Client account with privileges and attributes.
- Various payment methods - credit cards, payment systems, credit
- Discounts, coupons.
- Loan approval system.
- Possibility of using third-party delivery services.
- Online support on the site.
- Online chat, virtual assistant, email or phone support.
- Opportunities for personalized communication.
Step three: cost optimization and profit maximization
Having reached the point where sales are going through various channels, you need to think about how to manage them. To do this, so-called multi-channel management platforms are used, which link the sales and back office processes. All this helps to detect and eliminate weak points, resulting in increased productivity and reduced manual overhead.Here are some of the most tangible benefits of a multi-channel management platform:
- Ability to manage goods in various ecommerce systems (POS, ERP).
- Automation of the flow of incoming / outgoing orders from suppliers and buyers.
- Delivery management.
- Synchronization of product information (price, availability, etc.) in different systems simultaneously.
- Updating accounting databases online - facilitating the process of accounting and reporting.
- Detailed sales reports and analytics tools.
Finding and building a B2B sales system is not difficult. One has only to "google" and here they are - hundreds of ready-made systems. All as one “work” and bring downright sky-high results. Judging by what their creators promise, you should become a millionaire literally the next day after implementation. However, in practice, not every system is able to get even a little closer to what was promised.
It's not even about the system itself and not about the proposed sales technique, each of them can potentially bring results, each has its pros and cons. It's about how this technique suits your company, your business and, last but not least, your market.
Knowing the market, understanding how B2B sales “work” is sometimes of fundamental importance. Not all techniques suitable for B2C (or the end-customer market) are suitable for the specifics of B2B ("business to business"). What is this specificity?
- B2B customers are not just people. These are businessmen who are engaged in sales themselves and who know the “kitchen” from the inside. This means that they see through manipulations, deceptions and “games” with the price. The dishonest rules of the game are quickly revealed here and hit the reputation badly.
- It is necessary to constantly find a balance between "prepayment" and "deferred payment". What is rare in B2C (there is money - take the goods, there is no money - come back when you have it), is the norm in B2B. Because everyone has their own turnover, because the money comes in unevenly, in the end, because business is not done in a different way. To pay one, you need to ask to wait for the other, and so always.
- In B2B, as nowhere else, an individual approach rules. If at the very least you can work with ordinary buyers according to a template, then such a number will not work with business clients. No two businesses are the same, so no two solutions are the same.
- Long decision making process. On average, a transaction on the B2B market turns around in 90 days. Somewhere more, somewhere less, but 90 is a benchmark. Given this fact, just having a good product is not enough for the job. In three months, the client will be able to find flaws even in a very good product. For successful cooperation, some more or less adequate relationship with the client is needed, if they are not there, then such clients are likely to become “disposable”.
As I said, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of B2B sales systems and techniques. How to choose from all this diversity one, the only true one?
There are two criteria for selection. The selected system corresponds to them - it can be implemented. Does not match - look further.
So, a working sales system is one that:
- adequate to the conditions of work in the B2B market, takes into account and emphasizes their specifics (I have already mentioned this above);
- corresponds to the sales model that has ALREADY been formed in your company.
What is a sales model? This is the “skeleton”, the sequence of stages by which sales are built in the company.
There are only two models of B2B sales: the presentation model and the customer-centric (question-answer) model. All existing sales techniques are based on one of these models. Of course, each technology is somewhat unique, but the base - the base will always be one of the two.
Understanding these models gives you a strong advantage - you can combine different sales techniques (we'll talk about the best of them a little later) and thus invent something new, something that suits your company.
So two models:
presentation modelB2 Bsales
The presentation sales model is, as they say now, the good old classic. It is based on a specific, finished product. The seller's task is to present it (without changing it) in such a way that the client immediately wants to buy it.
In the presentational sales model, the salesperson plays the biggest role. He - main character. The quality of the information provided to customers about products or services depends on it, and the success of the transaction depends on it. The seller in this model is both a source of information and a tool for comparing all similar goods and services, and an expert, an appraiser, and a controller.
In the presentation model, as nowhere else, sales scenarios, scripts of telephone conversations, meetings, ready-made answers to objections find their application. All tools are developed in such a way that the client does not accidentally “jump off” at any stage, they are practiced for years, cleaned and brought to perfection.
Who is a presentational sales model suitable for? Usually these are companies that work with the finished product, for example, software. Such organizations cannot radically change the product at the discretion of the customer. Of course, changes are possible to a certain extent, but nothing more. Agree, it’s difficult to make something other than an antivirus out of an antivirus, and you can’t make AutoCad out of 1C. Even within the same product category (for example, CRM systems), products can vary dramatically.
Among the most popular B2B sales techniques that correspond to the presentation model are: concept sales (concept selling) And target sales techniquetargeted selling).
Concept sales is to raise awareness of the benefits or unique properties products of the company, based on an understanding of the needs of target customers, which can be satisfied through the use of these same products.
The idea is simple and ingenious at the same time. You can talk about the same things in different words, different ways. In one case, the client "pecks", in the other not. Conceptual sales teach how to turn the story about the product in such a way that the client “pecks”. In other words, conceptual selling is the ability to show the right properties at the right time.
A simple example to help demonstrate the principles of conceptual selling in action. trade offer about buying a life insurance policy.
General sales:
“Dear Ivan Ivanovich! As you can see, by purchasing our insurance, you will receive a policy for 2,000,000 rubles. compensation, for a small fee - only 60,000 rubles. in year".
What did the client hear? Insurance for 60,000 rubles per year.
Concept sales:
“Dear Ivan Ivanovich! I would like to present to you a plan that will help keep your property intact for your heirs, and also provide them with money in the event of your sudden death. The cost of this plan is equal to the inheritance tax that your heirs will be forced to pay in the event of your death. But for this money they will never get what we can offer: 2,000,000 rubles. compensation!"
What did the client hear? 2,000,000 rubles compensation.
As already mentioned - simple and ingenious.
Target sales - this is a very popular and widespread technique, and therefore we will not focus on it for a long time. The essence is clear from the name. By identifying the group of buyers who are most interested in your product, you can build a strong and sustainable business by not wasting time on those who are not suitable for your products and services.
Usually people buy in order to:
- satisfy basic needs
- solve the problem of,
- feel good.
Determine which of these categories your product or service fits the most and research the appropriate market segment.
Customer-centric B2B sales model (question-answer model)
From the first name it is clear that in this sales model, the main thing is the client, his needs and his needs. The second reflects the essence of the system itself - the seller asks, asks leading questions in order to better understand the client, and he, in turn, answers.
This model implies a completely individualized approach to the client; there is not and cannot be ready-made templates, ready-made solutions. Everything is based on the information received from the client.
Naturally, the client-centric model does not suitable for those companies that are closely tied to a particular product. But she the best option for B2B organizations associated with the provision of various kinds of engineering, design, consulting, educational services. Here, like nowhere else, there is scope for fulfilling the wishes of the client and searching best solutions specific problems.
The client-centric model is the mainstay of many B2B techniques: consultative sales, SPIN sales, solution sales, customer-centric technology, and even entire sales systems, for example, Sandler or Dale Carnegie.
The format of this article, unfortunately, does not allow us to consider each of these systems in detail. Each of these models is worthy of a separate large article. Therefore, I will briefly focus only on some of the most interesting:
Consultative sales - sales technique, implying the actions of the seller according to the scheme:
- search and access to a person authorized to make decisions,
- a survey to identify and fix those problems that you can help solve,
- drawing up, based on the information received, a business plan that includes ways to solve the problems identified, the payback period and profitability of the proposed solutions.
SPIN sales – a technique based on the fact that customers will only be motivated to buy if they feel they need it. However, there are times when potential customers are not even aware of the existence of any problem. Therefore, the questions that the sales manager asks them become key. They allow you to identify the problem and push a person to buy.
This technique involves the use of four types of questions (situational, problematic, extracting and guiding). Being given in a certain sequence, they can significantly increase the probability of "closing" the sale.
Customer oriented sales their essence is to understand what the client has in mind. All you need is to know the answers to 4 questions and use them in interaction with the client:
- WHAT does the client want? The client doesn't care what you want. They are not interested in how you earn, whether your business pays off or how many loans you have in the bank. The only thing that interests the client is his own needs. If you can understand them, you will be able to sell more.
- WHAT DOES THE CLIENT NEED? When you can find what customers really need, and not just offer them what they asked for, you will be able to better serve them, and your sales will inevitably go up.
- What “language” does the client speak to you? Clients don't speak "your" language. Special jargon and terms frighten and confuse them. Therefore, speak with customers in their language, their terms and do not allow neglect.
- WHAT IS THE CLIENT AFRAID? Deep down, all your clients have some concerns. They are afraid of something. Only in your power to ease these fears. In interaction with the client, emphasize their problems and fears, focus on them, and then show how, with the help of your company, these fears will disappear.
The last thing I would like to emphasize is that customer-centric sales in our country are young and very promising direction, which is yet to be developed Russian market. Unlike the presentation model, which has long and firmly established itself in Russia, customer-centric sales are the future of the B2B sector. They allow you to stop spending money on unnecessary goods and start making money on what is in demand.
Here are two completely different sales models and techniques that correspond to them. Which model to trust? What technology will bring success to your company? Now you know how to make a choice.
Vkontakte FaceBook
B2B sales means , that the company cooperates exclusively with organizations that operate in the B2C market (with consumers). These can be wholesale depots, closed markets, etc.
Tools for improving profitability
Experts identify 9 main points that allow you to effectively sell in the B2B market:
- Development of competitive advantages.
- Exclusion of defects in sold products.
- Ensuring the constant availability of goods in the warehouse.
- Regular expansion of the range.
- Fast execution of orders.
- Development of loyalty programs for clients.
- Creation of a "conveyor" of profits.
- Competitive pricing.
- The desire to conclude agreements on long-term cooperation.
Sales in the B2B market
Consider which sales channels are most effective in B2B.
Direct sales
If we talk about the B2B segment, then direct sales are the most common tool in the work. They involve direct contact with the buyer. There are a number of reasons for betting on such development strategies. Here are some of them:
- Refusal to maintain unnecessary staff and unnecessary retail space.
- The direct selling system gives more opportunities to quickly respond to changing customer needs.
- You can achieve a stable demand for the products sold.
- A well-designed direct sales scheme contributes to the rapid development of the company.
But there are also disadvantages:
- Such meetings do not always turn into a positive decision of the client, therefore, from the standpoint of the average check, this is costly.
- You need to carefully work out the sales scheme, and this is not a quick process. Moreover, it is difficult to find professionals who would embody such a principle of work.
Passive Selling
Internet trading
On the positive side, wholesale sales via the Internet have proven themselves. Until recently, such a channel was more used in practice (i.e. for communication with individuals), but the situation today shows the increasing relevance of the Internet for B2B. Global network allows you to significantly reduce development costs and increase the volume of passive sales.
network sales
Service developments in the field of customer notification contribute to the increase in sales. The principles of work are based on calls to customers, during which the latter learn about new products and general changes in the range and work of the seller.
Dealer network
The technology of sales through dealer networks implies maximum territorial coverage. Since the independent development of an entire network is often too expensive for organizations, companies decide to open a franchise network or organize a search for partners.
Advantages of dealer networks:
- Very fast development. Literally in 2-3 months you can cover the entire country with branches.
- Direct access to clients located far from the main office.
The main disadvantages include:
- Dependence on representatives who prefer to "live their lives", which can negatively affect the company's reputation.
- Financial losses. Features of the work of dealers is that their remuneration can reach 80%.
Each B2B sales technique has its pros and cons, so it is simply impossible to say which one is the most optimal. The example of many companies shows that best practices determined only by personal experience(Besides, there is a specificity of the goods being sold).
The example of the work of many companies shows that the best methods are determined only by personal experience.
At its core, B2B business is similar to B2C. It goes through the same stages of development, uses the same tools to attract new customers, only the price of the issue is much higher. But do not forget that any company can simultaneously work in B2B and B2C-sphere.
We are used to thinking in terms of seller-buyer. Of course it is universal formula, but it has many solutions. Let's deal with the new term, which is increasingly flashing in business conversations, but few people still understand what it is all about. So what is B2B?
business to business
Really, this term literally translated from English means "business for business". That is, our end consumer is not a specific person, but a certain company. One legal entity sells its goods or services to another. For example, we have some information products that help optimize accounting in the company. We contact the director of the company "M" and offer him our product, as well as related services. That's what B2B is.
Simply put, this is trade between representatives of the business audience. This may include the provision of production needs, the sale of equipment, software development, services for the development and promotion of sites, automation and optimization of work processes. Everything, up to the supply of company offices with office equipment, paper or cleaning services.
What is B2B and B2C
And what then is meant by another formula - B2C? The main difference is in the end customer. In this case, you have a buyer - individual. Yes, you also offer equipment, goods, services, but not to companies or enterprises, but to an ordinary consumer. The difference is that you have to build relationships differently. If in the case of corporate clients it is important to build long-term partnerships, then in the B2C sector everything is based on personal relationships. It's important to get attention mass audience, take into account the buyer's love for discounts and bonuses, and also skillfully play on spontaneous desires.
How to sell to a business?
What is B2B sales, and what difficulties will you face here? First of all, your tasks include not just a successful sale once, the main goal is to build reliable partnerships. It is necessary to achieve the establishment of long-term trusting relationships with the first persons of companies, those who directly make decisions.
And here, unlike the B2C market, you do not wait for the moment when the buyer pays attention to you. You must actively offer yourself. Traditional flyers, press or TV ads, and banners do not work here. Corporate sales are active sales.
Finding your client
Entrepreneurs are what the B2B market segment is all about. At the level of a particular organization, these are directors or individual entrepreneurs, If we are talking about IP.
When working with corporate clients, you must be clear about your target audience. At the same time, when forming an offer, you must proceed from main task your partner - do own business more profitable. It is important for him how much your product or service will be beneficial to him, what profit it will bring.
When launching your business, carefully analyze the existing market, consider in which particular sector your business is concentrated. Learn as much as possible about their needs and expectations.
Study the competitive environment. There are very few unique products on the market right now. Your goal is to make your offer more worthy in the eyes of the buyer.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that, in turn, your buyer is a businessman. That is, he, for his part, will also carefully analyze the market for the most profitable deal.
Sales technologies
What is a B2B market is already generally clear. But what sales techniques are typical for him?
Right here a large share occupy Of course, personal negotiations with key persons are very important. But before the meeting takes place, it is necessary to correctly build a system of cold calls. It is by phone that you have the opportunity to hook the client, to form a steady incoming stream.
It is important not just to “stupidly” call everyone who comes to hand. Your telemarketing service should work on the segment that is really interested in your offer. Analyze possible entry options in advance, work out probable failures, think over what kind of benefit you can bring to your potential partners.
Apart from telephone sales, direct mailings with offers also work well. But in this situation, you must understand that some of your emails may end up in spam. This means that your efforts will be in vain.
And, of course, once you have a client, you should begin to systematically build friendships with him. You must tie it to yourself. And at this stage it is very important to competently motivate managers involved in maintaining business relationships with customers.
Marketing
It is an efficient system for finding new corporate clients and secure partnerships. You can't do without marketing activities. It's not just about advertising. You Need to Plan Actions to Reduce Your Costs It's no secret that only a small fraction of phone calls are productive. All the rest end up in nothing.
Your goal is to find out why this is happening, to identify weak spots and work out objections. Why is it better for a marketer to do this, and not a “salesman”? Just methods marketing research it is easier to identify the failures of the accepted ways of offering goods or services. Yes, and a competent marketer can easily help compose a selling text.
Now that you know what B2B is and what its “zest” is, it will be easier for you to promote your business and find reliable partners.
Zyuzko Vladimir
How often do you hear the complaints of managers that "sales managers are bad at selling, lazy, do anything but sales ..." Such leaders are looking for ways to "motivate" (force) subordinates to sell.
However, the problem should be sought not in subordinates, but in managers who did not organize the work properly. The task of employees, the same sales managers, is to act within the framework of technology, to play a certain role in it, and not to close the gaps in sales with their breasts.
However, site analysis shows that different authors have different understandings of the term " Technology sales".
Often the term "technology" is used instead of the terms "technique" and "method". Let's turn to Wikipedia and remember the definitions.
Technology - set of organizational measures, operations and techniques ...
Method- a systematic set of steps, actions ...
Technology- a set of methods, processes ...
- Looking for new clients,
- Initial contact with a new client, transfer of a “cold” client to a “warm” one,
- "We squeeze" the client, bringing him to the deal,
- Maintaining contact with regular customers
- Etc.
Quite often, all this work is concentrated in one hand, the hands of the sales manager.
Here I recall Ilya Muromets in front of the stone: “If you go to the right, you will lose your horse, if you go straight, you will lose your head, if you go to the left, you will lose your horse and head.”
In the same way, the sales manager comes to work in the morning and thinks: “Either look for new customers (you will go to the right), or call the old ones (you will go straight), or do the paperwork (you will go to the left). It’s good if there are only three roads, and sometimes you need to control production, go to the warehouse, and talk with the accounting department, someone else calls the suppliers ... In general, there are many roads, the result is the same: “No options.” In addition, the assessment of the work of a sales manager is often only one, integral: a percentage of revenue.
And what path do you think the sales manager will take?
That's right, according to the easiest, most comfortable from a psychological point of view. Will work with old clients, make deals, etc. It certainly will not look for new clients, because calling a “cold” base is too troublesome, they can be rude, and it is not known when the effect of this work will be.
Therefore, if we talk about setting sales technologies, then you need to talk not about the sales manager, but at least about commercial director of the company, which should organize the work of finding, attracting and retaining new customers (introduce technology).
In my opinion, the technological chain should consist of the following blocks:
- marketing part,
- Setting a goal for the sales department in numbers for 2-3 years,
- Division of labor according to function
- Organization of interaction between positions, automation of business processes, control points,
- Organization of work for each position,
- The introduction of a pay system tied to the results of work,
- Training of employees for work in each position,
- Introduction of an attestation system,
- Feedback from buyers.
Sales technology. Stage 1. Marketing part
One often hears a question like this: “I have product A, how can I sell it?” For example, at the height of the crisis, the question was asked: “We sell corporate holidays, but even our most loyal customers began to react negatively to us. How can we sell our product? Answer: “I don’t know how to sell a feast during a plague.”
However, I know for sure that before answering the question “How to sell?” two more key questions need to be answered: “What to sell?” and "To whom to sell?"
Example.
Perhaps not everyone knows that the "Turetsky Choir" and the "Jewish Male Chamber Choir" are one and the same group. The voices of the performers have always been and remain magnificent. But, as they say, feel the difference.
And instead of selling "Corporate holidays" it was necessary to "sharpen" your product for the market situation.
To do this, there are various marketing tools and technologies that can be found in the literature, in various courses and in other sources.
Sales technology. Stage 2. Setting goals for sales in numbers for 2-3 years
It is for 2-3 years, even despite the unstable situation, the actions of the state and other factors that can suddenly turn the market situation 180 degrees.
Try to fill in the following table and evaluate the effect (maybe not immediately, but in a year or two).
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
Total |
|
|
Item A |
||||
|
Item B |
||||
|
............... |
||||
|
Item N |
||||
|
Outcome |
Table 1. Goals (tasks) of the company for 2-3 years.
Of the effects that the training participants cited, I would like to highlight the following: “After filling out the table, I understood in which direction to develop my business in the coming years, set priorities.”
Sales technology. Stage 3. Division of labor on a functional basis
There is a technology that allows you to clearly divide the work in the sales department on a functional basis, to single out and remove everything superfluous from the sales department. But this is a topic for a separate article.
As a result of work on the division of labor in 70-80% of cases, the following structure with variations is obtained.
Figure 3. An example of the structure of the sales department.
Let's compare these three positions.
Call-manager - monotonous work on the conveyor. Those who have dealt with “cold” calls themselves know that most of the time is spent working with answers: “Out of office”, “Call back”, “I haven’t looked yet”, “We don’t need it yet, next month / quarter / year”, etc. The cost of such work is low. There's no point in giving her professional manager by sales. Otherwise, he will "turn sour with longing."
Preparing a base for cold calls is a job that is not needed at all in the sales department. Cheaper to buy electronic base addresses than to pay for the employee's time, which he will spend manually entering addresses into the database.
Sales manager - live job. Here we need a person who cannot live without communicating with people, an extrovert, a natural psychologist. A sort of "fountain of emotions." "Cold" calls, document flow, trips to the warehouse, search for transport, etc. - like weights on the legs for such a person. Yes, and earnings of 100,000 rubles. there is no limit for these highly qualified specialists. Why overload them?
Document flow - the "fountain of emotions" is clearly contraindicated. Otherwise, you can imagine what will happen to the documents. For this work, attentive, scrupulous individuals are needed.
And here again Ilya Muromets with three roads comes to mind.
If the functions in the sales department are not separated, the work of the sales manager often comes down to the work of an operator: to take an order from a client, offer options, write out documents, control the shipment.
This situation is a breeding ground for "pseudo-stars" in the sales department. A "pseudo-star" is a sales manager who "outlasted" all other sales managers, the one who historically "merged" the most "fat" clients.
After the division of labor on a certain technology in the sales department, the “pseudo-stars” usually go out very quickly, and the real stars begin to sparkle. If real star sales force to do all three types of work, such a sales manager very quickly gives up.
Once again I will repeat. The presented structure of the sales department is obtained in 70-80% of cases. A call manager and cold calls in general are not always needed. The issue of attracting new customers can be solved differently.
The meaning of the division of labor in the sales department boils down to three key points.
- “Clean up” the work of the sales department, remove all non-sales work from the sales department.
- “Clean up” the work of the sales manager, remove all unnecessary auxiliary work from him.
- Separate auxiliary work into separate blocks and transfer it to people who are inclined to perform this particular work.
When real the sales manager throws off the "fetters" in the form of additional work, wings grow behind him, and he begins to sell. Sell and earn a lot. And the "pseudo-stars" go out. The wage fund in the sales department, by the way, after such a division of labor, as a rule, decreases.
Remove all unnecessary work from professional sellers, let them sell!!!
Sales technology. Stage 4. Organization of interaction between positions, automation of business processes, control points
At this stage, it is necessary to prescribe the rules of interaction between employees, which will “link” the positions. Each employee will understand:
- To whom,
- When, at what time
- In what form (reporting forms)
obliged to convey information.
The interaction between the call manager, sales manager, teller, as well as between all other employees of the company, must be very clearly defined.
But here it is important to know the measure. It is impossible to write down absolutely everything, and it is not necessary. If you write down 70-80% of the most common situations, you will already move from the "Brownian movement" in the sales department (and it is in 80% of companies) to a purposeful movement towards the result.
At this stage, it is very important to provide reporting forms and control points.
The second option is to draw business processes.
The ideal option is to automate business processes. For example, using a CRM system.
CRM-system allows you to automatically build a sales funnel. Anticipate failures in sales for 1-2 months, take management decisions early. And not to arrange rush jobs when already "everything is gone."
In any case, the organization of interaction between employees is the task of the manager. You should not rely on third-party consultants or CRM specialists to come and solve the internal problems of the organization.
No third-party business consultant organizes your business processes better than you. The task of a business consultant is to help you figure out what is, and not to do the work for you.
Sales technology. Stage 5. Organization of work for each position
In addition to the fact that all work is divided among employees, interaction is organized, it is necessary to do extra work organization of jobs.
For a call manager, you need to write a call script, which includes four sections:
- Establishing a contact
- The passage of the gatekeeper,
- Conversation with the decision maker (LVR),
- End contact.
The call manager does not have to invent anything, he is obliged to act strictly according to the scenario. Phrases invented and added by yourself can harm sales.
A well-written script provides the following benefits:
- Guarantees a certain percentage of the transfer of "cold" clients to "warm" ones
- Reduces the psychological barrier for the call manager (transferring responsibility for the client's reaction from the call manager to the one who wrote the text),
- Eliminates the need to train the call manager in technical subtleties (no need to know the product),
- Allows you to easily change call-managers (introduction takes 2-3 hours), dependence on staff is sharply reduced.
It is also necessary to collect information about the stereotypes and preferences of customers (with the help of the same call-managers or sales managers) in the selected segments (see the "Marketing part" section). Based on stereotypes, prescribe standard commercial offers for each selected segment.
write one Commercial offer for all market segments - it's like shooting sparrows from a cannon.
Sales technology. Stage 6. The system of remuneration, tied to the results of work
Organizations often use a single integral indicator for evaluating the work of a sales manager - a percentage of revenue. This approach can only be justified initial stage development of the organization, when the amount of revenue is determined by at least 80% of the actions of the sales manager.
At more mature stages of development, this approach harms the organization, leads to the appearance of "pseudo-stars", which were discussed in the third stage.
Premium part wages employees should be tied to specific results.
Please tell me why to pay an increased bonus to a sales manager if:
- Revenue in December is three times higher than the average for the year (seasonal factor),
- The CEO negotiated with someone at his level and referred the client to the sales manager,
- The organization has invested in advertising campaign 5 million rubles
The list goes on.
The call manager's bonus should be tied to:
- The number of "warm" clients,
- On the quality of maintaining the client base,
- Other indicators.
Sales Manager Award for:
- Implementation of the sales plan
- Attraction of new clients,
- Retention of old customers
- Number of meetings
- sales funnel,
- The amount of accounts receivable,
- Other indicators.
Operator bonus for:
- Document processing speed,
- Document processing quality (number of errors),
- Other indicators.
But!!! You need to choose 2-4 indicators and focus on them (depending on the current tasks of the organization). A large number of indicators "blurs" the employee's attention. He is lost, unable to prioritize on his own. And again he finds himself in the position of "Ilya Muromets" - "no options."
Sales technology. Stage 7. Training of employees for positions
Training is necessary, first of all, for sales managers. Two main directions:
- Training aimed at knowing the product that is being sold,
- Training aimed at developing communication skills, sales skills.
Both directions of learning are obvious and do not require comment within the scope of this article.
It remains only to add that in this case we are talking about "methods", "techniques" of sales, but not about sales technology. Technology is a more comprehensive concept.
Sales technology. Stage 8. Attestation system
The appraisal system really works when its goal is not only, and not so much, to assess the level of knowledge and skills of the staff, but to identify the need for training.
The organizational structure shown in Figure 3 is just the tip of the iceberg, the result of painstaking work on the collection and redistribution of work (functionality). The main thing is not the rectangles on the diagram, but the detailed distribution of work between positions with their subsequent assignment to each position.
In this case, the company saves itself from the need to look for " universal soldiers”, which every year becomes less and less (very quickly move to the rank of leaders or open their own business). But the portrait of a specific person for each position becomes clear. Remember the job descriptions that were given in the third step.
The more clearly the employee’s functionality is written, the better the formula works: the requirements for the skills of an employee in a position minus the skills of a particular employee equals the need for training.
We avoid the situation: "There is a good, proven person (Ivan Ivanovich, Marya Petrovna ...), let's come up with a job for him that he can do well." And we come to the situation: “There is a company goal for 2-3 years. A structure has been made for it, interaction has been developed, a remuneration system ... Let's see which of the employees is most suitable for a specific position, and determine the need for this employee in training.
Only such a technological approach guarantees the development of the organization. As employees grow, so does the organization. Otherwise - "swamp".
Well, specific certification schemes are described in abundance in various sources.
Sales technology. Stage 9. Feedback from consumers
Feedback from consumers allows you to get another look at the processes taking place in the company. To see weaknesses, directions of development and improvement of the processes taking place in the company, in particular, sales technology.
Anyway, Feedback comes from consumers all the time. Through sales managers, through management, through employees of other departments. But this feedback is often "blurred"; a subjective factor can be invested in it. For example, one of the employees has a clear antipathy for the production manager and constantly focuses on production failures.
Therefore, it is important to "digitize" the information using customer questionnaires. To begin with, draw up a questionnaire indicating the divisions of the company and ask clients to evaluate the work of each division.
There is a lot of information on collecting information about customer satisfaction on the Internet, therefore, we will not expand this topic in this article.
It is important to note that first you need to highlight the most problematic place in the company, to solve this particular problem. Then the second most important. Etc.
An alternative approach is to solve problems that require the least resources, then move on to more resource intensive ones.
But it is not necessary to solve all problems at once. Company resources are always limited.
Conclusion
Implementing sales technology in full is within the power of organizations with large resources, and even then not always, because, as usual, there are more pressing (very urgent) matters or problems.
However, you need to have the ideal "Sales Technique" scheme for your organization in front of you and strive for it. But remember that everything is good in moderation.
If the sales technology you have developed is implemented by 70-80%, even 50%, this is already very good, sufficient result.
Key steps one through six. Employee training (stage seven) can be done in parallel. But you should not rely on the fact that only training employees will give a noticeable result.
Increasing sales in the company is a task, at least for the commercial director. Sales managers - performers. If the sales system as a whole does not work, no one, even the best sales manager, will help.
Technological solutions and prosperity!
Brownian motion- Random movement of microscopic visible particles of a solid substance suspended in a liquid or gas, caused by the thermal movement of particles of a liquid or gas (Wikipedia).
Spelling and punctuation in this text are preserved in the form in which they were proposed by the author.
Search
We may notify you of new articles,