Our Approach - Detailed
No two sales organisations are the same and this is thoroughly understood by all of us at Improve Consultancy. We work in partnership with a wide range of organisations delivering high performance sales solutions specifically aligned to our clients needs.
Picture a great sales person...
They create profitability and true ROI over time for their clients - that's how they get people to respond to their calls and continue to buy from them. Rather than being seen as intrusive sellers by prospects and clients they are seen as a valuable resource - a trusted consultant who brings measurable value to the client's world.
Now, picture a poor sales person...
Not only do these people waste time and resources through unproductive meetings, but they do not resolve real long term needs and they leave behind problems, including poor opinions of their organisations. These salespeople struggle to get meetings, fail to grow accounts, and do not deliver against targets.
Needless to say many sales people fall in between these two camps. Without a fully transparent reporting system, rigorous sales progression methodology and development in the right skills and knowledge based against the right competencies, it is a massive challenge for any business to have sales people that deliver a consultative added value approach to their customers.
In any successful sales organisation, the skills, processes and management of the business have to deliver concerted excellent performance. We believe in five key rules in achieving this excellence; let us share them with you...
Understand why and how customers buy.
Understanding why and how customers buy are the two key objectives for any organisation. Having great sales people who can relate to customers and unravel this quandary are unquestionably valuable.
To develop a deep understanding of how customers buy we need to engage with their buying cycle. As a result of over 12 years of research into how and why customers buy we have created the Improve SOS© Buying Cycle model.
Not every organisation follows the same buying process, but we believe and have proven across numerous industries that our model is adaptable for any sales process.
Measure the key customer commitments (progressions) required to make a sale as opposed to sales personnel's opinions.
There are a multitude of sales management systems in the market; most involve managing a sale through a series of pre-defined stages. These stages may sound something like; investigation of needs, development of compelling solution, or negotiation. Each stage will require some information from the sales person to demonstrate that the stage has been completed. However, the judgement of what stage a sale is at and when it should proceed to the next stage is usually decided by the sales person, based upon their opinion of whether the stage has been completed. This can lead to what we call the 'Sales Conundrum'.
This is the Achilles heal of many sales management systems.
The Improve SOS© model consists of a series of steps of sale within the buying cycle; at each instance the model focuses on the commitments (progressions) that need to be met by the customer in order for your company to have confidence that the customer believes you will be able to add measurable value to their business. Through this unique approach the current position of any sale becomes totally transparent for control and management. There are no subjective viewpoints, just hard measurable facts.
At Improve we understand that the number and type of progressions required to make a sale and critical areas of emphasis with the Buying Cycle are not the same for every client or their customers, so the Improve SOS© model has the flexibility to match our clients requirements and their customers buying patterns.
Know how each customer is progressing and what is being achieved at each step.
Once a client has established the progressions required to sell effectively to their customers, it is essential that they benchmark their existing sales forecast and customers against this measurable and transparent model. As the model is based on the key progressions client customers have to make this is a simple exercise, which can be completed exceptionally quickly. We now know how each customer is progressing and crucially what progressions must be achieved by the sales person in order to move onto the next step of sale.
Challenge your capabilities.
We provide our clients with the correct knowledge and skills that their sales personnel require to succeed within their business area, not just a training programme approach that delivers courses whether you want them or not. No two companies are the same so we work closely with you to deliver the right solution, whether that's just a simple piece of sales coaching on one or more specific areas of the Buying Cycle or a fully developed Sales Academy.
For further information on the Improve Advanced Sales Academy please click here.
Improve also recognises that every sales process is different so we don't try and fit you to a rigid format; we flex our approach to your essential requirements. We concentrate upon competency improvement to ensure that you have the essential skills and knowledge within each progression area.
Feedback and Information
Using our unique dashboard reporting system we will put you in control of your sales forecast. Sales performance can be evaluated quickly, decisions made and acted on. We provide a control environment for true process management and negate the risk from unexpected surprises through complete transparency of each sale so you can concentrate on delivering results. Being back in control of your sales forecast will not only increase your gross income and profitability, it improves confidence and motivation within your business.
Want to know more? Contact us directly and let's examine how we can help you enhance your sales processes and develop world class sales people.
