If you keep a sales productivity equation, even an informal one, you have more objective questions to ask yourself. In addition, it gives you the means to perform a test of reasonableness to determine whether your planned selling efforts can achieve your targeted sales results.
Note Do not fall into an analysis-paralysis trap. The numbers do not provide answers; they only point you to what questions you should be asking yourself about how to improve performance management expectations.
Getting the Process Rolling
As a minimum, use a Q sheet or the Pulled-Through test on your next sales call or proposal that falls under the two-plus category (two or more in-person sales calls, two or more decision makers). Big deal if you only get a few measurable goals, filters, or conditional commitments. So what if you mention specific products during MP 1: Spark Interest or MP 2: Measure Potential.
The real objective is to change your customers’ systems of evaluation of value by altering yours. Make the next call or proposal measurably better than the last, and the details will work themselves out. Who knows? You might even classify market segments by the number of goals or filters you make measurable. Let the measurable benchmarks of the sales tools enable you to tap the creative strengths of all your selling resources (marketing group, sales management, other salespeople on your team, and the like).
What Happens When You Cannot Use MeasureMax?
Sometimes, in spite of your good efforts and intentions, customers do not conduct business within the framework of your sales process. They do not provide you with the specifics of their goals and filters. They are unwilling to make conditional commitments. Does this mean you walk away from potential business opportunities? No!
Yet, without this data, a significant number of goals and filters remains unknown and decreases the probability of successful outcomes. Therefore, your best course of action is to determine how much time, effort, and resources to invest with the risks involved. Obviously, the larger the business opportunity, the more time you are willing to expend—and the greater the risks of unknowns you are willing to accept.
Such risks are typical of bid sales. If customers’ goals are low price or fast delivery, concentrate on making their other filters measurable. Benefit from having fewer unknowns with which to contend. Although, you may discover after MP 1 and MP 2 that customers’ goals are still lowest price or fastest delivery, so be it. The outcome for these particular sales might not change, but your mind-set for other sales opportunities has in powerful and productive ways.
The challenge is to ensure that the majority of your sales opportunities do not depend on working outside known and measurable customers’ goals, filters, and SOEs. If need be, invest more selling time with value-driven decision makers or market segments than you do with your current customers. After all, you did not invest all this time, energy, and resources to acquire a new sales perspective, tools, and set of skills merely to do the same type of selling as before. Ask yourself, “What new markets or customers do I pursue knowing I have value-driven business tools and sales perspectives my competition do not have?”
Some Final Thoughts
Condition yourself, as discussed in Chapter 1, to initially view every sale as a negotiated opportunity. Help customers identify goals with measurable value and SOEs that connect them to your features and unique strengths. There is nothing magical; there are no tricks. You do not need to be a great detective to eliminate the unknowns that surround your potential to sell value. Just use the various tools of the MeasureMax selling system in a manner that suits your styles and personalities. The time you invest will not only provide you and customers with fair returns but also exponential ones.
In the final analysis, while knowledge may be power, applying knowledge is the key to success. Change the way you sell to change the way customers buy—measurably better, of course. Greatness awaits those who constantly measure, manage, and maximize their performance. Greatness awaits you!
Summary
Increase the quality, not only the quantity, of your sales calls; make fewer calls to get more orders, not visa versa.
Use the following five steps to set MeasureMax in motion:
Create Product Profile sheets on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Create Market Profile sheets the same way.
Use Quick-Entry Sales Management (Q) sheets.
Use Connecting Value sheets.
Use the Pulled-Through test.
Q sheets are the most important documents in the sales process. Use them instead of loose-leaf paper. They guide you through every step of the sales process by providing you with measurable feedback. Regardless of what sales methods you use, Q sheets are your report cards on how effectively they work.
A quick way to keep your results consistent is to see how many of your sales calls fall within the four MPs. MP 1: Spark Interest and MP 2: Measure Potential are the planting seeds portion; MP 3: Cement Solution is the watering crops portion; and MP 4: Implement Agreement is the harvesting crops portion.
A quote inventory limits you to a specific number of manageable MP 3: Cement Solution proposals. If you bring in a new one, remove the oldest.
Placing a maximum limit of sales calls to obtain MPCs helps you to invest your time wisely and pursue better opportunities if necessary.
The productivity equation assigns numerical values to your skills and progress over time so that you influence, not just judge, performance.
Use measurable competitive analysis to determine whether you receive higher gross margins for providing more value than competitors.
Use account management to protect and grow your existing base of positive customers. Use measurable value to make relationships stronger both professionally and personally.
Market development converts neutral or negative customers into positive ones.
Always view a sales opportunity as value driven, not price driven, to change your mind-set and increase your productivity and profitability.
Glossary
Numbers
80/20 Rule
conventional (and highly inefficient) sales wisdom that states that 80 percent of your sales comes from only 20 percent of your customers.
80/80 Law
Highly productive MeasureMax concept that states—with measurable information—you can make 80 percent of filled-out quick entry sales management sheets generate proposals that produce 80 percent of your sales.
A-C
account management
The selling strategy that focuses on creating sales from your existing positive customers.
active listening
Ability to acknowledge receipt and understanding of customers’ comments.
active questioning
Ability to ask for specifics concerning customers’ goals, measurable benefits, filters, and systems of evaluation.
advocate
The individual whose goals your products help achieve the most in an organization. This person’s opinion carries the most credence with final decision makers.
advocating
Salespeople who do not listen for customers’ comments concerning goals, benefits, filters, and systems of evaluation. Instead, they constantly think about how to force product discussions into their sales calls.
alternatives
One of the five influencer filters. Besides any products you recommend, it also encompasses the other options or competitive offerings that customers are considering to achieve their goals.
analogies
Explaining method used to simplify technical details to customers by paralleling them to everyday occurrences.
anticipating
The ability to listen for clues as to where speakers are heading concerning goals, filters, measurable benefits, and systems of evaluation. You use those clues to formulate your follow-up questions.
assuming
Guessing where speakers’ comments are heading based on personal prejudices, emotions, and experiences.
attainment measurement
This is the most important of the four prerequisite filters. It combines decision makers’ prerequisites of dates and funding with their systems of evaluation and measurable benefits to set the conditions for determining if they achieve their goals.
average order size
One of the five variables of the productivity equation. It is the dollar value of your average order. You calculate its value by dividing your dollars sold by the number of orders sold.
benchmarks
The second step of MP 3: Cement Solution. In this step, you select and connect the features of your products to the measurable benefits of the customers’ goals.
beneficiaries
The individuals in an organization who benefit the most from the goals your solutions achieve.
benefits
The value customers derive from the features of products or services achieving their goals.
bid system
Sale opportunities where customers view products as commodities. They invite competitors to bid on purchasing specifications. The lowest price or fastest deliveries in Column 1 usually wins the sale.
brinkmanship selling
Selling mode you use with new prospects to quickly qualify or disqualify them as potential sales opportunities.
budget, decision, start, and complete Dates
One of the four prerequisite filters. These deadlines determine when customers must achieve their goals and sense of urgency.
business question
Question that seeks answers about goals, filters, benefits, and systems of evaluation. Other questions serve limited business value.
Clevel
The level refers to executive suite of decision makers such as chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief information officer (CIO).
call for action