Comments on: Are You Improving Your Selling System? (Or Repeating the Same Old Grind?)

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:42:39 +0000

Sean,

There is what you do as a salesperson to get sales results, and then there is the environment your sales team “lives in.”

These are two different things. As one of the production workers “IN the system,” there is only a limited effect you can have “ON” the system.

One of the most powerful things you can do is to make sure you scrupulously identify and articulate the concrete observable characteristics of your prospects as they progress through the sales cycle. This is the right way to do what the sales culture calls “qualification criteria,” and the quality culture calls “attributes.” You can begin correlating these attributes to the win/loss/no decision outcomes.

It takes a while to get enough data to be meaningful (which is why you ideally need a team of people doing it). However, when you do, you’ll learn some important things, and you’ll have made great progress helping your team be more evidence based and scientific.

You might just demonstrate some credibility building traits your boss and others in your company will appreciate as well.

Hope that helps.

Michael

By: Sean M Foley

Sean M Foley — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:40:48 +0000

Great insight Michael. I am in sales and as I was driving to see my next cient I was wondering how Six Sigma would be applied in a sales process. I am currently in a Six Sigma BB certification program and am always trying to plug in the “formulas” to what I do. You are correct in that there are several aspects that are not quantifiable in sales. I compare these to suppliers in a manufacturing enviornment. (eventhough a company is neck deep in a Six Sigma deployment doesn’t mean their suppliers are as well.) However, the measurable aspects within sales, I feel, are what really need to be addressed. There is no “magic wand” that any salesperson can wave to make the customer buy. Though the processes that get a sales force to the customer and the content of the “pitch” can be streamlined. Addressing the “Method” whereby the team goes to market may be the best way to apply Six Sigma within a sales team. For the last few months I have been thinking how to fit Six Sigma in what “I” do a sales rep (probably my first mistake being that it is not prompted from any upper management. My first inclination is to try and measure “who” my customers are and what % of them I have as customers. Of those “customers” what are they % of product mix do they have from our offerings and so on. As a small distributorship, and having been the best performing rep (up 19%) for Q1, I have 2 questions…1)How do I approach “the Boss” with my newfound performance and convince him that this is the way we “all” should do business? 2)Once I become certified as a Six Sigma BB, how do I find career opportunities within other sales organizations who seemingly haven’t embraced Six Sigma. Or at least I haven’t found any yet.? Thanks For your input on this topic.

Respectfully,

Sean M Foley

By: Becky Smith

Becky Smith — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:54:39 +0000

Anyone who follows direct response marketing guru Dan Kennedy will agree totally with this idea. His missive “Work ON your business, not IN your business.”

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:15:42 +0000

Thanks, Srinivas. Efficiency and effectiveness have specific mathematical meanings. I’ll have to look that up to see how those might apply to working in vs working on the system. Hmm…

Michael

By: Srinivas Darbha

Srinivas Darbha — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:08:50 +0000

It’s a great insight into WorkIn & WorkON (explained so wonderfully). For me WorkIn is like Efficiency and WorkOn is Like Effectiveness (Result focused),in a way,may not be exactly.

Thanks and regards,

Srinivas