24 | TRAINING WORDS | Paul Owen Everyone sells
Well, they should. Too many companies leave the ‘selling’ of their business to the sales team. This sounds like it makes sense, but unless your whole team has a proactive ‘sales’ attitude, you’re at risk of losing out on business...
I
s there a more valuable ability in the race to be a successful business than the ability to sell? I think not. Selling solves everything. Financial problems. Logistical problems. Headaches. Ok, not everything but most. Providing, of course, that you’re selling properly, responsibly, offering a product or service that works and offers the value your customers seek. If you keep selling well, other problems are much easier to solve. I want you to to consider turning everyone in your organisation into a salesperson, at least to some extent. There is a danger that only your sales teams read these articles or attend your sales training. Yet your accounts teams, legal teams, marketing, receptionists and all other roles (yes, I know many of you do all of that and make the morning coffee!) also interact with your clients on a day to day basis and the way they deal with your clients and partners affects your ability as a company to sell. Regular readers will recall that I
believe there are four essential steps to successful sales conversations
and, to date, I have written about the fi rst two: 1. Earn the right to speak to someone; and 2. Ask questions to understand them, their company and the needs they have. Step 3 is to sell them something about which I will write next time. This month, I want to remind you all of the importance of encouraging every person in your company to tune into sales. Peter Esders, the international property lawyer said to me at the
“The rest of your team also interact with your clients on a daily basis, affecting sales”
recent AIPP/NAEA merger event, “As a lawyer, I have no legal work to do, no means of using the skills in which I was trained for years through university and law school, unless I am fi rst able to sell my services to potential clients. It’s only once they become clients that I start my work as a lawyer. Up to that point, I’m a
Paul Owen was fi rst chief executive of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP), building the membership to 400+, creating its annual consumer guide and setting up the AIPP Awards. He now runs The Clear Path Company, specialists in sales recruitment and sales training, which this year launched ‘Let’s get Britain selling!’, a nationwide programme of free sales training for 16-24 year olds in the UK. Call: +44 (0)20 3004 9113
salesman. If I fail in that job, I can never succeed in being a lawyer.” Peter recognises something many
don’t: if your company doesn’t sell stuff, nobody has a job. Employees that provide a poor service – rudely chasing up invoices only slightly overdue, for example – too often see no correlation behind the terrible customer experience they deliver and the customer failing to return for more business. “That’s the sales team’s job!” they say before grumpily heading off for lunch! Wow, some job. Calling a client that has paid good money to your company only to hear them lament the lack of love they felt from people whose wages are paid by such clients. (I know you’re not all like this! But too many still are).
Jan Caarlson was the CEO of SAS
Airlines 20-odd years ago now. He revolutionised the way they worked and turned around the fortunes of the company based, largely, on this simple idea that every member of the company needs to sell the company well by providing an outstanding experience to clients every step of the way. His book – Moments of Truth, which I highly recommend – explained the philosophy that every time a customer came into contact with SAS (seeing a brochure, calling their offi ces, checking in at an airport, boarding a plane etc), this was a moment of truth. Using the unlikely comparison of the bull and matador facing each other in the bullring, he suggests that if he teams get this moment of truth wrong they lose the client for life. Get it right and SAS kept them.
Keep them happy | Making sure the whole team provides excellent customer service will encourage customers to return
The interactions with the non- sales teams in your company directly affect your ability to sell successfully. They don’t need to sell the benefi ts of development a, b or c or overcome price objections on multiple unit purchases. But they do need to sell the experience a client or partner has with your business. That takes the same skills as salespeople use every day: patience, empathy, dynamism, compassion, persuasion and warmth. It will pay you back many times over if you can develop this across the whole team. And your clients will love you for it. Please make everyone a salesperson. Right, next month for the sales professionals out there: how to sell well, how to excite your audience whilst keeping your credibility and integrity. Including a lesson or two from a man whose political skills I will leave others to judge but whose sales skills are amongst the world’s best: Barack Obama.
BUSINESS
www.opp-connect.com | FEBRUARY 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68