52 sales roundtable
It’s often said that: ‘There isn’t a business problem that can’t be fixed by growing sales…' Yet, generating sales – the lifeblood of a thriving business – can often be misdirected or poorly performed. The Business Magazine and TV 250 sponsors HSBC, Blake Morgan, and Grant Thornton invited some experienced business personnel to gather at an Ascot Racecourse conference centre to discuss ...
The changing face of sales Participants
David Bloxham: Managing director, GCS recruitment specialists
Nick Hicks: Area director, HSBC
Ricky Lane: Senior manager – advisory team, Grant Thornton
Richard Perriman: General manager business development, Horizon International Cargo
Diana Richards: Executive education, Henley Business School
Stuart Rolfe: Corporate sales general manager, Ridgeway Garages
Jurek Sikorski: Business development lead, Henley Business School Aki Stamatis: Chairman, Fourfront Group Alex Tatham: Managing director, Westcoast
Lined up to debate: the Roundtable team John Burbedge reports the Roundtable highlights
Continual competition and evolution at the salesfront
Educationalist Jurek Sikorski, a former sales and marketing director in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry, highlighted the continuing evolution of selling, from traditional face-to-face customer contact plus use of print advertising and promotional event marketing, through to today’s online marketing channels. However, he stressed: “These channels all play a part in generating sales leads but salesmanship still needs to convert the leads, which is a very different skill from marketing. And making it easy for customers to buy on and off line and providing exceptional follow-up service is fundamental to building sales.”
Aki Stamatis mentioned the competitive nature of his sector – workplace design, fitout and furnishing – and felt sales evolution was being driven by the changing requirements of 21st century businesses. “Our industry has changed dramatically from being focused on product-delivery to giving consultancy advice on the modern workplace, which today can be the hub, corporate image or growth engine of many businesses.”
David Bloxham of GCS Recruitment Services explained that phone contact was still the predominant sales comms link in his sector, but increasingly email and social media were becoming key channels to assist in building accounts and client partnerships.
However, whilst technology advancement had added and enhanced market communication channels, the personal approach of team members remained the most important aspect within GCS’s business, where ‘the product’ sold by his operational team was “matching people to people”.
Getting the right people within GCS and for customers was vitally important. “In our Thames Valley market we are constantly in competition for the best people. If we have the best recruitment sales team in Reading, we ensure that our customers recruit and engage with the best candidates themselves.”
Alex Tatham, MD of IT distributor Westcoast said the skillsets and requirements of his sales teams had radically changed and evolved over the past 20 years. “Oddly, our sales teams are probably less IT skilled now than they were, largely because the people
Jurek Sikorski
they speak to are more knowledgeable and aware of IT.
“To me, the sales process, though competitive, is fun. I feel great when I grow sales, because the business is growing sales, and that’s my job.” Although a trained accountant and plainly interested in the figures, Tatham announced: “I much prefer to sell stuff because the key goal of my business is to grow sales.”
His passion for sales was fuelled by the vibrant and ever-advancing IT world. “There are always
Mike Wilson: Regional senior partner, Blake Morgan
David Murray: The Business Magazine managing editor and publisher, chaired the discussion
www.businessmag.co.uk
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2015
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