Month: May 2012

A follow-up of understanding the customer’s problems is the preparation of the sales pitch. In this, the focus needs to be on point solutions to the specific problems they are facing. Ideally, one should look for solutions created for other similar companies which could be presented as case studies. For each problem, a couple possible options could be presented.

As part of the process of preparing the pitch, it is helpful to understand the ground realities. This means, that if it is a retail customer, a visit to the shop floor can provide useful context. Similarly, for a bank, a visit to a branch can open up new perspectives which can bring an additional dimension to the solution.

In many meetings, I like to give personal examples. This helps make it more real. These stories are the ones that leave a lasting impression.

A conversation with lower level managers prior to a meeting with the senior managers can help nail down key challenges that the company is facing, and therefore the opportunities. The focus should be on identifying three key problems that could be focused on in the meeting. Understanding the most important problems means listening to the customer, rather than going into ‘sales mode’ right away.

In a recent meeting, while we were pitching our SMS and email solutions, I realized that the opportunity lay in helping the company get mobile numbers of its 90% customer base that it did not have the contact info. That was the real problem that we had to focus on solving, and through which we could potentially get them to switch. Else, there was little reason for them to change providers.

At this stage, an understanding of the competition is crucial. The more the information gleaned, the sharper can be the solution proposed.

Proper homework needs to be done about the company being met prior to the meeting. Today, most companies will have a website. Public meetings will have their quarterly and annual reports, along with analyst presentations. These can give a lot of background details about a company. Checking out recent news items can also provide additional info on the priorities. It should also be possible to get some information from friends and ex-colleagues who may be working in the target organisation.

All of this helps create the necessary background, and can also provide some tidbits which could be used at appropriate times during the actual sales meeting.

The sales meeting is at the heart of a business – it is where the revenue-generating opportunities are created. For those organisations for whom sales is still done face-to-face, person-to-person (as opposed to online), the sales meetings with potential customers are the critical conversations that can make the difference between success and failure.

As I was sitting through a sales meeting recently, a few thoughts came on how to increase the effectiveness of such meetings. Some of these ideas are quite basic, but I realised that we were not following them correctly. Adhering to this set can help reduce the time taken to get to closure – the ultimate dream of a sales person.

They can be summarised as a set of 7 Ps: Preparation, Problems, Pitch, Presentation, Props, Post Meeting, Proposal. I will cover each of these.

I wrote this a year ago:

This week’s links:

• What China can teach Facebook: from WSJ. “Though Mark Zuckerberg is well aware of the mobile challenge, he might think about following in Tencent’s footsteps, and instead of working on a more streamlined Facebook app or some grander mobile operating system, make a new mobile product from scratch.”
• The Darwinian Evolution of Startup Hubs: by Fred Wilson. “If you study Silicon Valley, what you see is something that looks like a forest where trees grow tall, produce seeds that drop and start new trees, and eventually the older trees mature and stop growing or worse, die of disease and rot, but the new trees grow up even taller and stronger.”
• Killed at socialism’s altar: India Inc: from India Today (via MSN). “Recent policy actions in telecom, coal, power, gas and taxation have badly hit businesses. The economy is taking a beating as its engine of growth, the private sector, suffers. The worst is yet to come if status quo is maintained.”
• China’s economy: A survey by The Economist. “China’s economy is not as precarious as it looks. But it still needs to change.”
• Engagement isn’t Enough: from strategy+business. A book excerpt. “A lesson in attaining the full potential of employees.”

A friend recently gave me a CD of the computer game, Farm Frenzy 2, for Abhishek to play. After a month of play, I have to say its an incredibly addictive game. Lots of products to be made, with each game having goals to be met. Abhishek and his cousins have been having a ‘field’ day playing the game. A perfect summer timepass.

From the game description: ” You have lots of mini-missions: feed chickens, collect eggs, stock up your warehouse and ship your goods off to markets. You need to produce 16 products on your own and purchase 5 products in the city. Deal with some 4 different domestic animals and make your business flourish! Earn enough money to be able to upgrade your multiple buildings (12 buildings all in all with 3 upgrades apiece!) and to buy new equipment to manufacture the goods and please your consumers. To provide better transportation of your goods to the markets at higher speeds, upgrade the plane and the truck you have at your disposal.”

We have all heard the almost continuous “Final Call” boarding announcements for flights at airports. There is never a moment of silence. The cacophony goes on and on. What is even more irritating are the highly specific calls for certain individuals to board the aircraft. The last time I was in Delhi, I heard the same name being called out in 6 successive announcements in English and Hindi. At Bangkok airport, an Indigo representative was busy scouring the airport for a few passengers who were to be on the Delhi flight and were busy browsing the Internet on the free kiosks!

I thought about a possible alternative. Why not send SMS alerts to people? AFter all, pretty much everyone travels with a working mobile. Take the number at check-in time (or at booking time), and then send alerts or do outbound voice calls to those who have not boarded. (Of course, the responsibility is with the passengers and not as much with the airlines to get on the flight. If someone is dumb enough to hang around, they deserve to miss the flight. Once it happens, they will never do it again.) At least our airports will then be quieter.

On the Indigo flights I took to and from Pattaya, the crew was the same on both legs. One of the air hostesses came up to me and said – You were the person who spent most of the time writing. What do you write?

I explained to her that I write what I think. It helps keep the mind free, and ensures I do not forget good ideas. Writing helps me think better. My spiral book is always with me. Life and business is all about ideas and doing things better. As and when they come, I put them down. Flights for me are an incredibly productive time, especially if they are day flights and I don’t need to worry about sleeping. The long stretches of time help the thoughts flow freely. And the writing happens in a flurry.

The response from the air hostess was that if she had written as much as I had done in her exam papers, she would probably have been doing something different! I countered that the joy of seeing new places around the world more than makes up for that!!

My company had organised a sales conference and meet in Pattaya. I went there for a day to meet the group. The travel was so easy, and the interaction something which probably would not have been office in regular meetings.

I took an Indigo 6:30 am flight on Fri morning, reached Bangkok at 12:30 pm, after a 4.5 hour flight. Driving to Pattaya takes about an hour and a half. The 6-8 lane highway makes the 120-kms distance a breeze. I returned the next day by the return Indigo flight which leaves Bangkok at 1:30 pm, and arrives in Mumbai at 4:50 (we landed 45 minutes ahead of schedule).

A change of setting can do wonders for the interactions, conversations and bonding. All in all, a great experience!