Sales and Service

Sometimes the best strategy is just making it easy…

A few month ago I was in the market for a new car. With memories of January’s weather still fresh I quite fancied the look of the new Soduku 4X4. It was a nice balance between sturdy practicality, comfort and economy. Pleasingly styled without being too aggressive. A road test was duly arranged and considerable thought given to engine options, colour and interior trim. I was also confident of the trade-in value of my existing car which was regularly serviced and carefully cared for.

A done deal? Well not quite. Dave (the salesman) looked at my current vehicle and sucked on his teeth. “It’s a convertible and you’ve got outstanding finance” . “True” I said, “But the finance is a lot less than the value. When it’s settled there’ll be money for a deposit. And summer’s coming – it’ll fly off the forecourt”. “Well It would be a lot easier if you came back when the agreement is settled” he countered. “Makes the whole thing cleaner and we all know where we stand”. So I left with a philosophical shrug. Easier for whom? Anyway, there was no rush and there were only two months to go. I returned to studying the options list: xenon headlights or a touch-screen sat-nav?

And then, as is so often the case, events got in the way. My car got valeted and looked very smart in the spring sunshine; even better, a rattle under the dashboard was traced to a long-lost pair of sunglasses. As the weather got better so did the idea of a convertible. And then the thought became a dilemma. I knew I’d decided to keep it when I got a slight scuff on one of the alloys repaired.

While the names have been changed to protect the innocent, this little illustration is entirely true. I was a serious customer and if things had been made just a little bit easier I’d have signed on the line. I would have stuck to the deal too, whatever the siren calls from my existing car. Maybe there would have been a few twinges, but I would have found a way to rationalise these and been very happy with my decision. That’s what buyers do. But this also shows a classic problem of sales performance. Most organisations want to help their people deal more effectively with difficult situations – intense competition, price pressure, new regulations and it’s entirely right that they do. But there are as many sales lost, if not more, by salespeople who struggle with selling’s essentials, who over-complicate the situation and walk past the close. What might happen to a Business that was able to convert every open-minded, broadly positive prospect into a customer?

Meanwhile, the salesman and his sales manager may (or may not) be wondering where I’ve gone – “Don’t worry Dave, He was probably just a tyre-kicker”.

Mike Hawthorne, Managing Director

Global Capability, Culture and Training

Many companies claim Global capability, but in practice delivery needs to take culture into account. This needs the resources of a specialist.

Like many men of my age I’ve been faced with the choice of whether to embrace middle age, or fight it. For what it’s worth, I’ve decided on the latter.

So far this has been restricted to binge exercising – intense bursts of activity followed by longer periods recovering from injury.

Recently, I returned to running, an activity I enjoyed in my teens and twenties. Actually, the term may be mildly self-deceptive, jogging is more accurate. I decided to bring some science to bear and got a pair of highly unusual and esoteric running shoes. I won’t bore you with the details save to say they’re called Vibram Five Fingers, and for me at least, they seem to work well.

They look pretty strange however. I’ve had them a while now, using them in the US, UK and this summer in Chamonix. What’s been interesting, has been the reaction from passers-by. Americans seem genuinely interested. They engage in conversation about where I got them and ask questions: do they work, where did you get them, are they comfortable? Brits are different. Here the most frequent reaction is, pointing and a certain amount of good-natured mickey taking. In France, either no-one noticed, or there was a cultural imperative to look the other way. Incidentally you can form your own view at www.vibramfivefingers.com.

This is hardly an exhaustive sample. But these three different reactions: engagement, scepticism and polite indifference, go some way to illustrate the nature of cultural differences. In the training business, it’s critical to understand cultural differences. We spend our days introducing people to new ideas and or new ways of working. Sometimes, these ideas seem challenging, difficult or even unworkable from the participants’ point of view. We need to respond to these reactions and channel them, to enable learning and ultimately, behaviour change to take place. And when we are doing this on an international basis it’s particularly important to identify these and respond to them appropriately. What works in Paris, Texas is very different from Paris, eh, France. This may seem obvious, but it’s why the best Global Training providers do much more than translate; they culturally adapt their approach to ensure the effective transfer of learning.

Needless to say, the research and resources needed to do this properly mean that genuine global providers are a very small sub-set of the overall number of training companies.

So If you are interested in global training, may I suggest you focus your attention on this particular group. It will greatly increase your chance of securing the outcomes you deserve.

Meanwhile I’m off for a pre-run stretch. Next stop: vegetable juicing.

Mike Hawthorne,  Managing Director

Can I please just have my food?

Customer expectations, as we all know, constantly evolve.  Once, customers were grateful just to receive a product or service that worked efficiently; then they wanted the interaction and supporting processes to be positive.  Now, many organisations try to engineer an “experience” for their customers.  I’ve no doubt this is valuable and the best organisations do it supremely well.

As always however, the devil is in the detail.  It’s all about execution.

Recently we went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday at a “popular casual dining establishment”.  This is a fiercely competitive arena.  In fact within our sightlines, there were 14 other companies in the same “space”.  Yes, I’m afraid I did count them.

We were shown to the bar for cocktails, which was all very pleasant.  But after more than an hour (and some more cocktails) this began to wear a bit thin.  Waiters studiously avoided our eyes and despite the considerable number of empty tables, (there is a recession after all), there seemed to be no prospect of starting the meal.

Finally we cornered the manager and begged to be seated.  We may have also asked, more than slightly tersely, what the holdup was.  The fresh-faced youth assured us that customers see pre-dinner cocktails as part of “the overall experience”.

Now, I have a reasonable idea how these things work.  And I very much doubt the Customer Experience Design Workshop concluded that most mid-week customers should be a) starving and b) off their faces, before being seated. And even if the goal is to create a “convivial” atmosphere,  I would guess that customer attitudes and possibly customer demographics have changed in these difficult times.  All of which underscores the value of the most recent evolution in customer expectation:  “provide me with an individual service that is bespoke to my needs.”

Which just illustrates that when it comes to designing customer experiences, individual or otherwise, the strategy is useful, but knowing your customer is critical.

Mike Hawthorne,  Managing Director

Clear and Presentation Danger

Several years ago I had to do a presentation at a Sales Management Conference.  The location was the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall and there were about 150 people in the audience.  The room was opulent and ornate, all chandeliers and gilt. Massive mirrors hung on every wall, an unwelcome by-product of which was that presenters could see themselves from multiple angles.

All a little intimidating. Of more concern to me however, was that I wasn’t as on top of my material as I would have liked. I was a last minute stand-in for a colleague who had had to cry off. Would I be able to bring it to life, or would the audience find it worthy but dull?

While I fretted, the speaker before me was introduced. The Sales Director of a Beer Company; he was confident and commanding.  He even had introductory music –  ”Born Slippy” as used in the movie Train Spotting.  At the bit that goes “mega, mega white thing, mega, mega white thing,..Lager, Lager, Lager”, he ran down from the back of the auditorium and bounced up on the stage.  My discomfort was complete.  Would I look like an unknown indie band following U2?

He launched into his piece, utterly fluent, not looking at the slides, illustrating his points with well-chosen examples.

Unfortunately, these were the days of the slide carousel (younger readers might like to wiki this). He hadn’t noticed he’d started to send the slides in the wrong direction.  Now the previous speaker’s slides were coming up.  There was a ripple of audience confusion and then people started exchanging nervous glances.  Some tried to mumble words of warning.  The speaker sensed something was wrong and looked at the screen.  You could feel his horror. Why was the “wrong” presentation on the screen?   From then on, things disintegrated.

He finished a broken man, with the audience embarrassed and ill at ease.  I felt some sympathy, after all we shared a common cause.

I wasn’t at my best either, but no one got hurt and there weren’t any slip-ups. It was a bit wooden, but by comparison, it was slick.  I received warm applause, I’m sure a result of the audience’s relief.

What did I learn?  Well, by all means focus on the audience, prepare content, develop visuals aids intelligently and rehearse.  But most of all remember, relax, the audience want you to do well, they’re on your side.

If only because the alternative is just too uncomfortable.

Mike Hawthorne, Managing Director

Looking for a Global Training Supplier? Five points to ponder.

Many organisations find it increasingly important to implement training and development on a European or even Global basis.   But selecting a prospective supplier,  particularly for the first time, can be something of a white-knuckle ride for the client team.   It’s not that there’s a shortage of information  -  do a simple Google search on the topic and you’ll get 150 million hits, together with the names of dozens of willing suppliers.  But at the risk of sounding just a little bit cynical (and of course I haven’t reviewed every supplier’s credentials),  it’s my guess that some of these companies may not be quite as proficient as they claim.

So how does the prospective client separate the wheat from the chaff?   Well based on what clients have told us – and in the spirit of the season and its fondness for lists  -  here are our “Top Five Characteristics of Suppliers Who Can Truly Deliver Internationally”;  together with client suggestions as to how one can test for the existence of each characteristic.   By the way,  the list assumes that the supplier has understood your needs and can come up with a credible proposal that promises the right kind of development.

As they say on Strictly Come X-Factor,  these are in no particular order. 

1.  Does the supplier have a physical presence and personnel based in each country involved in the implementation;  people who can respond to local issues and ensure appropriate sensitivity to such issues?   The biggest source of disappointment appears to be with suppliers that imply they have a presence,  which is in reality a centralised,  if mobile,  group.

Suggestion:   If timescales and diaries allow, visit different operations  –  satisfy yourself on the capability of those individuals who will be working on your project.

2.  Practice makes perfect,  so immerse yourself in their real life experience.   Experience cuts short the process of project set-up and enables potential obstacles to be anticipated.   A global roll-out is not the same as a very large roll-out in a single country,  only with different languages and cultures.   Sadly, it’s a wee bit more complicated than that.

Suggestion:  Try and investigate,  in detail,  2-3 European projects that have been successfully completed by the supplier;  try to interview the clients where possible.

3.  A successful track record and established implementation methodology is reassuring.  However processes shouldn’t be at the expense of flexibility.   Ideally a supplier should draw on a body of experience but be sensitive to your structure and your preferred way of working.  You’re paying the bill after all. 

Suggestion:   Feel assured that the project team is aligning itself to work with you.   Alarm bells should ring if you feel you are aligning yourself to work with the project team.   

4.  Selection can be a demanding process from a client perspective,  so it makes sense to select an organisation that can work with you in the long-term, so you don’t have to repeat the process more than is necessary.   Is the prospective supplier’s strategic direction consistent with your view of where the market is heading?   If it isn’t, it might be difficult to work together in the long term.   And if it is indeed consistent with your view,  do they have the necessary financial strength moving forward?    Vision is important,  but so is the ability to invest in the vision.

Suggestion:   Clarity of direction is essential;  feel free to examine the financial accounts of the organisation itself.  Consolidated or group accounts can be useful too,  but these can hide operational difficulties.

5.  Not surprisingly,  suppliers go to extraordinary lengths to put their best foot forward and present to you their “A-Team”.    If you like this team at the initial selection stage,  then that’s all well and good.   But it’s worth double and even triple checking that this will be the team who are actually responsible for your project.   It would be a pity if those dynamic trainers or insightful account team weren’t seen after the successful pitch!

Suggestion:   Demand to see ‘your’ delivery team before you make your selection.   They should be modelling the skills you want your organisation to adopt.   Would you want your people to behave like them?    And if you do, will they be the ones actually working on your account?   

So what’s the conclusion?   Selecting a global supplier is a demanding process,  but it shouldn’t be a risky one.   The challenge is to determine compatibility with the supplier, as well as being convinced about their experience , flexibility and responsiveness.   A compelling presentation and excellent demonstration by a trainer provides some insights;  but these should also be expected in terms of value.   Peace of mind in the long term comes from the creative spark,  together with those elements that are rather more corporate.

Mike Hawthorne, Managing Director

Measuring Business Impact – The Holy Grail of Training Assessment?

One of the perennial issues facing the training industry is the extent to which one is truly able to measure business impact. Often, at an intuitive level, one can be confident that a programme is delivering excellent results. But a more detailed assessment is challenging in practice, particularly where it is a necessary part of securing further resources.

Some of the basics are reasonably painless. It is relatively easy for example, to measure the extent to which skills are being adopted during the training; it is also reasonably straightforward to assess the extent to which these skills are being used back in the workplace. But is the investment producing something that is truly tangible in terms of business impact? And even if tangible results are being achieved, are these a direct consequence of the training, or are other factors responsible? Perhaps more importantly, could even better results be achieved?

These imponderables can be frustrating for everyone involved. Those who invest in training have been promised value and they want to see if it is being delivered. If it isn’t, they want to drill into the reasons why, so they can ensure action is taken to realise the anticipated value. The scenario is similarly frustrating for the trainer, or the training company, because they have promised to deliver value and they want to be able to demonstrate that they’re being successful in doing so. If they aren’t demonstrating value, they want to take action to ensure that they do, helping their client and preserving the relationship at the same time.

Many of our clients have developed their own measurement systems and we have been happy to work within such frameworks. The difficulty for the client is that these can be very labour intensive and in many cases they are creating a measurement system from scratch. This, of course, is very demanding, particularly in today’s environment when resources may be scarce.

Some training companies also offer their own measurement and assessment. But I know that some clients have concerns about these – after all the training company is under pressure to show value and there may be a temptation, even unconsciously, to look for evidence of success – and that can be at odds with being truly objective.

We at AchieveGlobal wanted to find a solution, which was truly objective; hence, our recent partnership with Knowledge Advisors. They are specialists in this complex, labyrinthine field and can develop robust and highly credible tools to lead you out of the measurement maze. Moreover, they have considerable experience and resource, so their processes, from a client point of view, are extremely straightforward.

We are hopeful that this alliance puts us a considerable step ahead in the quest for effective evaluation. Feel free to share your own experiences of measurement and let us know if you have found your own Holy Grail.

Mike Hawthorne, Managing Director

Salespeople, Sales Management and Learning from the Best

Rob Andrew was one of the England Rugby Team’s finest goal-kickers. His metronomic consistency could ensure an England victory even when the team as a whole hadn’t played particularly well. As a follower of Ireland, I always hoped he would have the occasional off-day, at least when he played against us. It never seemed to happen.

Andrew learned to break the task into achievable chunks. Instead of focusing on the tiny gap between the posts way, way in the distance, he discovered he could tell whether a kick was going to be successful, almost from the moment the ball left his foot. Then he discovered there was a sweet spot when the ball had travelled just a short distance. If the ball was in that spot, it would likely be a score. By learning to hit that spot, rather than focusing on the posts, he could concentrate on his task, shutting out the crowd and all the other attendant pressures.

There is a lesson in this for salespeople, particularly today. Most salespeople focus on revenue because that’s what their managers focus them on. Revenue is important, but it can be elusive. It’s the equivalent of the tiny gap between the posts. The problem is that the salesperson’s need for revenue frequently gets in the way of the customer’s need to make the right decision. The salesperson wants the result too quickly, so they appear pushy and self-interested, even aggressive. Their attendant pressures have got in the way.

The best salespeople , and equally important, the best sales managers, break the tasks down into chunks. And they follow a simple mantra: “Chase the revenue and the revenue gets further away, chase the service and the revenue will follow”.  They know that building relationships is the same as identifying the sweet spot ahead of the ball. If they focus on that, rather than revenue, then they’ll be successful with their ultimate goal.

That’s why top salespeople move at the customer’s speed. They exhibit natural curiosity and they find useful, meaningful reasons to be in contact. They also know many more people in an account. They seek out referrals, get in touch with other divisions, enquire about and get introduced to other stakeholders. The customer sees a salesperson who is prepared to invest and add value, and the salesperson is far better informed, can recommend a more appropriate solution and is less vulnerable to people leaving. For that reason a salesperson who focuses on building and refreshing their contact base, will always be more successful, than a salesperson who focuses on revenue alone.

Of course the key words in all this are “they find useful, meaningful reasons to be in contact”. They aren’t there to eat the customers biscuits, or talk about last night’s game. But that’s a topic for another day.

As many Sales Managers will know, it can be difficult, if not impossible to reform the inveterate revenue-chaser. But if it was easy, we wouldn’t need sales managers, or for that matter, training!

Mike Hawthorne,  Managing Director