Harsh & Challenging Conditions
Published Articles
Published in: IPA Bulletin, January/February 2004
Provide Abundance of Opportunities
As an example, we know quite well a graphic arts organization whose "projects handled" only increased 4 percent last year, but whose revenues increased 28 percent. Their operations include not only managing a long list of mailing services, but also storage and fulfillment, and personalization of images --- grounded in extensive data management. (Note: most of their current services didn't exist in their organization three years ago.) To summarize their philosophy: "Whoever controls the data, controls the business."
Organizationally, they focus on listening closely to everything customers say, purposefully sharing information, continuously doing their homework, and relentless follow-up. Here are a few exercises and questions that can yield positive, even dramatic results when integrated with organizational awareness --- and relentless follow-up.
1. At least every six months, for 30 days, have everyone who talks to a customer or prospect document "why the person on the other end called." Collection and summary of the results can yield insights into how to improve your company's value, while revealing opportunities to become "easier to deal with." Examples can include status of work-in-process, company capabilities, schedule for deliveries, status of late quotes, clarification or status of invoices, and even schedule of proofs for review.
Progress I'm in favor of, it's change I'm against.
Mark Twain
2. Have everyone document and forward to a central position all customer requests or inquiries to which we did not respond to positively. A review, at least monthly, and profiled in spreadsheet form over time, should reveal many customers' changing needs. In particular, contributions should come forward from not only sales reps and CSRs, but also delivery and receptionist personnel, estimators, and prepress and accounting personnel.
3. Knowing which customers and target prospects are important to you is important, but knowing which customers you are important to, and why, is more important for creating improved company performance and business development direction. Most organizations pursue additional business without discretion of who they can be important to --- and who they should avoid. Such understandings should be shared and constantly updated with the "business development team" and can lead over time to improvements in customer retention, gross margins, and even predictability of business.
4. Constantly, even obsessively, pursue researching and understanding the performance goals and priorities for your target customers and prospects. Such updated information allows you to become proactive in providing value to your customer's performance. Without this information, you are reduced to either a "reactive supplier," or asking your buyer to "tell me your problems and concerns." Most buyers don't have time to "educate their suppliers," and use such supplier missives as part of the criteria to eliminate who isn't worth their time.
5. Every three-to-six months examine your self-promotion mailing list and ask, "Is the 'enlarged buying center' of all target customers and prospects on this list? "Too often, no more than one or two target account personnel are on this all important list. Yet, decisions to change suppliers, consolidate suppliers, or award major projects --- almost always include key personnel beyond the buyer. Placing these all-important names on your list can also shorten the sales cycle time experienced.
Business conditions continue to elevate organizations willing to recognize that no change occurs without creating new opportunities. For the organization willing to "lookup" and proactively engage change, rewards can be significant. Organizationally, they focus on listening closely to everything customers say, purposefully sharing information, continuously doing their homework, and relentless follow-up.
6. What useful information do you, provide target customers and prospects? As buyers continue to consolidate suppliers, decisions are made based on "value received." It should not come as a surprise that many buyers' evaluation systems specifically ask, "What useful information does this organization provide that improves our ability to perform and meet our objectives?"
Suggestion: review your DTP education capabilities for training buyer personnel, as well as your secondary research sources. Providing your target buyer organizations with a clipping service of information about their competitors and target customer markets --- every 30-90 days --- not only draws you closer as a supplier, but keeps you informed of your target account's business environment.
7. What resources and capabilities do your suppliers have that you're not utilizing for your customers, and increasing your company's value? We regularly recommend at least a yearly luncheon or dinner that focuses on:
- What we accomplished last year,
- How we see our markets,
- What we want to accomplish this coming year, and
- What we expect from you, our customer, to increase your value to us, without lowering our value to you.
Providing useful information is emphasized. Examples include market information, education and training, and new capabilities. Also, customer referrals are expected. We have one client who tracks this last item, and regularly experiences between 25 percent to 40 percent of his company's new accounts as referrals from suppliers.
8. What educational resources do you systematically provide your customers, and employees/or improving company performance? Some of the greatest coaches in sports have been clear that, generally speaking, they look for personnel willing to improve their performance, somehow, everyday. Educational sessions every two weeks generate 26 programs a year. Personally speaking, improving personnel's professional skills, knowledge about technology they're expected to manage, and organizational understanding can create a competitive edge that is not only noticeable to your customers, but most difficult to catch-up to over time by your competitors.
9. How do our business development people use their time? I believe we're in the midst of a radical (and fast-moving) transition in how business development personnel use their time, how they relate to the rest of the organization, their education and training, and how they are managed. In effect, if an organization continuously invests in technologies, equipment, and personnel, then it (rationally) follows that business development personnel must predictably and systematically be engaged in activities to support those investments. The days of the independent contractor or lone-wolf sales rep as the prime generator of needed business, I believe, are mostly history. There's too much at stake for an organization's future to be left to such uncertainty.
10. What does our business development plan look like? Is it written? Does it focus in particular on the next 30-60-90 days? And who knows what it contains? Human nature tends to avoid pain and discomfort. Realistically, if your business development plan is not written, then no one knows when we fail or fall short of expectations. Additionally, what we want to accomplish next year, or the year after, is important, but what occurs in the next 90 days is even more important. Do your homework regarding target customers' changing needs, your organization's position to those needs, and then create a written plan that focuses, cohesively on two, no more than three central performance issues, such as increasing company value to current customers, and periodic business reviews for your top twenty customers. Be clear on who is to do what, by when, and then create relentless follow-up, and accountability. As an example, where do you have target customers or prospects that are not being developed, and should be reassigned?
11. What does your business development team look like. and who's on it? Are duties and responsibilities clear? At its best. shouldn't everyone be on your business development team? For instance, does your CFO know his/her counterparts on a first-name basis at your target customers and prospects? Does your president meet with target customers' senior management at least once a year? Does everyone in your company understand that he or she can affect not only development of new business, but also and, more important, retention of current customers.
12. How much contact occurs between your senior management and target customers and prospects? This issue is fundamental to developing effective organization-to-organization relationships that are critical to strategic issues when needed. And, like many strategic issues, if we wait until we need those relationships, then we're too late. With some frequency I hear buying organizations say, "Our management decided to go with the folks we felt most comfortable with, and where we felt we had senior management's commitment."
13. Do target customers and prospects know our capabilities? This one communication issue leads to both immediate and significant business. It requires constant organizational nurturing. And most surveys we've conducted over the last 15 years give testimony to the fact that no matter how often you believe you mentioned a capability, buyers and their organizations have little reason to remember what wasn't relevant when they heard what you said.
Recommendation: relentlessly review your capabilities, especially those that are new or unique. Keep the messages moving through multiple media regarding what's new, and why it's important to use such services and capabilities to improve the customer's performance.
Several organizations we know have a schedule for forwarding not just unusual samples, but samples with detailed descriptions of what's unusual about them, and how they are useful to their customers. Such information is not only an educational tool. but a powerful self-promotion program.
Remember: Customers don't buy graphic arts products and services because they get hot flashes or orgasms. They buy those products and services that allow them to accomplish their objectives and goals --- and their priorities. It's the customer's goals, objectives, and priorities that can give our companies value --- and a reason to exist.
In closing, the quote by Eric Hoffer speaks volumes: In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future.