Few companies changing the way they reach customers - bizjournals:

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Customers have more choicez today and are under intense pressure todeliveer results. Yet few companies changse the way they sell in the face ofthis reality. When they a lingering malaise sets in as salese continually underdelivers and senior leaders fail to getthe top-line growthh they need. 1. Your sales force interacts mostly withyour customer’s purchasiny department. I know that’s the way it’se always been, but that departmenr is merely the order executor for the decision makers inthe customer’xs shop.
Those decision makers are in functions such as saleeand marketing, product design, engineering and If sales is not interacting with thesd groups, you’re isolated from your customer’s most importanyt people. 2. The entire discussion about a possible sale revolvesxaround price. The salesperson does a greatt job of articulating what the product or service can do and extollinvg the virtues ofthe company’sd reputation and brand, but the basis of the discussionj is price. Even the price that results from thossnegotiations doesn’t often stick.
The customerd continues to press for volume freight charges, advertising support, toolingg costs and technical support — which come out of your reducing the real price. 3. Sales training consists mostly ofhighlu focused, exercise-based training that showd salespeople how to not take no for an answer, how to not fold undef pressure and how to bring home the bacon withou compromising on price. I admiy this kind of training, which often involves role-playinb and inspiring videos of the best can buck up asales staff’s spirits. But because it isn’r addressing the real problems between the supplieer andthe customer, it doesn’t produce much in the way of improved results.
4. Salespeople are not included in the design ofthe company’s offering. Presumably the salesperson is the singlee person in your company who knows most about what customeras wantor need. Granted, the salesperson may not see the big picture and may not be aware of other motives you have for designinf the product the wayyou do, but by excludinh the sales force from the design you rob yourself of their insightw into the customer and you rob them of the insightsz they need to present your product competently to the 5. Little thought and even less interaction is given toyour customers’ customers. Your customer is desperate to make hiscustomee happy.
What steps have you takenn to find out how your product fits into the overalll package your customer offerzs to his customers or tohis customers’ customers? Sales is a kind of chain reaction. Only if the ultimats user of a product is happgy will those who had a hand in it stand to profir in thelong run. 6. Your salespeople are internally You may not think your compan suffers from this very common but sit down with a salespersohn and ask how much ofeach day’s job is spentf doing administrative tasks and paperwork. Every minutd is a minute that can’t be spent with a customer. 7. Salews management is convinced it’s doin g a good job.
Your sales managemenyt team is doing everything you want and have askec themto do. They don’t understane any better than you do whatis wrong. But the wholde DNA of the salesz force is focused onchasingb orders, booking the being accessible to the customers and doinyg the necessary follow-through on their post-sale requests. Neither the saless force nor sales management usually has the businessw acumen and skills to intelligently analyze how the customermakes money, what the customer’x financial and other priorities are, and how they relatw to the seller’s organization and offerings.
Fixing the brokehn sales process requires knowing preciselh what the customer values why he will prefer you over rivals and why he will continue to rely on you and sustain a trusting relationshi pwith you.