marketing to your sales force

Marketing to Your Sales Force: A Case for Structured On-Going Sales Education

Scott W. Sommer, PE, CAPAutomation Technology ManagerJacobs Engineering Group

Nuggets for This Segment

Knowledge = Power Marketing Within: The True Challenge Know Your Sales Force and How They

Spend Their Day Tools for Equipping Your Sales Force

Knowledge = Power Quick Test #1:

Turn to page 1 of handouts… Place your company’s name at the top on the

left half of the page Place your biggest competitor’s company name

at the top on the right Pick one product for which both companies have

a healthy competition List the biggest claims made to customers about

each of the product line you chose

Results & Discussion

In which column did you make your first entry?

Which column has more entries?

Which column listed more “features”?

Which column listed more “benefits”?

More Knowledge = More Power

Quick Test #2: Turn to page 2 of handouts… On the left side, list 5 things you learned

about your #1 product or product line in the past month.

On the right side, identify the source of the items on the left (person, catalog, online, etc.)

Results & Discussion

Of the five items, how many did you learn from live persons?

Of the five items, how many did you specifically ask for by request?

Of the five items, how many do you feel you should have known prior to a month ago?

Absolute Knowledge = Absolute Power

Quick Test #3: Turn to page 3 of handouts… What is the #1 source of information on your

product line that you tap into regularly? What is the #2 source of information on your

product line that you tap into regularly? List any other source of information on your

product line that you use regularly. What is the one source of “information” you

could really do without?

Results & Discussion

Was the first item on your list a person or a thing?

Was the last item on your list a person or a thing?

Did you list more than 7 sources of information?

Harnessing the Power

We have just taken a high-level look at your organization’s flow of product information within the organization.

What did you learn about your organization or the flow of information at your company?

Marketing Within: The True Challenge

Automation and Controls product suppliers have spent millions each year marketing their products to end users, with the expectation that these marketing dollars will translate into sales revenue.

The fact is, the efficiency at which marketing dollars are translated into sales dollars may depend more on the effort spent marketing the company’s products to its own sales force, than it does marketing to its direct customers.

Marketing & Sales in Automation

PRODUCTS

MARKETING

CUSTOMER

DEMAND

+

+

+

= $ALE!

MARKETING

SALESEducation

Meeting the ChallengeIn order for sales people to meet customer demands and provide true value, they need to be able to creatively place your products and services directly in line with the customers needs and wants as they convey them (i.e., selling an umbrella in a rainstorm).

Delaying, even for a few minutes, may mean the difference between a sale and a “fish story”.

The true challenge is to be able to arm your sales force with the proper knowledge, tools, support, resources, and time to understand the product and its capabilities, limitations, and strengths, while allowing the sales person to freely operate within their normal sales style.

Blend the Elements of Traditional Sales Education…

Formal Training Sessions Product or Upgrade “Startups” Sales Force Assessments Tools and Resources Support Structures Love-Ins and Hug-Fests Symposia and Conferences

With the Personal Habits of the Sales Force…

How do they spend their day? What are their main “devices of

connection”? What is their attention span? Are they moving or stationary? Do they have primary or secondary

client contact? What is their sales style?

A Typical Day’s Routine

Susan “the Closer”: Morning coffee with a peer Briefing with manager Tour of the factory and order status Confirm appointments Scan Trade Journals and Blogs Prioritize new contacts Set goals for tomorrow, 1 week, 1 month, 1

year

To Achieve a Personalized Sales Education Strategy!

1) Blackberry with instant access to catalog and technical data (technical PDR)

2) Yearly formal training in presentation skills, negotiating, or selling

3) Create blog for clients and potential customers. Highlight success stories.

4) Participate in morning “Product Jeopardy”5) Lead a working group for a trade

organization6) One day every other week devoted to

product education.

This Should Be a Strategy…

…not a haphazard set of activities to take up time!

Formalize It!Customize It!Support It with $$ and Time!Evaluate It!Revise It!

Tools For Equipping Your Sales Force Product Briefs vs. Product Literature Showcases and Case Studies Product Sales Strategy Win/Loss Analysis Benefits Identification Sales Intranets Wikis and Blogs Podcasts and Flashes Meet the Sales Engineer!

Summing It All Up

Regardless of what product or service you have to sell, every organization needs a structured, coordinated, well-planned program for arming its sales people with the best, most current, most complete knowledge about their products and services.