marketing to your sales force
DESCRIPTION
Scott Sommer of Jacobs Engineering presents a case study for structured, on-going sales education. This presentation was delivered at the 3rd Annual Marketing and Sales Summit in 2008.TRANSCRIPT
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.