TAG: CHANGING THE GAME?

Posted:
8/2003

CHANGING THE GAME?
NEW RULES FOR TELECOM SALES

By Tim L. Jarnagin

Few
would argue that selling in the telecom industry has changed forever, but just
how it has changed and how to cope with it still are topics of debate. One camp
insists the age-old disciplines of "cold-calling and strip-malling,"
and the law of large numbers always have worked in the past and will continue to
pay dividends. Others are convinced an entire new set of sales competencies and
disciplines are required.

At my sales training company, we
believe a common set of core sales competencies transcends industries.
Listening, questioning, overcoming objections, closing and communications are
fundamental prerequisites. However, they are no longer enough to ensure
sustainable success in today’s radically changing sales environment —
especially among small to midsize business markets. So, what will it take to be
successful in the future? What will the new high-performer "look
like?" Here are a few critical success factors for winning today — and for
ushering-in a new generation of sales professionals in the telecom industry.

Discipline. Changing the game
in your favor will require unprecedented discipline in the sales ranks. Gone is
the heyday of the "gunslinger" or "rock star" salesperson
who was exceptionally gifted at the persuasive art of dealmaking. For a variety
of reasons, not the least of which are tough times, lack of trust, uncertainties
and protracted sales-cycles, the new professional must approach sales more
scientifically.

One client recently told us over the
last decade each rep in its sales organization had been able to basically do
his/her own thing but that just doesn’t work any more. That company, like so
many out there, is finding today’s telecom and IT sales effort demands a more
formal and disciplined approach. Sales cycles are 50 percent to 60 percent
longer, leaving each deal open and vulnerable for extended periods of time. This
means more can go wrong — and it certainly will if a sales project is left to
its own devices. On the other hand, more can go right if the rep is in control
of the sales process and is managing it deliberately and delicately along the
way.

The bottom line is, a new breed of
sales professionals is emerging that demonstrate unprecedented focus and
discipline to diligently work the sales process, to improve close ratios, reduce
risks and ultimately maximize their, sales production.

Business and industry knowledge.
Knowing your customer’s business and their industry no longer is an option, if
you are to achieve sales excellence in this industry. "But I don’t have
time for that," you might say. You cannot afford not to. Today’s
game is about differentiating yourself. It seems a safe assumption that everyone
selling in your space today has similar technical and fundamental sales skills.
These are merely the ante to get you in the game. In fact, if you don’t have
them, there are probably a few thousand unemployed reps out there who do have
them, so consider these items at parity. Therefore, you must seek new dimensions
for differentiation — dimensions that are relevant and critical to your
customers and even to your customers’ customers. The more you can demonstrate to
them that you understand their industry, their key business drivers and how your
solutions relate to those issues and solve their business problems, the greater
and more valuable your competitive edge.

Funnel management. For
today’s sales executives, the sales funnel is the quintessential tool for
efficient and effective allocation of resources. Whether you are achieving your
business plan or not, you must understand why that is. Only if you have solid
sales funnel standards and discipline in place can you easily isolate critical
success or saboteur factors. This allows you to create sales activities and
situations to achieve peak performance. A word of caution here is to avoid the
temptation to treat the funnel as an end unto itself. Many organizations become
so immersed in the myriad of performance metrics that the funnel literally
becomes a quagmire, and drags sales momentum to a crawl.

Our research has shown that there
are three primary and interrelated reasons for funnel failures:

• A failure to see the funnel
  within the proper context of the sales process: Sales funnels are frequently
  perceived as an administrative burden that is more likely disconnected from,
  rather than integral to, the sales process. Often, this is more attributable
  to weak internal communications and expectations than to the realities of
  the funnel process.

• Many funnel systems are just too
  complicated: While funnels are relatively simple and straightforward, they
  can easily become a repository for volumes of irrelevant information.
  Complex interface, update, maintenance and management scenarios — many of
  which have little to do with closing deals, can neuter even the best of
  funnel systems and intentions.

• Lack of consistency in standards
  and interpretations of funnel terms tend to complicate, frustrate and
  challenge sales organizations to the point of neglect and ultimate
  abandonment of the sales funnel altogether. Thus, it never becomes the
  invaluable sales tool for them that it can certainly be.

Prospecting. There were times
not so long ago that all a sales rep had to do was "show up and throw
up." Opportunities abounded in the small and midsize markets; plenty of
business was "in play." Life was good. Now, IT organizations are being
challenged, or even sometimes criticized, about their purchases in those days
gone by. In many cases, no additional purchases are being authorized for the
near future. It is going to take a lot more than a few lead lists to pull you
through this environment. Let’s face it; they don’t want to talk to you. (Even
if you didn’t sell them the goods, you are guilty by association.) Moreover,
they don’t have time to talk to you. And, they often don’t care about how much
you think you can save them.

To win, you have got to change the
game from the outset, and that begins with a re-evaluation of your prospecting
strategies. You are going to need solid referrals, good networking and increased
add-on business from existing accounts to return the sales results you need.

Value propositions. An early
physicist once claimed that if he had a lever long enough he could move the
world. Your value proposition is just such a lever for sales results. You have
no choice but to move your prospects from complacency toward the realization
they cannot afford to sit idly by and watch their competitors leave them in the
dust. Your value proposition must be linked to both the business and personal
priorities of your potential clients. One size doesn’t fit all. The more you
understand about a prospect’s customers and how you might help them gain a
competitive advantage in their marketplace, the more power you have. Start by
inventorying your key assets: portfolio of services, solutions and brands;
business partners; reputation; support services; financial stability; experience
and customers. Then ask what each of these assets can do for your prospects and
clients? How can they help differentiate you — and ultimately your target
accounts? Then, once you understand their business, and hopefully their
customers, you can begin to formulate a custom value proposition by mapping your
key assets, or value points, to your prospect’s most pressing issues, thus
differentiating you from all the other options competing for the same business.

Tim Jarnagin is president and
senior partner of Intervention Management Technologies Inc., a firm specializing
in multichannel training and consulting services for the telecom and IT
industry. To learn more about this topic, attend the TAG Certification Training
Session conducted by IMT on Sept. 10, in concert with the Channel Partners
Conference & Expo, Sept. 8-10 in South Beach, Fla. IMT also is offering
continuing education classes prior to the event. For more details, visit www.phoneplusmag.com/chan
nelpartners/miami2003/