Marketing Manager + Sales Manager = Increased Profits - By Bob Etherington Sales Trainer

As a marketing manager, you may wonder, why the stationery cupboards are full of unused brochures, there is something you need to know. The potential customers out there are not interested in much of what they contain. For that reason sales teams do not want to use them.

Here are two key reasons why:

1. Marketing Material Doesn’t Sell

The only reason anybody wants to buy your product is to solve a problem. Unless your brochure and website talks about the problem and how your product provides a solution to the problem it is practically useless as a sales aid.

What your product or service ‘is’ (described in terms of its raw facts and features) is of little or no interest to anyone outside your company. Never assume your customers will make the link between your product’s features and their problems, they never do.

We all know that the MD, Technical Director and other senior managers all admire the look and feel of all the glossy stuff – their own mugshots included – plus all the self preening about your company, but your customers could not care less. So stop looking inwards and start selling outwards

2. People Like To Be Personally Addressed

Stop writing copy about somebody else and start addressing the reader directly. If the sentences and paragraphs in your marketing material contain phrases such as “customers will discover” or “many people find that”, or “we are delighted to announce” you will never engage the reader.

People (your potential customers) are not interested in ‘those people over there’ that you appear to be referring to and they are certainly not interested in your corporate ‘delight’ in your new announcements.

Simply put, the words, ‘I’ ‘we’ ‘our’ ‘they’ ‘their’ are the least persuasive words in the world. Put them in your copy and hear the sound of glossy brochures hitting trash can.
 

The most persuasive intriguing and engaging words in the world are ‘you’ and ‘your’.

Rewrite the brochures and marketing materials in the two steps above and I promise you your sales force will start to love you for the very first time.

Bob Etherington
http://www.bobetheringtongroup.com

Bob Etherington -Things that don’t get measured, Don’t get done!

Things that don’t get measured, don’t get done! By Bob Etherington

ALL the sales books and gurus tell you that, to succeed, you must constantly measure how your money and time are being spent. But what should you measure and why? Here are some useful metrics which show what’s making (or breaking) you right now:

Your Money!


Percentage of Budget / Quota / Goal Reached
Use this to determine if your sellers are behind or ahead of financial plan. Identify where focus should be applied to achieve your targeted objectives.

Sales to New vs. Existing Customers
As it is 90% easier to sell more to an existing happy customer, this vital measure shows where salespeople are spending their time, whether existing accounts are being developed, or how much time is spent prospecting for new customers.

Salesperson Rankings in Company
Rankings help you and your sales force see who is top according to what is being tracked. Rankings should be published and will stimulate friendly team competition.

Sales by Market Sector
Shows you which sectors are generating the majority of sales or if your sellers need more training in a particular segment.

Sales by Product
Shows the performance of each product and identifies opportunities for improvement / exploration. Further filtering will help pinpoint where demand exists, where effort is being applied, or highlight the effectiveness of an area or a salesperson.

Sales by Map
Shows sales distribution by geography. Analysis may indicate there is room for additional salespeople or suggest opportunities for territory redesign.

Forecast vs. Actual
Most useful for more drawn-out complex sales. If the seller’s forecasts are generally accurate, the he/she clearly knows what is going on in the market and has knowledge of buying-cycle decisions affecting his accounts.

Expenses - Actual vs. Budget
Broken down to individual level, these metrics help control costs when necessary and illustrate how well the each seller manages their budget.

Average Revenue per Client
An ever changing overview of sales effectiveness. Generally, you will find that growth occurs when there is an increase in average revenue per client and an increase in the number of new customers retained.

Your Time!
Number of New Accounts
Shows if salespeople are prospecting for new business.

Number of Calls by Sector/Account size
Shows if they are calling on prospects in targeted market sectors and size of accounts.


Number of Proposals Submitted vs Closing Ratio
This ratio shows what progress is being made in developing business and how effectively sales techniques are being applied.

Number of Wins against Competitors
Shows how effective they are in differentiating their solutions to their customers.

Your Customers!
Customer Retention Ratio
A key indicator of customer satisfaction. Generally if you can cut your current rate of customer attrition by just 10% you will see profitability increase between 25% and 90%

Buying Points Within a Complex Account
Shows you the number of buying points which the salesperson is seeing within each account, and the depth of account penetration that is being achieved.