Topline View Blog

During my 25 years as a management consultant, few things have troubled me more than seeing an organization whose sales and marketing departments have a very poor relationship, with little to no communication or teamwork. Unfortunately, this silo mentality is an all-too-common phenomenon, and one that any CEO must take steps to correct if his or her organization is to function effectively. To examine how to fix this problem, or how to prevent it in the first place, allow me to cite a personal experience from my past.

We can argue the status of the economic recovery; We can read the statistics in the media speaking of a turnaround but no one that I am talking to feels an increasing level of optimism or security around their financial forecasts.

As the Board Member of multiple companies and CEO of a food company with nearly 100 locations nationwide, the access to capital requires an innovative approach.  As we have talked to Banks about Lines of Credit, SBA funding, and general access to financing, all conversations follow the same path.  They are enthusiastic to do business with us.  Soon however, they then recognize that these businesses may not be perfect in every way.

No NFL team has ever won a Super Bowl without a coach.  No country has ever won a war without a commander.  No person has ever reached the top of Mt. Everest without a guide.

Have you ever wondered the real reason why companies don't grow? Most people think that it is a problem with awareness or not defining a clear value proposition or any other issue that are traditionally marketing or sales focused. The reality is not one of strategies or tactics, but one of leadership. The primary culprit in moving sales forward is most often one of leadership.

A good leader will be the difference between 'trying' and 'succeeding'. A good leader is one that sees the growth process clearly and clears the way for others to make it happen.

Nothing is impossible if you can delegate. 

I find most company leaders want to see their company grow to the “Next Level”. Usually, they mean they want to sell more. Selling “more” is definitely a component of growing to the next level, but there is more to it.

Ever experience a situation where what used to work doesn’t produce the same results? Everyone has. What’s the solution? Typically it is to find a new way to do it, whatever “it” is. Say your sales have slowed. You may need to find a new way to message, or market your product or service. But you may also have grown to a point where you need to completely redesign the way you bring it to market.

A gluten free marketing strategy....

Every company needs healthy marketing strategies. Recently I've been working with a company selling gluten free pizzas into the retail grocery market space. One of the things we felt we needed to do was to change everyone's impression of a "Gluten Free" experience. Most had the impression that something Gluten Free meant that you were about to chew on cardboard or that there was an unpleasant taste about to occur. But, our pizzas taste great!

We decided to use packaging as a way to turn everyone's impression around,

Discovery Based Sales Training - Using Complex Questions to create useful dialogue. Part 2 in a 5 part series from OneAccord's ebook and Discovery Based Sales Trianing.  One of the things I often see when going on calls with B2B Sales Representatives is that they have a series of great questions.  However, having a great series of great questions sometimes can lead to conversation that feels like a game of ping-pong.  Question thrown over the net - Answer comes back.  Question thrown over the net - Answer comes back.  Repeat, repeat, repeat....  For example, now think of how this flows:

• Q1:  Can you tell me who your current supplier is?
• Q2:  How long have you used them?
• Q3:  Are they a sole source supplier to you?

Discovery Based Sales Training - Getting to the Decision Makers!

It continually amazes me when working with Sales Leaders and Sales Teams how we as Sales People are slow to adapt to today's methodology for selling.  In particular, I find it fascinating how people position to get to the decision makers.  In my ebook, I outline a strategy that focuses on the following:

First, respect the authority of the person you are talking to in this situation.  I like to communicate this with the following phrase:  "Sue, obviously you are the person driving this decision."  Saying the I understand that they are "driving" the decision is preferred to asking if you "make" the decision.  I want them to think about "is there anyone else to include in this?".  From there, I like to ask... "is there anyone else that you will take input from before making a final decision on this?"

As I met with a certain CEO for the first time, he shared his frustration that his business revenue had been stagnant around $21M for the last few years. He was especially unhappy with his Sales Manager. He asked me to assess his operation and suggest what could help grow revenue.

As part of my assessment, I met one-on-one with each of the seven department leaders. One of the questions I asked was, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate morale?” The average answer was 1.6. Ouch!!! Thanks to my years of experience I knew intuitively, “That ain’t good!” These folks were unhappy to say the least, and their complaints were mostly about the CEO.

After I identified several key areas in which to grow and sustain profitable revenue growth, I knew that in order to be successful, we would need to change the employee experience.

Whether personal or business, getting from where we are to where we want to be can be confounding. And the truth is that what brought you here is NOT what will take you THERE...where you want to be, in your business, family, health...well, you name it.

The Need for Change is a Lifetime Journey
Whether redefining the competencies of your business or your character, it is a journey. Change is to be expected, anticipated and embraced, yes even yearned. Just as your desires change, so do the means to achieve them.

To help with this dilemma, I offer the following questions for your consideration and self-reflection:

1) What is it I want? (pause - what do you really want) Whether the focus is your business or your personal life, write it down in specific terms.