MBW - Breakthrough to Excellence ConferenceTuesday 6th June 2017.

Sales, Key Account Management & BD Training & Consultancy

Cameron Carnegie are a a specialist Sales, Key Account Management and Business Development consultancy. We deliver training and consultancy services to help our clients firms grow by developing both their people and their business.

Mervyn Stanley - Managing Director.

Strategy

“Businesses can never stagnate; they must remain dynamic and able to change to meet the demands of a growing market. They must have a strategic vision”.

Question….

Which businesswoman was recently announced by Forbes magazine as nearing a $1bn t/o, sustained by 40 years of

GrowthReinventionDiversificationCollaborationInvestment

????????????

Madonna

How?

By personal admission - not the greatest singer/dancer/songwriter… So how has she achieved this?

Vision and desire

She had a strategic vision and a desire to become one of the worlds pop superstars

Realised that despite her talent she needed help. In 1984 persuaded Freddy DeMann to leave MJ and work exclusively for her!

Has constantly reinvented herself – Has shown an ability to adapt to change demanded by time.

Pushed BoundariesCollaboratedDiversified Invested

Pushed boundaries – Collaborated – Diversified and Invested

Has pushed boundaries – Justify your love – Banned by MTV, so she sold the video via retail distribution for Millions!

Has collaborated

Has diversified and Invested well. 2010 $1.5m Invested in Vita Coco. Company now t/o $420m.

3 strategic Lessons from Madonna!

Constant Reinvention - Staying relevant is extremely important for businesses of any size. Markets are always changing and a business that allows itself to lose its relevancy has been left behind.

Pushing the Boundaries – Knowing how and when to push boundaries is an important skill for any business. Challenging accepted notions and the status quo leads to innovation. Don’t be afraid to disrupt!

Leverage Platforms and distribution – Madonna was a very early adopter of Video and used it to great success. As business owners you need to be considering emerging markets, technology and platforms and looking to establish yourself in the appropriate place.

What strategic questions can we ask ourselves?

• What have I been afraid to do in my business for fear or "rocking the boat" or being "too edgy?"

• What new technologies, markets, product innovations, or unique services can I offer? How can I go beyond what is currently the “norm” and create an appetite for a new product or solution?

• Where can my company get ahead of others? What ideas do I have that I can validate and get to market before my competitors? What client needs can I solve before anyone else?

• What established platforms or distribution channels are my target customers already using or buying from? How can I leverage them to get my product or service in front of these customers?

What is a strategic plan?

A Strategic plan is the means by which a business sets out to achieve its key objectives.

Key to strategic development is - the direction you want to go - The things you have to do on the way - The help you need to do it!

What key factors do we need to consider in our plan?

1. Setting goals, having a mission and key values

1. Understanding the competitive environment

1. Understanding organisational resources and capability

1. Ensuring effective implementation

Setting goals, having a mission and key values

1. Setting goals, having a mission and key values - Really important to set long/medium term goals with timelined benchmarks along the way to ensure you are on track. Set goals, be commercial but don’t be driven by profit only!

If you simply drive for profit you risk disengaging Internal/External stakeholders.

Example – Ryanair

The original Mission had been “To become Europe's most profitable airline by rolling out proven low fare no frills service”.

When profits turned to losses they looked at other low cost brands and how they implemented successful strategies.

In particular Aldi, IKEA, Skoda and H&M, who all started off focused on price but changed strategy to concentrate on delivering value for money, engaging the workforce and focusing on customer service.

Example - Ryanair

Then began a period of change. Ryanair rolled out its AGB (Always getting better) customer experience program.

Focus on building a business still based on commercial success, but with a concentration on Staff Moral - Customer experience - Value for money –

Importantly - Establishing brand Values.

Results - In Nov ’16 Ryanair announced H1 profits (pre-exceptions) rose 37% to €1.8m. Traffic grew 13% to 58m. Ave fares rose 2% as costs fell 6%

Understanding the competitive environment

2. A competitive environment is the dynamic external system in which a business competes and functions. The more sellers of a similar product or service, the more competitive the environment in which you compete.

Example – McDonald’s

McDonald's has thousands of competitors.

McDonald’s (Values - Transcends social class - Quality - Consistency of taste and products WORLDWIDE) recognises that it is up against not only other large burger and chicken chains but also independently owned fish and chips shops and other eat-in or take-out establishments.

A company like McDonald's has to develop competitive strategies that differentiate it from its rivals.

In order to gain Competitive advantage McDonalds continuously refurbish premises, build on their core product range with modern tastes for Smoothies, Wraps etc. At the same time they have extended opening hours in some areas to 24hrs.

How can a business gain Competitive Advantage?

Cost - Differentiation - Innovation - Diversification are the primary drivers of competitive advantage

Costs? ASDA Their famous “roll-back” pricing strategy is designed to constantly monitor competitor pricing and offer a lower price. ASDA is standing out by consistently giving customers exactly what they want or need at a lower cost.

Differentiation? Audi - Customer experience

Innovation? Apple/Dyson continually innovating

Diversification? Virgin - Travel - Radio - Media - Money

Understanding organisational resources and capability

3. In order to facilitate change to achieve strategic growth we need to constantly consider the resources and capabilities the business has.

Resources are a firms assets including its people. Its brand, capital equipment, skills of employees and Finances. These are both tangible and non tangible.

Tangible + Intangible resources = Capability!

Ensuring effective implementation.

4. Effective implementation is critical to a strategic plans success, addressing the who, where, when, and how of reaching the desired goals and objectives.

To successfully execute an organization’s strategy, it must be the focus of every person in that organisation.

Here’s the three C’s to successful implementation.

1. Clarify.

If people don’t understand the strategy, they are unable to connect with it. So the first step is to clarify your strategy in a way that people in your business can support its implementation.

Ensuring effective communication

2. Communicate your strategy.

Communicating your strategy throughout the business using multiple mediums is the key here. (Posters you put up in the staff kitchen won’t work by themselves.) Use regular meetings and internal communications to communicate what the strategy is and how everybody’s work is impacted by that strategy. Communicating the strategy provides the “connective tissue” throughout the business that helps people understand the big picture.

3. Cascade your strategy.

You need to cascade it throughout the business and get to the practical elements of people’s jobs every day. Ideally, you will involve all staff in this process, and they will help to translate the elements of the strategy for your organization to their own functional areas.

In summary

So when setting out your strategic plan remember to

1. Set goals, have a mission and key values

1. Understand the competitive environment

1. Understand the organisational resources and capabilities you require to continually drive the business forward

1. Ensure that your plan is effectively implemented.

When mapping out a new strategic plan, a simple SWOT analysis can help bring some clarity – I do one every quarter!

SWOT example – Starbucks

Strengths – High demand for coffee on the go - Coffee shopsremain places to meet - An identifiable brand - A consistent product range –Free Wi-Fi.

Weaknesses – Time taken to deliver coffee – Coffee considered by some to be bland - Untidy premises – Cost – Quality of staff.

Opportunities – Further global expansion – Franchising in smaller towns –partnering with Multinationals to provide “in premises” outlets. Providing Starbucks coffees in vending machines.

Threats – Increase in artisan coffee shops – Some still concerned by tax position – Very competitive space (Costa, Caffe Nero, Pret) – Increasing minimum/living wage.

Sales – The changing landscape

Sales has become more social!

Marketing and Sales now working more closely together - Understand that the two need each other to succeed.

Sales – The changing landscape

Marketing via content generation is attracting potential clients to your website and then following their journey into the analytic.

Huge information available via Digital media – Clients have access to more information and as a result are now more discerning.

Relationships are being built & grown online

The Digital age means more online engagement

LinkedIn – No 1 online platform for building business relationships

LinkedIn is reportedly responsible for 80% of a business’ social media leads, making it almost 4 times as effective as other platforms.

As of April 2016, there were over 433 million LinkedIn users.

• Twitter – Follow - Fav & RT

• Facebook?

It’s the age of the social - Follow, share, like and build engagement

However there is no…

Segmenting the platforms

Let’s segment the key platforms & look at the 3 “P”s of Social Media

Facebook is about “P”EOPLE

People you know, People you are related to, People you are connected to!

Twitter is about “P”ERCEPTIONS

The queue in Starbucks is a mile long this morning! The weather in Aberdeen today is colder than on Xmas day! The traffic coming in to work via the new APR is a nightmare!

LinkedIn is about “P”IMPING

The prime reason people use LinkedIn is to build their own personal currency to show how good they, or their company are! In the main it’s to reflect well on themselves and tell all their connections how good they are!It’s essentially a personal Business Development platform, well used by those looking for that next job!

LinkedIn = A great personal Pimping platform!

Segmenting the platforms

A great read on the art of social media is this book by Guy Kawasaki – Former Chief Evangelist at Apple!

Social Media – One golden rule!

One Golden Rule across all the Social Media platforms is having a strong profile!

A great profile is key to SM engagement.

Other users will check out your profile and decide in seconds if they want to connect with you!

So the importance of the Profile pic is key!

Your pic should reflect values such as Likeable/Trustworthy/Professional

Think head and shoulders with a plain background

Not…

Sales – the Consultants view.

Sales Activities

Individual communications your clients see when they

work with you. Meetings - phone calls - Emails –Proposals – Website –

Networking .

Consider the quality & the quantity of all these

Sales Process

Strategic Plans and processes that control the customer journey. How do you generate and nurture leads –

What is the process for account managing

clients and business we win.

Sales Management

How do you track & measure your success –

How do you lead, manage & motivate your people. All management

processes required to “best practice” manage all aspects of the sales

process.

6 Key skills of the modern salesperson

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Expertise:

It all starts with knowing what you’re talking about. Prospects today are sometimes better informed than salespeople themselves. Sales conversations start much later in the information gathering process than they used to – by the time customers first talk to a salesperson, they are already overwhelmed with information. Instead of a “SHOW UP AND THROW UP”, they need an intelligent advisor who helps them filter the clutter of information they’re faced with.

Inquisitive:

You need to know the market and your prospects’ challenges as well as you know your own product. You’ll only ever be truly good at it if you have a genuine interest in developing this knowledge. Modern sales skills demand spending more time researching prospects and learning about the market than other traditional sales techniques.

6 key skills of the modern salesperson

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Emotional Intelligence:

It’s “the age of social” – that doesn’t just refer to social networks, but also to a social skillset. If the salesperson of the past was a talker, the modern one is a listener, who is sensitive to customers’ needs and preferences. Good modern salespeople spend a good deal of time researching prospects on social networks – to learn about their professional role and issues as well as their personal interests. It helps get to know your prospect as an individual, and establish a personal, meaningful connection. The pushy salesperson’s attentiveness is, at best, cosmetic. A great salesperson’s interest is sincere. And customers appreciate that effort, even if you get it slightly wrong.

6 key skills of the modern salesperson

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Confidence: Led by facts!

Salespeople have always had to be confident – but there’s a big difference between confidence fueled by ego and confidence backed by facts and research. Today’s informed buyers don’t want to be sold to – if they sense empty rhetoric, they’ll put up their defences. Solid facts and personal relevance will earn their respect.

Teamwork

The best way to learn what moves prospects is by talking to the people who know – other salespeople. Where “the lone wolves” of the past had their own secret pitch, the most successful salespeople today are great collaborators: they share best practices and give advice to each other – and they understand that offering their own unique insight will get them something equally valuable in return. Think about your colleagues in marketing/finance/operations!

6 key skills of the modern salesperson

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A knack for the narrative

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have for engaging with people. Experienced salespeople are an incredibly rich source of real-life anecdotes that can demonstrate use cases, issues and possible complications. No two sales conversations are the same – but the ability to draw upon experience and selectively present relevant stories is a highly creative skill that helps establish a real connection with prospects.

Few people will admit to like being sold to. But we all welcome an intelligent partner – a fully rounded personality that’s not just selling but connecting with us, empathising and helping us solve a problem.

Great salespeople have always instinctively known and practiced these things. But it’s the connectedness and information saturation of today’s world that make these ‘renaissance’ selling skills imperative today.

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Questions?

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