Buyer survey highlights shortcomings in salespeople.

Tack International, a global training and business development organisation, has recently completed and published their regular buyer survey. Tack contacted 180 buyers across Europe, Far East and USA from blue chips to SME's in several industrial and retail sectors and asked them pertinent questions with respect to the interactions between buyers and salespeople.

The buyer survey aims to gain a clear view of what buyers want from suppliers with particular reference to dealing with salespeople. The buyers were asked for their feedback and comments on a variety of subjects including but not limited to the sales methods and personal behaviours they encounter when working with salespeople.

The survey highlights a number of areas of potential improvement that would lead to better and more profitable relationships between buyers and suppliers. As buyer preferences change we as salespeople need to consider and modify our behaviour appropriately if we want to develop strong relationships with clients and win more business.

I have extracted a few salient points from the report that should provide some food for thought in the following paragraphs.

Prospecting

When buyers were asked about an acceptable means of making a first appointment, email was the preferred option (77%) with the telephone call coming in second (66%) and letter (52%).

Two years ago the survey provided a distinctly different viewpoint; the formal introduction letter came out as the most popular choice (85%) with the telephone call coming second (72%) and e-mail third (67%).

Other methods included fax, text, CD/DVD etc. Only 6% of buyers felt that face to face cold calling was an acceptable way of making a first contact/appointment.

The rise of e-mail as a preferred way of communication extended to receiving proposals as well. In summary 92% of buyers like to receive proposals via an attachment to e-mail.

The hard paper copy proposal fell dramatically in popularity since the last survey in 2005. Only 34% of buyers wanted a hard paper copy today compared with 81% in 2005. Interestingly 7% of buyers prefer to receive quotes on line via e-auctions.

The sales skills gap

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to arrange face to face meetings with buyers as time availability is often an issue. Consequently more communication with buyers is taking place over the telephone.

When asked how well sales people identify client needs over the phone, 70% of buyers feel that salespeople were at best poor or fair; only 30% were good or excellent. This was further emphasised when buyers were asked how well sales people match products or services to client need. 76% of buyers feel that salespeople were poor in this area. If this is true then this is clearly a development area for the majority of salespeople.

General Observations

Buyers had the opportunity to make general comments on sales staff. The following is a limited selection of buyer observations about salespeople and their behaviours.

"Salespeople spend to much time talking about themselves".

Salespeople do not prepare well enough ahead of face to face meetings wasting time on discussing areas that they should have researched prior to the meeting.

Some buyers are upset by the lack of courtesy afforded to them when sales people do not ask "if it is convenient to talk".

They still find salespeople pushy and dislike in particular their push to set up appointments for the sake of it.

Most of all salespeople need to improve their listening skills.

Based on the findings of the survey it would appear that buyers views of salespeople suggest that there is significant room for improvement. As salespeople we need to be aware of our shortcomings and make adjustments to our behaviour and sales methodologies if we are to gain the total respect of the buying community. The buyer report by Tack provides an insight into the trends and preferences of buyers. Salespeople ignore the content of this report at your peril!

If you would like to find out more about the survey and buyers views of salespeople, an executive summary report can be downloaded here.

The full buyer survey report can be bought directly from Tack International.

How to handle tough negotiations

There is not doubt that as the economy slows negotiations become tougher. Organisations look to reduce cost as they tighten the belt for what they believe are difficult times ahead. They take a more cautious approach on purchases due to the uncertainty. Investment decisions may even be delayed putting pressure on suppliers to cut prices to flush out a deal.

Essentially this situation makes it really difficult for the inexperienced negotiator who is likely to encounter all kinds of comments and tactics. Being able to skillfully handle tough negotiations is never more important than in an economic downturn.

Everyday, business is negotiated and if done well both sides should feel that they have secured an acceptable deal. This is know as a win-win agreement. The secret to getting a win-win agreement is planning, dialogue and a good knowledge of the process and skills of negotiation. Like most things in life negotiation can be learned.

Here are some of the classic one line tactics that buyers use to get you to concede to their demands or at least put you under sufficient pressure to gain some kind of concession.

My budget won't stretch that far.

You will have to do better than that.

I only have £25,000 in the budget.

Can you itemise your costs in your proposal?

If you stick to that price you will not get the order.

I will buy if you can reduce your price by 15%

Your competition is offering 20% less than you.

It's my final offer. Take it or leave it!

A skilled negotiator knows how to prevent or diffuse the above tactics.

Take for example the " I only have £25,000 in my budget". Is this real or simply the client trying to lower your expectations. In essence you have a problem. Should I take this budget figure as read or challenge it? How do I find out if this statement is real or not? The client might actually have £30,000+ in the budget. If I accept this statement without challenge then the client is in pocket to the tune of £5,000+.

The best way to handle this is to give the problem back to the client. Say something along the lines of;

"That might be a problem. We have lots of products and services that I think may help you with your requirements. Some are more expensive than your budget however they may actually reduce your overall costs. Are you saying, that if I have a solution to your problem that exceeds your budget, I should not bring it to your attention"?

This now transfers the problem to the client. If he/she says the budget is the budget then you can move forward in the knowledge that it is real. On the other hand if you get the go ahead to bring solutions to the table, you are now placed to negotiate a better deal for both parties. Not to mention the small matter that you are more likely to agree a deal meaning more profit in your pocket and a satisfied customer at the same time.

If you would like to learn how to handle many of the common issues faced when negotiating why not attend one of our open courses designed to help you be a better negotiator.

What should I do in a tightening economy?

As the economy tightens what should I do?


Should I batten down the hatches and ride out the storm, should I spend more or less on marketing, should I lower stocks and inventories, should I pay creditors late, should I chase payments harder or should I put in place a strategic plan that will deliver growth despite the economic outlook?

Organisations that prosper during economic downturns are able to demonstrate a clear sense of direction. Typically they have a well defined strategy to grow despite the circumstances. They clearly understand customer requirements and are able to deliver products to their target markets more effectively than the competition. They are clear on what differentiates them from the competition and are able to translate this into clearly targeted marketing messages.

In other words an organisation with a clear well developed strategic plan can continue to grow even when the economy is in a downturn.


Here are a few strategic questions every organisation should ask itself once in a while.


Does your organisation have a clear sense of purpose; a strategy that all employees in the organisation are driving towards?


Do you know where you are going and when you will have arrived?


Do you have a clear communications strategy with internal and external stakeholders?


Is your advertising/marketing delivering to the business a constant stream of new prospects, enquiries and/or purchase orders?


Have you examined all the potential ways in which you can place your products and services in the hearts and minds of prospective purchasers?


Do you know your core competencies and how to exploit them?



If you can confidently reply yes to all the aforementioned questions then the chances are you will continue to prosper. If you are finding it difficult to answer any or all of the questions then you would certainly benefit from developing a defined sales and marketing strategy.

So how do we develop a strategy for growth even in an economic downturn?
























MOST business plans should contain a mission, objectives, strategies and tactics section. From my experience, most organisation's business plans lack a coherent strategy. The average plan lacks sufficient depth. Whilst it covers the who we are and what we provide to whom, with target sales figures, it falls woefully short on analysis. There is often no clear indication that a number of options have been evaluated and consequently this impacts on the quality of implementation.

Building a clear and communicable strategy takes time and an understanding of strategic planning. For this reason the analytical stage is often kept to a minimum putting the implementation stage and the whole business strategy at risk of failure.

There are lots of instruments, concepts and models out there to help organisations analyse their current situation more logically and thoroughly. Let's take a look at a few.

SWOT


Analyse your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Used to gain a quick reference on a number of areas that can be used to create plans to improve your competitive position and highlight areas that need attention to keep you at the top of your game.

PESTLE


What is influencing your business environment now and in the future. Prepare plans to ensure your business is future proof.

Porter's five forces model

A way of looking at the forces driving an industry. Porter's model makes you consider your industry from different horizons. One horizon is the threat of substitutes. Typical examples from history in this category are digital cameras which replaced old film types, LCD and plasma TVs replaced cathode ray tubes (CRTs), low energy bulbs and LEDs change the face of the lighting industry. There are literally thousands of new substitutes hit the market annually. Is your product immune to these changes? What substitutes are on the horizon that might threaten your business?

Ansoff Matrix

There are only four ways to grow a business according to Ansoff. This is a great tool to provide a variety of suggestions on how one might grow a business. It forces you to examine your business for products and markets and that leads to generating a list of ideas for consideration.

There are many tools (Boston Box, GE Matrix, Bowman's strategic clock, balanced scorecards, product life cycle, etc) to help organisations assess their market place/products and chose a strategy that is most appropriate for them at that time. Strategy needs to be frequently reviewed as the world and the business environment is constantly changing and as a business we need to shape the future or respond to it. It is also important that when making evaluations that ones chooses models and concepts that are relevant to the business.

As the economy tightens now is as good a time as any to review your strategy. I would recommend that you do some analysis of your business environment. Then and only then should you make decisions based upon the information unearthed as part of the strategic review. The old chestnut of should I cut or increase my marketing and development costs in a difficult economy should be an informed one and not made by gut feel alone.

Do not hesitate to seek help if you do not have the skills in house to develop a robust strategic plan. Paramount Learning Ltd has helped many clients clarify their strategy resulting in improved business performance.