Question

Topic: Strategy

Sales Force Buy-in

Posted by mgatti on 1/30/2007 at 9:09 AM ET 250 Points
Classic Dilemma. Our marketing department produces literature, sales presentations, research, etc. All in hopes that our sales force use these items in their selling process. Our selling process is to make an initial visit to find the "pain" or need and then return with a presentation to fill that need.

We have all sorts of materials - one pagers, multi page power point presenations, testimonials, etc. On our intranet we have copies of these items but reps must make a request to the department to get quantities shipped to them. very few people are requesting the items and I'm getting a little sick of wasting my time.

Any thoughts on a program I can implement (over the year) to get reps more interested in the materials marketing produces. Please note, they are always encouraged to request specific/customized items that better suit their needs - very few requests to date.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by michael on 1/30/2007 at 10:38 AM Member
    Meg,
    You might be in a company where sales people feel no connection to marketing. Happens all too often.

    Sit in on the next sales meeting and ask about the materials. What is missing in your work? It'll take some time to convince them that your job is to help, not replace, them.

    Michael
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 1/30/2007 at 11:53 AM Member
    Better yet from what Michael recommended - go to the meeting, but also tag along on some sales calls. Go with an open mind - don't be upset if you see them doing their own thing. Find out what they are using, what they are making for themselves, etc.

    Sales folks want to make sales, and they will use things that help them. If they are not using what you make, they much not feel that it helps them.
  • Posted by mgatti on 1/30/2007 at 3:47 PM Author
    I want to thank everyone for their great suggestions. In addition to some of the ones posted, I'll also tell you some new ideas I came up with. In the next month I'm sending out a survey to gauge what items are used, when, etc. Like you said - they simply are not valuing the pieces. I need this for information and a benchmark.

    I'm going to send a special order form each month of the items available (select few) so they can try to plan (these are simple items like trade show reminders flyer's, etc.). I've having a "contest" to stump the marketing department. Give us a difficult scenario you are encountering and see if marketing can design a presentation to give. We're also offering an opportunity - anyone that sends me their presentation or use of marketing materials will get special gifts to give their customers or prospects (hats, shirts, etc). - This gives me testimonials.

    We're also doing special role play and presentation examples that will be covered in the monthly/weekly conference calls.

    Our October sales meeting will have a rotating class that highlights the use of marketing materials (1 hour).

    Monthly we're sending a highlight sheet of a new or existing marketing piece available. What it is, suggestions on how to use, where to find/request it, etc are included.

    Any thoughts on whether these are good ideas?
  • Posted on 1/30/2007 at 4:20 PM Accepted
    I've been in this situation so I can understand what you're up against and the obstacles can be overcome. In the end, salespeople will use whatever tools are available if they truly believe that it will enhance their success and therefore increase their commissions.

    As suggested by others, it is imperative to develop a deep understanding of the selling process, the range of customers, and the types of sales opportunities that are most typical. That means prospecting, getting out there and going out on calls, and conducting post mortems with some of your top salespeople. What makes them so effective? What do they need from you?

    Spending time with some of the sales leader will help you to be more effective while also co-opting some of them into the process. If you can get a few of them to give it a try, others will follow. Beyond that, pull them into the formulation and design process. As a former Creative Director colleague used to say, "it isn't creative unless it sells!"

    As pointed out by the others, communications is a big piece of this puzzle and the calls would help. Always have someone ready to share a success story and/or an emerging need or challenge. Those that engage in a conversation about something that is relevant to their efforts is much more likely to become an adopter.

    As a marketer, you probably have challenged yourself to compile the stats that support the ROI of your efforts. Extend that measurement process to the salespeople. Use the information to hone your marketing materials and to show in black and white how using the materials leads to better sales results. If you can't make the case to yourself, then there's no reason why the salespeople should buy into it. Augment the stats with specific cases where the materials were beneficial. The stats tell "what" but the cases explain "how" - and you need both for buy-in. Plus highlighting a salesperson's success means one more friend out there.

    Key innovations for us were personalization and local delivery.

    Instead of producing static templates, generate materials that allow for customized content in order to include sales prospect information or other relevant information that differs from case to case. That makes the salesperson come across much more professionally. We developed a database of all of our competitors' products, offers, strengths and weaknesses. Then the salesperson could go in, add some situation-specific information and click on the competitors in that case, and the sales presentation and marketing materials would be generated to accentuate those considerations that positioned our company ahead of those competitors.

    Since many salespeople prepare for such pitches only a day or two in advance, we needed to have a way to get the customized and standard materials to them in the right quantities, in time for their presentations. So after using the customization tools and specifying quantities, the salesperson was able to click on a button that sent the materials directly to the Fedex/Kinko's network (other providers do this as well). They would then be printed, collated, assembled, etc. by the local Fedex/Kinko's outlet and the salesperson could pick them up down the road, often en route to their meeting. They loved this.

    Understand the salesperson's world, invite the best ones into the process, offer proof that it works, give them something that they can't easily do on their own, and make it simple ... and the salespeople will make the rest happen.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 1/30/2007 at 4:25 PM Member
    You've come up with some good ideas. You need to develop the relationship with the sales group carefully.

    Many sales teams have a love/hate relationship with marketing and the more centralised the marketing department, the more polarised the relationship.

    And running a "how to use a brochure" class may be seen as teaching them to suck eggs. So be careful how you run that one!

    It definitely sounds like you need to spend more time in the field with the sales team to understand how they are working.

    Ask if you can ride along on a few sales calls so you can better understand how they uncover the customers pain points and how they prepare a response. Just be prepared to bite your tongue during the customer meeting and don't say anything to the sales person until afterwards. Or your first trip out into the field might be the last!

    • Is it possible they are not requesting brochure stocks because they are using just the soft copies of each presentation?
    • How would you know?
    • Do you have metrics on intranet/extranet usage and document downloads by the sales team?
    It may just be that you have a solution (marketing collateral) in search of a problem...

    • What's the ratio of marketing brochures "consumed" relative to unit sales?
    • Have you done any analysis?
    Might be worth plotting marketing materials used per sale generated and see if there is any correlation between sales levels with increased brochure usage. If there is, you may have an argument for simply drop-shipping bulk quantities of brochures to the sales people.

    Let us know what happens.
  • Posted by mgatti on 1/30/2007 at 4:43 PM Author
    Again, thank you for the great responses. It's actually a little odd here. Marketing and sales actually have a pretty good relationship. I travel with a different sales rep 6 times a year (we have over 50). Plus, each rep must come into the office at least once a year for training (which includes an hour with me to brainstorm). All new reps come in at least 2-3 times a year. We also do a little over 40 trade shows a year so we have additional face to face time and additional marketing opportunities.

    Where some of the disconnect comes is timing. For about 3 years prior to me coming, they went without a marketing department. (The company went with an outside agency versus internal - only focus was corporate no rep level information). During that time, the sales reps were on their own and as a result stopped doing presentations, sending reminders, etc. They are used to a fly by the seat of your pants approach.

    Our business is also a little different because we sell advertising and the rep sees the customer every four weeks so there is a lot of opportunity to upsell one month, present a different magazine another month, etc. Right now they are not doing enough of this. Plus, we have a new competitor and we're trying to train the reps on how to address the competition when asked.

    In terms of analysis, we are in the beginning stages of this. Due to previous lack of interest, the IT department took the tracking mechanism off our intranet page. I believe there are some people that are using the soft copies.

    In addition, we do encourage the reps to have the pieces customized. Since many of them are not very computer literate, we offer the opportunity to request a piece with their personalized information shipped to them within 2 days.

    Also, I'm very open to the concept of overkill on brochures, literature, etc. I would rather develop 2 pieces that meet 80% of the needs than 8 pieces that meet 20% of the needs. It's the feedback that is the problem.

    Thanks again for all of the great feedback.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 1/30/2007 at 6:59 PM Member
    Reps like customers need to feel the pain and have buy in. How are sales? Are they selling without them and just don't understand the value? Brochures don't sell, they tell a story-- reps sell. To good reps, brochures can hurt a sale. It gives a client an opp to say, "I got the brochure, know what you sell and we don't need to meet".

    Did you ask their opinion on what is needed. Remember they're your eyes and ears. I like your area of role playing. Be open to their opinions as well as what you intend to demonstrate. Ask them "what do we need" and value their opinions. I think this will be a learning experience for all.

    Carol
    Sell Well and Prosper tm

  • Posted by telemoxie on 1/30/2007 at 9:13 PM Member
    Alright, I'll bite. You are upset that no one will request your materials. Well, then, I'll request them. Send me a set. I'll take a look, no charge, and let you know what I think. My profile has a link to my webs site, or you can send me an email...

    In your question this morning, you described a two step sales process, and in your 3:43pm post you added that the sales person sees the prospect on a monthly basis. As I look at the materials, I'll be curious to see which of these sales functions (find the pain, present a solution, stay in touch) your materials are designed to support. I'll let you know whether I, as a salesperson, would use your materials or not - and why.
  • Posted on 1/31/2007 at 11:12 AM Member
    HI

    I know how you can crack this.
    First of all, be a part of all the sales conferences that follow. Remember. Do not try to sell your process in the first meet. Try and build a relationship with the sales staff. Even try to accompany a few to the market and observe a few sales talks. Your presence will make them trust you. If possible try pitching in a few sales talks n convert them using your process. There is no better example than live.

    Once few sales staff has complete confidence in your sales material, its time to move out and watch the show. Make them speak on your behalf in the conferences. No one can convince a sales person but another sales person. Take these live models to be your spokesperson in every sales meet.

    Your job now will be nothing but collecting shipment orders. Do remember never to lose touch out of the sales staff. Keep your self updated with the market requirements and share them with the sales team. In short make team with the sales force and your problems will be solved.. !

    Thanks n All The Best..
  • Posted by mgatti on 2/1/2007 at 10:08 AM Author
    Another update - it's been a busy week.

    Just to clarify our sales process (since I know I've been a little confusing)...
    We sell advertising in an agricultural publication. There are 22 editions nationwide, 1 in Mexico, 6 for the trucking industry, extremely popular website, etc.

    Since our reps visit customers or prospects every four weeks there is always an opportunity for a needs analysis (questions, etc.) and do a presentation the next month. This is especially true if it's upsell. A new customer can be given a presentation within a week or two. Also, because of the every four week sceanario, they can present a different opportunity each time they go in which is why there are so many materials.

    I actually have a marketers dream - we have a magazine that is adored by the readers and as a result we provide excellent results for our customers. So in many areas, they don't HAVE to do a presentation. They already have business. However, we have a variety of other products that could be presented but are not. This is part of my dilemma on the sales force seeing value. They are already making good money on the safe sell - why bother presenting something else. (I know this is a different discussion thread.)

    Now to the update... This week we had two reps in for training. (Like I said, we have sales rep training every week and we only have 50ish reps). We handled training a little different this week. They were told to come to training with a real life scenario. We both prepared presentations and compared them to see what worked best. This way I could refine what would work for them but at the same time they saw there were items they could have used to make a stronger case. We also have the role plays video recorded so we can use them for evaluation and to pass onto others.

    I believe it will be a long and tiresome journey but believe we are making headway. I thank each and everyone of you for your time and insight.
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