Valhalla Business Solutions - Business Management Consultants

Sales Management Consulting Specializing In... Sales and service Systems, Managing younger generations, Management protocols Coaching effectiveness

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Assumptive Selling (Don't DO IT!)

Profile
Patience
Listen
Recommend

So often I witness sales people in action and I have to be honest it is out right pathetic. Three times this week I have had the opportunity to witness some of the most ineffective behavior.

Truth is I watch ineffective sales people have to get 3-4 times the number of clients to reach their volume goals, compared to an effective sales person. Any business owner knows it is significantly harder to obtain a new customer than cross sell one. Most sales people struggle with both.

Sales people please profile, take the time to have targeted customer questions which turn your customers brain on. This will undoubtedly reveal potential needs your company may have solutions for. The number one rule hear is never, ever make a recommendation during this time. It changes the environment in the conversation. Quickly a sales person frequently makes this mistake and begins to discuss cost and provide numerous product information. This will require a lot of patience becauseintuitively a sales person has solutions to fix a customers issues. Make sure you listen and listen some more.

Lastly once you have listened to all their concerns, feelings, fears, wish lists, etc. Make a formal solution based recommendation.

Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, feedback, management expectations, relationships, Restaurant Management, Small Business CEO

posted by Valhalla Business Solutions at 10:08 PM 0 comments

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sales Process (Manager)

Sales Process (Manager)

Establish what each customer interaction looks like...

Greeting
Profiling
Recommendations
Exit

To make things simple for a leader to coach, there has to be foundational processes to your customer interactions.

Greeting, solicit your team in your next daily kick start or team to explore what and how a greeting should look from your organization to your customer. How can use the greeting to impact your sales? What would it sound like? How can you use your greeting to transition into a profiling session with your customer?

Profiling, the most important piece of any sales process and far and away the most absent in almost every business I visit. I challenge you and your business to make this a central part of who you are as an organization. Why? If you really care about what your customers need and want, you have to ask them. In almost every business I patron nobody ask or cares. They jump straight to recommendations. How can you assume you know what your customer wants. Its arrogant and condescending.

Recommendations, this is what most sales people think they excel at. "They can talk to anybody!" There is no one good at this unless the profiling step has properly been executed. You as a manager have an obligation to your customers and your employees to help them uncover the needs of your client.

Exit, this can have a lot polishing as well when it comes to business. Again as a manager solicit your team for what this should look like. Probe around referrals, commitments in future contact and elevating yourself from the competition.

Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, conflict resolution, corporate responsibility, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, education, Restaurant Management, Sales Coaching, sales process

posted by Valhalla Business Solutions at 11:39 AM 0 comments

Friday, April 17, 2009

Valhalla Introduces New Saving Money Program

Budget CC Program

Save money immediately on expenses

Analyze utility statements
Analyze telecom statements
Review advertising and marketing budgets
Review bank statement fees
Review credit card processing
Insurance
etc.

Marketing Solutions
Immediate cash flow
Budget Analysis

Valhalla is an expert in saving clients money, beyond the sales, service and management expertise, Valhalla brings an immediate value added feature to businesses. Truth is businesses can become complacent with their fix costs. Since they have already budgeted for the cost, they don't take the time to save themselves money and reallocate their budgets towards revenue producing strategies. Valhalla brings a team of experts to analyze and diagnose cost saving techniques which will immediately have a monetary benefit.

Labels: Coaching Teams, corporations, cross sell, diversity, economic crisis, economy, effective manager, revenue, Sales Coaching, Saving money, Small Business CEO

posted by Valhalla Business Solutions at 6:35 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Gaining Commitment From Employees

Gaining a commitment

Determine team goals
Brain storm appropriate tasks/behaviors
Assign time frames
Solicit employee regularly on progress
Schedule follow up

I have to opportunity to observe so many managers talk to their staffs and there are many reasons their employees don't commit to action. I also get to hear all the time from managers, "my employees just don't care about their work!" Or, "they just don't do what they know they are supposed to do?" There are so many reasons for this, but almost all the reasons are at the fault of the manager. Team members want to do well, they want to make their goals and they want to be recognized when they do. One effectiveness skill that could amplify a managers results today would be working on gaining a commitment from their team.

Determine team goals! This may sound easy, but can be difficult. In your next team meeting solicit your team for something they would like to accomplish over a period of time. Valhalla recommends at least a goal that requires a month to achieve, but can be longer. Once the team has something they are trying to achieve, it will be easier to have behaviors and tasks to deliver the required results.

Work with your employee to determine what their role looks like to achieve the team goals. A one on one is a great place for this. Details are important here. i.e. Every time a customer walks into our location I will say, "welcome, have you visited us before?" Depending on the answer I will then say, "great I am glad you have been here before, let me tell you about a special we have for returning customers!"

Assign a time frame, ensure you the manager set the bar on time line. It is inappropriate for your employee to ever guess when you want a particular task completed.

Solicit your employee regularly through out the task on what they are learning. Ask, "What things are you learning so far?" This is where they will critique their own work.

Schedule follow up, this is the most important to ensure anything gets done. Schedule frequent follow up to ask for progress. This ensures something does not get missed or skipped along the way. This also presents a forum for your employee to solicit your feedback and obtain your guidance.

Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, management, management expectations, small business, Small Business CEO, team building

posted by Valhalla Business Solutions at 4:03 PM 0 comments

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Cross Sell, Expand Your Services

Consider Service Industry
Apply with your product

I had the opportunity to discuss someones business the other day and to be honest I had never encountered a business quite like it before. She had a type of pillow which was used to help a woman's skin avoid wrinkling. It was a product I had never heard of? I familiarized myself with her business and realized the pillow was the only piece of the business. One thing we work on with each company is your product is not your business. Your business is your product. Customers need a reason to buy the business. We explored at length what could help increase the sales of her business.

We decided she would put together a aging skin care wellness off-site. We discussed the resources she knew in the business and how to apply it. Here is what she came up with.

3 Day Wellness Trip (she knew a manager of a hotel)
Day 1-Skin Care (her product and a make up expert)
Day 2-Group therapy (her best friend the psychiatrist)
Day 3-Yoga (her yoga instructor)

When we were done with the conversation, she realized how much a product like hers lead itself to other opportunities to increase revenue by cross selling service and more importantly selling her product.

Labels: corporate responsibility, cross sell, economic crisis, economy, management, management expectations, off-site, small business, Small Business CEO

posted by Valhalla Business Solutions at 1:15 PM 0 comments