Michael Webb
Michael Webb
Is Your Sales Qualification Criteria Doing Its Job?
You probably have salespeople working overtime right now on deals your company does not want. that’s because they’ll be: bad business if you win them (too much trouble, not worth the revenue) lost to a competitor lost to no decision
SPIF Tip #13: Are You Using the Voice of Customer You Already Have?
Here is a brief exercise I’ve used to introduce Voice of Customer (VOC) to business people who may not be familiar with it: Imagine you’re the owner of a small chain of movie theatres and are going on a well-deserved vacation to a remote island in the South Pacific. You will have no Internet access, so you’ll only […]
SPIF Tip #12: How to Predict Which prospects Will Buy
I sometimes tell salespeople they should be able to predict which prospects will buy. Often they think, “Wait a second. In manufacturing, I know if I put twenty pieces of steel plate in a brake press and apply three thousand pounds of force, each piece is going to bend to a 90-degree angle. But if I give twenty prospects […]
SPIF Tip #11: The DNA of Improvement
A consultant recently told me his perception of Lean Thinking: Womack’s 5 principles of Lean Thinking are at the DNA level. It shows how Lean can be replicated in new domains, thus, Lean Thinking. A lot of people think Womack’s principles (Specify Value, Value Stream, Flow, Pull, and Perfection) are everything you need to eliminate […]
SPIF Tip #10: Defining Sales Terms
Most early conversations I have with sales and marketing managers concern how they generate leads, how salespeople qualify prospects, or how team leaders track sales opportunities. After listening for a while and building rapport, I’ll ask, “What do you mean by a lead?” or “What is a prospect?” or “What is a sales opportunity?”
SPIF Tip #9: Seeing Sales as a Production System
A sales production system organizes marketing, sales, and service activities to transform the “raw materials” of people in the marketplace who may need what you sell into customers by adding value to them in specific ways.
SPIF Tip #8: Why Should You Consider Process Improvement?
Don’t use process improvement methods just because they are supported by academics. Although process methods grew out of applied statistical theories, some academics understand process improvement and some do not. Indeed, many B-school teachings, especially in finance, actually undermine process excellence. Nor should you apply process improvement because it enhances quality, or works for other companies. […]
SPIF Tip #7: Who You Hire is Not the Most Important Factor in Sales
Most sales leaders believe who they hire is the most important factor in their sales organization’s success. They spend lots of time and use special assessments to find the one or two super-salespeople from the field of candidates. Surely the quality of who you hire is important. But is it the most important issue?
SPIF Tip #1: Are Salespeople Coin Operated?
What is the point of comparing someone to a parking meter? People accept this statement, yet there are so many things wrong with it. Want proof? One client’s salespeople had worked hard to map their deal flow. Their new process improved a bottleneck in customer service.
SPIF Tip #2: Your Salespeople Shouldn’t Want to Prove How Good They Are
John Cousineau is founder of Amacus.com. He has challenged a heartfelt belief of sales organizations. I think he is right:
