April 05, 2010
The importance of ‘Customer Connect’?
March 29, 2010
HOW TO GET BEST OUT OF SALES TEAM?
- Lack of top management clarity about objectives or goals
- Difficulty in translating company objectives into sales plan
- Defining sales plans up to individual sales team members and managerial coaching
- Ambiguity in communicating objectives and business plan to the sales force
- Failure to align incentive and other reward policies with the objectives
- At first, define the core strategy and set the objectives and goals clearly after understaning the market situation and its own growth opportunities
- Breakdown goals into smaller near term shorter goals (yearly plan broken down into quarterly plans etc.)
- Communicate the goals clearly to the sales team, with rationale behind the growth and creating confidence and excitement to participate in the growth. Communication helps in bringing the best involvement and hence higher accountability.
- Define success parameters (when can a sales executive be successful), set expectations, expect and accept feedback
- Set achievable but challenging goals and involve sales executives in the process, this actually helps and motivates them
- Recognise individual strength and areas of improvement and set targets accordingly.
- Tailor rewards and recognition programs according to the individual's performance. To motivate and retain the 'High flyers' they should be provided with customized rewards. However the management should also take care in maintaining internal and external equity
- There are sales people who are highly driven by incentives: Monetary benefits motivate them. To increase the customer base of your company employ them and provide them with the best customized remuneration (these are hunters – new sales, find fresh new business)
- There are sales people who are sensible and emotional and hence they care for their company, products/ services and customers too and hence the management should find these type of people to build brand and a good and strong customer relationship (they can be farmers – account management role)
- There are others, who are high flyers, but money alone can't motivate them and hence to motivate and retain these, the management should go on to acknowledge and recognise their efforts. Recognition in front of everyone motivates them to perform even better.
- There are some sales people who are very extrovert and outgoing, they are fearless and best in communicating and dealing with others, the management here can look for these people and get them involved in dealing with customers or target customers at official meetings or on corporate meets of different companies (more door openers. They impress in the first meeting but lack follow-up)
March 04, 2010
The Importance of Real Time Sales Data. Who needs it?
March 02, 2010
How can I connect with my customer better?
Give personal touch to the service you provide. Offer yourself or staffs as personal customer representatives as often as you can. Personally answer the phone as much as you can. If you have a line of customers needing your attention, address them promptly. These little things can go a long way in connecting with customers.
Keep a database on each customer, what they bought, a few personal notes, their birth dates, and other information that you can note in conversation or mailings. It lets them know you are interested in them as individuals.
Use social media to answer most queries and proactively update your customers, they are times when customers needs live contact. Allowing customer to interact in online chat can give you that customer connection.
Plan some corporate gifts for your customers. These would act as physical representations for your business. This allows the customers to have a lasting impression about your brand. This will make them remember you first when they need your product or service in future.
Practicing ways of effectively communicating and connecting with customers can definitely gain competitive advantage. Keep in touch with your customers all year. This will ensure customer's repeat business as well as making your new customer's loyal.
November 23, 2009
Paradoxes at the Workplace

Management’s paradox
- Shareholder’s expectations vs. Team’s expectations – shareholders always expect certain level of profitability and this at times is in direct conflict with management’s desire to invest in the organization and employees
- Invest first or Acquire first – the chicken and egg syndrome when the organization wants to add a new competency or capability. Does one build the team first and then acquire customers or acquire customers and then build the team
- Organisation vs. team – Managers are faced with this paradox of having to balance the need of the organization and the individual aspirations of the team members
- Team member vs. self – When a manager has a high performer within the ranks, does he/she allow the individual to grow quickly at a faster rate than self. The other paradox is at what point does the manager resist taking credit for the work that the team does
Employee’s paradox
- Self vs. organization – an individual’s aspirations being sacrificed for the larger interest of the organization. How long would the individual stymie his/her ambition
- Self vs. team – when the individual’s performance begins to outweigh that of the rest of the team
Why do most ideas die even before they are born?

Ideas never die, often they are killed. Most of the times ideas are killed because of the following reasons:
- Most ideas die in the mind as they are never documented
- Lack of passion and confidence in the idea
- Current comfort of working on regular stuff limits in taking the idea forward
- Other priorities of normal day-to-day life does not allow one to focus on the idea (day-to-day grind at work defocuses one from the idea)
- Lack of conviction to prove idea in action
- Failure to look at the value generated to customer from the idea not just revenue from the customer
Can a framework substitute management?
Do we often overplay the importance of an “accepted and standardised” framework within the realm of management?
Management, simply put, is the act of getting people and resources together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. A framework is a structure that will aid and assist in the process of increasing customer value and optimizing goals. Every business across the world has a framework which works and it might not be documented well enough. For ex., Motorola adopted a management framework and they called it “Six Sigma” which was well articulated and then shared it publicly. Most organizations use that as they don’t want to reinvent the wheel.
In my view one should not force fit a program just because it is popular. It should always stem from an analysis of the needs and gaps required to be addressed within the organization. Another factor to be considered is the maturity level and stage of the journey of the organisation. If the need and the stage are right, these programs can be used in two ways:
- To enhance what is currently; not replace (to take the organization to a higher level of maturity)
- To validate the current framework – as there could be some improvement areas which can add value to the business approach