The new reality, enforced by an invisible enemy COVID-19, requires urgent changes in many traditional manufacturing or technical equipment supply industries. Whether your company’s short or longer term plans are affected by the current crisis, many businesses can adapt to the current environment using online meetings and digital communication tools to help revitalise their sales teams in these challenging times.
Also, in technical industries where a high degree of consultancy involved in the sales approach, your sales team will need to adjust to a new future with less physical meetings and more emphasis around online meetings, starting now!
Through the current crisis an acceleration in use of online conference and meeting tools has taken place even for external meetings around complex subjects. Online servicing and meetings with existing or new customers are generally working well and has gained acceptance worldwide since all companies have had to switch to online communication at an unprecedented pace. Many are convinced that this will be the new ‘normal’ even after the virus has subsided. Mckinsey(1) states ”Customers and companies are gaining an appreciation for the rich interaction possible between people separated by geography but connected by technology.
Changing to online communication presents a challenge for most sales teams, especially in technical industries where a culture around ‘physical meetings’ predominates. Nevertheless, the new situation presents an opportunity to pursue the conversion to online meetings since now is the time where most customers potentially will be open and even appreciative of the possibility for receiving information and advice despite traveling restrictions in place.
When your sales force is converting to online communication with customers, people are forced into a highly structured approach in order to be effective. Firstly, when you carry out an online meeting the technical and practical routine around using available communication tools need to be in place, and the meeting itself needs a structured and well prepared agenda in order to be successful. Harvard Business Review (2) underlines the above point and offers a series of tips for successful online interaction.
Secondly, in order to spend your time as a sales representative effectively, careful and systematic planning of customer calls, emails and meetings is vital. The latter together with time saved from less travelling will enable a significant increase in the number of possible weekly sales calls and meetings. Training of the sales force in the abovementioned disciplines will become vital to their overall effectiveness when working more online.
Equally important, the consequent reduction in traveling time and costs and the increased amount of possible weekly meetings by sales representatives both in terms of servicing existing customers and pursuing new customers, create opportunities for sales cost reductions.
Consequently, many companies can reduce the sales costs while increasing the sales force efficiency at the same time.
In connection with initiating a sales force optimisation and training process, any sales force optimisation process should start by reviewing your customer portfolio in terms of customer segmentation and an analysis of the profitability of the different customer segments. This will establish an overview of the target customers segments and allow for proper allocation of sales resources between servicing existing customers and targeting new customers and segments.
We can help you realise your full optimisation potential through a TripleA advice sales force optimisation and training process. The main points to address in such a process are summarised below.
Optimise and train your sales organisation to get ready for the new business world
- Customer segmentation and profitability analysis by segment to ensure targeting the right segments
- Training in effective online communication and meetings
- Resource allocation and differentiation between servicing existing customers and gaining new customers
- Planning and structuring your sales activities – getting new customers through structured online communication
- Evaluation and implementation of sales costs reduction potential through reduced travelling, while adding resources for gaining new customers
The optimisation process will be adapted to the specific situation of the company.
Book a free skype/teams/zoom meeting and find out how TripleA advice can help increase sales force effectiveness in your business
Claus Brun – M.Sc. & MBA
Founder & Managing Partner – TripleA advice