Do you have the right skills set for Sales? - Graduate Sales

As a recent panelist for a online discussion forum for Guardian Jobs last Thursday I noticed there were a number of questions from recently qualified graduates asking about what skills were required for a career in Sales.(Click for Guardian Jobs on line )
So here are some further thoughts:-

Identifying your skills

List out all the skills you feel you have currently on a sheet of Paper or a word document.

These can be anything you think relevant. (Don't forget skills like driving.)

You're looking for particular knowledge and experience that might differentiate you from a lot of other candidates in the market.
e.g. Do you have skills in statistical analysis, report writingetc. ?

Create a skills audit to find out more about you.



Once you have exhaustive list of skills rate them on a scale strong to weak.

This will help you define your strengths and weaknesses.

It will also help you identify if there are any areas where you are particularly strong compared to your colleagues at University or college. These strong characteristics are the things which will help sell you. The weaker scores are where you can develop and create activities where you can demonstrate improvement in the weaker areas.

Highlight the areas where you are strong and other areas where you are able to improve quickly these can for the basis of your CV.



Work Experience

The purpose of work experience is it assists you in achieving a number of things:

1. It defines what you do and often what you don't want to do
2. It helps you gain key skills
3. It helps you to understand the general world of work a company culture
4. It allows you to make industry contacts and start a network for work
5. It allows you to develop skills which can differentiate you from other candidates

Why do some employers value relevant work experience highly?

Think of the situation from the point of the employer for a moment. Recruiting people is a costly process. The time searching and advertising, interviewing costs them time ,resource and money.

When taking on Graduates they also cannot expect an instant return on their investment. There will be time and money needed to spent on training even if the learning curve for most graduates is a shorter period than average.

Depending on the size of the firm the numbers of opportunities for further advancement is limited and why 2-3 years down the road graduates move on. Will they get a return for their initial investment? Recruiting is a risk to them.



You will be less of a risk to an employer if you can demonstrate you can do the job.

A previous employer allows a potential to request a solid reference.

It will take less time to train you and therefore you are more cost effective.
Any network contacts made previously can often be transferred to a new a new employer (this can often be useful in sales roles)

The key to understanding the context of work experience is understanding what you have done to date and presenting it in a way which relates directly to a potential employer. To do this it would help to create an audit of your work experience.

Think about the company and your contribution along the lines of the following headings:

your role - role title, duration, start date, location

the company - big / small, revenues, products, departments

the Market - how has market developed, competition, regional / global, market value, market share

how you fitted in - what you did on a day to day basis, how your role fitted in to the overall contribution, of delivery of service for example or contribution to revenue or reporting and subsequent decision making

skills required and learnt - what were the key elements learnt which would be of value to other employers?

achievements - did your or your departments actions have any impact on the overall success of the organisation or improvement in the department?

From this record of work experience you will be able to select key pieces of information and recall them in either interview or on application forms.

This exercise will also help you identify :

1. what you're good at,


2. what you enjoyed during your work experience up to now and


3. what you could use as indicators to the direction you might wish to take in the future.
   
   " But what if I don't have any or relevant work experience?"
   
   Chances are you'll have had some sort of part-time job either during the summer or whilst at University.

All experience is relevant and it's easy to overlook good work, management of others and planning as 'just part of the job'. Don't go exaggerate any roles into something that they clearly weren't.


If you have none at all then get something sorted even if it's some temporary voluntary work just to demonstrate that you are keen to succeed, have a positive attitude. There are more volunteer opportunities now as the Government's initiatives to the fostering of the 'Big Society' become clearer.


Then use this expertise to demonstrate that you can perform effectively as part of a team and make a difference.

Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study

What are Graduate employers really looking for?

Yesterday I took part in an on line discussion as a panelist for Guardian Jobs. The subject was 'Graduate Sales'Loads of questions were raised so I thought might post some blogs on some of the issues raised from the forum.
For starters:

What are graduate employers looking for?

Think about what skills, ambitions and experience relate to what employers actually want:

IMPORTANT: List the skills, knowledge, ambition and experience which you demonstrate as many elements in the wanted list as possible (preferably from the nearer the top of the list). Have examples prepared which you can adapt for application forms or use during interviews for as many of the above headings as possible.

A common pitfall is to continue to think in terms of your application for UCAS points and degree level.

This is important but it's not enough to say "I have a 2:1 what can you do for me?"

You seriously need to think about what makes you different and what makes you stand out above those other applicants who no doubt also have a 2:1.

You will need to demonstrate this with evidence and explain how will it benefit an employer.

Willingness to learn
Commitment
Dependability
Self Motivation
Teamwork
Oral communication skills
Cooperation
Written communication skills
Drive/Energy
Self management
Desire to achieve / motivation
Problem solving
Analytical ability
Flexibility
Initiative
Can summarise key issues
Logical argument
Business awareness
Numeracy
Adaptability


Source: Harvey L. et al. (1997), Graduate Work, organisational change and students attributes, CRQ, University of Central England.


Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study


Gordon Donkin at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has sent me the following that might be of interest to the group

1. www.getin2marketing.com which has lots of info about marketing as a career.
2. CIM Publications “ Achieve More” and “Professional Marketing Standards”


Similarly you might like to visit the InstSMM site

The Institute of Sales & Marketing Management
Harrier Court
Lower Woodside
Bedfordshire
LU1 4DQ
Tel: 01582 840001 01582 840001 - Fax: 01582 849142
Click for Selling 2010 Article


The Chartered Institute of Marketing
Moor Hall
Cookham
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 9QH
UK
Telephone
+44 (0) 1628 427120 +44 (0) 1628 427120
Fax +44 (0) 1628 427499
http://www.cim.co.uk/about/cimservices.aspx

Also keep on your favourites Click for Guardian Jobs on line

A guide to your first job in graduate sales

Have you ever thought of Selling as your next career step?

As you can see from today's Guardian Jobs 9th December 2010 the numbers of jobs in Sales and Marketing are right at the top end of the Jobs advertised.

Click for Guardian Jobs on line on line

If you've dismissed the idea of working in sales, why not think again?



Have you noticed those profiles of a managing directors and CEOs that regularly appear in the broadsheet newspapers, and examined their potted CV that often accompanies such features?

More often than not, you will identify at least some sales experience in these profiles - and quite often at the start of their career.

While sales experience is almost a precondition if you want to be a corporate leader, it is ignored or avoided by most graduates.

The Guardian ran a poll recently
"Should graduates tap into their inner entrepreneur?"
the results were 71% said Yes 29% No.

Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist, is believed to have coined the word "entrepreneur" first in about 1800.

He said an entrepreneur is "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediary between capital and labour.

The art and craft of selling is used in the connection between Says' Capital and Labour.








(Adam Smith on the back of a £20 note.)

I dear say fans of Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations- The Invisible Hand" might feel he was talking about the selling activities of entrepreneurs before Monsieur Say.








'Graduate sales' is now an important part of the overall graduate recruitment scene today, and is now perceived as a strong career choice in its own right.

Whether in Business to Business B2B or Business to Consumer B2C - the list of business sectors in which sales roles proliferate is lengthy. Even in the Non to Profit and Charity sectors Selling is key - but it called "fundraising".

Sales is a great way to get your foot in the door of a large organisation, which in turn can open up a whole host of other career possibilities.

One of the interesting aspects about a career in sales is that it often appears better suited to those who have done a” bit of living” during their degree studying years.

They are likely to have completed a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Operation Rayleigh or some other character building challenge. That’s the opinion of Head of Sales for Tack International Carole Hudson.

“Evidence of voluntary community work, VSO also shows evidence of someone who is able to step outside their comfort zone and engage with people beyond normal circle. This is particularly important in the increasing importance in networking is modern selling.”

"Social skills, in particular, good conversational skills are key. In addition is the ability to discuss subjects with discernment and interpretation is important."

Those with an adventurous personality who enjoyed life at university studying as well as in the extra mural activities often make good sales people."

Carole admits it can be tough for first time job hunters to get their personality across in a CV or email or letter. However many employers are recruiting through interviews on the telephone.

As Selling moves into the Selling 2.0 arena more and more desk based communication skills are seen as just as important conventional face to face engagement.

While a summer vacation sales job will help, today’s employers are really looking for some evidence of sociability and team playing.

One of the beauties of sales is that your effort can be directly rewarded. The career path is often mapped out in front of you. Progression can be typically from telesales to global account manager and it is in your control" she says.


Employers are looking for raw graduates with personality, confidence and a can-do approach - in short they are looking for relationship builders and solution providers."

One of the other advantages of a career in sales is that it tends to be better paid than lots of graduate assignments. Another is that you are often working in teams of like-minded people, with an emphasis on playing hard as well as working hard.
Most graduates in sales start on salaries £18,000-£22,000, and are typically earning £25,000-£30,000 after the first year. Some go on to earn salaries in the top level.

Even if money doesn't motivate you, a stint in sales is the perfect springboard for a career that can go in a number of directions.

Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study

Trafalgar Square December 2010

An Approach to lost Sales Bid Analysis-Raking through the ashes to find that Phoenix

The cinders from the failure of the English bid for the 2018 World Cup Bid are still being picked over by the press. The post mortem will continue for a little while yet. Let’s look at an approach to analysing lost sales which can help us on future pitches.

The sales process starts with a “lead” which may include any prospective client (suspect) regardless of their strength of interest. A conversion of such a lead to “qualified prospect” involves tentatively reserving dates, establishing seriousness of enquiry.

A definition of lost business is the failure to convert a tentative enquiry to a sale. This is not to ignore the analysis of lost leads at the initial phases, but rather to focus on the decisions of qualified potential buyers. A sale should be considered complete or “definite business” once a contract is signed.
The Five Key Lost Business Questions
What? Who? When? Where? And Why?

1. What Type of Bid?
The answer to this question—what type of the business was lost?—could be divided into five components. Sales managers should classify lost business using a uniform classification system[i] that indicates:
a) the type of organization (end user, distributor, specifier, association, corporate, government, etc.),
b) the size of the bid as measured order value, volume,
c) the geographic origin (international, national, regional, state, or local),
d) the industry classification of the event (manufacturing, professional services, etc.), and
e) the types of product / service

Each of these five classifications should include a standardized set of mutually exclusive categories that capture a meaningful distribution of event types.
For example, if nearly all group business is corporate, then a more refined breakdown of the types of corporate business may be appropriate (e.g. training sessions, shareholder meetings, product introductions).
2. Who Decides?
Who made the decision not to go ahead with you? The decision making process is not always apparent to sales.
Purchasing decisions may be made by the decision maker who they may have had no access or contact with, a selection committee, a board of directors, a senior executive, or a combination of the above. Understanding the source of the decision and the process by which that decision is made is essential to the ability to influence potential clients.
3. When Did the Loss Occur?
The question of when the lost business occurs has two necessary answers for each bid:
a) the date on which notification of lost business occurred (if any) and
b) beginning and end dates on which the project the bid covered occurred or would have occurred had it not been lost.
c) This data is particularly useful in measuring positive and negative trends in sales efforts. An increase in the amounts of lost business may indicate a stronger sales effort if it is associated with a higher volume of tentative business. Increases in lost business may also indicate a declining conversion rate of tentative to definite business. Unfortunately, most lost business databases don’t include successful conversions and therefore do not allow for the calculation of conversion rates, which is a key measure of the effectiveness of a sales force.

4. Where Did the Bid Go to?
The answer to the question—“Where was business placed?—identifies the winning bidder. Information on the identity of the successful competitor combined with data on their bid offering characteristics, lost business types, conversion rates, and the reasons for lost business, can yield valuable information on the strengths and weakness of the primary competitors.

Sometimes lost business databases use “lost to a competitor” as a reason for lost business which it is not. Most lost business databases identify multiple competitors for a single event, but they often fail to identify the successful bidder. Frequently bidders are unwilling to identify the property they ultimately selected so it may be necessary to rely on reader board services to identify the specific property in which the event was located.
5. Why Was the Bid Really Lost?
Understanding the reasons for lost business is perhaps the most important information in a lost business database, yet the most elusive. First of all, obtaining honest and accurate information is difficult. Event planners may give the most convenient excuse rather than a more brutally honest answer.

For example, it is easier to say

“your price is too high”

than to say

“your sales presentation was confusing and disorganized.

Secondly, causes for lost business are usually complicated and involve many explanations. A complete lost business database should prioritize the importance of multiple reasons for lost business and measure whether any individual factors are “deal breakers.”
Some of the reasons will be critical and bid determining ‘must haves’ and other will be desirable ‘likes’ only.

The categories of reasons for lost business are likely to be unique to each bidding project but they should provide a meaningful breakdown of the lost business so that any single reason such as “other” does not constitute a majority of events.

The first level of explanation should distinguish the three following categories:
1. Cancellations
2. Turned-down business—includes possible concerns about the ability of the bidder to adhere to the terms of the contract, or other reasons.
3. Rejections—this category should be reserved for tentative business that was lost to a competitor due to a decision by the Buyer.

The reasons for lost business may apply to all three of the above categories of lost business. Often lost business reports summarize free form and unaided answers to the open ended question of

“Why didn’t you choose us?”

While free form answers may contain some of the needed information, that information can only be aggregated and properly analysed if the reasons are categorized and prioritized in a meaningful way.

Categories of reasons for lost business may include:
• Capacity—lack of appropriate
• Services—the quality and availability of required services
• Price—may include the costs
• Appeal of the Bidder’s Offer
• Responsiveness—involves the relationship between the sales staff and the Buyer. Was the response to an RFP complete and well done? Did sales team respond to calls in a timely manner? Did the sales team understand the needs of the Buyer?
• Date Conflicts—preferred dates are not available for the project

The influence of each of these reasons could be ranked:
1) Extremely negative (“deal breaker”),
2) Negative influence,
3) Neutral,
4) Positive influence,
5) Extremely positive or
6) Not a consideration.
Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study
The next Post will consider how we might collect such lost business data.

Lost 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid - Lessons for Selling ?

The UK’s Media tends not to be all that sympathetic to the Selling Profession. But we have had a momentary change of heart over the national disappointment of the failed £15 million pound bid to host the FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament for 2018.

Our national press has been debating whether the ‘slick’ bid of the English bid with its heavyweight personalities and national representatives (Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron and Super brand and professional soccer player David Beckham) really answered FIFA’s brief. They have argued whether the Sunday Times and Panorama stories of alleged misdoings caused offense with the FIFA committee. Some pundits have suggested that FIFA's decisions had been made well beforehand and the result was a foregone conclusion.

Those in Sales who have lost sales pitches recently and are probably having similar analysis of what went ‘wrong’ in a lost pitch. Hopefully their analysis is not quite the "Blame fest-bloodbath" our media are undertaking.



Today more and more Salespeople are invited to jump through the hoops of RFQ/P ( request for Quotes Proposals) , shortlisting & attending a beauty parade type presentation which is not unlike appearing in the Dragons’ den or before X factor’s Svengali, Simon Cowell.

A salesperson's company may not have invested £15 million pounds or had a project whose duration was some three years yet the disappointment of a lost bid will echo David Beckham's sentiments yesterday .

" When you work so hard at something and don't get anything it is disappointing and crushing"

Beckham will bounce back and so sales people should adopt a positive mental attitude.

Sales teams occasionally conduct debrief sessions with prospective or former customers by phoning to request a meeting about the circumstances related to losing business.

Unfortunately, for many reasons, the information they're given is often flimsy and uninformative, and is frequently "sanitised" by the interviewee to avoid ill-feeling or uncomfortable conversations, making it essentially useless.

Yet Sales managers can gain a wealth of information through a complete understanding of the reasons for lost business. Knowledge about the losses can lead to new sales strategies and product improvements that can increase the rate of success. A thorough understanding of failures can also help sale managers avoid unsuccessful strategies and better develop sales leads.

Failure to Understand the Reasons for Lost Business
Sifting through lost business reports , we can often find that these reports generate an incomplete understanding of the reasons for lost business and this may create inaccurate perceptions that are unhelpful in improving sales strategies.



For example, a singular focus on poor capacity / limited resources reasons for lost business may lead to a strategy of expansion that does not address important secondary reasons for lost business. Lack of capacity or client's perception of our capacity may just be the easiest and most comfortable excuse offered by customers, when in fact, lack of choice / product range or poor service quality may ultimately cause Buyers to choose other offerings from competitors.



Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study
Sales managers need the feedback that hard data on lost business provides. Sales managers often rely on anecdotal information about the success or failure of particular sales initiatives—usually the most recent experience—rather than analysis of accumulated data.



Even good sales strategies are not always successful and a short-term and narrow focus on failures may lead to unnecessary changes in sales strategies.


Accumulated information and long-term trends provide the best guides to understanding the reasons for success and failure.

In the next post we will look at a different approach to lost business.

It's not the brand in your life but the life in your brand - 10 ideas to extend the life of your brand.

I have just returned from running a Marketing programme at Radcliffe House, Warwick Conferences. This facility is a market development of the Warwick University Campus just across the road from the world renowned Warwick Business School.

Working with talented marketers from the lighting, electronic power and high value medical equipment industries we worked on a number of challenges the delegates were currently meeting.

One of the problems we tackled was a challenge submitted by a talented Business Development Manager whose issue was this:-

“What is the best way to re-energise our Company Brand and image and prepare the team and customers for the new generation of products from across the pond (USA)?”

She added “This must work in harmony to ensure minimal cannibalisation of existing lines with a clear strategy on how to position the brand.”

Stretching the growth and maturation stages of the product life cycle is a good trick is you can pull it of it.

To misquote the American Film actress,Mae West , who knew a thing or two about what is now known as personal branding " It's not the brand in your life but the life in your brand!"

Here are 10 ideas to extend the life of your brand.

1. Engage with your clients in their specification process, to help ease their load and, at the same time, create specifications that provide your solutions an edge. You can even charge for these services for some clients, and perhaps credit back the cost should they select your solution.

2. Offer thorough supporting information on your quotes, leveraging your marketing communications material where possible to reinforce your value proposition and overall corporate message.

3. When you receive the order from your client, send an acknowledgement with thanks, should the project involve engineering time or project management, keep in contact with steady communication with them on its progress.

4. Present a branded token of your appreciation after completion of a successful project, something of nominal value but meaningful (and creative, if possible).


5.Stihl GB the leading power tool business for forestry and horticulture have branded fleeces, jackets, overalls and safety hats are a common sight worn outside by staff, dealers and customers on building sites, parks and at country shows.

Make sure your representatives on exhibition stands wear clothing that present an image of visible and quality company attire.

6. Invite your customers to meet with you at trade shows, and employ other minimally intrusive ways to keep your brand in front of them on a timely basis.

7. Offer to create and share a success story – often client companies need content for in house newsletters and magazines, and if you have provided them something that helps fulfil a corporate mission (like sustainability, continuous improvement, new protocols etc.) they will be happy to promote the success internally.

8.Offer complimentary periodic maintenance inspections of your installed equipment, perhaps in conjunction with other service visits you are making to the area to cut down on costs; this provides an opportunity to generate revenue through spare parts and accessories as well as identify other opportunities to provide solutions to the account.

9. Act as a trusted advisor and Offer to do a consultative review of the customer’s operations and where your solutions may help, along with an analysis of the payback and ROI on such solutions building credibility from providing a successful first solution).

10.And, perhaps the most common solution – develop a blog, newsletter, company magazine, or other method of communicating more regularly with your clients even when they are not in the buying cycle, so that you are front-of-mind when they are.

Have you implemented or observed other practices for extending a brand presence at industrial accounts? Please leave a comment.