(CLP) Programs

Appleton Greene corporate training programs are all process-driven. They are used as vehicles to implement tangible business processes within clients’ organizations, together with training, support and facilitation during the use of these processes. Corporate training programs are therefore implemented over a sustainable period of time, that is to say, between 1 year (incorporating 12 monthly workshops), and 4 years (incorporating 48 monthly workshops). Your program information guide will specify how long each program takes to complete. Each monthly workshop takes 6 hours to implement and can be undertaken either on the client’s premises, an Appleton Greene serviced office, or online via the internet. This enables clients to implement each part of their business process, before moving onto the next stage of the program and enables employees to plan their study time around their current work commitments. The result is far greater program benefit, over a more sustainable period of time and a significantly improved return on investment.

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. All (CLP) programs are implemented over a sustainable period of time, usually between 1-4 years, incorporating 12-48 monthly workshops and professional support is consistently provided during this time by qualified learning providers and where appropriate, by Accredited Consultants.

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Executive summary

Sales Strategy

History

The Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of the modern salesperson. The one that might come to mind is the travelling salesperson, who would often arrive in towns making big promises about their wares and then leave after making several sales and before people realized the lies they had been sold. Of course, there were many more sales people than just this style, and they were selling everything.

In 1923, the Ford Motor Company’s sales training manual encouraged sales people to use phrenology – a pseudoscience that claimed the shape of a person’s skull communicated aspects of their personality – in deciding how to approach clients. Thankfully, 13 years later, Dale Canergie provided better advice that is still used today in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People. This 1936 book prompted a shift in attitude toward sales with professionals now viewing it as something that could be practiced and improved.

The 1940s and ‘50s introduced the Fast-Talking salesperson, also known as the Kirby vacuum cleaner salesperson due to that company’s association with the method. These sales professionals would arrive at housewives’ doors and bamboozle them with information about their products. The salesperson had complete control over the information and were able to tell half-truths or outright lies. Of course, the consumers became tired of this sales method fairly quickly, and so the fast talker had to go.

In the 1970s, Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman introduced the Strategic Sales method. This method involves the consumer throughout the sales process, and the salesperson aims to discover what the client needs, provide information on what the salesperson can provide, and constantly get the client to commit to the next step. This process meant that the consumer felt more confident that they were making the correct decision for their needs and desires.

SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff) Sales, also called Consultative Sales, had the salesperson asking as many questions as possible to build rapport and uncover the needs of the clients. This had the effect of turning the salesperson into more of a consultant. Helping clients uncover their own needs, rather than telling them what they need, operated to build a strong and long-lasting relationship between the client and the salesperson.

The Sandler Selling Method of 1986 used a conversational method to “pull,” rather than push, clients toward a purchase. Instead of the salesperson demonstrating their knowledge and expertise, they focused the conversation on what the clients already knew about the product or service that they were considering purchasing.

The Solutions Selling Method of the 1990s and 2000s focused on, of course, providing solutions for the pain points that the client experiences or fears. However, this method also emphasized relationships and encouraged salespeople to learn about their clients’ lives as part of their multifaceted and detail-oriented approach.

The internet changed the face of sales once again. Clients at all levels of sales began coming to the table with more information than ever, and this meant that salespeople had to get used to spending more time in the sales lifecycle and being more generous with their clients as they worked to build a rapport and uncovered unrecognized needs.

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Current Position

Today, buyers are highly savvy, more sensitive to outdated sales tactics that feel too pushy, and more likely to require abundant information and time before making a decision. Many sales strategies that once worked for salespeople no longer do, or at least not as reliably as in the past.

In the online setting, potential clients and buyers are accustomed to ignoring a plethora of advertisements and outreach attempts. This extends beyond marketing and into sales and sales strategy, too. Cold calls are less likely to break through, whether they come in the form of phone calls, emails, or LinkedIn InMail messages. It is easy for the calls to be ignored and the emails to be deleted without a second thought. Worse, if a salesperson continues to cold call these potential clients without delivering value and monitoring their cadence, the prospects may become irritated and block the salesperson altogether.

Likewise, smooth-talking and over-the-top communication that may have been popular in the past is a turn-off for nearly everyone now. If a sales professional sets out to talk a client into a quick close, they will likely be disappointed and unsuccessful.

Instead, salespeople today must build from the sales strategies that began taking shape in the 1990s and 2000s. Clients need to be able to trust the salesperson and trust that they understand the client and their needs, and are going to be honest and helpful throughout the sales process. The sales professional is not here to help themself and their organization; they are here to help the client resolve an issue or find a better benefit. This attitude is the essence of worthy intent in the client journey and sales strategy.

Today, sales professionals are much more likely to work within a high touch sales framework. This means getting to know their prospects and clients, helping to diagnose the issues they face, being a resource to help them, and continuing to nurture the relationship long after the sale has been made.

People in the 21st century are very familiar with using the internet to conduct research, and most clients and buyers will make sure they know a lot about a product or service before moving forward with it. They want to know all of the specifications and fine-print details. They also want to know what others think; in fact, many people will not make a purchase if it has a low rating or too few reviews. The same will hold true for a B2B sales professional’s product or service. As such, sales professionals should expect potential clients to have done their research on them and their organization. The prospects will be well-informed and will likely have questions that are more in-depth. To be successful as a salesperson today requires preparedness to answer all those questions and frame those answers within the client’s context. It also requires that the salesperson is ready to nurture this client relationship with genuine interest and a passion for helping their clients.

Sales strategy is an ever-evolving field, largely because the knowledge and expectations of potential clients are continuously becoming more nuanced. Regardless of the industry, sales is a vitally important department in most every organization, now more than ever before. As such, it is necessary for sales professionals to understand today’s successful sales strategies, know their own product or service inside and out, and have a helpful attitude toward nurturing client relationships.

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Future Outlook

There is no shortage of forecasts for where sales strategies will go in the coming years. In 2021, there are several key trends to look out for that will impact how salespeople interact with prospects and clients.

One of the most talked about trends is how to use automation and AI (artificial intelligence) in the sales process. Although AI has been instrumental in performing up to 40% of sales tasks in recent years, in the next three years, that number is expected to increase to 50%. Automations are already a necessity, and it is important that processes and systems – including CRMs – are configured to effectively follow up on leads. AI is highly valuable for its ability to provide key insights and predictions of client behavior. Monitored closely, this extra understanding of clients can lead to vastly improved sales strategies and processes.

On a related note, it is becoming increasingly important to capture value from advanced analytics. Website analytics, CRM analytics, social analytics, and more must all be closely monitored so as to maximize understanding of client behavior and, in turn, values.

Salespeople and sales teams can also learn a lot from each other’s sales strategies. For example, B2B sales can adopt effective practices from B2C sales, implementing new tactics that lead to improved results. Further, sales teams should work more closely with marketing teams to provide a boots on the ground perspective of the organization’s clients.

In an effective sales team, professionals must ask themselves important questions: How do you deliver value? How do you focus outreach to people who will be receptive? How do you follow up with finesse? How do you nurture opportunities? How do you handle a client ghosting you? Asking these questions will allow a sales team to think more expansively about their sales strategy to find the best path forward. However, often the best path involves refining sales strategy and evolving training.

For any industry to continue to thrive, it is imperative that regular training is allotted. In 2021, sales strategy training is a must. Surprisingly few salespeople receive sales strategy training to any extent, and that is hurting many organizations. Not only is sales a rapidly changing field, it is also one that requires a growth mindset of its professionals. One must have technical knowledge as well as interpersonal relationship skills, and they must be aware of new and emerging trends. Going forward, quality sales strategy training will only grow in importance. Continuous sales strategy training is what elevates salespeople into trusted advisors their clients can rely on. It also results in improved productivity.

Sales is a long-standing and vital role, and it has undergone many iterations throughout history, even within the last century alone. It has continued to evolve as new technologies and norms have arisen, and it will continue to expand in the coming years. Future training in sales strategy for B2B sales should focus on worthy intent in the salesperson in how they approach potential clients and maintain relationships with them. It should guide them through the client journey, exploring the client “why” and the concept of “so they can.” These values, along with continually delivering value and following up, come together to form a sales strategy that reliably builds and nurtures a strong relationship with clients and will lead to more success for the sales professional, their organization, and their client – a win-win-win!

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Curriculum

Sales Strategy- Part 1- Year 1

1. Part 1 Month 1 Client Journey
2. Part 1 Month 2 Ideal Avatar(s)
3. Part 1 Month 3 Client Why
4. Part 1 Month 4 Building Relationships
5. Part 1 Month 5 Stand-Out Communications
6. Part 1 Month 6 Delivering Value
7. Part 1 Month 7 Focused Outreach
8. Part 1 Month 8 Powerful Presentations
9. Part 1 Month 9 Follow-Up Finesse
10. Part 1 Month 10 Negotiation Prowess
11. Part 1 Month 11 Winning Closes
12. Part 1 Month 12 Nurture Opportunities

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Program Objectives

The following list represents the Key Program Objectives (KPO) for the Appleton Greene Sales Strategy corporate training program.

Sales Strategy- Part 1- Year 1

1. Part 1 Month 1 Client Journey – There are four core weighted aims to reveal, analyze, evaluate, and calibrate at the beginning of defining your sales strategy. The first objective is to bring together the key managers, team members, and stakeholders in your client journey. Next is to map your sales process, uncover expectations, and assign key roles and responsibilities. Thirdly, we will tap into the humanity and psychology of sales. Fourth, we will establish the deliverables and individual commitments to take your organization to the next level in sales. When bringing your team of change agents together, we will identify and define roles, responsibilities, timelines, and milestones. We will focus on the internal readiness and acceptance of the sales strategy program. This will include appraising the team member involvement motivations and related program workload. This will ensure full alignment within the organization to reach your goals. Together, we will map your existing sales journey. This will be a deep dive to determine existing relationship assets, review market/industry reputation, evaluate networking effects, and assess resources, knowledge, skills, and experience. We will establish the foundation of your initial situation. By evaluating your current systems, we can look for patterns, identify blockers, understand purpose, question usefulness and validity, and lay the groundwork to formulate a new plan. As we explore the psychology of sales, we will tap into humanity and power skills. Embracing a growth mindset is crucial to objectivity, transparency, blame-free introspection, and acceptance of alternate perspectives. Through exclusive exercises, we will help your team reject complacency, adopt candid expectations, and accept the mantle of continuous improvement. Finally, we will establish the key deliverables for the program, stakeholders, and your organization. These are the mutual commitments we form to ensure your sales strategy program success. We will set the vision and outline the actions to thrive at each stage. Through this work, we will begin to diagnose the challenge to overcome and ultimately design your sales strategy.
2. Part 1 Month 2 Ideal Avatar(s) – Building out your ideal client avatar requires critical thinking to gain a clear picture of where you should allocate, focus, and coordinate your resources. There are six steps in this process to add a second cornerstone of your sales strategy. These include breaking down your products and services, identifying your market segments, determining core client roles and departments, establishing the five “yes” answers, creating an ICA valuation process, and, finally, designing your prioritization model. While it is possible you already have an ideal client avatar, it is important to continually revisit and refresh this sales strategy cornerstone. Our world constantly and rapidly changes, altering the competitive landscape, unveiling emerging trends, and revealing hidden opportunities. We also need to ensure the sales teams insights and perspectives are captured. They are the eyes, ears, and boots on the ground. Another key element is to evaluate the feasibility of simplification. Decision fatigue is a growing obstacle throughout the sales process. Together, we will challenge the status quo, assumptions, usefulness, and validity of your offerings. We will work through the ways and means to keep it simple. Defining the characteristics of your markets and clients requires careful consideration. As we map this out, we will work together to capture subtle nuances that can deliver a big impact. This is foundational to designing your sales strategy by defining the challenge. Ultimately, we want to streamline your systems and optimize prospecting. This process includes determining the five questions that must have a “yes” before you invest in the prospect. We then map how you will leverage this knowledge to identify, target, and prioritize your sales leads.
3. Part 1 Month 3 Client Why – A diagnosis of your “client why” will complete the definition of the challenge to be overcome in your sales strategy. This stage is the reverse of the ideal client avatar. It is a complete paradigm shift to the client’s perspective. The client “why” is a core principle that will be applied, leveraged, and utilized in every stage that follows. The foundation of your sales strategy, processes, and methodologies all revolve around the client’s perspective, because the client’s perspective equals truth. During this phase, we are focused on the client: their wants, needs, pain points, and what they lack. We dive into behaviors, motivations, and emotional appeal. We learn to release our own perspective to embrace the client’s viewpoint. Through this process, we will bring forward new ideas and solutions to meet the needs and demands of your buyers as efficiently as possible, identifying how and where the intersections lie with your ideal avatar and client journey. As we explore thinking like the client, we will complete thought-provoking exercises to reveal the “so they can” your prospects are seeking. It is far too often completely missed or a critical gap in the sales cycle. Further, mastering your client “why” is a proven shortcut to achieve sales and growth goals. Together, we will map your client “why” to your products and services, benefits, and the crucial “so they can.” Then we will identify and work through the required iterations to fit your offerings. This crucial cornerstone will enable us to complete the diagnosis of the challenge to be overcome to complete the framework of your sales strategy.
4. Part 1 Month 4 Building Relationships – Building relationships is a guiding policy of your sales strategy. The objectives of this module are the importance of worthy intent; cultivation and relational capital; creating rapport; recognizing discord and building a recovery bridge; and, finally, nurturing relationships. This relationship arc sustains and lifts your organization to achieve great things. Worthy intent loosely translates to genuine curiosity. It is the vehicle to demonstrate your sincere interest in your client as another human being: who they really are and their goals, passions, and struggles. Worthy intent is a pathway to be of service and add value to your client’s world. Cultivation is the next relationship layer we explore. We will evaluate how mindfulness can create relational capital: the qualifiers you want your sales team to be associated with, such as integrity, credibility, and authenticity. We will map how respect, humility, and non-verbal communications correlate to purpose and assist with situational factors. We will identify how rapport is the convergence of timing, opportunity, and motivations. We will break down the how, when, and why of style flexing to facilitate a strong fit and achieve a win-win in our client relationships. Then we learn to use stories to forge deeper associations and connectivity. Within relationship arcs there are inflection points that can either plant a bitter seed or strengthen our client satisfaction. We will map how to recognize discord, perform emotional repair, execute a recovery plan, and manage the client experience. We will work through ideas on how to gather feedback to avoid or neutralize risks. Our final objective is to plan how to continuously nurture our client relationships, adding value, anticipating actions and reactions, and eliminating inertia. This framework within your sales strategy will help the sales team and your organization maintain relevance, ensure client retention, and deliver the promise of expansion.
5. Part 1 Month 5 Stand-Out Communications – We need to step back to see the big picture, review our work to date, and dig into the weeds to develop your stand-out communication plan. Your sales strategy has defined the challenge to overcome. Staying focused on your ideal client avatar and using the insights from your client “why” will lead our objectives. First, we will work through the who, what, when, and where parameters of your communication plan: how you will articulate your value proposition and drive action for each iteration. We will complete interrelated activities to build value statements and support your sales strategy. Bringing your stakeholders together will capture a wide range of viewpoints and ensure strong organizational processes. We will map, develop, and create the communication plan, then identify, validate, and secure the technical requirements. And finally, we will optimize the system(s) for access, delivery, and automation. We will leverage critical thinking to answer the top 10 questions and objections from your clients. For each answer, we will determine formats, methods, and channels for delivery. We will map the connected support templates the sales team will customize on the fly to ensure client relevance and provide a clear and compelling reason and instruction for the client to take action. The objectives in the module will also include reviewing, refreshing, and refining existing omnichannels. Additionally, we will evaluate your organization’s influence and authority, identifying gaps, and determining if and what resources will be allocated. Our final objective will be to decide on the deal points with clarity and transparency, empowering the sales team with crucial knowledge as they guide the client on their sales journey.
6. Part 1 Month 6 Delivering Value – Delivering value is the secret sauce in your sales strategy. It is your own special recipe to create reciprocal energy, demonstrate generosity, provide transformative information, and convey desired outcomes for your prospects and clients. Again, we leverage the foundational work of your ideal client avatar and client “why” to create a sure path to break through and gain the attention of your audience. We will expand upon your client journey framework to overcome the obstacle of information overload. This includes evaluating the feasibility, resources, maneuvers, support system, and coordination between departments required for the build-out of coherent actions with the core client centric objective of generosity, positivity, earned attention, and ardent engagement. Your value objective should encompass the art of storytelling to overcome your challenge. We accomplish this by fitting the pieces together, mining the goals, passions, struggles, motivations, and emotional appeals of your prospects and clients. We will map, develop, and construct your value assets. Our work together will include evaluating the possible methods of delivery, potential formats to adopt, and the compelling action instructions. This will be an omnichannel approach that requires identifying interrelated activities, areas to leverage, your connective stories, and the competencies needed to carry out the objectives. Then we will act upon the criteria we have established to plan the materials, determine the iterations, and allocate the resources required to deliver the value promise. This work will include prioritization and alignment with your sales strategy guiding principles. The mindset work we have embraced will guide us to tap into humanity, maintain relentless focus, and broaden our perspective for clarity of purpose. This, in turn, adds another cornerstone to your sales strategy, completing the program development work to move forward into implementation.
7. Part 1 Month 7 Focused Outreach – We begin the outreach module by redefining what outreach is, looks like, and how it fits within your sales strategy. Our objectives include mastering a broad view of client outreach, assembling a robust approach map, crafting the general and niche support materials, mobilizing the plan, and then executing from the blueprint we have created. This is a multi-tiered and interdisciplinary process. Together, we will chart the outreach streams for your product or service, market segment(s), and client positions. Then we will examine where we can streamline, simplify, and optimize your outreach efforts without compromising your client “why.” This enables us to provide clarity to your sales team, stakeholders, and management on the work ahead. Our next objective is to map the required materials, resources, tools, and technology. We will then evaluate the impact, workload, and feasibility based on your sales strategy. Choices and priorities will be set to move into the craft phase. Developing the supporting materials, system, scripts, templates, and automations is our next step. This includes mapping the objectives for each outreach endeavor, the subsequent actions desired, cadence, and perceived authenticity. We will always retain your superpower in the client journey by integrating relationship personalization in each element of your outreach objectives. Throughout this build-out process, we will position our objectives to attain a minimal actionable commitment from the client or prospect. We will also incorporate circumspect questions to determine fit and identify potential decision fatigue. Recognizing these and other conditioned behaviors in your buyers will allow you to better position the potential sale. Ultimately, your blueprint will seamlessly stack positive associations for your clients and prospect outreach. While acknowledging the potential of ghosting, we will begin to formulate coherent actions to counteract this far too common occurrence. We will have set the stage to undertake powerful presentations and follow-up finesse in your sales strategy.
8. Part 1 Month 8 Powerful Presentations – Powerful presentations are crucial within your sales strategy to drive momentum, close sales, and expand your opportunities. During this module, we will raise your foundation with your ideal client avatar, client “why,” and value delivered. We will also discover how you can leverage authority and shape advantages by utilizing powerful presentations throughout your sales process. Our initial objective will be to identify the myriad presentations available for your business. We will find the intersections between building relationships, showcasing stand-out communications, delivering value, focusing outreach, and nurturing your future opportunities. We will then determine your priorities to help overcome the challenge defined in your sales strategy. Next, we will explore various models of presentations. This will include the type of information you will be sharing, the style of presenter/presentation, and vital audience considerations. This investigation will lead us to selecting the perfect mix for your purposes. An essential objective of powerful presentations is the 4Bs, a transformative format that will consistently deliver for your team. We will share the 4Bs and work with you to incorporate this technique into your presentations. The exercises we perform together will enable your stakeholders to rapidly adopt this system. Powerful presentations are a convergence of the client “why” and the purpose of your discourse. We will facilitate developing and mapping the planned interactions, stories, and detective work you will need to include in your presentations. This will consist of template build-outs that your sales team can quickly and easily configure, while maintaining the guardrails of your brand, message, and sales strategy.
9. Part 1 Month 9 Follow-Up Finesse – Are you aware that 48% of salespeople never make a single follow-up attempt? Or that another 44% give up after a single follow-up? Yet 50% of sales happen after the fifth follow-up. That is why follow-up is in the number one position in our 7 Deadly Sins of Sales and an essential component of your sales strategy. We need to be honest and agree that no matter how good a sales team or individual professional is, delayed or missed follow-ups occur. Together, we will work through introspection exercises to break down the barriers and shift our mindset. By recognizing, acknowledging, and repositioning critical thinking, your team will overcome the first obstacle in your follow-up objectives. Follow-up finesse is grounded by taking the lead in your client relationships. It establishes the DNA of what it will be like to work with you. Further, follow-up finesse is always individually focused. While automation systems may be used, the client never feels like an anonymous number. We work together to emphasize delivering value within your follow-up processes. We will establish how you will make it worth your client or prospect’s time, connect positive associations, and generate reciprocal energy. This objective is attained by mapping your follow-up lanes and methods, pinpointing the methods that fit each situation. We will revisit the outreach map we built to plan the follow-up steps and cadence for the various stages of your client journey, identifying the materials to be leveraged, repurposed, or modified to meet your follow-up objectives. Together, we will assess, map, and plan the resources needed to design templates, scripts, and adaptions for your omnichannel approach. This process will clarify what to use and when, creating a mix-and-match approach of methods and formats to allow your sales team to customize on the fly. Another key objective will be establishing the cadence for your follow-up lanes, along with exploring proven tactics for ghost busting. This taps into your sales team’s growth mindset to support their follow-up efforts, pace, and persistence. Finally, we will explore other forms of follow-up, developing effective templates to address the scenarios and situations your team is likely to encounter in the client journey. We will examine how, when, and where to use the templates within your overall sales strategy.
10. Part 1 Month 10 Negotiation Prowess – Negotiation is a daily occurrence, yet can be viewed with anxiety or even trepidation. On the other extreme, it can be approached with a win-or-die attitude. In this module, we will use your growth mindset to reframe the narrative. We will leverage the hard work you have accomplished on the client “why,” building relationships, and stand-out communication. The first step within the negotiation objective is to adjust the paradigm of your sales team and stakeholders. Negotiation prowess is founded in positive intentions. Together, we will establish the means by which your team can acknowledge feelings, hone non-verbal communication skills, and transform their mindset to expecting the best outcome. We will work together to see the good in the process and your client’s perspective, applying our tools and exercises to redraw the map on priorities and intent in your negotiation process. We then optimize the steps to tie the negotiation back to your client “why” and “so they can.” A core objective is to identify, evaluate, and create a transparent negotiation process. This includes reviewing the deal points you developed in earlier modules and retooling for this stage in your client journey. Together, we will seek smart trade-offs, learn to apply anchoring bias, leverage planned milestones, and develop contingencies to implement. We will also develop a plan on how your team manages difficult conversations, exploring the technique to acknowledge, address, mitigate, and resolve. We then consider how to best utilize this system to close critical gaps. We will bring forward style flexing and speaking to values as integral pieces within your negotiation process. Our final objective is to determine when to walk away from the negotiation table. Together, we will determine the situational conditions that require this step, then map, develop, and establish your plan to say no with grace. We will pull everything together to close every negotiation with dignity, transparency, and mutual respect.
11. Part 1 Month 11 Winning Closes – Winning a close is a significant milestone and natural progression within your client journey. It is a pivotal cornerstone in your sales strategy for building long-term, sustainable business. Closing sets the stage for the next phase of your client journey. Our objectives in this module are applying readiness, probing closing types, practicing and implementing means, handling rejection, and executing after the sale. Each of these unique ingredients will be incorporated in overcoming the challenge in your sales strategy. Together, we will examine, evaluate, and implement gauging readiness, stacking yeses, and micro-closes. These techniques are grounded in the client “why” and the relationship rapport you have created. And, in turn, they influence the approach within your sales strategy. There are myriad closing types. While we will review the various models, our focus will be on the formats that enhance and strengthen your relationships. We will work together through exercises to further expand your team’s growth mindset. We will then move forward to optimize how to close the sale. A core objective that cannot be overlooked is receiving, processing, accepting, and letting go of rejection. There is deep work to be completed to identify the opportunities and process improvements born from a client’s “no.” The last objective of the module is to pivot to after the sale. This is the beginning of a new phase in your client journey. Together, we will identify, analyze, and map your processes to anticipate obstacles, mitigate missteps, involve client management, deliver client satisfaction, and lay the groundwork for account expansion.
12. Part 1 Month 12 Nurture Opportunities – Bringing together the learnings, shifts, and advancements of all modules before, nurturing opportunities expands on your good work. This is a new beginning in your sales strategy. Our objectives in this module will be to deepen relationships today and tomorrow, drive new opportunities, continuously engage your client’s management, fully develop your quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and acquire valuable referrals and testimonials. A central component of long-term sustainable business is strong client relationships. Client retention, positive liaison vitality, and actively gaining new opportunities to penetrate and expand existing income are primary objectives of your sales strategy. We will examine how, what, and where your systems can optimize this guiding principle, and then build out the processes needed to support your model. Continuously engaging your client management team is imperative on many levels. We will work together to articulate the “why” to advance your entire organization’s commitment to accomplish this objective. We will then evaluate the methods, obstacles, and improvements to build out your plan of action. Together, we will explore the power inherent in quarterly business reviews to create a new competitive advantage for your sales team and company. QBRs are an optimized vehicle to communicate the value you deliver and the benefits your client has realized. They provide vital feedback loops and open a window into your client’s initiatives, plans, and goals. Leveraging this information provides you with an inside track to protect and grow your business. Our final objective in this module is to naturally request and receive referrals and testimonials from your clients. While these activities serve you by reinforcing your clients’ reasoning and loyalty to your company, they also provide for the all-important authority and social proof you need to gain more traction in the marketplace. The process development, methodology improvement, system optimization, and mindset growth throughout the program culminates with an empowered, forward-thinking team. You will have been reaping the benefits and are poised to take your organization to the next level in sales. You have overcome the challenge, refined your client’s journey, and achieved the objectives of your sales strategy.

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Methodology

Sales Strategy

Program Planning

Sales strategy begins by mapping where we are. We perform a deep dive into your current processes, systems, interrelated activities, and client journey. Utilizing the proven assessment tools and exercises we have developed, we evaluate your current situation. We keep asking questions to gain a clear understanding of your critical business requirements.

This hard work is the essential building block of good sales strategy, capturing the big picture of your client journey, defining your ideal client avatar, and acquiring the pivotal perspective of the client “why.” When we know enough about the nature of the challenge ahead, we are able to define it.

Together, we identify the challenge to overcome. This is the diagnosis of what is holding your organization back from reaching the next level of sales performance. We break down the complexity of your situation by determining critical aspects of your sales framework. From this newfound perspective, we establish a domain of action.

Our next step in developing your sales strategy is to establish an overall approach to overcome the challenges and obstacles we have identified. This is our foundation where we analyze gaps, identify areas of leverage, and define objectives. Understanding the context is key to our critical thinking as we build your action plan.

We deliberately select the actions needed to overcome the challenge. This involves focusing and coordinating efforts across departments to support the sales strategy initiative. Together, we build the road map of the resources, policies, systems, and manoeuvres that need to be undertaken.

Throughout the planning stage, we are laying the groundwork to build a coherent sales strategy to achieve your desired outcome. When we have successfully opened your paradigm, we are able to focus individual minds and energy in the right areas. This becomes our guiding principle to reinforce and support your sales program evolution.

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Program Development

Good sales strategy requires fitting various components together so they work as a coherent whole. This encompasses multiple departments, functions, and requirements. Developing a program map to overcome the challenge requires exploring, evaluating, and choosing the objectives that will facilitate reaching your sales goal.

During our program development work, your team will need to embrace a growth mindset. This means letting go of the status quo, rejecting complacency, exploring alternate perspectives, and recognizing previously hidden opportunities. Our activities and exercises are specifically designed to expand critical thinking.

Together, we will be embarking on a deliberate cultural shift to create the changes needed to improve sales performance. The interrelated endeavours include refining organizational processes, systemic transformation, technology approaches, and team synergy.

We will map, refine, and build the framework to overcome the obstacle we have identified. The framework will focus and apply your sales strategy vision to each underlying objective. There will be choices to be made to realize your goals. The sales strategy we have created together provides the clarity needed to allocate, focus, and coordinate your resources.

Clear roles and responsibilities will be defined at this time. The company program manager, participants, and invited stakeholders will be identified. We will also establish the guardrails for overall involvement and workload requirements.

Our development work begins with how we build strong client relationships. We will reveal why and how “worthy intent” will deliver long-term benefits. We will incorporate this cornerstone to establish stand-out communication. From there, we then leverage to deliver value for ongoing client satisfaction.

These are crucial pivot points that will deliver some early results, each a core building block of your sales strategy. This process paves a path to adapt your methods, systems, and teams to focus on the evolution you are seeking.

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Program Implementation

The framework we created in the program development process will be expanded into each aspect of your refreshed client journey. Together, we will craft a repeatable, customizable, and confident approach to tackle the sales strategy challenge and obstacles we have identified. The program implementation will be grounded in the guiding principles we have established to achieve your desired outcome.

We will leverage the foundational planning work completed on your ideal avatar and client “why.” Expanding upon this critical thinking, we define and map the stages of your client journey. We will analyze moving parts, anticipate actions and reactions, competencies needed, resources available, existing constraints, and coordinate action across departments.

The program implementation will be executed in dynamic waves of change. Each wave will result in a myriad of shifts and advances to meet your sales strategy. We will guide you through this transformation while maintaining your purpose and focus. There will be subtle turns, refinements, and solution iterations as we proceed through the essential work required.

Starting with modeling a focused outreach for your client journey, the objective is to facilitate quality results that improve your ability to capitalize on all sales leads. Then niche sales microprocesses within prospect/client presentations will be outlined to shorten the sales cycle to better serve your clients. The build-out will be a highly configurable solution to meet the unique needs, pain points, and demands of your clients.

Effective follow-up is a mission critical element to be mapped, plotted, and optimized to increase your long-term results and sustainable sales growth. Anticipating, recognizing, and planning for contingencies is crucial to establishing a repeatable follow-up model.

Together, we will flesh out the negotiation SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to leverage the work performed on your worthy intent and value reciprocity. We utilize powerful exercises and mindset growth we have developed for rapid improvement, which naturally leads to crafting mutually beneficial closing techniques.

At each stage of the implementation, we build the bridges to and between processes, resources, and team dynamics. Each deep-dive insight moves you closer to realizing your sales strategy. It drives incremental improvement with every step to create the energized environment required to overcome the challenge identified as you began.

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Program Review

The program review encompasses the nurture opportunities you will establish as the final step in your sales strategy. It brings together all of your hard work, acquired knowledge, systemic shifts, team building, and process improvements. Then it takes your organization to yet a higher level to vanquish your challenge.

This is the prize of stability and sustainable long-term results. We will map the methods and resources to maintain and expand your business. We will leverage the positive energy you have created internally and externally to deepen client satisfaction, retention, and advocacy. This, in turn, moves your clients from passive receivers to champion referrals.

This process includes accessing and identifying potential service gaps, and building a strong response plan. We will evaluate potential solutions to mitigate and apply the necessary support and systems to minimize exposure. Then, we provide training for the situations, circumstance, and obstacles recognized. This delivers confidence and assurance for client-facing team members and support resources to provide a rapid, well thought out solution when gaps occur.

Together, we will develop a procedure to maintain close connection with your client decision makers, enhance the business relationship, and gather invaluable information regarding new initiatives and forces within the client’s environment. Our powerful QBR process will securely position your organization as a trusted partner and drive additional business growth.

Throughout our work together, we will be transparent and actively seek ongoing assessment. This will provide us with crucial feedback on the program deliverables, achievements, and any needed adjustments. We welcome your valuable input to tweak the program to become even more effective in the future.

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Industries

This service is primarily available to the following industry sectors:

Manufacturing

History

Following World War II, the United States experienced a large and sustained boom in manufacturing items for consumers (rather than the war effort), fuelling one of the greatest economic booms in history. The introduction of computer-assisted design (CAD) in the 1950s and ‘60s meant that manufacturers could use computer software programs instead of humans to make precise and consistent cuts. This marked the beginning of the digital age of manufacturing. The introduction of the personal PC, starting with IBM’s 1981 offering, further streamlined manufacturers’ functioning – this time with regards to invoices, payslips, employee records, and other important documents. The advent of 3D printing in the 1990s has made manufacturing faster than ever and with less waste.

For most of the 20th century, manufacturing was the backbone of the American economy. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 mandated the 40-hour workweek and minimum wage, causing manufacturing to provide millions of highly-paid jobs and helping create the American middle class. The Occupational Hazard and Safety Act of 1970 was the next major piece of legislation for manufacturing employees and required that employers provided safe conditions for their workers, which dramatically decreased work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the United States. The United States reached its pinnacle in manufacturing employment in 1979 when 19.4 million Americans were working in the sector.

In the following decades, employment in manufacturing plummeted despite population growth and increased output of manufacturing companies. Automation, robots, and other computer technology has decreased the need for human employees to achieve output goals. Moreover, manufacturing plants have increasingly moved overseas to avail of countries’ lower wages and taxes and thereby increase profits.

Current Position

Manufacturing in America currently occupies a seemingly paradoxical position. The percentage of the GDP attributed to American manufacturing and the number of Americans employed in manufacturing have been decreasing for many years, especially since the Great Recession hit. And yet, despite this relative decrease in significance to the American economy, United States manufacturing still matters. American manufacturers produced more output in 2018 than it ever had before. American manufacturing still accounts for 70% of American private sector research and development, 55% of its patents, and 60% of its exports.

Unfortunately, this boom has not led to more employment in the sector. Automation, robots, and computers have replaced the roles previously occupied by human employees. Lower-priced goods from foreign manufacturers caused many American plants to close down. Today, candidates with higher computer skills are preferred for manufacturing positions as the floor becomes increasingly digitized, and candidates with at least an Associate’s degree are preferred.

Moreover, growth in production has been concentrated in a few specific areas, like computer and electronic products; motor vehicles, trailers, and parts; other transportation materials including aerospace, railroad, and ship materials; and primary metals such as steel, iron, and aluminum. And while manufacturing has risen in urban centres across the country, rural areas that once hosted small manufacturing plants have not recovered from the recession.

Another challenge in manufacturing are the trade tariffs under the previous administration, which caused difficulties with the supply chain for raw material, making them more expensive. These costs can either be passed on to the client and risk losing offshore bids to foreign manufacturers, or absorbed by the manufacturers.

Future Outlook

Most recently, COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns have put a strain on US manufacturing. Although little research has been completed on the long-term consequences to manufacturing the pandemic may have, industry professionals remain optimistic about the future. Output is expected to continue to grow in 2021 and beyond.

With a new administration in office, the trade war with China is likely to end in the near future, which will alleviate some of the challenges to the supply chain that manufacturers have been experiencing. This will decrease the cost of production and increase profit margins.

Looking forward, US manufacturers are most likely to invest in technologies that will increase their productivity and responsiveness to clients’ orders and requests. They are also looking for technological advancements for quality management and lean manufacturing systems. Manufacturers are also investing in leadership, performance, and skills training to attract and retain employees to work alongside increasing automation, robots, and artificial intelligence. These investments will allow manufacturers to continue growing their output and increasing their sales.

Moreover, these investments also demonstrate a desire for manufacturers to stay in the United States. A report published in Popular Mechanics in 2018 shows that the manufacturers surveyed expect to keep their facilities where they are for decades to come. After all, it is difficult to move a manufacturing plant, and the companies are continuing to invest in their current locations. These factors indicate that American manufacturing will continue to grow in output, even if employment levels within manufacturing do not rise with this boom.

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Consultancy

History

Consultancy has its origins in engineering, with Frederick Winslow Taylor of Philadelphia seeking to increase manufacturing efficiency by applying “scientific management.” He founded his consulting agency in 1893 and called himself a “consulting engineer,” and his scientific management method, also called the Taylor method, later became the industry standard worldwide.

While Taylor and his disciples focused their work primarily on manufacturing, James O. McKinsey chose to focus on managers and bureaucrats. The founder of McKinsey & Company, he developed the “General Survey Outline” (GSO), which focused on why managers did things rather than how. The GSO’s influence on consulting is still felt today as it is reflected in the ‘diagnostics’ phase of an engagement.

The founding of Boston Consulting Group in 1963 aligns with the shift in the consulting industry from simply providing advice to business leaders to consultants helping shape the ideas and narratives of their client businesses. During the 1960s and 1970s, consulting firms developed many ideas for business management, including SWOT analysis, the Growth-Share Matrix, and the 7S Framework.

The development of new ideas, however, slowed when Bain & Company normalized working with clients long-term. Prior to the 1980s, a consultant would typically work with a client for around six weeks. Bain & Company found success working with long-term clients for a monthly fee, which reduced time spent on finding new clients and increased the impact a consultant could have on a company.

The rise of globalization and technology brought a consulting boom from 1995 until 2009. The Great Recession affected the consulting industry as businesses tightened their budgets.

Current Position

Today, management consulting is a $200 billion industry in the United States, and the major consulting firms are more profitable than ever. Firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG are investing in start-ups, building digital and analytics capabilities, and expanding their capabilities in analytics, design, and technology. Many firms have created online platforms to complement or even replace in-person consulting.

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