By: Dirk Beveridge

The development of a proactive customer focused sales team is not only possible, it is a requirement in today's market place. Six issues you must immediately place as a high priority include:

Immediately Cease "Pitching" Your Product!
The fact is your customers do not need your product…it's not hard to buy,and they can go to any number of competitors and get virtually the same product, usually at a lower price!

Before your sales team begins talking about your product and company they must first identify the customer's needs from the customer's point of view. Factually, sales is no longer a talking activity. Primarily, sales involves active listening.

Immediately Cease Competing On Price!
Because you will never again long term have a competitive advantage in product or price, your competitive edge must be the problem solving skills of your sales team.

Once your salespeople have identified real customer needs, they must develop a problem-solving plan that incorporates your product and other value-added components…that satisfies the identified customer needs.

Immediately Cease Delivering Quotes!
Quotes highlight your product and price. Unless you have the best product at the lowest price, you're in trouble.

Your salespeople must deliver customer focused proposals. Proposals review the customers needs and outline your unique problem-solving system, forty percent of which is your product and sixty percent is your value added components. Your sales team must deliver more than product.

Immediately Cease Returning To the Customer Only For Another Order!
Salespeople who only show up at the customer's business to take and order (or to say "hi") are in big trouble. Here is your ticket to account penetration…

Your salespeople, on a preplanned basis, must return to the customer to ensure the system they have sold is in fact delivering the promised results.

Immediately Cease Selling For Your Salespeople!
The job priority of your salespeople is to identify and then satisfy the customer's needs…profitably. Yours, the sales managers #1 job priority is…

To coach and train the salespeople so they have the ability to identify and satisfy the customers needs….profitably.

Immediately Start Developing Standards Of Performance With Your Sales Team!
Customer focus is missing in most sales organizations because it is not the communicated and committed to standard.

As the sales manager, you must make certain demands. Your sales team will work to the minimal acceptable level. "Sell" customer focus as the standard. Provide how-to training of customer focus, then provide the coaching, and watch sales soar.

The Process To Make It Happen
The development of a customer focused sales team will not happen by "wishing it to happen." Executive management must commit to the following three-step proven process to generate the needed improvement in their sales team.

Solution Step #1 - Awareness
The first solution step of moving your sales team to become customer focused is the awareness step. It is the exposure to new ideas, concepts, skills, thought processes, and systems which continually challenges the individual's current modus operandi. The awareness solution step typically occurs during meetings, conferences, conventions, and other activities to make the individuals aware and expose them to the needed information and knowledge.

Visit the BOSS section of our web site for further insight into the needed positioning of your sales team and entire organization. Our presentation topics also offer some solid and proven ideas as to how best to make your company aware of the needed sales, management, and marketing expertise.

Solution Step #2 - Coaching
The second solution step of developing a highly competitive sales team is the coaching step. Once the individuals have been exposed to the standards and information, field training becomes the focus. A continuous, repetitive, and often laborious review and/or discussion of the new ideas, concepts, skills, thought processes, and systems is required.

The Beveridge Institute of Sales and Sales Management provides university level coaching proven to improve the performance and productivity of field sales representatives and sales managers.

Solution Step #3 - Practice
The third solution step to generating outstanding results through the effort of your sales team is the practice step. It's proven that individuals learn by doing. The individuals must be committed to practicing what it is they have been exposed to. Individuals and organizations move from Vision To Results™ once all parties have internalized the new ideas, concepts, skills, thought processes, and systems. This internalization only takes place through ongoing practice.

Visit the consulting case study section of our web site to learn more of our field tested processes for taking proven sales, management, and marketing expertise from Vision To Results.™