Beveridge Consulting Group and Morgan Products Ltd.Launch New Solutions-Selling Web Site
Like most established companies, 144-year-old Morgan Distribution, a leading distributor of building materials since 1855, had been selling its products the same way year after year. But Vic Springer, Morgan's Vice President of Sales for 25 years, knew that in order to stay ahead of the competition, the company's sales force of 250+ would have to learn new skills to keep them on the cutting edge.
That's when Morgan hired the Beveridge Consulting Group, an Illinois-based business growth consulting firm that provides training services to help companies perform at their peak.
"Before we hired Beveridge, we were a very traditional selling organization," Springer said. "Our sales reps were basically product peddlers. We knew a lot about our products, but next to nothing about our customers and their needs."
But Beveridge changed all that with its Business Operating System Standard (BOSS) strategy, an eight-step customer focused plan designed to increase Morgan's profitability and market share.
The strategy worked.
Focusing on Customers Boosts Sales by 50 Percent
Springer says hiring Beveridge was the best thing that could have happened to his company.
"Since we brought the Beveridge Group on board five years ago, we've seen our largest product line - windows -- grow by 50 percent," Springer said. "Plus, our second largest product line - steel and fiberglass doors - has grown by more than 20 percent."
Springer is quick to add that Morgan's success didn't happen overnight. Things only started to turn around after two years of training and adapting to the new BOSS sales strategy. "The best thing Beveridge did for us was to enhance our basic selling skills," Springer says. "The last three years have been our best years and we're getting better all the time."
All it takes is one look at Morgan's balance sheet to see what Springer means. Nearly $100 million in new revenue has been generated since Beveridge was hired. Not only that, but Morgan's leading supplier - Andersen Windows - was so impressed with Morgan's success that they decided to bring the Beveridge Group on board as well.
?"Andersen liked our sales system so much, they decided to adopt it themselves," Springer says. "That's the greatest form of flattery - imitation."
Even though he's delighted by Morgan's recent success, Springer isn't content to just sit back and rest on his laurels. "We're still not where we want to be, but we're getting there," he says. "We're always seeking new ways to improve sales and profitability."
?That's what most companies say after working with Beveridge for just a short while. Like Morgan, most of the Beveridge's clients -- which include such corporate giants as IBM, UPS, Andersen Windows, and TransUnion - are driven to succeed. They believe that simply getting by isn't good enough.
Springer credits Beveridge's president and CEO Dirk Beveridge for being instrumental to Morgan's success. Beveridge, best-selling author of Sales Management: Why the Best are Better infused Morgan's sales team with his BOSS (Business Operating Systems Standard) methodology, an eight-step consumer-focused plan designed to increase profitability and market share. Beveridge is helping Morgan's sales team evolve to be a sustaining resource for their clients, who perceive them as problem presenters who continually deliver business building creative ideas and solutions.
But that takes time and lots of training, things that aren't always readily available to companies in a pinch. Distance doesn't help either. Many businesses such as Morgan have employees scattered in dozens of locations all over the country serving different territories.
New Web Site Brings National Sales Force Together to Build on Success
"We made a commitment to continue coaching our employees and constantly refreshing their skills," Springer says. "We realized that one of the best ways for our employees to sharpen their skills is by networking with each other, but with 15 distribution and manufacturing centers scattered from Denver to the East Coast, we had to find a way to bring everyone together to keep the momentum going."
Morgan and Beveridge put their heads together and came up with an idea.
The plan they devised called for the creation of a web site that would allow Morgan's managers and sales reps to communicate with each other in the blink of an eye. Beveridge introduced www.sustainingresource.com to Morgan's community of selling experts on January 22, 1999. The site was launched in a matter of months and will be supported by Beveridge.
"Everything we want to know about our customers and their needs will be on that site," Springer says. "So not only do we have instant customer profiles, but we can also interact with each other and with Beveridge, exchange ideas and advice for successful selling strategies, and share each other's success." Instead of featuring lots of product information, the site will also incorporate resource documentation and testimonials from the company's suppliers as well as its customers.
Springer believes that in addition to dramatically increasing Morgan's sales and profitability, its new web site will serve as a great training tool. "Instead of just watching training tapes three or four times a year to refresh our skills, we can get people onto this site every day," Springer says. "It will be an excellent resource for our staff and will enable us to position ourselves strategically to eventually build more franchises in new locations. It will also help our reps keep their volume up and growing and give them a way to learn even more about their customers," Springer says.
With Beveridge's help, Morgan instituted a new incentive plan based on percentages of gross margins. Tougher performance standards were put in place. But in spite of all these changes, today Morgan has virtually no turnover and a 90 percent employee retention rate, numbers that convince Springer that he's definitely doing something right.
Morgan Products Ltd. is a very different company today than it was five years ago and Springer credits the company's success to its partnership with Beveridge.
"Beveridge's strategy has positioned us to grow and has given us options that our competitors don't have," he said. "We don't just provide products anymore; we provide valuable services that meet our customer's needs. That's the secret to our success." |
