The key principle that underpin this effect Complementary versus Alternative usage of the Core Revenue Generator.
In this instance, alcohol is the core revenue generator.
Therefore, bar owners aspire to increase the consumption of the core revenue generator and decrease consumption of alternatives.
Water acts as a substitute to the core revenue generator so needs to be "taxed".
Savoury snacks - complementary products - increase thirst, thus increasing consumption of the core revenue generator.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
How can I exhibit consultative selling?
3 Sentence Approach:
A consultant's problem-solving approach to selling requires helping customers improve their profits/reduce costs, not persuading them to purchase products and services.
The ideal positioning for a consultative seller is customer profit improver - focus attention on the ultimate end benefit of a sale, not its components or cost.
Selling Return on Investment
A consultative sale is the sale of a positive return on the customer's investment: the economic impact of what is sold - not the components of the sale itself.
Whenever a product is mentioned, define it immediately in terms of its contribution to customer profit. This is what customers do; they listen for the numbers.
Classifying Money
At the customer manager level, "business-ese" is the only language spoken - investments being returned, cash flowing, payback occurring, profits improving, costs being reduced, revenues being increased, and market share being gained.
Money is classified into six major categories:
Investment—what customers pay out.
Return—what they get back on what they pay out. The rate of return is the ratio of return to the investment.
Payback—when they get their investment back.
Net profit—what they make on their investment or their increment over and above payback.
Cost—an investment on which there is no return.
Opportunity cost—the profit they could have made on a different investment.
Customers choose among them on the basis of the best combination of Muchness, Soonness, and Sureness that meets their needs.
In a profit-centered line of business, what contributions to its revenues and earnings being made by its critical products and services can you affect? What is the gap between the current contribution of a product or service and the line managers' objective to increase it? Can you help them close the gap enough to make you a compelling partner?
In a cost-centered business function, what are the current contributions to the function's costs being made by its critical factors that you can affect? What is the gap between the current contribution of a factor and the function managers' objective to reduce it? Can you help them close the gap enough to make you a compelling partner?
- How much is the problem costing the customer or what the customer could be earning without the problem. - If you mention your product or service, you are vending and not consulting.
- What is the value of your profit improvement solution to the problem. If you mention your product or service, you are vending and not consulting.
- What are the challenges the customer is facing and how your offering can be applied to alleviate these problems - you are able to mention products and services for the first time.
A consultant's problem-solving approach to selling requires helping customers improve their profits/reduce costs, not persuading them to purchase products and services.
The ideal positioning for a consultative seller is customer profit improver - focus attention on the ultimate end benefit of a sale, not its components or cost.
Selling Return on Investment
A consultative sale is the sale of a positive return on the customer's investment: the economic impact of what is sold - not the components of the sale itself.
- Forsake performance benefit orientation for financial benefit orientation - features-versus-benefits (what it is versus what it does) conversion that all vendors undergo.
- Translating performance benefits to financial benefits is the calculation of their monetary values.- "What is the contribution to customer profit?" is their key question.
Whenever a product is mentioned, define it immediately in terms of its contribution to customer profit. This is what customers do; they listen for the numbers.
Classifying Money
At the customer manager level, "business-ese" is the only language spoken - investments being returned, cash flowing, payback occurring, profits improving, costs being reduced, revenues being increased, and market share being gained.
Money is classified into six major categories:
Investment—what customers pay out.
Return—what they get back on what they pay out. The rate of return is the ratio of return to the investment.
Payback—when they get their investment back.
Net profit—what they make on their investment or their increment over and above payback.
Cost—an investment on which there is no return.
Opportunity cost—the profit they could have made on a different investment.
Customers choose among them on the basis of the best combination of Muchness, Soonness, and Sureness that meets their needs.
In a profit-centered line of business, what contributions to its revenues and earnings being made by its critical products and services can you affect? What is the gap between the current contribution of a product or service and the line managers' objective to increase it? Can you help them close the gap enough to make you a compelling partner?
In a cost-centered business function, what are the current contributions to the function's costs being made by its critical factors that you can affect? What is the gap between the current contribution of a factor and the function managers' objective to reduce it? Can you help them close the gap enough to make you a compelling partner?
The Economic Model with Cows!
SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows, so you give one to your neighbour.
COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both a! and sells you some milk.
NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the
other, and then files the milk away...
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the
income.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take
harmonica lessons.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of
credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity
swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back,
with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a
Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells
the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with a! n option on one
more.
Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with
nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.
A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want
three cows.
A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk
themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they
are. You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn
you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows
because you're sobering up and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.
AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers.
WELSH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.
COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both a! and sells you some milk.
NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the
other, and then files the milk away...
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the
income.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take
harmonica lessons.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of
credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity
swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back,
with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a
Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells
the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with a! n option on one
more.
Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with
nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.
A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want
three cows.
A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk
themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they
are. You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn
you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows
because you're sobering up and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.
AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers.
WELSH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.
How do I communicate a compelling story to my customers?
Begin strong, setting the pace for the story
"The news from France is very bad.." Winston Churchill
A story should be told in short breaths.
Like swimming across a pool. Create a rhythm to the story. Listeners like to have a regular rhythm they can follow.
- clarify the thinking behind plans
- create an image in minds
- capture the imagination and the excitement of the recipients.
A good story speaks in vivid images and defines: characters relationships, a sequence of events, cause and effect, conflict, priority of interests unifying message
If you do not see images in your mind when TELLING a story it is not concrete enough. Be sure to get the visual details.
Use descriptive language (onomatopoeia):
- bang, banged, banging
- bash, bashed, bashing
- bawl, bawled, bawling
- beep, beeped, beeping
- belch, belched, belching
- blab, blabbed, blabbing
- blare, blared, blaring
- blurt, blurted, blurting
- bonk, bonked, bonking
- bong
- boo-hoo
- boom
- bow-wow
- bubble
- bump, bumped, bumping
- buzz, buzzed, buzzing
- chatter
- chirp
- choo-choo
- clang, clanged, clanging
- clank, clanked, clanking
- clap, clapped, clapping,
- clatter, clattered, clattering
- click
- crackle
- cuckoo
- drip
- fizz
- flick, flicker
- flip
- flutter
- giggle
- gurgle, gurgled, gurgling
- haha
- hack
- hiss
- hohoho
- kerplunk
- mumble
- ooze
- ping, plop
- pop, popped, popping
- rattle
- roar, roared, roaring
- rustle, rustled, rustling
- screech, screeched, screeching
- shuffle
- sizzle, sizzled, sizzling
- slash
- slurp
- smack
- splash
- squelch
- swoosh
- thud
- thump, thumped, thumpin
- tic-toc
- tinkle
- twang
- whallop
- whip
- whisper, whispered, whispering
- whizz
- whoosh
- bong
- boom
- bump
- chatter
- chirp
- crackle
- drip
- fizz
- flip
- flutter
- giggle
- hiss
- mumble
- ooze
- ping
- plop
- rattle
- shuffle
- slash
- slurp
- splash
- squelch
- thud
- tinkle
- twang
- whallop
- whizz
Leave the listner with vivid images and catchy statements that they can use to tell there friends.
How do we position our product?
“Positioning is based on the target segment you intend to dominate and the value proposition you intend to dominate it with.”
This should drive you sales approach.
For (target customers)
Who are dissatisfied with _ (current market alternative),
Our product is a _ (new product category)
That provides _ (key problem-solving capability).
Unlike _ (the product alternative),
We have assembled _ (key Whole Product features to maximize fit for specific target market segment)
Value Proposition: Who it targets, What it does and How it benefits the user.'
E.g. Azotel's solution targets local entrepreneurs. It allows them easily set up wireless internet services. This is done more easily and less costly than ever before.
This should drive you sales approach.
For (target customers)
Who are dissatisfied with _ (current market alternative),
Our product is a _ (new product category)
That provides _ (key problem-solving capability).
Unlike _ (the product alternative),
We have assembled _ (key Whole Product features to maximize fit for specific target market segment)
Value Proposition: Who it targets, What it does and How it benefits the user.'
E.g. Azotel's solution targets local entrepreneurs. It allows them easily set up wireless internet services. This is done more easily and less costly than ever before.
Why Segment Markets?
From Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" - allows you to explain your product in a structured and concise manner to help the customer attain that Eureka factor:
Why Segment Markets? (and pick just 1 to target at a time - FoCus)
Why Segment Markets? (and pick just 1 to target at a time - FoCus)
- Maximize benefit of resources... references, collateral, internal procedures and documentation (this is our biggest issue)
- Higher Critical Mass of Word Of Mouth ...because if your early successes are all in different markets then those different stories don't add together - market consisting of buyers who reference each other)
- Big fish in a small pond: halo effect of 'being a winner' ....this is more important where there is a real need for a Whole Product solution to be assembled from multiple vendors, and therefore the prospect wants to feel certain that you will have partners creating the supplemental pieces of the Whole Product)
Monday, 15 December 2008
Alerting
How many employees currently have access to business intelligence as it happens?
How many of your employees make decisions based on what they already know as opposed to up-to-date information?
How aware and responsive are your employees of opportunities in the market? How is this achieved?
How do you currently monitor your competitors moves?
Relying on employees to go out and seek information by reading candidate sites and searching different locations which can be time consuming.
We can push, relevant and only relevant content to employees so they are alerted to topics as they happen.
Business Objective, Business Challenges:
Increasing awareness and knowledge of the workforce.
More educated decisioning
Ensure employees are up to date and informed – “no more. I haven’t seen that../I didn’t know..”
I CAN GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE:
DnBNor, Norway’s largest financial services group utilises FAST’s technology to monitor and crawl selected financial services hot bed sites on the web.
In one instance, Svanberg, the Ericsson CEO was speaking at a Danish Business School. He indicated that the Ericsson results would be below projections for the year. During the session, their was a Blogger actually detailing live the details of the session.
The DnBNor FAST crawler had been setup to crawl this news site and managed to pick up the story as it was being blogged.
Having this foresight, DnBNor brokers were able to offload millions of Kronor in stock to bring about hundreds of thousands of pounds in savings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)