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Issue Date: July 30, 2007 | Issue 31 | Volume 79

Selling is knowing customer, process

Avoid two major sales mistakes: weak segmentation of customers and a lack of understanding of the phases of the sales process.

By MIKE SPANDERN*

*Mike Spandern is with FeedConcepts in Germany.

IN the feed industry, a sales representative typically starts the week with a little paperwork in theregional office or at home and then begins the tour. Within this tour, all customers -- or at least allnames that are listed as customers -- are visited.Like a fox doing his rounds along the shores and hedges, the salesman takes anything he finds.Sometimes he is quicker than the other foxes, and sometimes he has to take what they rejected. It'sthe life of a salesman. It has always been like that.Like his colleagues, he works very hard. He knows the market, drives 50,000 miles or so and writesdetailed reports. He does not know if anyone is reading them, but at least he does his job thoroughly.The open-minded and modern-thinking sales rep knows his own (and often the competitor's) portfolioinside-out. He is technically well trained and has mercantile skills. He knows that customers today alsodemand consultancy.In special training sessions and workshops, he has learned to ask open questions and how to answerthe phone properly. It's strange how no one from the management board ever attends theseworkshops, but that does not matter because the sales rep himself is responsible for the customers.Then comes the quarterly sales meeting, where everyone weeps about rising prices, cheapercompetition, higher freight costs and the unfair territory assignments. The Monday after the meetingthen is just like the Monday before the meeting but with a little more pressure.In the feed industry, we deal daily with the latest scientific findings. When it comes to animal nutrition,analytics, plant engineering or the world market, the plentiful journals and industry magazines are fullof such information. Yet, in sales, we fully trust our own experience, general rumor, pressure fromabove and the standards set by competitors.Nobody would choose this approach to formulate a piglet starter or design a feed mill, but in sales,things seem totally different.Despite several PhDs within the team, many sales forces behave extremely dilettante. Ironically, thereare several well-published scientific papers on customer demand and behavior, on promising salestechniques or the strategies of successful organizations, but these take time to read and are, therefore,systematically ignored.Next to other minor mistakes that can be corrected, two major mistakes that can cause significantdamage are regularly observed, especially in agribusiness:

(1) The weak segmentation of customers, and(2) An almost chronic ignorance and lack of understanding of the exact phases of the sales process.

Segment customers properly

Everyone agrees that we find A, B and C clients. That's nothing new, but A clients are not the biggestproducers or the most impressive names on the list. They are those who promise the most profitablebusiness relationship. They are not necessarily those who buy the most.In the feed industry, volume often compromises profitability, but because the industry is driven bycommodity business, we tend to think that volume equals success. Even the bonus system of our salesforces is based on turnover only.A clients are also not those who would buy everything the company has to offer. They are those whowant to be heavily contested for and who challenge all of the resources of the organization but, at thesame time, also respect it as an equal business partner.A clients must be the goal of every company. This goal neither accepts any sidesteps nor tolerates anycompromises. A company must pitch its entire strategy, structure, culture and all transactions towardthis goal. Every organization must, therefore, equip the sales force with all resources necessary to winA clients and protect them from the competition.Successful salespeople demand this from their company. They consequently never work alone and urgetheir company to mobilize all assets supporting their success. Winning A clients, therefore, not onlydetermines the travel itinerary and budget plans but also the outcome of salary negotiations andpersonal career planning.

Sell right way around

Whoever has brewed beer knows that the single phases and temperatures of the recipe should be keptin the right sequence. Otherwise, the result will be some fancy brew -- but not a beer.A successful sales process shows many parallels. Only those who follow the right sequence of the singlestages of a sales process can control its outcome.The controlled process runs through stages of prospecting, preparation, questioning, proposal,negotiation and closing. Those who try to sneak around or skip single phases cannot control theoutcome but rely solely on luck.Especially in the feed industry, too many companies seem to have all the answers without asking asingle question. They are in love with their products. They skip the fermentation stage and fill thebottles with an unfinished brew.The source of this mistake is product-orientated thinking and a lack of knowledge of customer needs.Being equipped with superior technical training, an aggressive pricelist and all of the arguments,salespeople are surprised that the customers don't buy.In this context, the question "Why?" takes a key role. We do not really know why customers will notbuy, just as we will not exactly know why customers buy once they finally do. It seems to be a matterof analysis and timing -- or quality assurance, if you like.Just as it is common in animal nutrition, an organization should also seek external expertise when itcomes to sales. The expert who knows most about customer needs and what really stimulates apurchase is the customer himself. So, let's ask him. He will happily tell us all of the secrets.