A quote from a CEO in the latest CEO Institute report:
“I learned how to hunt again. The boom period for 10 years up to 2008 meant gaining business was relatively simple and you could be selective in what business you took on. This led to laziness and complacency. The GFC saw an immediate drop in business and a tightening of budgets. This forced me to rethink our strategy and focus on aggressively seeking out new business with an absolute focus on closing every opportunity. As we come out of the crisis this is providing us with growth opportunities.”
From a sales perspective our sales staff became ‘order takers’ in 10 years of good times. The GFC caused everybody to focus more on hunting and closing. As we come out of the GFC it is important to remain focussed on sales training and not slip back into becoming ‘order takers’ again.
“I learned how to hunt again. The boom period for 10 years up to 2008 meant gaining business was relatively simple and you could be selective in what business you took on. This led to laziness and complacency. The GFC saw an immediate drop in business and a tightening of budgets. This forced me to rethink our strategy and focus on aggressively seeking out new business with an absolute focus on closing every opportunity. As we come out of the crisis this is providing us with growth opportunities.”
From a sales perspective our sales staff became ‘order takers’ in 10 years of good times. The GFC caused everybody to focus more on hunting and closing. As we come out of the GFC it is important to remain focussed on sales training and not slip back into becoming ‘order takers’ again.
Lead indicator – new technology
The new key business driver! The quality of the sales team.
Historically in the past, the rate of change was considerably slower. Products were developed over years and gradually introduced into the market place. The Watts steam engine signalled the first industrial revolution. Henry Ford then led the second industrial revolution with the production line and now society is in the third industrial revolution, which is characterised by the disassembly line. Products and services will be sourced from the lowest cost centre on the globe. From a global Google perspective, business is characterised by ever increasing rate of change and global competition. Where customers are king and they are in a continual state of change, always seeking new innovative solutions to satisfy their needs. So what is the best way of understanding your company’s future performance?
Historical approach – to assess the future company performance
A* Assess the quality of leadership – judgement
B* Rear view financial ratio trends – no predictor of the future performance
Latest technology – Use sales as a key business driver
Objective review of sales team performance
Key driver – the quality of the sales team to understand the market dynamics and drive company alignment to the customer’s changing needs. As with the annual financial audit that Boards are familiar with, the Board/CEO can now obtain an objective audit of the ‘health’ of the front end of a business. Measured against world’s best practice! If the sales team are ‘top graders’ then they will have the capability to monitor the changes in the market place, accurately report this crucial information to senior management and so drive the necessary change throughout the business. If they are average performers so will the company be, if they are substandard then the future is extremely problematic, particularly in turbulent recessionary times!
If you would like further information contact Roger on roger@mybridge.com.au or visit the www.mybridge.com.au
The new key business driver! The quality of the sales team.
Historically in the past, the rate of change was considerably slower. Products were developed over years and gradually introduced into the market place. The Watts steam engine signalled the first industrial revolution. Henry Ford then led the second industrial revolution with the production line and now society is in the third industrial revolution, which is characterised by the disassembly line. Products and services will be sourced from the lowest cost centre on the globe. From a global Google perspective, business is characterised by ever increasing rate of change and global competition. Where customers are king and they are in a continual state of change, always seeking new innovative solutions to satisfy their needs. So what is the best way of understanding your company’s future performance?
Historical approach – to assess the future company performance
A* Assess the quality of leadership – judgement
B* Rear view financial ratio trends – no predictor of the future performance
Latest technology – Use sales as a key business driver
Objective review of sales team performance
Key driver – the quality of the sales team to understand the market dynamics and drive company alignment to the customer’s changing needs. As with the annual financial audit that Boards are familiar with, the Board/CEO can now obtain an objective audit of the ‘health’ of the front end of a business. Measured against world’s best practice! If the sales team are ‘top graders’ then they will have the capability to monitor the changes in the market place, accurately report this crucial information to senior management and so drive the necessary change throughout the business. If they are average performers so will the company be, if they are substandard then the future is extremely problematic, particularly in turbulent recessionary times!
If you would like further information contact Roger on roger@mybridge.com.au or visit the www.mybridge.com.au
10/09: Recruitment Trends
After studying trends over the last few months, and looking closely at the statistics drawn from our own experience in recent recruiting, the following behaviours have been noted.
* Advertised positions in the area of administration do not attract the same volume of job seekers that are attracted to Sales positions. In fact sales positions are viewed up to three times more frequently than administration positions.
* Not surprisingly, the higher the remuneration offered in any category, the more viewers these positions attract.
* Although the number of viewers does vary greatly depending on the job category and salary range, of those who are interested in reading the full job advertisement, there is a consistent percentage - 8% - that will submit an application.
These trends then identify that the opportunity to earn more will attract interest from a larger group, namely those who canvass regularly in hope of bettering their financial position, as well as those who are seriously job searching at any point in time.
However, of those people who take time over investigating positions more seriously, and thoroughly, it is reasonable to expect that 8% will apply for the position of interest.
* Advertised positions in the area of administration do not attract the same volume of job seekers that are attracted to Sales positions. In fact sales positions are viewed up to three times more frequently than administration positions.
* Not surprisingly, the higher the remuneration offered in any category, the more viewers these positions attract.
* Although the number of viewers does vary greatly depending on the job category and salary range, of those who are interested in reading the full job advertisement, there is a consistent percentage - 8% - that will submit an application.
These trends then identify that the opportunity to earn more will attract interest from a larger group, namely those who canvass regularly in hope of bettering their financial position, as well as those who are seriously job searching at any point in time.
However, of those people who take time over investigating positions more seriously, and thoroughly, it is reasonable to expect that 8% will apply for the position of interest.