meritum

"The harder I work the luckier I get"

I work with sales teams to identify “good” buyer commitment indicators and positive sales efforts with a particular focus on the quality of sales engagements. These customer commitment indicators and positive sales behaviours are then tracked and replicated consistently until they become second nature. The layout, terminology and the intrinsic expectation of each leader board is based on the same look, feel and understanding of the Premier League table that the vast majority of people are familiar with.  

Most businesses are unable to determine the type of sales activity (or volume of sales activity) that will generate the required number of qualified opportunities to reach financial targets. I create a logical sequence of QUALITY sales cycle milestone events that indicate a customers commitment and propensity to buy. In sport this is known as the outcomes funnel - the key activities that contribute to achieving a specific goal – the effort applied.  

I subscribe to the belief that cold calling is no longer acceptable as a sustainable route to market. Salesmen dislike it, prospects dislike being on the receiving end of it and ultimately it is like playing commercial battleships on a massive scale over days and months where the only winner is the telephone company. 

COLD CALLING ONLY CREATES CURIOSITY. 

My recent experience with some international companies point to a significant shift away from hard nosed direct sales techniques and a move towards developing a trusting, human relationship based buying partnership. 

It is common place for the traditional measurement of sales activity to be focused on the quantity of sales contacts made as opposed to the quality of those customer contacts. There is often little or no focus on the quality of the sales engagement with the customer. Salesmen rush out to meetings with no idea what the meeting is about but safe in the knowledge that the diary is full for 4 hours. I call this “running on the spot”. 

I measure a salesperson’s endeavour based on the TYPE & QUALITY of engagement. 

The Meritum customer commitment funnel focuses on attaining the key sales outcomes that drive profitable revenue. Each component is linked to the next logical milestone in the buying cycle. Each milestone is awarded a points value and is re-qualified at regular intervals to avoid “chasing shadows”. 

The customer commitment funnel produces internal competition against the prospects key buying cycle milestones. Examples include: providing sample copy; sending in an equipment list to quote on. The buyers milestones are logical, transparent and measureable and entirely customised to suit your specific sales environment and product set.