Feature Article: "Saville Row Training"by Edwin Ecob

When it comes to training, especially sales training, one size does not fit all. There are generic sales training courses, for example solution selling methodologies, which can be delivered "off the peg" - with or without "minor modifications" to meet specific company-wide requirements. Whilst these courses are certainly necessary, they are not sufficient to fully equip the sales force for the challenges they face. To use an analogy, sales skills training can be thought of as "helping sales reps learn how to sing". This leaves a clear gap for the sales reps to learn the songs which enable them to demonstrate their skills. In this context, the songs are the relevant industry issues and the ways they are addressed.

In the featured article in Issue 15 of Cambashi's ezine, Mike Evans spoke about our experiences "out on the road" giving industry training to sales people. The core of these workshops has been explaining how to call on different line of business managers ready to discuss business drivers, business initiatives and the pains the managers are experiencing. We have observed a change in the profile of the workshops we are asked to deliver. Instead of broadly based "production industries" sessions, now the interest is in specific sectors, and individual accounts.

In any analysis of the manufacturing industry at a "big picture" level, some business drivers and business initiatives appear time and again. Phrases such as "Increased competition", "cost reduction", "the impact of globalisation" and "faster time to market" are found in almost any industry analysis, irrespective of sector. Even something as specific as environmental legislation is a major business driver in industries as diverse as electricity production and forestry.

Corporate responses to some of these business demands are often similar from one organisation to the next. Many companies are involved in outsourcing not just support functions but "core" activities such as design and manufacturing. In large organisations, merger and acquisition activity is an almost ubiquitous business response to increased competitive pressure and the need to cut costs. Juggling the balance of "central" versus "local" control of resourcing decisions is another familiar response.
However, as soon as we take a closer look we find that in addition to these shared business drivers, there are also many that are industry specific, for example, patent expiration and the rising use of generic alternatives in the pharmaceutical sector. Further, even within an individual sector, the initiatives an organisation takes to respond to the external influence vary from organisation to organisation. One company's response to an increase in the cost of a raw material may be to change supplier, another's might be to redesign using a different material. These differences can relate to internal differences as diverse as the company's financial position, or in-house skill sets.

There is a similar situation looking inside companies at their use of technologies. So, for IT, there is a common set of applications which companies are "expected" to have / want / need - ERP, CRM, SCM and so on. However, the way a company applies a new application such as CRM - and the particular functionality it uses - depends on the company's focus. For instance, it may seem obvious that call centres are more prevalent in end-user facing companies, such as utilities, than they are in engineer to order companies. However, for a CRM sales rep to succeed, he needs to understand how to interpret and use these differences to put together the winning offer.

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Companies are moving on from Manufacturing "101" and "201" workshops (which can last anything from a half day to 3 days - including factory visit!) to workshops focussed on a particular industry sector typically at the level of "food and beverage" or "consumer electronics" or "automotive". These workshops allow exploration of the drivers and responses in much more detail whilst allowing our clients to position their solutions in these sectors.

Indeed there is increasingly a requirement for this type of workshop at individual account level. While the business drivers mentioned earlier are common across industry sectors and there are some "typical" reactions to these pressures, most business responses and initiatives depend on the particular account, where its priorities lie, what technology it has in place, and so on. If a "sector" approach is used, care has to be taken when categorising accounts as belonging to a particular sector. For instance, whilst both Ford and Goodyear must respond to external drivers of the automotive industry such as over-capacity, they must also respond to other business circumstances. In the case of Goodyear, this may be the availability and price of rubber. As far as their internal manufacturing processes are concerned, the two companies are completely different whereas, for the big picture of supply chain planning, there will be a substantial overlap regarding geographic market expectations

So to sell effectively into a major account, the sales person has to be aware of both the external business climate and the internal situation within the account. Few, if any, major IT initiatives involve only one decision maker within an account. As an example, consider an account that has decided to respond to competitive pressure to reduce costs by rationalising its supplier base with a particular focus on direct goods. This initiative will probably be driven by the procurement / purchasing department. It will also involve engineering, quality and logistics departments and probably others. It may involve many plants in different countries

The salesperson proposing an IT solution will need to act as a facilitator, linking the various departments and also engaging with the IT group. Traditional sales skills will allow them to discover allegiances and rivalries. However, industry, business and account knowledge are key both to maintaining engagement, and jumping the hurdles of the investment decision-making process. For example, claims that a particular solution will give an ROI of x% cannot be made without a thorough analysis and understanding of the client's business, leading to a specific business case for that account. Fortunately customers are very often open to this approach. They like the fact that the vendor will work with them on their data to develop a business justification that they can present to their management.

The role of the sales rep has changed. They are at once a provider of business information, a source of references, an internal communication channel and a business consultant. To meet the needs of this extended role, the training provided has to change from "off the peg" to "Saville Row". Email Edwin Ecob for more details on how to provide Saville Row training to your sales reps.

Edwin Ecob

Also in this issue . . . .

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