The activities of both marketing and selling guide the prospect through a similar decision-making route: ATTENTION – INTEREST – DESIRE – ACTION. However whilst marketing helps develop and match the product or service to the broad market, the sales process is more focused on showing exactly how the offering will satisfy the need of a particular client.
There are three fundamental differences between selling and marketing: in timescales (marketing tends to be longer term); in measures (market share versus sales volume); and in management (market brands rather than sales relationships). Selling therefore tends to be focussed more on people than process, but both activities must complement each other. Imbalance towards marketing creates high awareness but few decisions, and imbalance towards selling creates low awareness and consequently fewer decisions. Selling will play a more important role when the buyer decision-making process is more complex, and requires person to person advice or support, whereas marketing becomes prominent when coverage is key.
The starting point in sales is to look at ourselves from the perspective of our potential client. Their view of suppliers who canvass them is often significantly different to the supplier’s perspective. They may be suspicious as previous victims of sharp practice or, more commonly, exaggerated claims. They are likely to have been canvassed many times by suppliers who have not researched possible needs before making contact and subsequently waste the prospects time. They could be busy people who are reluctant to change. These factors demand an approach which is carefully researched and sensitively implemented. Sales strategy should therefore be driven by client needs and executed in a way which demonstrates an explicit understanding of those needs.
Customer expectations focus on a few supplier qualities which tend to remain unchanged. These are: perceived value (ie costs balanced by benefits); The supplier’s ability to deliver what is offered; the supplier’s willingness to extend themselves to meet special needs; and a relationship of trust. People like to buy, and not be sold, and they will buy for different reasons. Some are goal-oriented, some wish to fulfil dreams, others want to minimise fears. Observing how people buy will help us identify their motivations, and this in turn can help us choose the most appropriate way of selling to them. The process of buying usually involves three steps:
Why do I need this? How will I decide? Where and when shall I buy? The process of selling should therefore help answer these questions, and in doing so build trust, show competence and make it a positive purchasing experience. The process at its simplest level is
* understand needs and wants
* present options and solution
* identify concerns and ask for a decision
A strategy of client orientation requires skills in planning, probing, listening, empathising, and persuading. It requires detailed knowledge of business aims and resources, offerings and marketplace. Above all it demands an attitude reflecting honesty, hard work, enthusiasm and resilience. Anyone involved in managing salespersons must ensure that these competencies are developed, maintained and regularly checked. The fast pace of product development results in an increasing perception of “sameness” between competitors. A key differentiator is the quality of the salesperson’s skills, and where offerings are similar the buyer invariably chooses the salesperson who is the most skilled.
“To fail to plan is to plan to fail”. There should be a written sales plan focusing on business goals. Constituent parts can include:
* Background profiles on customers, prospects and competitors.
* Contact schedules of who will be contacted, how and when: these should be prioritised to address the highest value opportunities.
* Forecasts of monthly results and key activities.
* Reporting processes to keep management informed of activities, results and resource needs.
* Contingencies to overcome possible obstacles.
The plan should be drafted by whoever is responsible for its implementation, and submitted to management for approval. This will ensure ownership and agreement by relevant stakeholders, and facilitate a clear link to the suppliers overall business plan.
Objectives described in the sales plan should include not only financial targets but also activity-related goals eg
* Achieve quarterly forecast accuracy of at least 75%
* Respond to all written sales enquiries within two days.
* Average X miles per visit
* Report on unsuccessful tenders within one week.
* Achieve a ratio of one in five appointments from cold calls.
* Obtain Y orders per quotations
* Minimum Z % discount per order
The monitoring of activity ratios can provide an effective diagnosis of potential problems long before a shortfall in results becomes visible. Activity based performance standards can highlight skills deficiencies in specific areas such as letter –writing, appointment making by telephone, qualifying client needs, face to face presenting, and proposal-writing. Such standards can help the salesperson manage themselves to make the best use of their time and direct training into the area most needed.
A sales team provides the opportunity of team members to compare activity ratios with each other and identifying best practice from those with the best performance ratios. These measures can be charted graphically on a weekly or monthly basis so that the underperformance can be quickly addressed. For sales cycle times which are long (three months or more from initial contact to final contract) activity ratios are essential management tool.
A sales strategy based on identifying and matching client needs requires time to be invested in fully researching those needs. Whilst the marketing functions can analyse the broad needs of a targeted industry or group of prospects, there is no substitute for direct contact by salespersons to identify specific needs of individual prospects. This is particularly important in higher value product sales and in selling less tangible services.
Common sources of information to help identify the prospect’s need will fall into two categories – those outside the client company and those inside it. Outsiders who can be approached include trade associations, customers, suppliers, and anyone who has knowledge of their business. Inside the prospect we can elicit the support of a number of people who can help us qualify if an approach is worth making, and to whom. Such requests for help and information should always be accompanied by an open statement of purpose, explaining the desire to find out if the prospect could benefit from our offering. People will react positively to candour and object strongly to subterfuge.
Direct approaches to the prospect can often be made to their Marketing department who can mail back product literature, newsletters, press packs and annual Reports. The latter can highlight company challenges, policy makers and future aims. Telephoning the personal assistants of executives can also identify the decision-making chain for your offer, and sometimes identify competitor activity.
Another useful source of information is an existing client referral, and a request should be structured along the following lines: Ask first what they liked about your offer and how it helped their business. Then enquire who else could be interested and why. Finally check if their name can be mentioned, or if they wish to alert the prospect in advance of a sales call. If the sales call is subsequently successful this provides a reason to thank the referrer, explain how their referral point has benefited and ask for yet another referral. Referral can be requested not only from satisfied customers but also on rejection of a bid for business, provided that the rejection was not for qualitative reasons and a cordial relationship still exists.
The research will enable the qualifying and prioritizing of “suspects” into “prospects” who are potential buyers; the next step is to plan the initial approach. This will be largely determined by the type and size of unit sale. High quantity and low cost products may demand direct mail and telephone selling. Low quantity, high cost products will usually involve a longer cycle of personal meetings to educate, inform and persuade. The most complex sales usually involve high value intangible services such as technical consultancy advice. Services introduce many more variables than tangible products, and can carry high perceived risk for the buyer. Advice is less easy to visibly specify, cannot be readily returned if faulty, and is less easily costed and evaluated.
Such differences magnify risk and uncertainty to buyers whose decision criteria will then become weighted towards personal relations rather than product specification. The greater the perception of risk to the buyer requires greater the need for direct contact, longer decision-making time and increased skills in relationship-building. At this end of the spectrum the main differentiator is the person and not the product, and consequently a key focus for a services supplier will be generating quality face to face time to build trust and overcome the “FUD FACTOR: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt,” in the mind of the buyer. The challenge for a lower cost product provider is still significant, in so far as the buying activity involves the same processes but the journey must be navigated in a fraction of the time. A telesales process may therefore generated attention, interest, desire and action within only five minutes, including an analysis of client needs and decision processes.
Both fast and slow sales cycles usually require analysis of decision-maker types. These range from purchasing agent and budget-holder to influencer and end-user, and qualifying this early is critical to next steps. Buyer types can also be stereo-typed, particularly useful when selling time is short and we have to move quickly onto their “wavelength”. The “systematic” buyer will want product details whereas the “decisive” buyer prefers bullet points. The “amiable” buyer will enjoy sharing personal pleasantries, whereas the “impulse” buyer prefers information on applications.
The ability of the salesperson to identify the buyer’s personal style, and adapt their approach accordingly, will result in the buyer absorbing the messages effectively and be more inclined to accept the proposition.
The same principles can be applied to planning sales entry into a new organisation. If the client culture is “systematic” ie/ belt and braces, then we can anticipate protracted hiercharchical decision making. If “decisive”, then we should be brief and fast-moving. If “impulsive” we should be wary of changes of mind; if “amicable” we should emphasize a consultative approach. Understanding buyer chemistry is critical and our sales process must be significantly adapted between those who want a “commodity” and those who look for an “experience”.
An effective sales manager will be close enough to the salesperson’s prospects to ensure that the right mix of personal chemistry is occurring. The role of a sales manager is to create results through others, and an effective manager can only do this by being close enough to observe not only what is being done but also HOW. The manager must balance time between the office and the field and balance time analysing past events and planning the future. Let us examine the main activities of a sales manager.
Communications should create focus within the sales team. There should be clear objectives so people know what success looks like, and how it contributes to the organisation. Standards and values should reflect how the team is expected to work (ie reporting procedures or demonstrating sensitivity to client concerns). Paperwork should be minimised with the application of technology, and reports should focus on usable qualitative information such as call plan, activity summary, market intelligence, business forecasts. Above all, there should be regular news going to the team regarding company updates, sales successes, competitors and team results. Salespeople often feel isolated in the field and need a two-way flow of information to keep them in touch with colleagues and the company.
The manager should be able to recruit, develop and appraise salespersons. The starting points for this are the job descripton and person specification. Job descriptions can specify what outputs are required and person specifications describe the attributes of the ideal job-holder ie. inputs. It is vital to specify these accurately. If the person specification is too vague then we can recruit low calibre salesperson; if it is too demanding the role may not be filled. The manager should encourage existing staff to recommend candidates with a finder’s fee from contacts with friends and associates, and make the vacancy known through the local colleges. Although these places may not supply ready trained salespersons they can provide people suitable for sales support roles who can eventually be promoted. Without succession planning of this kind, a sudden loss of a salesperson can result in a gap of several months before a replacement is found and trained to the same standard.
When recruiting salespersons it is vital to process applications quickly as good candidates are rarely available for more than a few weeks. Advertisements should always include a telephone number. If the job requires telephone skills, the quality of initial telephoned responses can be appraised as part of the sifting process. A particular difficulty in recruiting salespersons is their ability to mask their own potential weaknesses. It is therefore vital to check claims regarding core competences. This can be done by creating short simulations of activities eg. a roleplay to make an appointment by phone or a presentation of a sales plan for the territory. Candidates should be asked to bring evidence of claimed successes eg. copy of a sales award or client testimonial, and can be introduced informally to others in the team to get feedback on personal chemistry. Reference checking should always occur by telephone direct to previous managers verifying factual claims and ascertaining their view of potential weaknesses.
Finally the recruiting manager should always remember to sell the job and the company to each candidate. A tailored information pack should be given to shortlisted candidates, they should feel welcomed by all staff, and a press pack of company achievements should be available in reception for their review (not removal). Such support can make the difference between a candidate choosing you or your competitor.
Once recruited, there should be a structured induction covering the business, the marketplace, all internal contacts and the job requirements. A person should be appointed to coordinate induction, ideally a member of the team, and verify that information is both absorbed and understood. The process should include job accompaniment with performance being formally appraised at the end of a probationary period. This will create a clear sense of purpose, and ensure that untrained people do not damage customer or prospect relations. It also prevents the salesforce inheriting a lame duck who interviews well but could not apply their knowledge. Underperformers in a sales team often affect the rest of the team.
Ongoing training and development is the responsibility of the sales manager. The most effective development method is on the job coaching, allowing the trainer to observe what happens and how, and to give feedback on performance immediately afterwards. Feedback should be packaged in a “praise sandwich” ie. Positive accomplishments, what could improve, and again what went well. Constructive criticism is more likely to be absorbed in this way and acted upon. Coaching should employ open questions rather than statements so the learner considers possible course of action for himself or herself. Records should be kept of individual salesperson strengths and weaknesses so that trends are identified and people can team up with the most appropriate partners to exchange good practice. Whilst the best diagnosis
of training needs occurs through observation at work, activity statistics will also identify issues. Activity ratios (referred to earlier) should be regularly analysed, published and compared between team members to enable them to benchmark themselves with the best performers.
In some instances the use of an external specialist trainer or coach can improve team performance in the field as the feedback is likely to be more objective, and new ideas from outside the team can be introduced and applied quickly.
There are many different training methods, appropriate for salespersons and a training plan should not rely on just traditional classroom-based study. Roleplays and simulations at sales meetings, summarising key points on “cue cards”, supplying audio tapes for travel time, and appointing internal experts on key topics (eg competitors) will all help the sales manager spread the training tasks into manageable proportions. When training has been provided it should be followed up afterwards to establish what was learnt, how it was applied, and the benefits accrued so that the investment in time and money can be evaluated to improve subsequent delivery. With no assessment of training outputs it is not possible to establish its value.
A key output of effective selling is the ability to forecast accurately. Forecasting is important for cashflow and inventory management. Inaccurate forecasts result in too much or too little inventory, and insufficient cashflow to pay for fixed costs. The consequent effects can impact many areas and ultimately can critically damage the business. There are a number of factors affecting forecasts which are outside the control of the salesperson eg Market economy, exchange rates, competitive activity. However the main factor affecting forecasts lies within the control of the salesperson – prospect qualification.
Qualification begins as soon as information about the prospect is collected. At its basic level this includes names and job titles of decision-makers, their buying history, and expressed wants, budgets and timeframes. At this level of qualification it may not be possible to predict anything more than a 50% possibility of winning their business. As the sales cycle progresses it becomes more possible to predict the timing and likelihood of contract. The number of successful meetings, qualifying additional needs request for proposal, a presentation and a feasibility survey will all contribute to escalating probabilities from 50% to 90%.
Additional factors may reduce chances, for example a change in decision-maker or policy involvement by competitors. Such issues should be factored into the overall equation so that a realistic weighting is given to forecast business. Thus for four prospects of orders valued each at £10k, if the probability forecasts are 50% 60% 70% and 80% the overall forecast value should be £26k rather than £40k.
Additional factors can be calculated by comparing forecasts with past actual business closed. An optimistic salesperson who has been forecasting 25% more than actual in the previous periods may require a reduced weighting to compensate until the skill issue is addressed. Prospect lists of sales in progress are therefore an essential control system. They should detail client name, potential value, % current probability based on agreed criteria, order date expected, and next action by the salesperson. If there is no follow up appointment date to progress a decision to the next stage, the salesperson may lack the control to develop the sale.
These lists should be updated at least monthly, even weekly, to ensure forecasts are based on accurate information, and as this is company critical information then forecast accuracy should be included as part of the regular appraisal process. Competitor involvement will have a significant effect on forecasting, often reducing margins and deferring decision timing. Although marketers will collect broad information about competition, the salesforce is in a better position to gather up to date tactical information due to their exposure in the field. There should therefore be a system in place to collect and aggregate such data so that appropriate counter-tactics can be applied. This could include special offers, price incentives, product improvements, and new services.
Loyal customers are a useful source of information, and the “poaching” of competitor staff can also help. An increasing phenomenon is the “secret shopper” where a competitor will masquerade as a prospect. Sales and support staff should be alerted to such activity and be shown how to qualify new prospects before releasing sensitive information. Blanket tenders through third parties (eg consultants) are sometimes used to obtain a detailed picture of an organisations financial, operating, product and support infrastructure. Market research questionnaires should also be treated carefully.
Turning to salesforce organisation, there are four ways to organise a business to business structure: by major account, product type, vertical market or regionally. The pros and cons of each option are as follows. “Regionally” promotes local relationships and is simple to administer, although service quality may vary between regions, and major national accounts may experience coordination difficulties. Regional structures tend to suit high levels of simple repeat business for small to medium sized clients.
A vertical market approach (ie specialists for local government, professional services, manufacturers) enable clients to have suppliers with a higher understanding of their business sector, and lets the supplier to focus resources on profitable sectors. Clear distinctions between sectors are necessary and sales staff requires a good knowledge of business needs and applications. This is suitable for more complex transactions requiring longer-term advice and guidance on specialist applications.
Product specialisation allows high levels of technical support through a knowledgeable salesforce, but this can result in an over-emphasis on product knowledge at the expense of market requirements or customer needs. A major account structure allows the supplier to focus on clients with the biggest payback and can generate high quality key term relationships. However this can result in longer sales cycles to win new business, and result in differential service levels at the expense of smaller clients. Overall for business to business, sales and major account structure is commonly integrated into the other structures because of the greater long term benefits. Those include a deeper understanding of client needs, improved product development and service delivery and more opportunities for cross-selling additional offers over a period of time.
An example of how to integrate a change programme is shown in the following Case Study:
The aim of this case study is to show how a successful business has taken advantage of an integrated change programme to improve sales and customer service.
Mark Wilkinson Furniture Limited - designs, manufactures and sells handcrafted kitchens and bedroom furniture. Its products, originating in the leafy village of Bromham in Wiltshire, are widely regarded as the embodiment of quality English Craftsmanship.
Owner-managed by Mark Wilkinson and his wife Cynthia, they employ over 100 people in Bromham, and sell direct to the public in showrooms across the UK, and through retailers and agents worldwide.
Mark Wilkinson says “from the very beginnings of our business in the early 1980’s we have taken the view that a forward-thinking, responsible attitude to the environment is central to our business. This means being responsible to everyone who works for us in terms of ensuing their health and well-being at work”.
The business is labour-intensive in a retail industry, which is notoriously affected by economic peaks and troughs. These are difficult to predict or control, and the Directors are acutely concerned to protect their employee’s livelihoods under all economic conditions. “The gradual building of a loyal, skilled and happy workforce is the cornerstone of our business” says the Chairman, and he approved a skills audit of all showroom personnel and key managers up to Director level.
The purpose of the skills audit was to identify skills needs for those involved in business development activities to ensure that the company could maintain its market leadership. Due to the need for absolute impartiality for the skills audit, they recruited an external consultant, on the basis of his experience as a hands-on business manager and a Course Director for the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
The first steps were one-to-one reviews with the consultant identifying the strengths and areas for improvement of each jobholder. This simulated assessment centre processes under informal circumstances, at the end of which jobholders priorities were aligned with company goals, and a skills development plan was produced.
The main focus for the organisation was identified as relationship management internally between managers and staff, and externally between salespersons and clients.
As the additional development needs had not been budgeted for, the consultant submitted a proposal to the local Business Link, seeking financial subsidy for a number of complementary projects to address the requirements. These included: Developing Plans for Sales, Marketing and Customer Service; Tailored workshops for showroom staff; Improvement to the appraisal system; Coaching and Mentoring programmes for managers; Work-flow analysis for factory personnel; Reviewing and improving the dealer training programme. The Business Link agreed to sponsor part of the costs with a subsidy of several thousand pounds supporting the use of the same consultant so that continuity was maintained. Managing Director, Cynthia Wilkinson committed the company to an investment of 24 consulting days spread over a 12 month period to enable change to take place without disruption to busy schedules, and with sufficient time to reinforce progress.
A new Sales and Marketing plan was produced, providing a common focus for the many differently located teams and a more effective tool for the Directors to assess progress. Function heads were appointed for Customer Service and Distributor Sales, and the consultant also facilitated the production of their own business plans.
All showroom staff participated in workshops building their relationship management skills. These engendered teamworking and motivation, being highly inter-active and involved the sharing of Success Stories. The dealer training programmes were improved in both design and delivery, to the extent that participants stated them to be the best in the industry.
Factory managers launched a Work-flow Analysis programme, which resolved bottlenecks in the manufacturing, storage and order processing areas.
The line managers were involved in developing a more effective Appraisal System so that staff could appraise themselves and manage their own performance more effectively. The consultant took on the role of coach and mentor for a few key senior individuals, resulting in behavioral change perceived positively by Managing Director and Staff alike.
Managing Director Cynthia Wilkinson, commented “The Stakeholders in our business include, not only Director, but also our staff, suppliers, customers and our community.
For every new customer order we plan a tree. Actions like this and our people development programmes represent out philosophies and motivations for managing our business”. Last year the business grew by 20% - supported by new trees planted
In the above case study the customer took advantage of a single source to deliver a number of different tailored services for a wide range of employees. The customer obtained a reduced cost through a “bulk” purchase of consultancy. The quality of services was consistent as it came from the same source. There was no time wasted on repeated briefings of requirements to different deliverers. The knock-on effects of servicing different but related areas was measured more widely and consequently led to more effectiveness.
Where major account servicing is provided on a larger scale by a sales and support team, it can build team spirit and reduce costs with more synergy within the supply team. This can lead to sales staff influencing purchasing patterns, clients contributing to product development and creating a cycle of improved service. The long-standing nature of the relationship can help the supplier build customer need satisfaction into the business plan and strategy. Over a period of time it may be possible to integrate supplier – client systems and procedures (eg on-line order processing) and harmonise quality controls. Eventually this can lead to strategic supplier alliances or partnerships allowing substantial information sharing, mutual problem-solving and cost reduction.
A typical example of this is in the increasing number of alliances between product manufacturers and service suppliers. A small computer manufacturer or reseller may find themselves competing with larger organisations who offer a full “turnkey” solution wrapping their own brand of consulting services around the hardware sales. In this instance the smaller business sometimes fails to win because the client perceives them as merely selling boxes, and not understanding the strategic issues linked to the introduction of new technology.
The smaller hardware supplier can establish an alliance with a non-competing IT Consultancy whose specialisations in IT Strategy, project management or training can be jointly packaged as a single offer to the client.
This can reposition the hardware supplier as a “one stop shop” and enable their involvement in decision-making within both strategy and across other areas of implementation. Eventually such a partnership can help the hardware provider to learn how to set up and deliver their own consultancy services. Customers are increasingly demanding more choice in their purchases and more flexibility from suppliers. Partnership arrangements can be a fast and cost-effective process to meet such demands or offer differentiation without the costs and risks of building inhouse resources.
The stages in developing a partnership can include:
* Identifying a product or service which will enhance the value of your own core offer.
* Researching the perceptions of its value amongst customers and prospects.
* Defining and costing the new offer with a non-competing organisation who are willing to transfer knowledge and who are not intent on building their own brand to compete.
* Agreeing terms of reference, mutual responsibilities and contact management details to manage relationships.
* Piloting and responding to feedback.
* Sharing information and teamworking at all levels are pre-requisites for success and both parties need the skills and systems to support this.
Whilst the focus of this document has been on direct business to business selling, distribution networking and selling through third parties should not be overlooked. A local distribution network can replace or work alongside direct salespersons. This can involve distributors, agents, wholesales, and retailers. The benefits of low-cost coverage and faster local response can attract customers and standards or service must be consistent throughout the network. The distributors themselves should be treated as a customer by the original supplier who should be aware of the distributor needs and motivations. A distributor may look for a number of benefits from the supplier: offers which attract, product information, technical support, marketing support, training, loyalty or incentive schemes, ease of contact. This requires a comprehensive support plan.
The support plan can specify the quality standards expected of the distributor eg. inventory maintenance, staff training, customer satisfaction measures, and delivery timeframes.
For displayed products there should be consistent visual standards, covering sometimes not only merchandising material but also literature, building layout and dress codes. These will reinforce a brand image and give customers the security of consistency. To minimise “performance scatter”, benchmarks should be specified and successful performers should be encouraged to share how they achieved the standards. The star performers may need an incentive to share their experience with others.
The distributors of an electronics supplier were performing with significantly different results and it would have been too costly and taken too long for the supplier to have visited all outlets to identify the problems and implement solutions. Instead the supplier used an independent consultant to facilitate a series of business development workshops at head office at which the distributors shared and developed ideas between themselves to improve performance.
The process included new product launches, competitor briefings, meetings with supplier support staff and teamwork exercises between distributors. As a result all attendees felt they benefited in different ways, and underperformers were able to learn not only what to do differently but how to put in into practice from those who had succeeded.
The amount of control a supplier can exercise over distributors depends upon their status as either independent or franchised. Franchises must not supply competitor products, whereas independents can, and use this to play off suppliers against each other. The supplier must decide the degree of control they want or are able to exercise, and can offer varying degrees of support in tune with the degree of commitment by the distributor. Suppliers can take financial stakes in networks and simply increase representation levels to exercise control. These varied options should be regularly analysed so that events do not dictate distributor development strategy.
Distributers themselves can influence the resources available to them by drawing up a business plan for the supplier approval. The format of a plan could include sales and marketing objectives, customer care and loyalty incentives, training, direct marketing activities and performance review processes. Distributors should be encouraged to develop their own ideas rather than be directed centrally as they will feel greater ownership and commitment. Their ideas may well be transportable to others in the network too. Sales conferences are useful vehicles to help this, creating teamwork and the opportunity for good performance to be recognised in front of the peer group.
Praise and recognitions through public presentations will motivate distributors, and can be linked to the performance standards important to the supplier. These can go beyond achieving revenue or unit sales, targeting areas like staff training or customer satisfaction.
An impartial party eliciting customer views can judge these. Such exercises will focus distributors on customer needs more so than conventional turnover targets. More general communications should be coordinated through a distributor specialist who can develop other communication channels to keep the network information of relevant news. Management bulletins, newsletters and briefings can ensure the network receives regular and clear information. Staff within the suppliers company also need to be kept informed so they can see the results of their support and focus efforts where they are most needed. It is essential that customers perceive visible teamworking in the supply chain, and a crucial element is the building of a customer database centrally. Local outlets may need guidelines on what information to collect such as sales records, advertisement responses and customer complaints. This data can help the supplier identify buying patterns, marketing needs and product development issues. This collection of valuable facts will protect the supplier business should there be any changes of distributor, as well as helping the two parties support each other.
This briefing paper has outlined a number of ways of winning and managing sales. We will end with two final tips: responding to lost business, and how to get more sales with no extra cost.
Business losses will occur when prospecting and when maintaining customers. Whilst it is tempting for suppliers to shrug shoulders “c’est la vie” and move on quickly without dwelling on negatives, if this happens the opportunity disappears for learning from the event and putting into place loss prevention measures to stop a trickle becoming a stream. All significant losses should be analysed as the majority is preventable. The supplier should start by examining the processes involved in the sale, whether poor qualification, insufficient cost-benefits or simply not keeping in touch. For an important loss, bringing in an independent reviewer will overcome the problems of customers being unwilling to tell the supplier directly what they feel, and salespersons being unwilling to accept responsibility for their own shortcomings. A brief call or visit by a third party can be a very valuable investment.
Finally the simplest and most cost-effective method of winning new business with no cost implications is to ask for referrals. A request can be made not only of satisfied customers, but even during the initial sales cycle, provided a relationship of trust has been established. The process is straightforward: check the client’s feelings about your relationship; if they are happy, ask who else they know who could also take advantage of your offering and ask why they may be interested; check if you can mention the referrer’s name or if they would wish to contact the prospect themselves; then thank them and keep them informed of progress.
In doing this latter you will create yet more opportunities to request further referrals leading to more business. If clients decline to give a referral this may well be a symptom of an unhappy client, giving you the opportunity of checking and improving their satisfaction levels: a win-win situation. Employ these ideas and the lifeblood of your business will be a stream of clients who keep coming back for more.
The purpose of this briefing paper is to recommend a combination of tools and techniques to consider in order to improve the productive cooperation of people inside and outside the business. This document can be used as a discussion paper for managers to identify and prioritise issues which need addressing. It should be noted that there are no single prescriptive solutions, but the items below are based on practical best practice identified within other successful organisations. This shows that a combination of success factors are required to achieve the best result. These factors are listed below, with further explanatory guidance.
Objectives exist at three main levels: organisation, team and individual. However, the pace of change means that priorities change at all levels very quickly. People often fail to share such changes with all relevant parties. This can mean people pull in different directions, waste energy, and get frustrated. People at all levels in the different departments should be regularly advised of top level changes (eg merging sales and service operations) and be given advice on the impact to their own roles and objectives. Teams should then use this as an opportunity to re-appraise priorities and incentives. Often this may not happen and the benefits of macro-level change may not be supported at micro-level. Such cascade blockages can be prevented by ensuring people on the ground reset directions quickly when new circumstances demand. A simple way to assess how well goals are aligned across functions is to ask managers to write down their understanding of other managers priorities & measures of success. Do they know them? Are the links between them clear? If not it is probable they are not mutually supporting each other.
The mainstay of organisational growth is dependent on the quality of people and their ability to develop their skills and roles. People’s flexibility is greatly enhanced through learning “on the job”, yet most organisations put people in “job boxes” which can limit their horizons. This especially applies to managers who have developed their careers through expertise in a particular function which may reinforce silo preferences. The creation of cross-functional projects should be sponsored by managers who have experienced secondments into adjacent departments & who therefore have a better understanding of shared (or different) working practices. A week going “back to the floor” in another function will significantly improve a managers understanding & expectations of opportunities & threats to change programmes. It also gives an opportunity to see the result of delegation to those who are deputising for the manager during the secondment.
This is the process of sharing best practice for mutual improvement. It is often performed by comparing operating processes with different organisations & industries. It encourages people to disclose their agendas & issues with open transparency, create a common purpose, & work together so all parties gain. It is now common practice for Chief Executives to be recruited from outside a marketplace for their potential to innovate & stimulate change. New systems & ways of working can be more easily imported by creating a “benchmarking forum” to engender teamwork with other non-competing organisations. There are many external facilitators experienced in setting up appropriate guidelines for the participants of such projects, & some have online access to Enterprise Benchmark forums which allows companies to share success measures online.
Recognition schemes are often ring-fenced around people within their own immediate circle. Such self-imposed boundaries may be seen as self-congratulatory by those who are outside the circle (especially in sales). This can lead to feelings of “them & us”.
Yet success is almost always part of a wider team effort involving back office support. People behind the scenes should be identified by those on the front stage.
Creating awards which can be only be nominated & judged by people in the supply chain outside their department can encourage people to go beyond their own boundaries looking for things that go well. This improves inter-team cooperation & information sharing. It can also be applied with equal effectiveness to customers & suppliers. These can be invited to supply chain award events to network with the “bigger” team.
Employee partners are a part of the supply chain too, & can make a substantial contribution to the motivation & work ethic of key people. Rewarding their personal & private support can pay dividends in retention & energy levels. Events can be held outside working hours, & allow people to get to know each other without the baggage of job titles & work issues. What makes people tick is often not what people see or show in the office.
Business has begun to recognise they will attract & keep quality people across all stakeholder groups if their espoused corporate values are reflected in day to day management behaviour. Corporate Values statements are by themselves insufficient, & indeed may be more damaging if there is evidence of managers paying lip-service to those beliefs. Brand value can be diluted as can the reputation of top management when gaps appear between aspired & actual principles at work. The review, definition & communication of work-place values will generate energy & stimulate high levels of teamwork around shared values & beliefs.
“We’ve hired them for their experience – they don’t need support”
“Incoming managers tread carefully to start with anyway”
“They already know the issues because they have good industry knowledge”
“External mentors just muddy the waters”
Quotes by Personnel Director of the London Stock Exchange and Director of the Industrial Society:
“Management machismo no longer requires them to deny needing further training and development, coaching or advice”.
“Managers may, after all, only need a sounding board and a bit of a steer every now and again”.
“You can’t always bounce HR issues off other people in the business because they will look at it in relation to themselves, and you won’t get an objective view”.
“You also get an informed view of other angles you might not have thought about”.
“Few chief executives have the time or the skills to give professional support to their personnel managers”.
“I often found it hard to understand what the business looked for from personnel and how best to develop my own skills and contribution to meet those needs”.
(Taken from the Sanders and Sidney Survey “Surviving the Honeymoon”)
* 36% found the new job didn’t work out after spending an average 11 months with the company.
* Employers calculated they lost an average of £60k as a result of losing key managers.
* Employers took an average 4.6 months to recognise the problem.
* 62% candidates interviewed well but could not deliver.
* 45% employees felt they suffered most at middle management level.
* 37% felt they suffered from changes in the company’s situation.
* 35% said they found out they didn’t get on with their boss.
* 32% admitted not doing their homework before joining.
* 38% wanted a mentor with whom they could discuss progress.
* 74% of employers and 68% of employees said the most important responsibility during settling in periods was to undertake regular reviews and feedback.
* Both new people and their organisation are most vulnerable in the first six months.
* Regular feedback reviews are vital & can be undertaken by independent individuals.
* Problems are often identified too late because people fear failure.
* Perform internal and external reviews of recruitment & retention by independent specialists.
* These reviews should be sponsored by senior management who are involved in addressing issues.
* Ensure reviews are tailored to individual and company needs and undertaken by experienced & professionally qualified consultants.
* Create a process so that improvements in systems & practices are measured.
IIE is a management tool based on the internationally recognised benchmark of best practice The Business Excellence Model. It helps managers review and clarify their key actions and results to achieve their goals at work. It sets out best practice in organisation development so that employers make the most of their investment across all key operations. The standard improves outcomes for customer satisfaction, employee training, innovation, and community partnerships. It has been developed by Best In Class organisations to meet the increasing demands of their markets and stakeholders across public, private and non-profit sectors. Its adoption by successful organisations, large and small, has created a wealth of case studies and evidence that prove value to the bottom line, which organisation aspiring to Be the Best can adopt and adapt.
It was created by a consortium of successful business people who pooled best practice with international standards to offer this on a non-profit basis to ensure accessibility and take-up. The IIE standard has been developed and tailored to the changing needs of different employers and evolving economic conditions. Successful employers and benchmark authorities are consulted to maintain its validity and relevance as an effective performance management tool which stimulates new ways of working without imposing unnecessary internal or external costs or processes.
It is supported by standards authorities and key employer stakeholders across the UK who represent financial institutions, manufacturers, professional service providers, retailers, government and community services. Independent specialists are available at no cost to advise organisations how to achieve the standard. A large community of Directors and operational managers are now realising the benefits of using the standard to re-align their limited organisation resources to their fast-changing market environments.
It starts with a simple self-assessment against the benchmark based on a structured evidence-based survey. This recognises success based on the principles of appreciative enquiry and identifies opportunities to further enhance effectiveness. The survey enables an action plan to be created by the management team to celebrate successes and address improvement areas. Once these initial quick wins have been established the organisation can choose to be formally reviewed and recognised by externally trained assessors, or to continue to develop their own internal review process. Often both steps are taken to raise goals and operating standards, and receive external peer group recognition.
An externally trained assessor can give initial guidance to internal operational managers so they can quickly draft an action plan supported by top management. The action plan focuses on maintaining strengths as well as improving the way the organisation plans, communicates, manages and develops its internal and external resources. This action plan is integrated into normal operating plans ensuring people focus on doing what works best. If, after implementing actions, the organisation wants wider public recognition, then an external assessment can give a final review to enable the organisation to advertise its success externally. This enhances Employer Branding to help recruit and retain the best people. Research shows that people are attracted to join employers who prove they have successfully achieved high recognised standards.
IIE helps organisations to obtain a better payback on the investment in internal and external resources by:
creating a culture of self-development; applying assets and resources more effectively; giving managers a simple and effective framework to achieve targets; measuring everyones contribution to success; attracting, motivating and retaining top talent in a competitive environment; aligning development strategies with the organisations goals and values.
The starting point is to clarify what you want to achieve. Successful people invariable talk about how setting objectives give them a focus. Many of them also articulate a clear sense of purpose, a mission in life, encapsulating why they exist. One of the best known mission statements comes from the fictional Captain Kirk of StarTrek: ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’. Such a statement can not only act as a launch-pad for self-direction, it can also help others around you know your driving force and understand what makes you tick. Beware however creating a statement which is long-winded or complex. Keeping it short and simple, even unwritten, will avoid confusion. Obama’s mantra “Yes we can” will be remembered by millions. Nike Corporation’s “Go for it” was shortened to “I can”. A much smaller consultancy firm’s published aim is “to make a difference”. Articulating your overall purpose is a fundamental step before setting objectives.
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. The next step is set out clear goals and objectives against which you can measure achievement and success. Without these it is impossible to say if you are travelling in the right direction or when you expect to arrive at your destination. Goals should relate to a timescale around which you wish to exercise control. Whilst in business the pace of change makes it difficult to plan more than three or five years ahead, the wider context of matters outside and beyond work should also be considered. Where do you want to be in ten years? Retirement planning is essential to start early, yet far too many, especially in smaller businesses, fail to make effective provision for themselves and their dependents. Visualise the future, and what you want it to look like. Set yourself a LIFETIME goal. Then, working backwards in time you can identify key markers which will keep you on track to achieve what you want from life. By including goals which are non-work related you will avoid the trap of work becoming an end in itself rather than just a means towards a better life. On an anecdotal point the writer comes from a family of self-employed parents and grandparents. With the same aim in mind, the writer purposefully undertook a variety of jobs at different levels in different departments and industries to eventually become a self-employed business manager. Without an eye on the long-term it would have been easy to become side-tracked into a short-term opportunity.
The components of an effective objective are described in the acronym SMART: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timetabled. A Specific target could be to redeem the mortgage or open a branch office, and Measurable means putting a figure on it e.g. Earn £75,000 p.a. Agreed means obtaining the commitment of other stakeholders who may be involved in supporting your objectives. The number of objectives should be Realistically manageable and should complement and not compete with other objectives, e.g. The costs of opening a branch office may prevent earning £75,000 the same year. Change is constant and there should be an appropriate regular review of objectives so that you can respond quickly to any new circumstances which may deflect you from your aims. Your amended aims should again be shared with those stakeholders who are party to success, so that they feel shared ownership and commitment (including suppliers, customers and the local community). Business people are increasingly entering into partnerships and managing supply chains where the sharing and aligning of people’s different objectives can result in more realistic expectations of yourself.
After devising personal objectives it is necessary to analyse another fundamental resource for achieving them – yourself. By looking at what you want to achieve and the tasks required you will be able to identify the skills and knowledge needed. If you work in a primarily technical environment, then knowledge of particular products or processes may be important. If your environment is mainly people-oriented, then the skills to develop and manage others may be vital. Review yourself objectively by examining the key components of your job, the ideal underpinning skills and knowledge of the jobholder and then compare yourself with this ideal. Any gaps between the ideal person specification and your own abilities will be training needs. Prioritise these needs and decide how these training needs should be addressed.
An effective training plan should also be “smart” and should include both short-term training needs, and longer-term development needs. Development needs may also relate to professional education requirements, particularly if your job status requires mandatory continuous professional education. In this instance a written plan for the year and a review process are essential evidence for maintaining status within your professional body. The concept of Lifetime Learning is now accepted commercial practice, with the emphasis on your active self-development, rather than passive acknowledgement that training is merely something to do when time permits.
There are four elements to a training plan: the objectives (what you intend to learn or do as a result); how you will implement training (through projects at work, formal class-room tuition, reading or audio-visual media); a schedule showing the implementation; and a review measuring what was done and it’s effectiveness for you.
You should also consider your preferred learning style as selecting inappropriate methods will hinder development. Peter Honey’s four styles are commonly referred to. Activists who are often lively outgoing types who like to “learn by doing”; these people prefer games, exercises and activities, such as role-play. Reflectors are more cautious and quieter often observing others before getting involved; they benefit from time to analyse and review. Pragmatists like to develop new ideas and quickly link them to the job in hand. Theorists want to see the rationale for change and understand the model or system before applying it on a step by step basis. Decide which of these four types is your preferred style and ensure the training method fits accordingly.
Most learning occurs naturally and informally at work, and it is worth reflecting upon the opportunities that present themselves and how you can take better advantage of them. Mixing with and sharing work with others allows for learning through information exchange; involvement in research activities; even personal activities outside work (voluntary work, club secretary, school governor) provide a rich source of experience which can supplement work-based activities. If you do not take your personal development seriously you will be sending a clear message to all those who work with you or for you.
An effective way of demonstrating your intent to learn is to ask those who work with you to rate your effectiveness in your job. You will usually find this overcomes the deficiencies of your own subjective self-appraisal, particularly if you ask for their anonymous feedback and assure them of no recriminations.
Any long term or short-term plans should consider the Pareto Principle whereby eighty percent of results are created by twenty percent of activities. The same principle applies to managing daily workflow. There are always a few key activities, which contribute to the majority of output. The most effective tactical tool for personal time management is the To Do List which when applied effectively will significantly improve the planning of your own time, and help others to respect your own. This does not mean simply listing things to do in the day, and there are a number of rules to follow for the To Do List (whether on PC or paper) to be a workable tool.
The list should comprise a realistic number of items (maximum 20) each of which is prioritised either “must” “should” or “could”. Important and urgent items take priority and must be done first, avoiding the trap of doing “easy” tasks, which invariable divert time from difficult yet important ones. Write a start time and estimated completion time for deadlined items and bundle similar tasks together (eg telephone calls). Try to put tasks which require high quality output into the timezone when you are most alert, recognising the natural peaks and troughs of your bodyclock. Decide firstly if you are an “owl” (more alert in the evening) or a “lark” (more alert in the morning), then consider if your activity sequences will fit your natural body clock (e.g. a difficult meeting). Always build in contingency time to respond to external unpredicted events, and build in “rest” or “thinking” time before changing tasks; most people tend to generate high activity time which can usually be reduced by better planning. Reward yourself or say “well done” when completing tasks to maintain a desire to achieve more.
If you are part of a team work-flow chain then sharing To Do Lists will identify overlaps, gaps or other issues in advance. Develop your list at the same time every day so it becomes habit-forming, and try to schedule difficult tasks early on as they will otherwise hover over you like a dark cloud. Sometimes smaller chunks of larger tasks should be added and your creation of a separate “long term” To Do List will ensure these items are addressed before they become critical (and are rushed). It is particularly important to include personal development activities to ensure they are not continually deferred. Keep the list handy for easy reference and communication to others who may have a habit of passing tasks to you without understanding what you already have in hand.
If you find you are still unable to manage time then you should perform an audit of where your time goes to diagnose and resolve the problem. The steps involved are as follows:
List the activities performed in a typical week, including making and receiving phone calls, attending meetings, travelling, lunch and rest breaks. Allow space to add unexpected activities such as interruptions from colleagues. Using this simple format, mark the number of minutes actually spent in each activity as you go through a typical week, totalling up at the end of a week. Check how these totals relate to what SHOULD be happening, i.e. under ideal circumstance where should your time have gone? You may have found that you have a persistent interrupter, in which case your interruption log may be used to help you persuade the interrupter to batch their interruptions at a time agreeable to both. Alternatively this may show you that you are “feeding the monkey”.
“Feeding the monkey” is an expression for doing things unnecessarily for other people. There are many time thieves, and “monkeys” are those activities thrown to you by people who are often passing the buck. They may be suppliers, customers, people inside or outside your own business, and are often your own staff. You may even enjoy feeding the monkey because you are flattered to be asked, or it may be an interesting diversion. Unfortunately monkeys eat into your discretionary time (i.e. time available after fulfilling the demands of your real job) and every time you feed it, it becomes more dependent upon yourself.
Recommendations for handling monkeys are:
* Feed them face to face or by phone, not by memo, at an assigned feeding time;
* Keep the monkey population low;
* If you don’t feed them, shoot them, and avoid saying “leave it with me”.
Monkeys are more likely to leave you alone once you have mastered the art of delegation. Decisions over routine matters can often be made elsewhere, and most people get a sense of achievement from completing entire jobs rather than doing piece-work. Delegation however is often unsuccessful when a few key steps are omitted. Common errors include failing to explain why the job is necessary, why you selected them to do it, what the result should look like and what other resources exist to support them.
After delegating it is useful to ask how they feel about doing it (if it is new to them) and always thank and give credit for good work. Where appropriate you can delegate message-taking to voicemail, so you can choose how and when to respond at your own convenience. The best way of getting monkeys off your back, however, is to teach them how to feed themselves. There is no other way of doing this than by asking them to reflect how they could do it themselves, offering advice and encouragement, to coach them into independence. Give them a fish and you feed them for a day; give them a rod and you feed them for a lifetime.
Communications with others is time-consuming, none more so than meetings. More than half of a manager’s time is invested in conferences, either by phone or face to face, and there are some simple ways of substantially reducing time wasted. A few time-savers are as follows: Stick to start and end times; allocate time per agenda item; appoint an assertive timekeeper (separate to the chair); write minutes as you go; meet whilst standing up so people feel more urgency; attend for only the relevant discussion points, bring others back on track quickly; ensure you start prepared. Wasted telephone calls can be equally frustrating, and for outbound calling it is useful to record the best time to reach people or let them know your own availability. A saving of only 5% of your day equates to 14 days a year.
Travel time is also an area where significant savings can be made. Is the trip a necessity? Can you start early or leave late to avoid rush-hour? Are there alternative routes? Do you have a recorder to capture important ideas en route while stationary in traffic? Could you play learning CD’s in the car? There are increasing numbers of personal development books now in audio media for travel time.
Most busy people have difficulty finding time to read the increasing volumes of information now available and information overload is an issue we often made worse through overuse of technology’s ability to copy data world-wide. Speed-reading can increase your capacity from 200 up to 1000 words per minute, a five-fold increase. More efficient reading can also improve concentration and comprehension. For a general improvement to reading ability it is important to clear the workspace, set time limits and hold an upright posture with the reading material at about forty five degrees in front. Your eyes should be guided with a pointed (a pencil or finger will do) which sweeps the page with eyes following at a constant speed. Scan the first and last paragraphs for key ideas, and then focus only on nouns and verbs in the body of the text. Avoid stopping and going back, as creating a flow and momentum is important. Gently increasing speed over a period of time will ensure you develop the skill at your own pace.
Technology perversely can multiply the amount of paperwork we handle, and cluttered desks hinder clear or creative thinking, so the temptation to leave a number of different tasks on the desk should be resisted. Adopting the GUTS system can help: Give it away, Use it, Throw it away, or Send it. Grouping papers and putting them away quickly is essential; a waste-bin should be used frequently instead of a pending tray. When in doubt, throw it out. Try to remove your name from circulation lists, and have a daily routine of filing. At least once a year in a less busy period, review files and clear out unnecessary information. Documents should be retained only on the basis of importance and regularity of referral as about 90% of files are never referred to.
The increasing volumes of information can be better managed by people with good memories, a skill, which is mainly acquired rather than inherited. Your head contains three brains, not one: the Reptilian brain, which stems from the spinal column and controls basic instincts and functions (breathing and sense of territory); the Mammalian brain (or “limbic system”) which controls emotion, sleep and long-term memory; and Neocortex, the two-sided cerebrum that controls intellectual processes (reasoning and talking). The latter comprises the left-hand “logical” brain, controlling language, and the right-hand “creative” brain for artistry, music and innovation. The two sides combine to assist the memory function in three stages: registration of information, retention, and retrieval. Your brain has the capacity to register and retain every single piece of information you encounter. Your challenge lies in recalling and retrieving, and “memory-masters” often use a few simple techniques to do this.
Linking new information to existing knowledge can be facilitated by exaggeration, humour and emotive images. The brain is stimulated by the unusual and if you have difficulty remembering people’s names this technique works well. The name Clive Bonny can be transformed into Bonnie and Clyde alongside the image of a gun-toting gangster into which you can insert the person’s face. Music can be anchored to particular memories, so that when you learn or experience something whilst hearing a particular musical piece, the playback will recall the original context.
One of the most common memory techniques is “mind-mapping” pioneered by Tony Buzan. Mind-maps mirror how the brain works by stimulating both left and right brain hemispheres.
The principle of brain mapping is to record information on paper (or screen) in a format which fits how your brain likes to register and retain information. The principle steps are as follows: Start with a blank sheet and a central image or word representing the theme of your subject. Draw curved lines outward from the centre with each line containing one word. Use up to four colours and vary the size of word to reflect it’s importance. Use the same colour for each branch of lines and images rather than words appeals to the right-hand brain; drawing arrows and patterns to connect themes appeals to the left-brain. The style of the finished item may appear like a confused octopus, but your memory will prefer it to conventional alpha-numeric information and you will find yourself recalling more information by scanning your brain-map than by recording in traditional methods. Applications include speech-making, project planning, problem-solving, creating ideas and taking minutes. Other techniques include rhyming principles e.g. “Thirty days has September, April, June and November….”, acronyms e.g. “SMART” objectives, and “peg” systems which hook your information to images which are more memorable: The number 7 can be represented by a boomerang, the letter B by a bumble-bee, the word Monday by money, or August by a gust of wind. As with developing any new skill, such techniques will feel uncomfortable at first, but with patience and practice you will find that enhancing your memory can both astound your colleagues and improve your abilities in a wide range of activities.
Mental fitness is paramount to personal effectiveness, as it is increasingly more difficult to cope with the pressures and demands of work and home. At home there are more and more expectations related to consumer comforts and relationships. At work the pace of change in the job, new targets, technology, deadlines and flatter hierarchies combine to create an environment of pressure.
Everyone experiences pressure which in itself can stretch you to better performance, but too much pressure for too long leads to stress if you are unable to manage it. Stress can also occur in very short periods: making a presentation; doing a task for the first time; handling an irate person; making a mistake; being late for a meeting; or just high noise levels. Your body responds by automatically increasing heart rate and blood pressure, tensing muscles and the digestive system, and increasing breathing rate. This is your body’s fight or flight response programmed by evolution for emergencies. The problem at work is you are unable to release these physical symptoms with a physical response thereby creating a bottleneck, which further increases pressure. This can create a downward spiral.
The first step in managing stress is to recognise the symptoms. You can identify signs by feeling impatient, depressed, frustrated or isolated. You may hear yourself slam phones or doors, drum fingers or talking quickly. Visually you may catch yourself nail-biting, blinking excessively or changing your eating and sleeping patterns. These tell-tale signals should be taken seriously and quickly on board. Most people suffering stress are usually diagnosed by all but themselves, and the “loose cannon” effect only serves to further isolate the sufferer. A stressed manager is often unapproachable yet is often the first to complain that people around them are failing to communicate. The ripple effect then creates bigger problems. Sometimes it is simply a person’s perspective which generates stress – the old adage of the glass being half full or half empty. The personality “type A” is a restless high achiever and more likely than “type B”, who is more relaxed and accepting, to put pressure on themselves. You can create new perspectives by putting yourself in the shoes of others, by sharing your views, or by writing up the issues and assessing them factually. A few simple ways to put things in perspective are to think how the issue could be even more difficult to manage (making reality relatively easy) or consider how much more important other matters are (making this issue relatively unimportant). Focus on those activities which you control especially your thought pattern, which should be positive. The American habit of writing or saying out loud positive mental affirmations (“PMA”) is recommended.
Mental health is governed also by physical health. Your environment must be comfortable: avoid fluorescent bulbs, have a fresh air flow, control room temperature. Your workspace should not be cramped, and your chair should assist lumbar support and give you a straight spine. Your keyboard should allow elbows to be directly under shoulders with forearms parallel to the floor, without resting on the desktop. A two minute break from the VDU every twenty minutes will prevent headaches, particularly standing up to stretch and change eye focus. Closing the eyes for a minute can also help.
Using a telephone headset has been proven to reduce neck and shoulder tension or swap a normal headset between your listening ears. Organisations are increasingly offering lunchtime massage and short courses in self-massage are now available for office workers. The choice of colour scheme affects the thinking climate: yellow stimulates creativity, blue facilitates deeper thinking, green promotes calm, and red stimulates challenge. Some companies now have colour-coded rooms for different activities. More than 250 different harmful chemicals have now been identified in office air, known as VOC (volatile organic compounds). These come from photocopiers, wall insulation and floor materials and from dry cleaned clothing. Studies by NASA have shown that plant leaves absorb many of these pollutants, purifying the air naturally, especially spider plants, chrysanthemums, azaleas, tulips and lilies.
Besides managing your environment you should also plan your food and drink intake. Six to eight glasses of water per day is optimum, and installing a water tank in the office, instead of a coffee or cola dispenser, will also reduce the build up of stomach acid. Vitamin supplements will overcome some of the deficiencies of fast food at lunchtime.
Vitamin A in fish oils improves vision and joint flexibility. B vitamins in meat, milk and eggs help memory especially B5 and B6, Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant, which protects other vitamins from destruction, and Vitamin E in grain and wheat improves cell oxygenisation. Rather than eating sweets, try glucose tablets as they can generate 25 watts of electricity for brain functions (the brain needs 70% of the body’s glucose). The wrong diet equates to putting diesel into a sports car.
Your speed of thought and mental agility should be supported by a physical agility programme. Exercise is not just for the sporty types but must be seen as an essential building block to your quality of life. Fitness is an effective stress-buster and your physical fitness plan should aim for a gradual improvement in your exercise frequency and type. You should build up slowly to a half-hour workout every other day. If you have had little exercise previously this may take several months. Select an environment in which you enjoy exercise, which could be either in a club or at home, and try to set goals which give you sense of accomplishment. These could be stretching from ten to fifteen lengths of a swimming pool, or be a walk to the local station rather than a drive. There are many excuses for not exercising regularly, but if you ask colleagues who do it if they would go back to inactivity they will often say NO. Exercise will clear your mind of worries, release physical tension, help you sleep and give you more energy to enjoy life. As one major leisure company says “Just Do It”, but remember over-exercising is as dangerous as under–exercising.
One of the greatest causes of personal stress is to take on more than you can do. People prefer not to say NO being more competitive (Type “A”) and want to win against all odds. Others prefer not to appear to be weak and their desire to support others results in overloading themselves. About 95% of the population fall into one of these two styles – either aggressive or passive, and although most would prefer to think of themselves as assertive, only about 5% of people are naturally so. The key differences between these three styles can be defined as follows:
Assertive types express themselves at no-one else’s expense. Passive types fail to express themselves at their own expense. Aggressive types express themselves at someone else’s expense. The problem of aggressive types in the workplace is widely recognised and the law now protects against bullying at work. Forms of harassment, which can now lead to perpetrators becoming personally liable in the courts, include offensive jokes or gestures, purposefully excluding others from social activities and coercion and intrusion by pestering. The legal interpretation of a healthy and safe working environment now includes mental not just physical health and there are numerous cases of large financial compensations being awarded against complacent employers and managers. The message to aggressive types is to recognise the risks of inappropriate behaviour before it is too late, and for passive types to realise they have a final mechanism for support if all else fails. Prevention though is preferred by asking for what you want, directly and openly in a way which respects others rights.
Your involvement in conflict situations will not be a threat if you make decisions and behave in a way which supports all parties. Ethical awareness like physical fitness can keep you in mental and moral shape if you can recognise and address ethical dilemmas. Ethical practice has been defined as “obedience to the unenforceable”, and “right versus right”. Effective ethical analysis is helped when dilemmas are reviewed using a structured decision-making framework
D Define issues and consequences
I Identify stakeholders affected
L Link consequences to stakeholders
E Evaluate options for action
M Major impacts?
M Minor impacts?
A Act upon or Advise best options
S Survey outcomes
A difficult decision can become easier when a structured process is applied to identify and balance the pros and cons of particular options, recognising that “lesser rights” are not necessarily “wrongs” and that “higher rights” are not always the only valid ethical outcomes. An example might be the decision to create redundancies when there is a small risk of business closure. The short-term gains need to be balanced by longer term needs; loyalty for individuals may be offset by loyalty to the team; personal desires for survival need to consider community requirements. Resolving such dilemmas will be easier if you apply a structured method based on commonly agreed principles for resolving dilemmas.
Three principles commonly applied include doing what is best for the greatest number of people, doing what you would like others to do to you, and following the rule of law. Your choices become easier if you understand and agree with the decision-making principles of the people with whom you work. Teams discover this when they begin to discuss and agree a set of values. Consequently, finding out the values of others around you and communicating your own values can help you identify and address potentially deep-rooted conflicts before they happen.
Responding to conflict in a positive way is extremely difficult. Conflict tends to harden your attitude and stimulate the “flight or fight” response, creating further pressure. The least stressful approach is to take a structured approach without rushing for solutions: acknowledge a problem exists and actively listen to people’s positions; identify concerns openly and search for joint solutions; finally check that everyone will commit to the agreed outcome, and ensure it is implemented to the satisfaction of all. Handling pressure in a planned way will usually result in positive outcomes.
This guide has reviewed a number of key issues related to managing yourself: Planning direction, controlling time, developing mind and body, and managing difficult situations. Much of the advice may be considered as common sense, and “old adage”. Your greatest challenge is to review the extent you actually apply good practice. By doing so you will not only define and achieve your goals, you will also by acting as a role model enable others to achieve theirs.
As reviewing your own effectiveness is a fundamental principle to managing yourself, you are invited to self-score the statements below. Score either 0 = not at all, 1 = sometimes, 2 = usually, 3 = always.
AT HOME I have enough
a) time with family
b) sleep
c) exercise
d) financial stability
e) relaxation time
f) social intercourse
g) fresh food
h) hobbies
i) emotional fulfilment
j) time to plan LIFE goals
AT WORK I have enough
k) management support
L) teamwork with colleagues
m) time to think and plan
n) knowledge and skills to do a good job
o) time to complete tasks
p) recognition when I do a good job
q) time for breaks
r) trust and respect from others
s) involvement in decisions affecting me.
t) Reward and compensation
Your scores will show you where strengths and areas for improvement exist. Your final step is to develop an action plan to address the gaps:
* What are your priorities and objectives?
* When could you start and complete
* How will you implement change?
* Who will support your plan?
* How will you measure success?
And go for it!
Clive has run an independent training consultancy Strategic Management Partners since 1990, tailoring personal development for individuals and teams. He has supported transformation programmes in public and private organisations with government funding. Clive is an Institute assessor and trainer of Certified Management Consultants, assesses organisations for Business Excellence Awards, is a Charter signatory to the national Wellbeing standard of Mindful Employer, and delivers business partnership coaching to enable busy people achieve their goals.
The international management advisor Stephen Covey described one of the Seven Habits of Successful People as “starting with the end in mind”. This guide will help you to improve your relationships with clients to achieve mutual success and sustainable results. You will learn additional enabling processes which support results through two case studies drawn from actual assignments. This guide is based on the premise that client relations should achieve “customer delight” and not just “customer satisfaction”.
The failure of companies to achieve customer “delight” can often be attributed to a failure to keep in touch with changing customer needs. The larger the supplier the greater the difficulty in focusing the workforce to obtain high quality up to date information regarding client wants and needs. There are several challenges: the time taken from product design to market can fall behind changes in consumer requirements; the widening ranges in product and consumer segments are becoming more difficult to match; competitor speed to reproduce similar offerings is faster; consumers are looking for added value, and suppliers overlook relationship management skills.
The standard management practice of the supplier performing a survey by mail or telephone is unreliable; single source feedback may omit stakeholder input and client contacts may not wish to directly criticise their supplier contacts. External consultants can ensure objective design of survey questions, independent analysis of responses, and demonstrate to customers the supplier’s commitment for accuracy and integrity of feedback. Questions such as “How does supplier X compare to suppliers Y & Z” and “How responsive do you find Mr. X and Mrs Y?” are more likely to obtain frank feedback when asked by an independent third party.
The consultant should prepare before such contacts by reviewing the client file and checking the account managers understanding of client needs. The latter can include observing behaviour on the telephone and at meetings or presentations with the customer, to assess the level of rapport and their proficiency in surveying customer requirements. The consultant’s role can be described to customers openly so the customer recognises the involvement of a third party as an opportunity to strengthen relations with the supplier. This is particularly effective if there is potential conflict or mistrust between buyer and supplier which may reduce the frankness of feedback if the supplier directly asks for constructive criticism.
A few initial tips: when planning a customer visit, does the account manager prepare by obtaining the most recent relevant company press and news information? When meeting does the account manager clarify roles, objectives, and potential benefits of the meeting for all parties?
Network mapping the links between people, objectives, values and processes can also help clarify communication needs for co-working between supplier and buyer towards common goals with shared outcomes.
The following Case Study outlines the challenges, actions and outcomes of a consultancy project undertaken in an environment of restricted market opportunities and internal restructuring to reduce costs.
The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how an already successful organisation has cost-effectively applied external development resource to further build on success in customer relationship management.
The company has been profitable for many years and, as specialists in their sector, they have been recognised as the fastest growing supplier in their field. The industry’s trade association found them to have the highest levels of customer satisfaction and their senior executive team were also recognised as the highest performers in their sector in independent surveys.
The external market is highly competitive with major suppliers bidding against each other and against clients own internal resourcing. There is increasing pressure on margins and higher customer expectations of service levels. Consequently success is dependent upon innovation in the supplier offer to maintain differentiation in the eyes of the customer.
Internally at the same time the supplier has to increase profit on assets employed by improving efficiency. Cost of sales represent a significant overhead and the regional sales team’s performance require more consistency. The sales director decides to review the structure of the salesforce in consultation with the top performing regional sales manager and with an external qualified consultant.
This review results in a restructuring of the salesforce, removing a regional management layer to save costs. All salespeople nationally now report directly to a national sales manager who wishes to undertake a skills audit to assess capacity for change. He enlists the support of the consultant who had previously undertaken the company’s Investors In People diagnosis. The audit involves field accompaniment and team workshops in which individuals create their own skills logs and review each others strengths and weaknesses.
The outcome is the identification of core competencies, the creation of a training plan, and agreement on the most appropriate management styles to apply for each individual salesperson. The workshops are co-designed and co-facilitated by both the sales manager and the consultant.
The workshop design includes open sharing and discussion of new goals and processes to ensure the teams understand and commit to a programme of change. One of the core organisation competences is “business partnering”. This is driven by the company’s explicit promotion as a “Business Partner” to every customer. The sales team want a more active demonstration to clients of the partnership approach and engage in a series of short workshops focussed on attitudinal and behavioural change in personal communications with customers. This includes analysing and linking personal styles with the values of the team and those of the customer.
The workshops on styles and values shows the team how to adapt and modify their communications both internally and externally to build stronger interpersonal relationships. This in turn results in more interdependent teamworking and greater trust enabling the manager to avoid a command-control style to one of supporting and facilitating change. The increased number of direct reports, instead of diminishing management effectiveness, has improved it.
More openness between individual salespeople and improvements in team-working has led to salespersons widening their portfolios offered to customers. This extra capacity of account managers has encouraged customers to spend more with their primary contacts increasing loyalty and renewals.
The translation of this concept of business partnering into active reality perceived by customers has created a unique factor to differentiate the supplier. Starting the process of change by addressing the fundamental values of individuals established a firm foundation and desire for change. Converting sets of values into identifiable behaviours and developing specific skills ensured new attitudes were reflected by new behaviours. These competencies then became visible to customers whose satisfaction was manifested with more business.
The sales manager commented “a planned and structured programme related to winning both hearts and minds has been key to a successful internal restructuring and external repositioning of our sales and customer account managers. Relationship management initiatives must start with the values of Business Partners”. As a result they increased profits by 22% despite a downturn in their industry. Their strategy of values-based relationship building has won them many new customers with recognised brand names who, like themselves, do business with people they trust.
In this case study the consultant role was to facilitate the strengthening of relations between buyers and suppliers without creating a dependency upon external consultancy. This was achieved by the consultant transferring knowledge of relationship management processes, and by training the supplier in interpersonal skills. In order to accomplish this, the consultant needed first to ensure that the suppliers internal support staff and managers had a customer focused attitude and an infrastructure of targets, systems and processes which helped the relationship managers in their client-facing work. This requires a more sophisticated consultancy intervention starting with top-level strategy, then addressing operations and activities down the reporting line. The next case study outlines the processes which the consultant applied in order to support effective client relations at the front line.
The managers had achieved significant success to date and were now a valued contributor to their corporate and shareholder objectives. In order to maintain and increase this level of contribution the senior management team wished to establish a stronger infrastructure with customer-focused process improvements. A brief initial survey of process strengths and weaknesses identified managers perceptions of the areas for greatest potential improvement. The survey report showed how issues could be addressed without detracting managers and staff from their necessary day to day activities.
Senior management recognised the fundamental need for their business to become more customer-focused integrating the internal and external supply chains. They wanted a coherent and integrated strategy to support company-wide goals, measures and accountabilities. This required the creation and communication of a business plan which was flexible enough to meet the fast changing nature of the market and which was to become a focus for team-working across the organisation to align the priorities of the organisation as a whole.
Line managers desired tools and techniques for problem analysis and prevention, and to install processes for more effectively managing their teams. This required their understanding of current and future business priorities and their ability to successfully manage change to proactively improve performance. The scope of external consulting support therefore covered two phases:
i) Strategic business planning for senior managers.
ii) Customer Focus Process to include design and development of customer processes & problem-solving tools and techniques for team-leaders.
The consultancy approach was underpinned by consultation around process change. This required
* Openness in sharing HOW AND WHY CHANGE with clients, explaining risks as well as benefits.
* Team-working with all stakeholders supporting company-wide ownership of the client objectives.
* Respect for people when proposing change that affects individuals at work.
* Innovation to ensure each challenge was examined afresh and solutions tailored accordingly.
* Achievement of assignments following agreed outcomes within clear terms of reference.
Each project had clear links to business objectives with measures and milestones to map progress. Ownership was kept internal with the external consultant positioned as facilitator and coach. Each project also followed the principles of the quality learning cycle: plan, do, review. This ensured active assessment of the business outcomes and benefits during assignments, which subsequently allowed for appropriate mid-term amendments to the programme.
A strategic planning workshop was set up to determine organisation-wide business critical issues, key objectives, measures and accountability within the organisation. This was prefaced with a staff survey so that gaps between managers perceptions and staff were analysed and prioritised. Tactical planning workshops for functional managers converted strategic goals into departmental objectives and measures. This was supported with a customer survey to analyse current issues related to customer expectations. This phase required consulting support to:
* Assist in the design and rollout of a staff survey
* Assess the survey results and prepare the initial workshop
* Facilitate the strategic planning workshop
* Review the workshop and recommend the communication of outputs to line managers and staff.
This required to the following steps:
* defining the customer experience
* identifying process improvement or design requirements
* training in process improvement skills for front-line employees
* supplying a problem solving methodology
* demonstrating measurement capabilities in the process
* engaging leadership sponsorship and involvement in the initiative
* creating regular consistent feedback for employees so the programme benefits would be reinforced over time.
The consultant recognised the need to create cross-functional improvement teams to explore potential deficiencies in core processes. Employees were given the opportunity to master skills and tools for effective team-working, problem solving and process improvement driven by customer service standards. This transferred knowledge of key skills and efficiency tools whilst simultaneously mapping the customer experience and improving processes.
The following components of the project ensured successful implementation:
Reviews with senior managers; Implementation planning with process owners;
Project management reviews; and Team-leader workshops covering front line issues of:
* process improvement awareness
* team-working skills
* problem-solving tools & methods
* techniques for measuring process improvement
* action planning
* learning with employee and customer feedback
* training of staff with project reviews which included:
* understanding customer relationship strategy
* planning with project team members.
* training of process owners
The organisation development programme was supported by external consultancy with three components: clear deliverables to track results; an aligned methodology with enabling customer processes; experienced specialists in process improvement supported by a managing consultant to help plan and direct the programme, monitor and quality control.
Training Workshops included:
Awareness of customer relations so people could:
* identify their role in the improvement of customer relations
* recognise the moments of truth in customer activities
* apply best practice to improve processes with high positive impact on customers
* recognise the importance of winning support and involvement across functions.
This focused teams on the customer needs in order to ensure that resultant improvements were relevant to customers.
Team-briefings were held so staff could:
* understand the purpose of process improvement teams
* identify what makes teams successful
This gave the knowledge for people work on process improvement teams and identified what factors made the teams successful
Identifying cycles of service enabled staff to:
* identify the moments of truth that customers faced
* analyse processes from the customers point of view
This linked to the training to improve processes. It showed how to analyse customer experiences and mapped out each step of a customers experience from a customers point of view in order to improve a process.
Improving moments of truth allowed staff to:
* assess customer expectations in a cycle of service* identify factors that detracted from the customer relationship
* develop process improvements that could be implemented immediately
* plan how to recover when mistakes were made.
This focused on how to improve the customer experience. Some could be fixed immediately, while other improvements took more time. If a particular process was poor they could minimise the problem while a longer term solution was created. Recovery was a method for keeping customers feeling positive despite breakdowns in the core processes.
Customer feedback reviews were also held so people could:
* determine customer issues
* assess their level of importance
* picture what success looked like
* identify resources needed
* identify potential constraints
Teams started on their process improvement projects and found outcomes the customer wanted in future, including prioritising and proactively improving moments of truth. This included choosing the most critical moments to work on so people could decide which moments of truth to focus on. A danger in process improvement was the desire to do it all at once. Teams needed to assess which fixes had the most impact with a logical starting point so a quick success could be won. Staff could design points of contact that customer experienced and identify how to build a process to support the new point of contact beyond the reactive fixing of problem.
Staff were given clear advice about the goals critical to the success of the project. Measures were established for teams to compare the “before” state with results afterwards. Teams chose the most applicable measures for their process improvement project and where appropriate created new measures to ensure that their desired results were achieved.
Besides success measures they created a list of all the tasks involved in the process improvement work clarifying roles and responsibilities. Teams functioned best when each person on the team was clear on their role and goals. Team members agreed on their roles and assigned responsibility for the tasks they set in an action plan. At team meetings they established project deadlines and deliverables. This allowed the team to plan key dates and milestones as they worked through their process analysis and improvement. Checkpoints were set to monitor progress.
Process tools were applied after being supplied in a pocket-book showing Pareto Charts, Process Maps and Flowcharts, Cause and Effect Diagrams and Force Field Analysis.
A consultancy approach which builds customer relationship skills in line with customer service strategy is essential to the success of such projects. Aligning people and processes with external customer needs will ensure success, provided there is active and visible top level support and involvement with all the stakeholders. This requires a planned and structured approach with a high level of communications and training across all levels in an organisation.
In both case studies, the work was spread over six months to enable staff and management consultation to take place, allow change to be embedded, and to minimise direct consulting fees. Both projects also ensured the consultancy transferred ownership and skills to the supplier to allow future programmes to be managed with less external support.
These projects were delivered with explicit links to the principles of the international benchmark standard of Investors in Excellence, a framework of good practice for organisation development adapted from the Business Excellence Model. The standard supports external customer relations by enabling management to assess the effectiveness of their internal supply chains. It identifies blockages in corporate communications and guides employees into self-managed learning to support organisational goals. In both case studies the companies selected consultants who were accredited Investors in Excellence assessors to ensure alignment between internal back-office and external customer-facing changes.
This guide shows that consulting interventions in customer relations should consider people and process issues both inside and outside the organisation. Such interventions should be based on proven quality standards for managing change. And finally, the consultants should be adept at transferring skills with explicit processes, which, as Stephen Covey recommends, begin with the end in mind: What does the customer want and need?
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The international management advisor Stephen Covey described one of the Seven Habits of Successful People as “starting with the end in mind”. This guide will help you to improve your relationships with clients to achieve mutual success and sustainable results. You will learn additional enabling processes which support results through two case studies drawn from actual assignments. This guide is based on the premise that client relations should achieve “customer delight” and not just “customer satisfaction”.
The failure of companies to achieve customer “delight” can often be attributed to a failure to keep in touch with changing customer needs. The larger the supplier the greater the difficulty in focusing the workforce to obtain high quality up to date information regarding client wants and needs. There are several challenges: the time taken from product design to market can fall behind changes in consumer requirements; the widening ranges in product and consumer segments are becoming more difficult to match; competitor speed to reproduce similar offerings is faster; consumers are looking for added value, and suppliers overlook relationship management skills.
The standard management practice of the supplier performing a survey by mail or telephone is unreliable; single source feedback may omit stakeholder input and client contacts may not wish to directly criticise their supplier contacts. External consultants can ensure objective design of survey questions, independent analysis of responses, and demonstrate to customers the supplier’s commitment for accuracy and integrity of feedback. Questions such as “How does supplier X compare to suppliers Y & Z” and “How responsive do you find Mr. X and Mrs Y?” are more likely to obtain frank feedback when asked by an independent third party.
The consultant should prepare before such contacts by reviewing the client file and checking the account managers understanding of client needs. The latter can include observing behaviour on the telephone and at meetings or presentations with the customer, to assess the level of rapport and their proficiency in surveying customer requirements. The consultant’s role can be described to customers openly so the customer recognises the involvement of a third party as an opportunity to strengthen relations with the supplier. This is particularly effective if there is potential conflict or mistrust between buyer and supplier which may reduce the frankness of feedback if the supplier directly asks for constructive criticism.
A few initial tips: when planning a customer visit, does the account manager prepare by obtaining the most recent relevant company press and news information? When meeting does the account manager clarify roles, objectives, and potential benefits of the meeting for all parties?
Network mapping the links between people, objectives, values and processes can also help clarify communication needs for co-working between supplier and buyer towards common goals with shared outcomes.
The following Case Study outlines the challenges, actions and outcomes of a consultancy project undertaken in an environment of restricted market opportunities and internal restructuring to reduce costs.
The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how an already successful organisation has cost-effectively applied external development resource to further build on success in customer relationship management.
The company has been profitable for many years and, as specialists in their sector, they have been recognised as the fastest growing supplier in their field. The industry’s trade association found them to have the highest levels of customer satisfaction and their senior executive team were also recognised as the highest performers in their sector in independent surveys.
The external market is highly competitive with major suppliers bidding against each other and against clients own internal resourcing. There is increasing pressure on margins and higher customer expectations of service levels. Consequently success is dependent upon innovation in the supplier offer to maintain differentiation in the eyes of the customer.
Internally at the same time the supplier has to increase profit on assets employed by improving efficiency. Cost of sales represent a significant overhead and the regional sales team’s performance require more consistency. The sales director decides to review the structure of the salesforce in consultation with the top performing regional sales manager and with an external qualified consultant.
Action
This review results in a restructuring of the salesforce, removing a regional management layer to save costs. All salespeople nationally now report directly to a national sales manager who wishes to undertake a skills audit to assess capacity for change. He enlists the support of the consultant who had previously undertaken the company’s Investors In People diagnosis. The audit involves field accompaniment and team workshops in which individuals create their own skills logs and review each others strengths and weaknesses.
The outcome is the identification of core competencies, the creation of a training plan, and agreement on the most appropriate management styles to apply for each individual salesperson. The workshops are co-designed and co-facilitated by both the sales manager and the consultant.
The workshop design includes open sharing and discussion of new goals and processes to ensure the teams understand and commit to a programme of change. One of the core organisation competences is “business partnering”. This is driven by the company’s explicit promotion as a “Business Partner” to every customer. The sales team want a more active demonstration to clients of the partnership approach and engage in a series of short workshops focussed on attitudinal and behavioural change in personal communications with customers. This includes analysing and linking personal styles with the values of the team and those of the customer.
The workshops on styles and values shows the team how to adapt and modify their communications both internally and externally to build stronger interpersonal relationships. This in turn results in more interdependent teamworking and greater trust enabling the manager to avoid a command-control style to one of supporting and facilitating change. The increased number of direct reports, instead of diminishing management effectiveness, has improved it.
More openness between individual salespeople and improvements in team-working has led to salespersons widening their portfolios offered to customers. This extra capacity of account managers has encouraged customers to spend more with their primary contacts increasing loyalty and renewals.
The translation of this concept of business partnering into active reality perceived by customers has created a unique factor to differentiate the supplier. Starting the process of change by addressing the fundamental values of individuals established a firm foundation and desire for change. Converting sets of values into identifiable behaviours and developing specific skills ensured new attitudes were reflected by new behaviours. These competencies then became visible to customers whose satisfaction was manifested with more business.
The sales manager commented “a planned and structured programme related to winning both hearts and minds has been key to a successful internal restructuring and external repositioning of our sales and customer account managers. Relationship management initiatives must start with the values of Business Partners”. As a result they increased profits by 22% despite a downturn in their industry. Their strategy of values-based relationship building has won them many new customers with recognised brand names who, like themselves, do business with people they trust.
In this case study the consultant role was to facilitate the strengthening of relations between buyers and suppliers without creating a dependency upon external consultancy. This was achieved by the consultant transferring knowledge of relationship management processes, and by training the supplier in interpersonal skills. In order to accomplish this, the consultant needed first to ensure that the suppliers internal support staff and managers had a customer focused attitude and an infrastructure of targets, systems and processes which helped the relationship managers in their client-facing work. This requires a more sophisticated consultancy intervention starting with top-level strategy, then addressing operations and activities down the reporting line. The next case study outlines the processes which the consultant applied in order to support effective client relations at the front line.
The managers had achieved significant success to date and were now a valued contributor to their corporate and shareholder objectives. In order to maintain and increase this level of contribution the senior management team wished to establish a stronger infrastructure with customer-focused process improvements. A brief initial survey of process strengths and weaknesses identified managers perceptions of the areas for greatest potential improvement. The survey report showed how issues could be addressed without detracting managers and staff from their necessary day to day activities.
Senior management recognised the fundamental need for their business to become more customer-focused integrating the internal and external supply chains. They wanted a coherent and integrated strategy to support company-wide goals, measures and accountabilities. This required the creation and communication of a business plan which was flexible enough to meet the fast changing nature of the market and which was to become a focus for team-working across the organisation to align the priorities of the organisation as a whole.
Line managers desired tools and techniques for problem analysis and prevention, and to install processes for more effectively managing their teams. This required their understanding of current and future business priorities and their ability to successfully manage change to proactively improve performance. The scope of external consulting support therefore covered two phases:
i) Strategic business planning for senior managers.
ii) Customer Focus Process to include design and development of customer processes & problem-solving tools and techniques for team-leaders.
The consultancy approach was underpinned by consultation around process change. This required
* Openness in sharing HOW AND WHY CHANGE with clients, explaining risks as well as benefits.
* Team-working with all stakeholders supporting company-wide ownership of the client objectives.
* Respect for people when proposing change that affects individuals at work.
* Innovation to ensure each challenge was examined afresh and solutions tailored accordingly.
* Achievement of assignments following agreed outcomes within clear terms of reference.
Each project had clear links to business objectives with measures and milestones to map progress. Ownership was kept internal with the external consultant positioned as facilitator and coach. Each project also followed the principles of the quality learning cycle: plan, do, review. This ensured active assessment of the business outcomes and benefits during assignments, which subsequently allowed for appropriate mid-term amendments to the programme.
A strategic planning workshop was set up to determine organisation-wide business critical issues, key objectives, measures and accountability within the organisation. This was prefaced with a staff survey so that gaps between managers perceptions and staff were analysed and prioritised. Tactical planning workshops for functional managers converted strategic goals into departmental objectives and measures. This was supported with a customer survey to analyse current issues related to customer expectations. This phase required consulting support to:
* Assist in the design and rollout of a staff survey
* Assess the survey results and prepare the initial workshop
* Facilitate the strategic planning workshop
* Review the workshop and recommend the communication of outputs to line managers and staff.
This required to the following steps:
* defining the customer experience
* identifying process improvement or design requirements
* training in process improvement skills for front-line employees
* supplying a problem solving methodology
* demonstrating measurement capabilities in the process
* engaging leadership sponsorship and involvement in the initiative
* creating regular consistent feedback for employees so the programme benefits would be reinforced over time.
The consultant recognised the need to create cross-functional improvement teams to explore potential deficiencies in core processes. Employees were given the opportunity to master skills and tools for effective team-working, problem solving and process improvement driven by customer service standards. This transferred knowledge of key skills and efficiency tools whilst simultaneously mapping the customer experience and improving processes.
The following components of the project ensured successful implementation:
Reviews with senior managers; Implementation planning with process owners;
Project management reviews; and Team-leader workshops covering front line issues of:
* process improvement awareness
* team-working skills
* problem-solving tools & methods
* techniques for measuring process improvement
* action planning
* learning with employee and customer feedback
* training of staff with project reviews which included:
* understanding customer relationship strategy
* planning with project team members.
* training of process owners
The organisation development programme was supported by external consultancy with three components: clear deliverables to track results; an aligned methodology with enabling customer processes; experienced specialists in process improvement supported by a managing consultant to help plan and direct the programme, monitor and quality control.
Training Workshops included:
Awareness of customer relations so people could:
* identify their role in the improvement of customer relations
* recognise the moments of truth in customer activities
* apply best practice to improve processes with high positive impact on customers
* recognise the importance of winning support and involvement across functions.
This focused teams on the customer needs in order to ensure that resultant improvements were relevant to customers.
Team-briefings were held so staff could:
* understand the purpose of process improvement teams
* identify what makes teams successful
This gave the knowledge for people work on process improvement teams and identified what factors made the teams successful
Identifying cycles of service enabled staff to:
* identify the moments of truth that customers faced
* analyse processes from the customers point of view
This linked to the training to improve processes. It showed how to analyse customer experiences and mapped out each step of a customers experience from a customers point of view in order to improve a process.
Improving moments of truth allowed staff to:
* assess customer expectations in a cycle of service* identify factors that detracted from the customer relationship
* develop process improvements that could be implemented immediately
* plan how to recover when mistakes were made.
This focused on how to improve the customer experience. Some could be fixed immediately, while other improvements took more time. If a particular process was poor they could minimise the problem while a longer term solution was created. Recovery was a method for keeping customers feeling positive despite breakdowns in the core processes.
Customer feedback reviews were also held so people could:
* determine customer issues
* assess their level of importance
* picture what success looked like
* identify resources needed
* identify potential constraints
Teams started on their process improvement projects and found outcomes the customer wanted in future, including prioritising and proactively improving moments of truth. This included choosing the most critical moments to work on so people could decide which moments of truth to focus on. A danger in process improvement was the desire to do it all at once. Teams needed to assess which fixes had the most impact with a logical starting point so a quick success could be won. Staff could design points of contact that customer experienced and identify how to build a process to support the new point of contact beyond the reactive fixing of problem.
Staff were given clear advice about the goals critical to the success of the project. Measures were established for teams to compare the “before” state with results afterwards. Teams chose the most applicable measures for their process improvement project and where appropriate created new measures to ensure that their desired results were achieved.
Besides success measures they created a list of all the tasks involved in the process improvement work clarifying roles and responsibilities. Teams functioned best when each person on the team was clear on their role and goals. Team members agreed on their roles and assigned responsibility for the tasks they set in an action plan. At team meetings they established project deadlines and deliverables. This allowed the team to plan key dates and milestones as they worked through their process analysis and improvement. Checkpoints were set to monitor progress.
Process tools were applied after being supplied in a pocket-book showing Pareto Charts, Process Maps and Flowcharts, Cause and Effect Diagrams and Force Field Analysis.
A consultancy approach which builds customer relationship skills in line with customer service strategy is essential to the success of such projects. Aligning people and processes with external customer needs will ensure success, provided there is active and visible top level support and involvement with all the stakeholders. This requires a planned and structured approach with a high level of communications and training across all levels in an organisation.
In both case studies, the work was spread over six months to enable staff and management consultation to take place, allow change to be embedded, and to minimise direct consulting fees. Both projects also ensured the consultancy transferred ownership and skills to the supplier to allow future programmes to be managed with less external support.
These projects were delivered with explicit links to the principles of the international benchmark standard of Investors in Excellence, a framework of good practice for organisation development adapted from the Business Excellence Model. The standard supports external customer relations by enabling management to assess the effectiveness of their internal supply chains. It identifies blockages in corporate communications and guides employees into self-managed learning to support organisational goals. In both case studies the companies selected consultants who were accredited Investors in Excellence assessors to ensure alignment between internal back-office and external customer-facing changes.
This guide shows that consulting interventions in customer relations should consider people and process issues both inside and outside the organisation. Such interventions should be based on proven quality standards for managing change. And finally, the consultants should be adept at transferring skills with explicit processes, which, as Stephen Covey recommends, begin with the end in mind: What does the customer want and need?
* Development of a sector skills strategy
* Consultancy and training support for businesses
* Career development support for individuals
* Development of an informational web-site resource
As independent consultants, we were asked to provide an evaluation of the overall project and also separately to evaluate the web-site strand. The scope of this work was to assess the quality of the project activities and outputs, using the UKRP Good Practice Guide and the SEEDA Project Evaluation Toolkit as benchmarks. Within this remit, we were asked to address issues of:
* Impact
* Value for money
* Value to the industry
* Operating context
* Successes
* Opportunities for improvement
We also sought to identify learning outcomes and were asked to make recommendations for taking the project forward.
In order to address these issues, we adopted a two-tier approach comprising both validation and evaluation. We first confirmed the extent to which the project’s intended objectives, outputs and impacts, as set out in its original terms of reference, had been achieved. We then measured the project’s achievements and processes against current industry best practice.
In order to validate the overall project’s achievements, we examined project documentation including:
* Contracts
* Terms of reference
* Reports
* Stakeholder correspondence
We also examined proprietary technology and other intellectual property that was developed as part of the web-site strand.
We then designed surveys and conducted over thirty hours of telephone and face-to-face interviews with twenty-six stakeholders including:
* SkillsTrain board members
* Funders
* Participants
* Contractors
* Customers
* Others affected by the project activities
In order to evaluate value for money and value to the industry, we obtained industry sector reports from third parties inside and outside the South-East UK area, consulted independent industry sector specialists who were involved in relevant projects beyond the South-East, and drew upon relevant research data from sources including:
* Government departments
* Public sector bodies
* Industry institutes and societies
Finally, we submitted our findings in two written reports. The first presented these in respect of the web site strand. The second reported our evaluation of the overall project.
We found that both the web-site strand and the overall project were broadly successful in achieving their intended objectives, and represented a foundation from which significant prospective benefits to the industry could be derived. In particular, the web-site strand had delivered substantial intellectual property that could be further capitalised upon. We recommended that the project be taken forward.
We were also able to highlight learning points that will assist in increasing the project’s impact, value for money and value to the industry. We identified a number of activities to increase support for the sector, in particular relating to project planning, resourcing, implementation and evaluation. We further identified thirty improvements to the design and delivery of all four strands so that further publicly funded work can apply best practice and yield a high return on investment. A key finding was that more structured analysis of risks and options in the planning stage would ensure future projects could be designed, managed and delivered with minimum risk and maximum return.
In undertaking this evaluation, HirschWorks worked in partnership with Strategic Management Partners. Together, we were able to draw on over twenty years’ working experience in the media sector, encompassing strategy, implementation, management consultancy, standards and best practice, as well as involvement in a range of industry forums and initiatives. This has allowed us to widen our sector-practitioner perspective and offer a unique ‘outside view’.
“SkillsTrain are to be commended for investing in a rigorous evaluation based on a holistic approach. This enabled us to make benchmark comparisons outside the region and include best practice from other relevant professional bodies.” – Clive Bonny, Strategic Management Partners.
“This evaluation demonstrates how industry stakeholders can successfully work together to benefit the sector. We are very pleased to have been able to assist SEEDA in identifying the value of their investment and in deciding how to take the project forward.” - Jonathan Hirsch, HirschWorks.
To achieve personal objectives it is necessary to analyse another fundamental resource for achieving them – yourself. By looking at what you want to achieve and the tasks required you will be able to identify the skills and knowledge needed. If you work in a primarily technical environment, then knowledge of particular products or processes may be important. If your environment is mainly people-oriented, then the skills to develop and manage others may be vital. Review yourself objectively by examining the key components of your skills mind and body. This article helps you to understand and prioritise your personal needs and help you decide how to address them.
An effective training plan should also be “smart” and should include both short-term training needs, and longer-term development needs. Development needs may also relate to professional education requirements, particularly if your job status requires mandatory continuous professional education. In this instance a written plan for the year and a review process are essential evidence for maintaining status within your professional body. The concept of Lifetime Learning is now accepted commercial practice, with the emphasis on your active self-development, rather than passive acknowledgement that training is merely something to do when time permits.
There are four elements to a training plan: the objectives (what you intend to learn or do as a result); how you will implement training (through projects at work, formal class-room tuition, reading or audio-visual media); a schedule showing the implementation; and a review measuring what was done and its effectiveness for you.
You should also consider your preferred learning style as selecting inappropriate methods will hinder development. Peter Honey’s four styles are commonly referred to. Activists who are often lively outgoing types who like to “learn by doing”; these people prefer games, exercises and activities, such as role-play. Reflectors are more cautious and quieter often observing others before getting involved; they benefit from time to analyse and review.
Pragmatists like to develop new ideas and quickly link them to the job in hand. Theorists want to see the rationale for change and understand the model or system before applying it on a step by step basis. Decide which of these four types is your preferred style and ensure the training method fits accordingly.
Most learning occurs naturally and informally at work, and it is worth reflecting upon the opportunities that present themselves and how you can take better advantage of them. Mixing with and sharing work with others allows for learning through information exchange; involvement in research activities; even personal activities outside work (voluntary work, club secretary, school governor) provide a rich source of experience which can supplement work-based activities.
If you do not take your personal development seriously you will be sending a clear message to all those who work with you or for you. An effective way of demonstrating your intent to learn is to ask those who work with you to rate your effectiveness in your job. You will usually find this overcomes the deficiencies of your own subjective self-appraisal, particularly if you ask for their anonymous feedback and assure them of no recriminations.
The increasing volumes of information can be better managed by people with good memories, a skill, which is mainly acquired rather than inherited. Your head contains three brains, not one: the Reptilian brain, which stems from the spinal column and controls basic instincts and functions (breathing and sense of territory); the Mammalian brain (or “limbic system”) which controls emotion, sleep and long-term memory; and Neocortex, the two-sided cerebrum that controls intellectual processes (reasoning and talking). The latter comprises the left-hand “logical” brain, controlling language, and the right-hand “creative” brain for artistry, music and innovation. The two sides combine to assist the memory function in three stages: registration of information, retention, and retrieval. Your brain has the capacity to register and retain every single piece of information you encounter. Your challenge lies in recalling and retrieving, and “memory-masters” often use a few simple techniques to do this.
Linking new information to existing knowledge can be facilitated by exaggeration, humour and emotive images. The brain is stimulated by the unusual and if you have difficulty remembering people’s names this technique works well. The name Clive Bonny can be transformed into Bonnie and Clyde alongside the image of a gun-toting gangster into which you can insert the person’s face. Music can be anchored to particular memories, so that when you learn or experience something whilst hearing a particular musical piece, the playback will recall the original context. One of the most common memory techniques is “mind-mapping” pioneered by Tony Buzan. Mind-maps mirror how the brain works by stimulating both left and right brain hemispheres.
The principle of brain mapping is to record information on paper (or screen) in a format which fits how your brain likes to register and retain information. The principle steps are as follows: Start with a blank sheet and a central image or word representing the theme of your subject. Draw curved lines outward from the centre with each line containing one word. Use up to four colours and vary the size of word to reflect its importance. Use the same colour for each branch of lines and images rather than words appeals to the right-hand brain; drawing arrows and patterns to connect themes appeals to the left-brain.
The style of the finished item may appear like a confused octopus, but your memory will prefer it to conventional alpha-numeric information and you will find yourself recalling more information by scanning your brain-map than by recording in traditional methods. Applications include speech-making, project planning, problem-solving, creating ideas and taking minutes.
Other techniques include rhyming principles e.g. “Thirty days has September, April, June and November….”, acronyms e.g. “SMART” objectives, and “peg” systems which hook your information to images which are more memorable: The number 7 can be represented by a boomerang, the letter B by a bumble-bee, the word Monday by money, or August by a gust of wind. As with developing any new skill, such techniques will feel uncomfortable at first, but with patience and practice you will find that enhancing your memory can both astound your colleagues and improve your abilities in a wide range of activities.
Most busy people have difficulty finding time to read the increasing volumes of information now available and information overload is an issue we often made worse through overuse of technology’s ability to copy data world-wide. Speed-reading can increase your capacity from 200 up to 1000 words per minute, a five-fold increase. More efficient reading can also improve concentration and comprehension. For a general improvement to reading ability it is important to clear the workspace, set time limits and hold an upright posture with the reading material at about forty five degrees in front. Your eyes should be guided with a pointed (a pencil or finger will do) which sweeps the page with eyes following at a constant speed. Scan the first and last paragraphs for key ideas, and then focus only on nouns and verbs in the body of the text. Avoid stopping and going back, as creating a flow and momentum is important. Gently increasing speed over a period of time will ensure you develop the skill at your own pace.
Mental fitness is paramount to personal effectiveness, as it is increasingly more difficult to cope with the pressures and demands of work and home. At home there are more and more expectations related to consumer comforts and relationships. At work the pace of change in the job, new targets, technology, deadlines and flatter hierarchies combine to create an environment of pressure.
Everyone experiences pressure which in itself can stretch you to better performance, but too much pressure for too long leads to stress if you are unable to manage it. Stress can also occur in very short periods: making a presentation; doing a task for the first time; handling an irate person; making a mistake; being late for a meeting; or just high noise levels. Your body responds by automatically increasing heart rate and blood pressure, tensing muscles and the digestive system, and increasing breathing rate. This is your body’s fight or flight response programmed by evolution for emergencies. The problem at work is you are unable to release these physical symptoms with a physical response thereby creating a bottleneck, which further increases pressure. This can create a downward spiral.
The first step in managing stress is to recognise the symptoms. You can identify signs by feeling impatient, depressed, frustrated or isolated. You may hear yourself slam phones or doors, drum fingers or talking quickly. Visually you may catch yourself nail-biting, blinking excessively or changing your eating and sleeping patterns. These tell-tale signals should be taken seriously and quickly on board. Most people suffering stress are usually diagnosed by all but themselves, and the “loose cannon” effect only serves to further isolate the sufferer. A stressed manager is often unapproachable yet is often the first to complain that people around them are failing to communicate. The ripple effect then creates bigger problems.
Sometimes it is simply a person’s perspective which generates stress – the old adage of the glass being half full or half empty. The personality “type A” is a restless high achiever and more likely than “type B”, who is more relaxed and accepting, to put pressure on themselves.
You can create new perspectives by putting yourself in the shoes of others, by sharing your views, or by writing up the issues and assessing them factually. A few simple ways to put things in perspective are to think how the issue could be even more difficult to manage (making reality relatively easy) or consider how much more important other matters are (making this issue relatively unimportant). Focus on those activities which you control especially your thought pattern, which should be positive. The American habit of writing or saying out loud positive mental affirmations (“PMA”) is recommended.
Mental health is governed also by physical health. Your environment must be comfortable: avoid fluorescent bulbs, have a fresh air flow, control room temperature. Your workspace should not be cramped, and your chair should assist lumbar support and give you a straight spine. Your keyboard should allow elbows to be directly under shoulders with forearms parallel to the floor, without resting on the desktop. A two minute break from the VDU every twenty minutes will prevent headaches, particularly standing up to stretch and change eye focus. Closing the eyes for a minute can also help.
Using a telephone headset has been proven to reduce neck and shoulder tension or swap a normal headset between your listening ears. Organisations are increasingly offering lunchtime massage and short courses in self-massage are now available for office workers. The choice of colour scheme affects the thinking climate: yellow stimulates creativity, blue facilitates deeper thinking, green promotes calm, and red stimulates challenge. Some companies now have colour-coded rooms for different activities. More than 250 different harmful chemicals have now been identified in office air, known as VOC (volatile organic compounds). These come from photocopiers, wall insulation and floor materials and from dry cleaned clothing. Studies by NASA have shown that plant leaves absorb many of these pollutants, purifying the air naturally, especially spider plants, chrysanthemums, azaleas, tulips and lilies.
Besides managing your environment you should also plan your food and drink intake. Six to eight glasses of water per day is optimum, and installing a water tank in the office, instead of a coffee or cola dispenser, will also reduce the build up of stomach acid. Vitamin supplements will overcome some of the deficiencies of fast food at lunchtime.
Vitamin A in fish oils improves vision and joint flexibility. B vitamins in meat, milk and eggs help memory especially B5 and B6, Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant, which protects other vitamins from destruction, and Vitamin E in grain and wheat improves cell oxygenisation. Rather than eating sweets, try glucose tablets as they can generate 25 watts of electricity for brain functions (the brain needs 70% of the body’s glucose). The wrong diet equates to putting diesel into a sports car.
Your speed of thought and mental agility should be supported by a physical agility programme. Exercise is not just for the sporty types but must be seen as an essential building block to your quality of life. Fitness is an effective stress-buster and your physical fitness plan should aim for a gradual improvement in your exercise frequency and type. You should build up slowly to a half-hour workout every other day. If you have had little exercise previously this may take several months.
Select an environment in which you enjoy exercise, which could be either in a club or at home, and try to set goals which give you sense of accomplishment. These could be stretching from ten to fifteen lengths of a swimming pool, or be a walk to the local station rather than a drive. There are many excuses for not exercising regularly, but if you ask colleagues who do it if they would go back to inactivity they will often say NO. Exercise will clear your mind of worries, release physical tension, help you sleep and give you more energy to enjoy life. As one major leisure company says “Just Do It”, but remember over-exercising is as dangerous as under–exercising.
One of the greatest causes of personal stress is to take on more than you can do. People prefer not to say NO being more competitive (Type “A”) and want to win against all odds. Others prefer not to appear to be weak and their desire to support others results in overloading themselves. About 95% of the population fall into one of these two styles – either aggressive or passive, and although most would prefer to think of themselves as assertive, only about 5% of people are naturally so. The key differences between these three styles can be defined as follows:
Assertive types express themselves at no-one else’s expense. Passive types fail to express themselves at their own expense. Aggressive types express themselves at someone else’s expense. The problem of aggressive types in the workplace is widely recognised and the law now protects against bullying at work. Forms of harassment, which can now lead to perpetrators becoming personally liable in the courts, include offensive jokes or gestures, purposefully excluding others from social activities and coercion and intrusion by pestering. The legal interpretation of a healthy and safe working environment now includes mental not just physical health and there are numerous cases of large financial compensations being awarded against complacent employers and managers. The message to aggressive types is to recognise the risks of inappropriate behaviour before it is too late, and for passive types to realise they have a final mechanism for support if all else fails. Prevention though is preferred by asking for what you want, directly and openly in a way which respects others rights.
Finally undertake a self-assessment and ask friends and colleagues to also share their assessment of you. You can learn much about yourself through the eyes of others.
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]]>Working in partnership with a national training organisation these employers have produced a simple guide for business and financial service providers to improve best practice in areas such as customer service. The framework can be adapted by managers to improve the recruitment, development and retention of high quality people. It also acts as a guide to improve personal progression and business development.
The toolkit was presented by Clive Bonny on behalf of the Financial Services National Training Organisation at a Benchmarking Forum at City College in partnership with Northbrook College. The Colleges have been granted new status as a centre of vocational excellence for financial services. Employers attending these two College seminars shared ideas on how the toolkit will help them develop their businesses.
Experienced managers from large and small employers reviewed the opportunities the toolkit has specifically created for improving service quality. Bonny, who helped organise the event, said “many employers find it difficult to link internal quality standards with a national accreditation system. This toolkit bridges the gap. It will help managers improve service quality and give employees more recognition for jobs well done. And it offers a framework which can be adapted by employers to help grow their business.”
The event was sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council and attendees received a free copy of the competency guide. Follow up seminars are now being planned.
The first customers have included members of the Croydon Round Table for Inventors. CRTI have received the highest UK and international awards for many innovations. Barry Slayford, Chairman of CRTI at www.croydonrti.com, says “Our members have many good ideas with potential for commercial development. The Innovation Clinic gives us confidential reviews to reduce the risks and costs of getting new products and services off the ground."
Innovation Clinic manager Clive Bonny is an active entrepreneur himself and has launched several new products and services across different industry sectors. His Innovation Clinics are sponsored by Business Link. Clive says “One of the first attendees saved £15000 in new product design fees within an hour of seeing how to use a free Patent Office facility. People have nothing to lose by booking a one hour briefing.”
The new design, called Walkies, avoids roundworm eggs being transferred to children. Toxocara Canis occurs on the site of the droppings and at home where faeces can be carried on shoe soles. Current waste storage by walkers is in small plastic bags which can split and can be seen as unsightly to carry openly in front of other people. This can deter some dog owners carrying them in public places.
New legislation fining dog owners £1000 for leaving excrement in public places has not deterred people from leaving waste on the ground. In almost every public walking area dog waste is still evident. Local Councils do not have the manpower to clean these quickly. This leaves councils exposed to charges by the public when infections occur. The waste creates a particular health hazard in grass parks where faeces lies for weeks before decomposing.
Owner-manager Rick Buckley designed the Walkies bag as a multi-purpose carry case with special features. It has high strength which cannot split, is attachable to belts, buckles and backpacks for ease of portability, and is multilined with inner and outer protective layers. Design versions are being developed to carry anti-odour and anti-infection sprays, with a small torch and mobile phone for night walkers.
Rick won government funding to support their project with the help of Interim Manager for innovation, Clive Bonny, sponsored by DTI to progress the idea from a conceptual design through market research to design protection and a project plan. Rick says “without this interim management support from an experienced individual we could not have quickly moved from a good idea to creating a viable business. Walkies will significantly reduce a long standing public health risk and reduce the exposure of children from suffering a debilitating illness which can cause blindness and long term disability.”
The purpose of this document is to summarise interim management review findings on how a business called Sound Approach Ltd, with an innovative idea for a new product called Klenz-Pod, used innovative interim management support funded by the Department of Trade and Industry to move from a concept to a comprehensive risk assessed project plan. This work confirmed significant potential international opportunities for a new product and recommended it should go forward for additional DTI funding and trials by industry leaders.
The project involved the design, manufacture and sale through global licensing of an innovative wet wipe hand cleansing dispenser. The planned new dispenser enables people who work in any environment requiring clean hands to remove risks of cross-infection and contamination. The market need was indicated through regular press reports of deaths in hospitals, and food contamination in restaurants and food processing companies. The unique aspects of the initial product design were identified: unique tub design to allow easier access to wipes and mounting installation; elegant ergonomics; secure fastening to multiple fixed and mobile sites; materials durability for robust use including hospital trolleys and emergency field medical tents; special designed nozzle to prevent moisture loss and wipe slippage; dual chambers linking wipe containers and disposals tubs. The new product design overcame problems with current gel dispensers and dry wipes which caused cross infection and were unacceptable for many users due to inconvenience and poor protection.
The design was completed with patent protection applied. Initial patent applications had been researched. Partners were identified for manufacture, testing, marketing and sales on a global scale. Potential markets existed across the entire food and drink industry: eg food processing companies, wholesalers, retailers, food stalls, mobile operators (such as burger bars, sandwich sellers and ice-cream vans); additional markets existed in areas of poor hygeine eg hospitals, schools, porta-loos, military camps, domestic kitchens and WC's. New HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) EU legislation Reg EC 852/2004 became law Jan 01 2006 requiring hand cleaning between handling of different meats, fresh and cooked foods, and touching handkerchiefs, towels and other soiled surfaces. It was found that most food handlers were failing to comply to this new law due to no immediate onsite access to effective anti-bacteria wipes.
The project proved the product potential to save thousands of lives in hospitals, reduce sickness and work absenteeism on a large scale, bring millions of pounds to UK GDP, employ many people, and fit recognised needs in healthcare across the world.
All stages were supported by Clive Bonny, a qualified interim manager registered with Business Link. Bonny was authorised as a DTI Innovation Mentor to move new products and services into risk assessed project plans with funding from DTI.
The initial step was a diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of the concept. This diagnosis analysed the potential project risks and returns using a structured process whose outputs were summarised in an software-based risk management tool. The diagnosis showed particular strengths in environmental and social impact as the project concept would significantly improve public and private health capability to save lives and reduce illness for thousands of people in UK and abroad.
Bonny identified project opportunities and potential strengths through a technique known as appreciative enquiry. These included the business owner’s experience in international commerce, his links with additional specialist advisors, his past management skills and the strategic fit which this project offered for his business development. Areas identified for additional support included project planning, market assessment, risk management, financial resourcing and competitive analysis. This diagnosis led to a submission for further funded support and an application was submitted under the DTI iii scheme for Investigating an Innovative Idea.
The application specified the following activities required to bring the innovative service to market more quickly: a project plan identifying timelines, milestones and deliverables; investigation with potential customers of product viability, market trends, routes to market, regulatory requirements; analysis of project risks, identifying strategies to minimise risks, consulting with supply chain interests; future financial, commercial, project management and human resource requirements and contingencies; potential for future strategic marketing alliances; steps to protect the core business benefits; competitive position and steps for IPR protection. The DTI Secretariat approved funding for interim management support by Bonny to lead the project in the areas above on the basis that the business owner provided specialist technical knowledge to support complementary areas of the project.
The first formal meeting with Bonny resulted in agreeing how they would work with each other and what would be achieved by each party over the next four months. Activities were specified to cover the gaps identified in the initial risk assessment so that the final output, a written project plan, would summarise timelines, milestones and deliverables enabling the business owner to move from the concept stage to priority actions as a preface to a further submission for a DTI Micro Business Award with a full business plan.
These joint activities included onsite and offsite reviews and visits. Agendas included:
Reviewing and confirming the validity of previous primary research with selected potential users and specifiers; clarifying the benefits of the offer using the “elevator pitch” model, enabling a clear statement on why customers would approve the product concept; identifying existing and potential network contacts with support roles, with key individuals who could support the project in different ways; facilitating introductions within other relevant networks including Ideas21, the Croydon Round Table for Inventors and the Royal Society of Arts, manufactures and Commerce; benchmarking with best practice on innovation processes recommended by Business Link and DTI; this included analysing innovation approaches taken by James Dyson, published in Against The Odds; clarifying the project vision, mission, values and objectives, licensing and distribution options; joint development of market assessment reports to identify market trends, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within the key sectors of medical healthcare, food manufacture, preparation, wholesale and retail distribution; identifying potential buyer behaviour and product positioning; introducing other software entrepreneurs to share innovation techniques and stimulate viral marketing and joint referrals; exploring different product users, applications and services to enhance differentiation and marketability.
The final review looked at the initial diagnosis of gaps, and resulted in a written list of forward actions for the business owner. Actions included ongoing research and development, market assessments, further IPR protection, submissions for Business Award schemes on best practice, and drafting a business plan to facilitate further funding from public and private sources.
The project cost was co-funded by DTI. Costs-savings in other third party fees previously quoted for market assessments and external consultancy advice more than offset the net cost of the project for the business owner. The product offer became clearly differentiated with unique features and benefits relevant for user needs. Statistical information from the secondary research and qualitative information from the owner’s primary research was used in the business plan enabling supporting marketing and sales plans to be drafted to develop the project into a successful international business.
“Klenz-Pod is a concept with a high opportunity for commercial success for many reasons. The business owner manager has relevant international commercial experience with skills in qualitative and quantitative market research and links with key potential stakeholders. These future support partners have commended his product, and his ability to make things happen. Gordon is now well networked into a wide range of experienced business managers who can be called upon for ongoing risk assessment. He has an underpinning passion for the success of the product and negotiates commercial issues with confidence, as shown in his recent presentations on TV and Radio.
There is a high potential market for the product which offers significant operational benefits and cost-savings for medical healthcare and the food and drink industry. The applicability of the product across many diverse supply chains will ensure business sustainability. The market assessment has shown the new product is positioned well to sell. There are clearly identified routes to market. The wide-ranging market assessments with future stakeholders, suppliers and customers have been extremely positive”.