Training for Corporates

Let's take a couple of statistics to start with and keep them in mind as you continue:

• It costs, give or take, five times as much to win a new customer as to retain an existing one so you would think it makes good business sense to keep them happy once they come on board
• Yet it is estimated that the reason for lost custom in 68% of cases is that the customer is upset at the way he or she is treated (over five times the number who are dissatisfied with the actual product or service)

Now, unlike their smaller counterparts, principals of large (or even medium) sized companies will not personally be involved in winning and keeping business and will achieve a close business relationship with only a handful of their best customers at most. So they have no choice but to delegate and have a strategy with structured sales and marketing processes in place.

Traditionally thinkers and planners at global (or national) Head Office would come up with the sales and marketing strategy for the whole corporation. Then the marketing team, usually based at national Head Office, carried out the implementation. This would be supported by in-house or outsourced national, regional and local sales efforts and, nowadays, a central customer relationship management process.

But times are changing

Since the latter part of the last century individuals have been bombarded with sales messages every time they tune into a commercial radio station, turn on the television or surf the Internet. In addition they daily receive "personalised" messages at home or work by post, telephone, email or their cell phones from both companies that currently supply them trying to sell them more and from others who would like their business.

But what about when the customer has a problem and tries to contact the supplying company? It's not normally difficult getting through to someone who can help at a small company or, failing that, leaving a message and being contacted back by someone who can.

But what about large organisations?

Firstly the caller is often greeted by an automated response and either offered a bewildering array of choices which, on selection lead him to more automated options until he refuses to press any more buttons on his telephone and eventually a human being picks up the call. Or he is held in a queue listening to someone's idea of appropriate music or, worse, more sales messages until an operator becomes available.

In either case the individual he speaks to will usually have strictly limited powers to help with any but the most straightforward issues. Even if he persists in going up the ladder of authority in his quest to find a satisfactory solution, any but the most hardened or desperate customer will tend to give up after repeating his plight the second or third time to no avail.

Every single one of you reading this will have experienced this at some point and know the message it, rightly or wrongly, sends out:

You are not important

The sad thing is that many times those in the corporations who might be able to rectify said problem won't even know it exists until they lose the business, by which time it's too late.

Is it any wonder that customers don't feel loyalty to a faceless corporation and will not hesitate to move their business elsewhere if a seemingly better offer comes along?

So how can big companies really differentiate themselves from the competition and, having won the customer, combat disaffection leading to defection?

Current thinking amongst the more innovative organisations is to adopt a more decentralised approach, and they are devolving much of the ongoing sales and marketing process in order to reintroduce truly personal service.

This involves much more than getting buy-in from senior management and, possibly, lip service from further down the line. It takes commitment and considerable effort over time to get the payback that a "bottom up" approach can achieve.

Solution # 1

It means the organisation seeking out, training, empowering and promoting to positions of authority and responsibility able, multi-skilled individuals within individual profit centres: Business units, branches, satellite offices, divisions and individual representatives.

Solution # 2

Alternatively, it means those organisations without a direct sales force really understanding the needs of their agents, dealers, distributors or resellers, building strong partner relationships with them and offering them the highest level of support, training and rewards.

Why should an organisation go down this route?

The person running the business unit, dealership, etc. can ensure that

• He is involved and in control of the ongoing sales process at every stage
• The individual(s) responsible for sourcing the prospects and bringing in the business are either the same as, or in a position to brief and communicate closely with, those who deliver the products, services or solutions to the customers
• He will be personally involved in managing the ongoing relationship with their customers. In that way he can ensure that they feel they are being treated well and check that the company's offering continues to meet their requirements
• He is in a position to react to any problems as they arise and has the opportunity to minimise the potential disaffection that causes over 80% of customers to take their business elsewhere.

Large sections of the Comfort Zone Gold course content would help the individual and his team become proficient in the sales, marketing and support areas associated with both of these solutions. We would be happy to work with corporate organisations to tailor this training to their needs.

Internal implications

Employees require training, which is expensive. One luminary was reportedly asked whether he got fed up training his people only to eventually see them move on elsewhere. His response was "What if I don't train them and they stay?"

• Individuals will stay longer with and give more of themselves to an organisation that

• trains them
• values them
• listens to and acts on their input where and when appropriate

• And that, in turn, gives the organisation a much improved return on its training investment
• Happy, valued employees make good ambassadors for the organisation

External implications

Agents, dealers, resellers and distributors may work with several organisations

• They will look for and actively promote the products, services or solutions of a partner that

• supports them
• addresses their concerns and
• helps them to be successful

We know that it costs (give or take) five times as much to recruit a new customer than to retain an existing one, so:

• All other things being equal, customers will stay with an organisation that

• treats them well
• listens to, understands and responds to their needs and wants and
• gives them that little bit extra

• A happy customer is a good advocate for the organisation

We will be happy to work with you to select and customise areas of the Selling For Business course to meet your organisation's specific needs.

If you would like to discuss a potential requirement or just want more information, then please Contact Us.

PS A bit of really radical thinking now:

Some organisations adopting the decentralised, "bottom up" approach are so genuinely interested in understanding their customers' needs and motivations that they really take the trouble to find out how they can expand or develop their offering to help them more. Depending on the nature of their core business they look for ways they can provide value added services that proactively help their customers become more successful, wealthier, enjoy more leisure time, and so forth.

If some of your customers are entrepreneurs or owners of micro or small businesses, what better way is there to demonstrate your active interest in their success than by helping us to introduce them to the skills they will master in Selling For Business?