Two Digital Selling Tool Paths
Here are two contrasting case studies. Which one is a focused, profitable-growth strategy?
Continue reading 164. Cool Digital Tools Aren’t A Profit-Growth StrategyMany big-time jocks have personal coaches and analytics services. (Coaches for executives use 360-feedback surveys).
Most pro sports teams now invest in high-speed video, stats, and development coaches – for all players. Veteran starters with contracts often decline the help (why mess with success?), but rookies (and little leaguers) are devouring video-based analysis. The underlying goal is fast-as-possible “mastery”.
Continue reading 162. Your Coach for Mastering E-Skills?When you quote a customer a “price”, what are the services that are bundled (“for free”) into that price? A typical distributor-bundle includes costs for: outside and inside reps, pick, pack, shipping, and trade credit. Bigger customers usually get extra services “for free”. Small ones may have a minimum order size requirement and/or an un-bundled freight charge. (A tough sell with Amazon’s free shipping policies.)
Continue reading 159. Distributors: Get Re-Bundling FlexibleAmongst your most net-profitable accounts, find the ones that have also been growing their sales, margin, and profit dollars fastest (year-over-year). These are “Gazelles”. Partner them better to increase your odds that they will continue to grow you for years.
Reps can’t do partnering on their own. Bigs typically herd reps into seeing buyers in silos with narrow agendas and metrics (like “price”). You must pitch the customer honcho who can see and change the overall procurement process.
Continue reading 158. Skills for Partnering Gazelle AccountsGrove was a founder of Intel, and its CEO from ’87 to ’98. He wrote an acclaimed book on what he had learned: “Only the Paranoid Survive”, published in ’99. His summary quote:
Continue reading 157. “Only The Paranoid Survive” 2.0Most distributors know/believe this phrase. But, are you living in Lake Woebegone where everyone is above average? We all practice some degree of the “self-enhancement bias”. It’s good for our species’ happiness, sanity and survival.
But, if competitors have “good service” too, what’s the tie-breaker? Isn’t it meeting a “price”? Then, won’t you get commodity returns, and struggle to attract and keep new young talent?
Continue reading 155. Your Lake-Woebegone Service Value