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What was your sales organizations performance against sales goals for the 12 months of 2010?
 
Sales Strategy Mistakes to Avoid in 2010 PDF Print E-mail

 

“All sales failures result from executing the wrong strategy, or from executing the right strategy the wrong way."

 

It’s a point that is not hard to argue. And if the idea is unsettling, it’s because all of us are capable of making mistakes. Little mistakes are OK—we’ll recover. But big, fat, strategic mistakes—the kind that cost millions of dollars? No thanks. I'd rather not repeat an error.

There are many organizations who's sales strategies have not gone to plan in 2009 or were in fact the wrong plan and are now looking at 2010 with a degree of concern about whether they got it right this time. Even more alarming is the fact that many organizations do not actually have a sales strategy as they move into the new year; they will just continue to battle on the war front everyday overly reliant on product quality and service to pull them through.  

The market is fluid and although tactical changes may have been made - is this really going to make the difference in the year ahead.

In lessons learnt in sales strategy, what we do know is the problem can be split into two:

  1. Strategy development - either no strategy has been developed or a poor strategy, doomed to failure has been created; or 
  2. Strategy implementation - the strategy itself is sound but the implementation of the strategy failed.

For those whose 2010 sales strategies are still percolating, here are some mistakes to avoid:

 

Common mistakes in sales strategy development

  1. Focusing on tactics not strategy. Strategy explains the "why", tactics are the "what". Most plans I see are very tactical.
     
  2. Not understanding what customers really want. Customers should be the main focus of your strategy since it is they who will decide if you win or lose in the market-place. Assumptions you know the customer based on your longevity in the market is just not going to cut it.
     
  3. Failing to be unique and clearly differentiated in your market. Being the same or just similar creates competitive stalemate and customer indifference.
     
  4. Failing to consistently monitor the external environment for opportunities and threats.
     
  5. Not understanding the motivations, strengths and weaknesses of competitors. I see too many strategic plans which assume growth in market share without explaining why customers should switch and how competitors will react.
     
  6. Not being clear on exactly how you will earn a profit. Definitely a problem and it is still clear that many business people haven't created a sound business model.
     
  7. Not identifying and managing risks - strategic, financial and operational related to sales organizations.
     
  8. Not creating a culture which encourages innovative thinking and correct action.

Whilst many of the biggest blunders may come from a flawed strategy, there are many well established techniques for you to develop a potentially effective strategy. Perhaps the biggest issue is that of how competitors will react to your actions to dominate your market which comes down to two issues:

  • Can they retaliate? If you manage to introduce a sustainable advantage, competitors may not be able to retaliate. They may not have the skills or the cash.
  • Do they want to?  It may seem strange when you start thinking about competitive reactions and how for example if you reduce price, they will reduce price, they may not be that committed to a fight or it may not make long term economic sense to destroy industry profitability.      

Common mistakes in strategy implementation

This is where it does get more difficult since you have to get your sales organization and customers to take action. A difficult challenge when senior management teams struggle to take action consistent with the strategy.

  1. Failing to put your strategic objectives and logic in writing.
     
  2. Failing to regularly refer back to your strategic plan. The memory does play funny tricks and the agreed strategy may not be as you remember it.
     
  3. Not communicating your strategy to your team. If you don't tell them where you are heading and how you will get there, how can you expect their actions and everyday decisions to be consistent with your strategy?
     
  4. Not sitting down with each person or team and explaining what the new strategy means to them and how their role has to change. If your new strategy is improved customer service, shouldn't your team members know what improved customer service means in their jobs? And if they don't have the skills, provide training.
     
  5. Using rewards and incentives which conflict with your strategy. If you change strategy, you must change the incentives since people will do what you reward them to to do. Not having incentives that support your strategy makes like tougher, having incentives which conflict with your strategy means that you will fail.
     
  6. Not measuring progress on your strategic objectives and not measuring deep enough into the organization. If it is important, measure it and measure it well.
     
  7. Failing to develop the right business model which can deliver customer benefits and value at a low cost. This means focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness.
     
  8. Failing to periodically revise your strategy and particularly if the external environment is unstable. It was General Eisenhower who said "no plan survives contact with the enemy". Implementing a rigid plan is impossible because you can't predict how all the important players will act.

With the right sales strategy and correct implementation - you will succeed !

Copyright: 2010 Sales Focus International

 

 

 
Last Updated on Thursday, 04 March 2010 13:21