WORLD CLASS SALES ROUNDTABLE:

Managing Change

"To solve a customer's business problem you need to have more finesse, education and experience. Better business skills will quickly translate into more business." -- Michael Wines, Reynolds & Reynolds

By Gerhard Gschwandtner
Publisher, Selling Power
Photos by Debra Celecia

Selling Power: What challenges do you encounter in moving your team to the cutting edge of progress?

FRANK COLEMAN [Lucent Technologies]: We are a technology company and we have been very focused on technology training. Selling skills and knowledge of technology are no longer enough for developing effective solutions for our customers. No account executive can possibly understand the broader range of all the technology we have to offer. We expect our account executives to conduct the analysis of the customer’s problem. We then assemble a team of specialists who create and package a solution and present that to the customer. We are leaders in technology and we plan to expand our business problem-solving skills. Every technological problem has a business side and a technical side. We are now recruiting people with MBA degrees, people who have business administration skills and financial skills. Our goal is to increase the effectiveness of our team and the quality of our solutions.

MIKE WINES: In our recruiting process, we look for college graduates with a good business background. We want our company to be their second or third job. Our managers conduct two or three interviews. We are looking for people who are good with solving problems. Teaching selling skills seems to be much easier than teaching business skills. Our people need to identify and solve dealership problems. Ideally, we want our salespeople to be able to show our dealers how they can handle their customers more effectively and how to manage their internal processes better. In the final analysis, the product is only a tool that anyone can learn about. To solve a customer’s business problem you need to have more finesse, education and experience. Better business skills will quickly translate into more business.

"In our research we found that in many sales organizations salespeople spent 60 percent of their time fixing problems that their own business systems were supposed to take care of." -- Howard Stevens, H.R. Chally

HOWARD STEVENS: I think it would be a good idea to look at the nature of the problems that salespeople are asked to solve. In our research we found that in many sales organizations salespeople spent 60 percent of their time fixing problems that their own business systems were supposed to take care of.

PETER DANIS [Boise Cascade Office Products]: I agree. With all that emphasis on solving business problems, we need to recognize the fact that our systems create more problems than we solve. For example, 5-7 percent of all invoices sent out by American businesses is wrong.

What is the turnover rate at UPS?

JOEL ROSSMAN: Our turnover is very low, between 4 and 6 percent. UPS has a very unique culture. When you join UPS you become a partner in our business. We all own a piece of the company and we all have a stake in our success. The majority of our salespeople come from within the organization and they are promoted upward as their skills expand. Salespeople receive a salary and they share in the profits of the company. There are more and more salespeople recruited from the outside. This contributes to a culture change and we now encounter a different set of challenges.

What is the turnover rate at Brown-Forman?

JIM BAREUTHER: Our turnover rate is generally in the 3 to 5 percent area.

How do you keep it that low?

JIM BAREUTHER: There are a number of reasons. First, when we recruit people, we look for individuals who have a college degree plus three to four years of sales experience. During the first 24 months, new salespeople go through an extensive training program where we teach effective selling skills and product knowledge, but also focus on building strong relationships with our customers.

We provide a nurturing work environment where people can grow personally and financially, where people receive recognition and rewards. We create an environment where we concentrate on a strong sense of values. We take pride in strong family values. There is a lot of consistency in our culture that translates into greater meaning for our employees. Although we are a public company, the Brown family has controlled Brown-Forman for the past 127 years.

"When I hear about turnover rates of 3 or 5 percent, I say that you don't have a dynamic organization." -- Peter Danis, Boise Cascade

PETER DANIS: When I hear about turnover rates of 3 or 5 percent, I say that you don’t have a dynamic organization. Eighty percent of our sales force doesn’t turn at all, but the bottom twenty percent is churning. we take risks. We bring in new people, but some don’t make it and they get out quickly. That bottom 20 percent is like a mixmaster. It means that you either make it and move up, or you don’t. There is no in between.

How do your salespeople at UPS stay competitive?

JOEL ROSSMAN: We are operating in a highly competitive environment and our strength lies in our dependability. We have a customer base of almost 2 million and employ more than 3,000 salespeople. We have the largest transportation system in the world. Our capital expenditures are about $2.4 billion a year. More than half of that is invested in new technology. For example, the automated tracking system is a great sales tool. Another great asset is our driver loyalty. UPS drivers earn great respect in the industry; they are an integral part of our sales force, especially in the small market.

"We are transforming our salespeople into business managers for their territories." -- Bruce McNiel, Mark IV Industries

What major changes do your salespeople face at Mark IV Industries?

BRUCE McNIEL: We are in a transition phase where we begin to empower our sales team with more responsibility and authority. We are transforming our salespeople into business managers for their territories. This means that we are asking for a much broader set of skills such as business management skills. We want our salespeople to be able to read a balance sheet and take on P&L responsibilities. In addition, we want our salespeople to be the voice of the customer within our organization. The underlying objective is to be more customer-driven.

In addition, we are moving from selling products to selling systems. This is probably one of the toughest challenges we face as an organization. We are moving from a central organization to decentralized profit centers. Since we are moving into new market segments, our salespeople need to expand their industry and market knowledge. This is a major challenge that requires a different mindset.

How do you keep up the excitement and motivation?

BRUCE MCNIEL: Change is not always fun. It is important for our managers to be very supportive. They need to spend more time listening to our people, to encourage them and to help them solve their problems. Those who want to stay in the old groove eventually leave. Those who are really motivated begin to see a much broader opportunity for themselves. They enjoy the greater responsibility, take on larger challenges and benefit from greater rewards. I see people moving into higher positions in the future because they have a much broader-based business experience.

"We now ask our salespeople to call on higher-level decison makers and impact different people within our accounts." -- Thomas Weisenbach, Zellerbach

How do your salespeople respond to change at Zellerbach?

TOM WEISENBACH: In the past, we were very effective order takers and the transaction was driven based on price and availability. We have moved to a different process where we deliver a more comprehensive service and more long-term solutions to our customers. There is a big difference between selling products compared to selling solutions. This change is not easy for us. We motivate our salespeople by sharing best practices and encourage them to focus on the greater opportunity for everybody.

We now ask our salespeople to call on higher-level decision makers and impact different people within our accounts. Instead of focusing on a single transaction, let’s say fifty cents per hundredweight, we can have greater success by looking at the customer’s total business picture. We believe that we can help our customers improve their business operation and control five percent of their total purchases. It is much more difficult to sit down and go through a call planning process, to listen to customers and understand what their needs are. Of course, recognition and financial incentives are important ingredients to encourage change. We now look at incentive programs to reward salespeople for taking on the new role of a service-oriented salesperson.

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Excerpted from Selling Power magazine,
January 1998

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