Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Manager Training, Proposals: Strategies for Writing Proposals

 

The proposal document is an expensive, time-consuming, yet necessary document.  Therefore it better hit the right buttons with the client so it takes you to the shortlist or gets you invited to do a presentation.   So some thought should go into what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say it, and the format of your written document.  Here’s what to consider.

 

The Line Items

 

Every line item in the spec must consider three factors. (1) You must show you understand why that line item is in there and what it means to project success.  (2) You must show you can handle/deliver it. (3) You must know who this line item is important to or who is worried about it. 

 

Now boiler plate spec’s and regulations have to be addressed, but the above refers to all the other line items.  Keep in mind that the spec is written by an administrator and that person has written his or her interpretation of the actual deliverable.  These interpretations are often misleading and inaccurate.  Therefore, it’s very useful to get different interpretations wherever possible.  Keep in mind the spec is not the choir singing.  It is more like an office person getting every ones opinion on where they should go for dinner.

 

Winning decision makers’ votes is the most important factor.  As mentioned in previous articles, it requires satisfying the personal desires, social expectations and project requirements for the individuals.  The RFP will seem to focus mostly on the project requirements, but behind every item there is a buyer’s (or many buyers’) concern/s.  Otherwise it wouldn’t be there.  Therefore your proposal will have to satisfy these concerns for you to get into the game.

 

Additionally there will be many success factors not stated but significant to the voters, i.e. cost savings, schedule improvements, no complaints, no disruptions etc., as well as risk sensitivities about failure vs. assurance of success.  People will be open to discuss these if asked, but it’s a big mistake to assume you know what’s in the back of everyone’s minds.  Finally what constitutes trouble and/or success is relative to each individual. It’s best to know each person’s metrics.

 

Competitors

 

Everything above is about the voters and getting their desires met.  Many sales people and companies are focused on what the competition will say in their proposals. This is a major mistake, yet competition cannot be ignored. Winning a proposal is not like a sporting event where you have to beat the competition.  It is an election where you have to win the votes of the powerful. 

 

Therefore, it’s better to focus on how you company’s competence addresses the project requirements and the voters’ desires – especially the bosses.  Who’s better, stronger, etc. is not the issues.  The attention will be on who gives the impression that they can do it and do it well — with minimum risk of failure and/or greatest chance of success.  The company that builds the feeling of confidence that the project and voters’ desires will be met, wins. 

 

Numbers, Names and Details.

 

I will repeat this concept often because it is so important.  Numbers are believable. They are also easy to visualize and understand.  “13” is more powerful than “many times”.  21 years of experience is more understandable than very experienced. Details of how you accomplished a line item for another project are important to the people concerned about that spec item.  Names validate you.  They provide concurrence and favorable associations. 

 

Your goal is develop a positive, confident, comfortable feeling in each voter that you understand and can do the work well.  In the end decisions always come down to how the voter feels about your company.  It then gets justified with details.  Keep in mind that anything can be justified, but feelings are the deal maker and deal breaker.  The best way to build the feeling of competence is to use numbers, names, and details.

 

To develop a good feeling you have to paint a colorful picture that the voter remembers.   Numbers, names and details dothat.  They are vivid, objective, and meaningful. 

 

The other beauty of n umbers, names and details is they will set you apart from the competition – in two ways. They show difference and people can relate to them.  Differentiation means that the competition can’t come behind you and say, “We do that also.”  The competition doesn’t have the same numbers, details or names that you have, so they can’t come behind and say we have that also.  They can say they’ve done it 17 times or many times, but you’ve done it 13 times – that different. More importantly, most competitors (unless they’ve read this article) will use generalities and ambiguous words, such as, many times, lots of similar applications, very experienced and other “grey” words.  Your numbers, names and details paint your story in living color and develop the feeling of credibility within the voters.  This will certainly set you apart.

 

Red Flags and Strengths,

 

For each line item or section of the specification, you must consider your red flags (areas of weaknesses) and your strengths. Now just because your competitor is “better” than you in certain areas doesn’t mean it’s a weakness for you.  That certain area has to be important to one of the powerful voters for it to be a red flag.  Many people get hung-up on some capability of the competition that is meaningless to the voters.  Remember it’s all about the voters.  The same applies to your strengths.  They have got to be of significance to a voter.  Just because you’re global doesn’t mean it’s a strength to someone looking for local service.

 

Once you identify your red flags, decide what has to be done to prove they will not affect successful delivery of the project. Don’t get paranoid that competitors will emphasize your weakness to the buyers. It would be tacky and make them look badly.  What you have to show is that you are capable of doing that item and doing it well. You don’t have to be the best.  You have to be competent.  This is where the numbers names and details will help you tremendously.

 

In the same way consider what strengths you have as they relate to each line item. Then determine how to use those strengths.  A strong strategy is to use your strengths to overcome your red flags.  However, be sure to apply strengths that are relative to the specification and/or to someone in particular. For example, if you have worldwide capability, but this project is local, detailing your global prowess will be annoying chest thumping.  But if you relate how that world presence has given you experience that will help the local area, then it’s useful to use.

 

The No Contact Clause

 

Since the award will be decided by the committee and their bosses, your ever present thought has to be “What will it take to win each individual’s vote?” or “What’s in it for him or her?” This is why the pre-work is so important. Without the knowledge of each individual’s desires and concerns, it’s difficult to target a message that will satisfy that voter.  The word “they” must be eliminated from your vocabulary.  You must speak about individuals, Sam, Mary, John, etc. when referring to any line item or deliverable.

 

Since most people are off limits after the spec has been issued, the best after-the-fact way to learn about an individual voter’s desires is to use your network of people that know the voters. If you open your mind and do some asking, you’ll realize you know people that know these voters and they will help you if you ask.  However, you’ve got make the mental effort and then make the calls.  Most people dislike asking for help and come up with every reason not to.  You’ve got to get over it.  People will help if asked.

Be careful however.  Your contact’s information may not be totally accurate, but it’s better than having none. Query them about things the voter typically worries about.  Ask about things that person has liked to see in the past, i.e. areas of concerns, and/or positive comments they had on previous projects. It will at least give you some sensitivity to this voter.

 

With this level of knowledge you’ll now be able to put pen to paper.  But wait.  How your words get’s interpreted will make or break your proposal.  So next section we’ll discuss how to build the feeling of trust and confidence in the belly of each reader.

 

And now I invite you to learn more

 

Bonus Tip:   FREE Video Series “40 Winning Strategies for Proposals and Presentations”.  Just click this Sales Management Training Proposal Link http://www.sammanfer.com/Proposals . Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to become a 70% closer and feel comfortable selling to C-Level leaders. 

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Hire Someone With Product Knowledge – a Sales Management Myth:

Hiring a candidate for your sales position who has “product knowledge” seems at first thought to be a smart move. Obviously you can save money on training if your new hire knows your industry. Right? Don’t believe it!

Product knowledge is highly overrated by most sales managers and has little to do with a representative’s ability to close sales. Even though most of the sales training conducted today centers on learning the nuances of an organization’s products or services, the emphasis on product knowledge is nothing more than a waste of training time. If you want to hire “order takers” and not sales professionals,place a major emphasis on finding candidates with industry experience and product knowledge.

Some years ago, I was sitting in a meeting with a bank president and several vice presidents attempting to sell a sales training package for their customer service representatives (CSRs). In an answer to one of my questions, the training manager said that the bank would not even consider my training unless I had some way of measuring its effectiveness with their staff. The day before this meeting, The $elling Edge, Inc. had been awarded the distributorship for a unique bank sales tracking software package, that would effectively measure CSR crosssales ratios. I knew what the software was supposed to do, but had no way to demonstrates benefits, because all of the sales literature and demo disks were in the mail. Nevertheless, before leaving the bank that day, the controller cut a cashiers check for 95 for the tracking software and the bank committed to one year’s training for their CSRs and tellers. Knowing how to sell gave my firm our first software package sale and a long term contract. Knowledge about the new software’s features and benefits played no role in the selling process at all.

Even the most complex products or services can be easily learned. Being able to consistently sell them, is the hard part. Look for and hire candidates that can sell you on their ability to sell anything and don’t worry about their industry experience or product knowledge. The time and money you save in not having to train a new representative on your industry and your products,or services, could be the most expensive “cost savings” you’ll ever produce, if your new hire can’t sell. Hire people who can sell!

“Hire the best. Pay them fairly. Communicate frequently.Provide challenges and rewards. Believe in them. Get out of their way and they’ll knock your socks off.”

-Mary Ann Allison -

author

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management Training: Differentiating Your Business During This Recession

It’s amazing to me that most sales people, mangers and corporate officers believe they know what their prospects and clients are thinking and wanting.  On the surface and/or in general terms they may be correct sometimes.  However, it’s not the vague generalities that win sales.  Besides, when in a selling situation you don’t know if you are working with the rule or the exception.

As I’m mingling at a networking meeting an elderly gentleman stops me and offers a hello.  He asks me who I’m with, so I say, “I help people develop business.  So what are your major issues as it relates to business development during this economic down time?” And he says, “Getting more business.”

Then I ask him, “Do your current clients have business that you’re not getting?”  At first he says yes, but then quickly moves to tell me how he’s getting all the business from one of them.  So I say, “What about getting more from the others?”

Well, somehow he dodges this question and tells me what his company has that others don’t.  “We can react within a day,” he says.  “Our competitors need 1-2 weeks.” 

So I tried to say, “What if your other customers are not in a hurry, then what?”  But he didn’t answer this.  He just kept bragging about what he felt made his company special. 

So here are two points to learn from this story.

You may feel you have a differentiator – fast in his case, but be careful.  Not everybody wants what you think they should want?  In his case fast is a macro differentiator.  This can be used in marketing campaigns to attract leads that want work to begin with a few days.  However, once someone shows interest, you’ve got to move to the micro differentiators.  These are the issues and concerns that the individual wants solved and/or the desires s/he wants you to deliver.  Fast maybe one of them, but there may be others.  So just in case another competitor can do it fast also (because they have extra capacity during the slowdown), you’d better have some other deliverable that the person wants that you do well.

Not everybody wants you’re macro differentiator even though you think they should.  So when you’re going after a project and you want premium pricing, you have to find those that have to have you’re macro differentiator.  Actually this will be one of the criteria of you Ideal Customer Profile.  You want customers that need your services delivered right away. 

For those that don’t, you’re going to need other differentiators or else you’ll have to be the low bidder.  So, are there other things you do well?  Of course there are.  Start documenting how well you do them and what experience you have doing them.  Then when someone says they want services like you have, but not for a few weeks, and they want it done accurately with quick follow-up if needed, you can tell them how accurate you are and what your follow-up program is, as you back it up with numbers of jobs, testimonials and other proof.

The moral of this story is that in a recessionary period seek customers that fall in your sweet spot, but also open your thinking to other things you do well.  Document those other things and market those strengths also.  You don’t have to be the best or the only, just good.  And, the best place to start is within your existing client base.  You want 100% of the business from 100% of your clients.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus tip:  FREE SALES TEAM ASSESSMENT TOOL.  Would you like to see something tangible that gauges the skills and behaviors of your sales people?  Just click this http://www.sammanfer.com/cleveltest.htm  C-Level Relationship Selling Link.   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales manager to be effective coaching his or her sales people to feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders. 

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Principles of Sales Management

When taking on a sales management position, there are three essential levels you must recognize are a part of being a manager. Working on polishing your skill in these separate levels will help you in becoming a well-rounded manager that can take on any job duty and handle them with ease. These principles of management are crucial if you would like to be viewed as a person of good integrity, work ethic and communicative with fellow workers. These three levels for being a high-quality manager are as follows: Technical Skill, Human Skill, and Conceptual Skill and the necessary functions of a manager are planning, organizing, directing and controlling.

Technical skill is the ability to process the technical side of a job or part of your work. Proficiency in the technical knowledge of your job and company is critical if your job requires you to be more “hands on” with your work. Many managers find themselves less educated on the technical side of the job than the rest of their employees and upon losing their managerial position they are forced to come to the reality that there are far more people educated in technical work than they are and slowly fall down the ladder. In order to not let this happen, you must stay up to date with the technical aspects of your job in order to assure your bosses and your company that you are the right person for the position.

Human skill is the power to communicate to your fellow co-workers. This is a skill that 99% of all companies look for in a manager because if you do not possess the ability to correspond with other employees then you will not work out in a manager position. You must be a “people person” in order to hold a job as a manager because on a daily basis you will be working with various other associates and you will need to know how to hold conversations and help your employees. Learning how to effectively communicate with people is a key principle of management that you will need in order to be successful in your position.

Conceptual skills involve the formulation of ideas and concepts. Managers that have great conceptual skills generally possess the power to create innovative ideas and deliver abstract theories. This form of management will give your company the edge it needs against its competitors if you can formulate groundbreaking concepts for your company that will push them ahead of the competition.

Managers also have duties no matter what their skill level is. These responsibilities include planning, organizing, directing and controlling. These functions are necessary when working as a manager in any level you are performing in. You might view your principles of management as the separate skill levels or the basic duties of a manager. Whichever you hold as the most important, you must also keep in account that a great manager will possess all of these skills and be a vital asset to their company.

Hospitality Sales & Management International


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Sales Management – Teach, Coach Or Leave Alone

A common hurdle for Sales Managers is learning how to actually ‘manage’ their sales team. Much like a football coach, it is your job to assess the talent on your team.

A good way to begin assessing your team is to evaluate each player, and assign them to one of three categories. This will allow you to focus the proper attention on the appropriate team members. There are three basic types of sales people.

Those you Teach:

This type has very little, if any sales training. Whether a ‘rookie’ or a ten year veteran, they survive on raw talent. Blessed with a disarming demeanor and a ‘gift of gab’, these folks make an honest living in sales. Arming them with some basic tools of the trade will do wonders in getting them off the practice squad and into the game.

For starters, schedule weekly sessions to go over scripting and roll playing exercises that cover common client interactions. Allow these players to ‘sit in’ on a few of your client consultations. If you have a video camera, tape their client interaction (with their knowledge, of course) and review it with them to correct common mistakes.

Those you Coach:

These are your starters. They consistently meet their sales goals. However, they seem to set their sights too low and ‘take plays off’ when they are ahead.

For this group, motivation is the key. Track their conversion rates for leads to sales. This will stress that every opportunity counts. Inspire friendly competition with weekly or monthly rewards such as “Lunch on the Boss” or a ‘Get Out of A Meeting Free” card. Meet with them weekly and give them a good ribbing if they start to slack off. Don’t worry, they can take it.

Those you Leave Alone:

The MVPs! Every sales manager has a list of ‘go to’ team members. They regularly exceed expectations and are self-motivated. It is important that you not over-manage these star performers.

Remember that professionals in this category are confident in their ability and know what they bring to your team. If you stifle them with burdensome reports and meetings, or with doing things ‘your way’, they will demand a trade! If they aren’t broken, don’t try to fix them.

In conclusion, using these profiles will help you build your team into a winner! And just like Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!”

(C) 2007.