MARKETING GUIDELINES - SECTION THREE

 

1.         Never sell your commodity products on a price basis unless it is a straight value-added, low service content bid, or it is your competitive strategy (a “skimmer”).

 

a.               Achieve, measure and sell top quality execution and services - not the generic commodity.

 

b.               Have “automated reminders” about the benefits of all service elements.

 

c.               To keep from being stripped and shopped: segment customers and treat differently; bundle some extra services to performance and withdraw if necessary; and unbundle services for value-added bid contracts.

 

d.               Keep creating new extra services as competitors copy the older ones.

 

2.         Weave your commodities and value added services into purchasing systems that are tested, measured and sold on total economic or procurement value.

--- Use the “nine steps” of systems selling to create win-win deals for you and the customer. Measure success and get testimonials and referrals.

 

3.         Focus on “whales” and achieve large orders in a systematic, repeat basis that generate win/win economics.

 

a.               Team-sell target accounts to penetrate, maintain and build “ropes”.

 

b.               Install systems on a base of service excellence, relationship equity and partnership trust.

 

c.               Measure and document “switching costs”.

 

d.               Lower prices when total economics allow it to stimulate demand and drive out and keep out competitors.

 

e.               Key account development is a long term process.

 

4.         Handle “minnows” in a firm, low-cost most effective and profitable manner.

--- Raise minimums and/or pricing schedule; tighten terms; strip out or automate services; let customer do work - cash-n-carry.

 

5.         Build your customers’ business and economic value, don’t just sell to them, sell through him.

 

a.               (e.g.: Seminars; educational bulletins; systems; consultative salesmen.

 

b.               See them as subsidiaries and treat them as stakeholders.

 

6.         Multiply your selling by turning suppliers and customers into activated testimonials and business growers for you.

 

a.               Help them measurable win.

 

b.               Ask for testimonials and referrals.

 

c.               Turn on customers’ employees to grow their business; which grows ours.

 

7.         Remain “close to the customer”: always.

 

a.               Team-selling (MBWA)

 

b.               Management has a few accounts

 

c.               Customer advisory group.

 

d.               Surveys.

 

e.               Practice “positive relationship management”.

 

f.                Determine what the customer values and will pay for. Main source of new services.

 

8.         Build your services to meet “enoughness and sufficiency” - only what the customer can be educated to value and pay for.

--- Prototypes with measuring systems prevent over-engineering services.

 

9.         Remember the degrees of difficulty of the four generic types of pro-active selling.

 

a.               More old items to old customers (difficult - x)

 

b.               New items to old customers (3x tougher).

 

c.               Old items to new customers (10x).

 

d.               New items to new customers (15x).

 

10.      Never underestimate the difficulty of getting your people to “fall in love” with a new product (for them).

 

a.               Rule of 5 - 6.

 

b.               Don’t leave men on base at the end of the inning.

 

11.      Never underestimate the difficulty of breaking old customer buying habits and forming new ones.

 

a.               Most will rationalize that they buy for “price, service, availability”.

 

b.               In focus groups, they don’t really know why. No hot buttons, Buy for emotional comfort, out of habit and laziness.

 

12.      Recruit fewer, but better (tiger) salesmen:

 

a.               Fan their ego-drive, but achieve team cooperation.

 

b.               Pay more for penetration than maintenance.

 

c.               Must first sell service value; then TPC purchasing systems; and then be a consulting to grow them.

 

d.               Must be able to teach and discipline customers into being “partners” and not strip and shoppers.

 

13.      Developing, testing, measuring, packaging and selling extra services and getting something for them is tough.

 

a.               Have a few good test customers; over invest and educate to get results and testimonials.

 

b.               Work the bell-shaped curve of innovative customers from most to the “herd”. Many testimonials are necessary. It takes time.

 

c.               But improvements in basic service excellence never to out of style.

 

14.      If you are big, act small by decentralizing all service capabilities as much as possible to the local marketplace.

Marketing Guidelines - SECTION THREE