Lakeshore Garden Space

TERRY MADDEN, ADVISOR

I watch the political process with a mix of curiosity and disdain. It seemingly brings out the worst in people, be it politicians ranting back and forth, talking heads spouting opinions based on nothing, or average citizens writing to the local newspaper editorial page with over the top claims about what they “know” to be the truth. I am not naïve enough to believe that people’s opinions have not created controversy and conflict for more years than I have been alive. It does seem, however, that the stance of “my opinion is actually a fact and you are an idiot” has become increasingly more prevalent and it is disturbing.

Pulling this to a business discussion, this attitude is becoming more widespread in the sales process and I want to caution new and seasoned sales people alike not to fall into this trap. When I started in my career decades ago, the sales process was truly a process. It was assumed that any customer worth capturing was going to take a long time (months if not years) to land. Planning was based on this assumption. Today, the sales process is seemingly more event driven. Managers demand much quicker turning of accounts and are not willing to let time and relationships develop.

To shorten the sales cycle, many professionals are turning to negative campaigns. I am sure this sounds familiar. I have heard from a number of my contacts through the years that my competition has been less than flattering about the companies I have worked for. The premise is always the same. My competitions pitch will be “we are the best company in our industry and all of our competitors are useless and awful”. This is a foolish and, ultimately, failing stance. Read the rest of this entry »

TERRY MADDEN, ADVISOR

Every summer, a group of close friends and I head out to some corner of the USA on our motorcycles and enjoy a week of cowboy style freedom. At least that is what we call it from the comfort of our hotel rooms. Two summers ago we rode through the southern portion of South Dakota. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity, it is truly beautiful and truly desolate. We spent stretches of up to an hour riding without seeing another person or vehicle.

The obvious question that jumps out is what does this have to do with Michigan and also, since I write about sales, what does this have to do with career development? Let me get straight to the point. My ride through South Dakota is what I expect to find when I drive through Michigan. Every day the news is gloomier and gloomier about our fair state. From the reports, I expect to drive down the road and see no one. Amazingly, I shop at the local market and see people spending their money. I walk downtown in Holland and see clothing shops and restaurant’s filled with customers.

I am by no means minimizing the hardships a lot of people have felt. Times have been difficult for many and there is a sizeable number of people who have taken a step back career wise and financially in the last five years, myself included. This does not equate to a bankrupt state however. While better than 7% of our citizens are unemployed, this also means that better than 92% are employed. As I talk with people in industry on a daily basis, most companies are always in the market for talented individuals. The difference is job seekers need to create opportunities instead of searching in the old and antiquated method. Read the rest of this entry »

TERRY MADDEN, ADVISOR

Most sales people who have been on the job for more than a few years will have stories about a problem that a customer brought them that they managed to turn into a success. Business consultants have made a cottage industry out of crisis management. Because people live by the law of forced efficiencies, we do what is the most pressing. We are constantly reacting to things as they present themselves. Crisis management strategies are a necessary part of any thriving industry for obvious reasons.

I tend to look at an important part of industry and then examine the inverse to see if there is an area that we have missed in analysis that may be a critical component of what we do. When you examine crisis management, the inverse would be success management. I have never heard this discussed and want to present some food for thought.

Let’s look at 2 examples. Acme Anvil promises delivery of a large amount of product to their best customer in 3 weeks. After 2 weeks they realize they will not make their promised delivery. I can guarantee you that, unless they are a very poor company, they will begin employing risk management strategies in their sales force based on past similar situations. Calls will be made to customers; internal discussions will be had, etc. The outcome may or may not be positive. Read the rest of this entry »

TERRY MADDEN, ADVISOR

I view the sales process much differently than most of my contemporaries. I recently searched Amazon.Com looking for book titles containing the phrase “art of sales”. I stopped counting the return’s when it was well over 100 titles. I hadn’t gotten through 10% of the pages presented. I do not, nor ever have, viewed the sales process as an art. The term art leaves the impression of the process being open to interpretation. By classifying sales as an art, professionals can move in a “shadowy” world, all the while explaining to co-workers and bosses that what they are doing is more art than science so you really can’t evaluate or judge them.This is patently untrue. The true sales professional understands that sale’s is more than golf tee times and glad handing customers. It is a strategic, diligent, scientific discipline. If a sales professional, or more importantly a sales manager, does not employ statistical principles to the sales effort, it will never be as successful as it could be. Sales must be a process that is visionary forward and constantly reviewed in the rear view mirror. Read the rest of this entry »