Eit

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Being on Target -- Five Steps to Grow Market Share

Targeting is the process of selecting high potential customer accounts dotnet web hosting receive intense sales focus. Goal setting translates that high potential into achievable numeric objectives, i.e. revenue and margin growth. Each Territory Manager should select a predetermined number of Target Growth Accounts (TGAs). Creating focus on this group of selected accounts doesnt mean a Territory Manager should ignore other accounts; he/she is always expected to service their entire territory. When making decisions regarding his or her time, however, he or she should always consider Paxil selected Target Growth Accounts a priority.

The primary purpose of targeting and mesothelioma treatment setting is to keep Territory Managers focused on the strategic objective of becoming the Supplier of Choice. The TGA program home refinancing be used as a flexible guide to successful growth through targeting, goal setting and action planning.

The TGA program reflects the evolution of the outside sales force from being primarily transaction driven and self-sufficient to developing customer intimacy and using team-based selling. Its the evolution from being a Lone Wolf to becoming a Lead Wolf; it supports growth in profitability, revenue and market share!

The selection of Target Growth Accounts requires careful thought and substantial effort. Annual sales, margin and goals are established, and detailed action plans must be created refinance bad credit each of these accounts. For most Territory Managers, TGAs will contribute a substantial portion of total territory sales growth. This big effort for big reward means that the number of TGAs must be limited, and that sufficient time is allotted to succeed with each one.

An account action plan ensures that the Territory Manager is proactively pursuing sales growth and that there is a solid basis for expecting account goals to be met. By monitoring these action plans, both the Sales Manager and Territory Manager can manage activities rather than wait for results.

The intention of planning and goal setting is to provide focus on TGAs. These are the accounts with the most potential for growth. This doesnt mean the Territory Manager now only has a limited number of accounts. He must continue to service his entire account base. These are target accounts that have high growth potential and have been identified to receive a proactive, aggressive focus for growth.
Managing the TGA Program

A Sales Manager has many competing priorities. One of the most important is the need to manage the sales functions. The TGA planning and reporting program and the various activities which are a part of it are intended to help the Sales Manager improve their sales management skills and help each individual territory sales person achieve success.

From a management perspective, the goal of a TGA program is to improve the quality of the targeting, goal setting and action planning efforts of your salespeople. Its primary purpose is to provide focus, process and discipline that will enhance territory performance. This enhancement will lead to an increase in the sales, profitability and market share for each individual territory. The process itself becomes an effective sales management tool.

An initial TGA territory meeting between the Sales Manager and the Territory Manager is the most important step in the TGA process because this is where the companys expectations of sales performance are defined. This meeting creates territory dialog that is essential for effective sales management, support and knowledge transfer. Each Territory Manager should prepare by organizing some key information for each of the TGA accounts selected.
The Steps of the TGA Program

Step 1: Account Selection

The TGA program is intended to increase the focus of your sales effort on the kinds of specific activities that will lead to growth in sales, margin and market share. Before these activities are precisely defined for the TGA program, the Territory Manager must select his TGAs and review them with the Sales Manager. TGAs should be selected on the basis of their potential dollar growth.

Careful selection of TGAs is obviously critical for the success of all subsequent efforts. Selection must be based on unfilled real potential. Territory Managers should explain their rationale for their selection backed up by data justifying that selection.

Step 2: Customer Profile

When a customer makes his buying decision, he does so based on certain assumptions, perceptions and expectations. When the customer places an order, these assumptions and/or perceptions become reality in the customers eyes. Your failure to understand these assumptions and perceptions often leads to costly misunderstandings, resulting in a disappointed customer. The key to avoiding these misunderstandings is to get the book on the customer. Only by understanding his needs, perceptions and expectations can you avoid misunderstandings.

Remember:

The customers perceived value of your company drives their expectations.

Your companys performance value drives your customers satisfaction.

Getting the book on the customer means defining the customer profile. It contains information about the internal workings of your customer, including everything from the companys history and ownership to its day-to-day ordering process. Territory Managers should complete a customer profile for each of the accounts that they have selected. E-mail rjohnson@ircg.com for a sample customer profiling form.

The customer profile is the core of the TGA program. Each profile element becomes a building block in the programs foundation. Without good dialog with target accounts, securing the information necessary to formulate a meaningful action plan becomes very difficult. To ensure maximum benefit from the information collected, the questions asked and the answers given should be documented. This allows both the Territory Manager and the Sales Manager to improve their knowledge of the account.

Suggestions for getting the information needed include:

Analyze internal historical data

Do outside research on the customers industry

Ask the customer directly

Develop a relationship with the gate keepers

Use the internet to research the industry and the customers customers

Understanding the customers market and business is necessary to develop a plan for growth. You need this intelligence to determine and allocate the necessary resources. You need to understand your customers business in order to understand how to meet his needs, cure his pain and sell to him. Understanding his business involves knowing his markets, customers and competition. The market profile is used to gain knowledge of your customers customer. In which market segments do they participate and what is your customers strategy for growing market share? This requires serious discussions with numerous people in your customers location. You will define the key players and your contact points on the customer profile tracking form.

Areas to explore include:

What types of markets are they in?

Are their markets growing or shrinking?

What is their market share?

Are they exploring new markets?

What types of customers are they after?

Who are their major customers?

How do they generate new business?

What is their large to small customer ratio?

Who is their competition?

What price or profit pressures are they experiencing?

This helps you get a better understanding of their business. By understanding their types of customers you will be able to determine the timelines from order to delivery. What is their ordering lead-time? What could be done to shorten the cycle time and perhaps determine what your customers pain factors are?

Step 3: Define Goals

After the Territory Manager has selected his targets and collected critical profile information about them, its time to quantify goals. For each TGA account, the Territory Manager should now define goals for sales revenue, sales gross margin and potential product objectives. The first item to be considered is exactly where you stand as a supplier or potential supplier right now.

Served Available Market (SAM)

The first step is to quantify the potential for each TGA account. Total available market, less other channel supply that you do not participate in, equals Served Available Market. This is the true potential revenue that you have the opportunity to go after. Just because the customer buys a total of $XX does not mean his total purchase is realistically available to you. We have now entered the age of multi-channel distribution. Your SAM must represent a large potential with a high confidence for success to warrant engaging the resources necessary to capture the account. This candidate should match the abilities of your company to perform. You must understand and be capable of performing under this customers requirements, or their Rules of Engagement.

Forecast

Territory Managers should forecast sales revenue, sales gross margin and sales, by product line or vendor monthly. This is not pie in the sky guessing. They should be able to back up their forecast with solid data and a reasonable thought process. In other words, why and how do they feel they can accomplish this goal? Note that these forecasts should be revised based on the action plans developed in the next step.

Step 4: Action Plans

The action plan is the plan of attack the steps that will enable the account to reach its goal. It should develop naturally from the knowledge the Territory Manager gained from his research and customer contact. A detailed action plan should be developed for each target account. Of course, the plans for accounts with which you currently do business and have relationship equity may be more extensive than those for newer prospects. This action plan determines how to match your company resources to every opportunity that exists within that account.

Each task in the plan includes three critical elements: a deliverable or result that the task will produce an owner responsible for the task, and a due date. Defining a clear deliverable ensures that you are not confusing motion with progress. You must be clear about what you are trying to accomplish in each step to be sure that the overall plan will produce the desired result. Deliverables are the difference between passive forecasting and active planning.

The owner of the task is the person responsible for its completion. This is not necessarily the person who will do all the work involved. Each participant in the plan must acknowledge and accept responsibility for his portion of the plan.

Definitive action plans are more than personal account visits once a month. They are more than introductions to upper management and they are more than a commitment to work with management to submit the lowest bid. Action plans must be precise, definitive and measurable. They could include tasks for getting specific customer information, introducing new product lines, entertaining key players, etc.

Do not make the mistake of putting all your energy into your largest accounts. This is especially true when you are getting the majority share of spend from that account. Remember, the TGA process focuses on the greatest potential for growth.

Instead of simply learning to do what we have always done a little better, we need to become aware of and practice understanding that involves re-examining everything we do including how we think about our customers and our role in their future.

This often means letting go of our existing knowledge and competencies, recognizing that they prevent us from learning new things. This is a challenging and sometimes painful, but ultimately rewarding, endeavor.

Step 5: Track Progress

Progress on TGA action plans should be tracked and specific TGA discussions between the Territory Manager and the Sales Manager should occur on a regular basis. The Territory and Sales Managers should also discuss and update the action plans where appropriate. A Territory Opportunity Action-planning Discussion (T.O.A.D.) should occur on a regular basis (monthly is recommended) to monitor results and make the appropriate course corrections. Click on this link to read more about the T.O.A.D. ceostrategist.com/resources-store/articles.php?id=73

Targeting for growth is not a complex process. It is built on best practice sales principles. However, commitment on the part of the Sales Manager and the Territory Manager is essential to success. The WIIFM (Whats In It For Me) is simple: MORE MONEY.

Effective targeting produces growth in revenue, profits and market share. Such growth increases sales incentive and enhances performance. Improved performance leads to more money for both the Territory Manager and the Sales Manager.

Check out Ricks new CD series and workbook Unlocking the Secrets to Amazing Sales @ ceostrategist.com/resources-store/unlocking-the-secrets-to-amazing-sales-incredible-profits.html ceostrategist.com/resources-store/unlocking-the-secrets-to-amazing-sales-incredible-profits.html It is a must addition for your sales training initiatives. Order today and get a bonus copy of Ricks book Turning Lone Wolves into Lead Wolves ----56 ideas to maximize sales.

target="_new" ceostrategist.com ceostrategist.com Sign up to receive The Howl a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. Straight talk about todays issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distributions Leadership Strategist, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail "mailto:rick@ceostrategist.com rick@ceostrategist.com Dont forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business.

Add a comment

Jun 17, 2008 Jun 18, 2008 Jun 19, 2008 Jun 20, 2008 Jun 21, 2008 Jun 22, 2008 Jun 23, 2008 Jun 24, 2008 Jun 25, 2008 Jun 26, 2008 Jun 27, 2008 Jun 28, 2008 Jun 29, 2008 Jun 30, 2008 Jul 1, 2008 Jul 2, 2008 Jul 3, 2008 Jul 4, 2008 Jul 5, 2008 Jul 6, 2008 Jul 7, 2008 Jul 8, 2008 Jul 9, 2008 Jul 10, 2008 Jul 11, 2008 Jul 12, 2008 Jul 13, 2008 Jul 14, 2008 Jul 15, 2008 Jul 17, 2008 Jul 18, 2008 Jul 19, 2008 Jul 20, 2008 Jul 21, 2008 Jul 22, 2008 Jul 23, 2008 Jul 24, 2008 Jul 25, 2008 Jul 26, 2008 Aug 4, 2008 Aug 7, 2008 Aug 8, 2008 Aug 10, 2008 Aug 11, 2008 Aug 12, 2008 Aug 13, 2008 Aug 14, 2008 Aug 16, 2008 Aug 17, 2008 Aug 18, 2008 Aug 19, 2008 Aug 20, 2008 Aug 21, 2008 Aug 22, 2008 Aug 23, 2008 Aug 24, 2008 Aug 25, 2008 Aug 26, 2008 Aug 27, 2008 Aug 28, 2008 Aug 29, 2008 Aug 30, 2008 Aug 31, 2008 Sep 1, 2008 Sep 2, 2008 Sep 3, 2008 Sep 4, 2008 Sep 5, 2008 Sep 6, 2008 Sep 7, 2008 Sep 8, 2008 Sep 9, 2008 Sep 10, 2008 Sep 11, 2008 Sep 12, 2008 Sep 14, 2008 Sep 16, 2008 Sep 18, 2008 Sep 19, 2008 Sep 20, 2008 Sep 30, 2008 Oct 1, 2008 Oct 2, 2008 Oct 3, 2008 Oct 4, 2008 Oct 5, 2008 Oct 6, 2008 Oct 7, 2008 Oct 8, 2008 Oct 10, 2008 Oct 11, 2008 Oct 12, 2008 Oct 13, 2008 Oct 14, 2008 Oct 15, 2008 Oct 16, 2008 Oct 17, 2008 Oct 18, 2008 Oct 19, 2008 Oct 20, 2008 Oct 21, 2008 Oct 22, 2008 Oct 23, 2008 Oct 24, 2008 Oct 25, 2008 Oct 26, 2008 Oct 27, 2008 Oct 28, 2008 Oct 29, 2008 Oct 30, 2008 Oct 31, 2008 Nov 1, 2008 Nov 2, 2008 Nov 3, 2008 Nov 4, 2008 Nov 5, 2008 Nov 7, 2008 Nov 8, 2008 Nov 9, 2008 Nov 10, 2008 Nov 11, 2008 Nov 12, 2008 Nov 13, 2008 Nov 14, 2008 Nov 15, 2008 Nov 16, 2008 Nov 17, 2008 Nov 18, 2008 Nov 19, 2008 Nov 24, 2008 Nov 25, 2008 Nov 26, 2008 Nov 28, 2008 Nov 29, 2008 Dec 1, 2008 Dec 2, 2008 Dec 4, 2008 Dec 5, 2008 Dec 6, 2008 Dec 7, 2008 Dec 8, 2008 Dec 9, 2008 Dec 10, 2008 Dec 11, 2008 Dec 12, 2008 Dec 13, 2008 Dec 14, 2008 Dec 15, 2008 Dec 16, 2008 Dec 17, 2008 Dec 18, 2008 Dec 19, 2008 Dec 20, 2008 Dec 21, 2008 Dec 22, 2008 Dec 23, 2008 Dec 26, 2008 Dec 27, 2008 Dec 28, 2008 Dec 30, 2008 Dec 31, 2008 Jan 1, 2009 Jan 2, 2009 Jan 3, 2009 Jan 4, 2009 Jan 5, 2009 Jan 6, 2009 Jan 7, 2009 Jan 8, 2009 Jan 9, 2009 Jan 12, 2009 Jan 13, 2009 Jan 14, 2009 Jan 15, 2009 Jan 16, 2009 Jan 17, 2009 Jan 18, 2009 Jan 19, 2009 Jan 20, 2009 Jan 21, 2009 Jan 22, 2009 Jan 23, 2009 Jan 24, 2009 Jan 25, 2009 Jan 26, 2009 Jan 27, 2009 Jan 28, 2009 Jan 29, 2009 Jan 30, 2009 Feb 22, 2009 Feb 23, 2009 Feb 24, 2009 Feb 25, 2009 Feb 26, 2009 Feb 27, 2009 Feb 28, 2009 Mar 1, 2009 Mar 2, 2009 Mar 3, 2009 Mar 4, 2009 Mar 5, 2009 Mar 6, 2009 Mar 7, 2009 Mar 9, 2009 Mar 10, 2009 Mar 11, 2009 Mar 12, 2009 Mar 13, 2009 Mar 14, 2009 Mar 15, 2009 Mar 16, 2009 Mar 17, 2009 Mar 18, 2009 Mar 19, 2009 Mar 20, 2009 Mar 21, 2009 Mar 22, 2009 Mar 23, 2009 Mar 30, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 Apr 1, 2009 Apr 2, 2009 Apr 3, 2009 Apr 4, 2009 Apr 6, 2009 Apr 7, 2009 Apr 8, 2009 Apr 10, 2009 Apr 11, 2009 Apr 12, 2009 Apr 13, 2009 Apr 14, 2009 Apr 15, 2009 Apr 16, 2009 Apr 17, 2009 Apr 18, 2009 Apr 20, 2009 Apr 23, 2009 Apr 24, 2009 Apr 25, 2009 Apr 26, 2009 Apr 27, 2009 Apr 28, 2009 Apr 29, 2009 Apr 30, 2009 May 1, 2009 May 2, 2009 May 3, 2009 May 4, 2009

Eit

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Being on Target -- Five Steps to Grow Market Share

E-mail this post

var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('No comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}

Add a comment