Driving organizational excellence pays dividends.
It's
the time of year again to begin that corporate ritual known as
"preparing next year's budget." This process is supposed to pull the
entire management team together in order to consider all possible
challenges and opportunities, resulting in a well thought out, cohesive
plan so that the entire organization thrives. Too bad it doesn't always
work that way!
All too often, when the dust settles
and the final budget is actually approved, a resulting sick feeling
that there is little chance to exceed or even hit budget settles in
your stomach due to the realization that there is little chance to
exceed or even hit the budget. Based on conversations I have had over
the years with peers, in and outside of our industry, I am not the only
one who has ever experienced this sick feeling.
When I have thought through why my confidence in a given budget is not
strong it always seems to revolve around the first step of any planning
process - developing the sales forecast. And when I have little (or no)
confidence in the sales forecast it inevitably boils down to the
realization that the sales "force" has resigned itself to the comfort
of becoming order takers.
Now, there is a place for order takers in most organizations. Someone
has to respond promptly to requests for quotations, order entries and
expedites. But if all the sales team is doing is sitting back and
waiting for a renegade customer to e-mail or call in, your business is
dead in the water. No one ever aspires to become a lowly order taker,
however that is just the fate that befalls many otherwise talented
people.
Everyone
wants to be part of the sales force - that critical part of your
business that generates continual growth and makes sure higher margins
are the rule rather than the exception. But what exactly is the
definition of being a force? To some, sitting at their desk ready to
respond to that pressing e-mail or phone call about a quote is being a
force. To others, having keen insight as to how to manipulate the
internal quoting system in order to edge out the competition is the
definition. Still, to some a force is being on the road in pursuit of
the perfect customer, even when neither a valid RFQ nor qualified
capability fit results.
Maybe I am old fashioned, but I believe
that to be a force you must first understand what value your company
offers and who will be interested in it. I am often amazed when a sales
person argues that there is no difference between their company and
their competition. It usually is that same sales person who, when asked
what a prospective customer is looking for, will quickly respond, "A
low price is all they want." Every company offers value and every
company seeks value. A person who is really a sales force knows this
and fully understands what value proposition his or her company offers,
and how to identify prospective customers who may need such a
proposition.
More
important than understanding what value your company offers, being a
force requires believing - truly believing - in that value proposition.
Only when you believe can you effectively target opportunities and
possess the tenacity to work through what might seem like a death march
of opposition to achieve a successful profitable business. When I see
those who were once sales drivers within their companies evolving into
order takers it is almost always because they stopped believing in
themselves. I don't know of a single company that has enough people in
their sales force, but I do know that almost every company has too many
order takers.
Which brings me back to that
post-budget sick feeling. What causes the pain is not necessarily
knowing that the sales forecast could be wrong because you have order
takers vs. a functional sales force. What causes the real pain is
knowing that unless someone steps forward and is the force of change,
another year will pass without achieving the level of success that
everyone wants. More specifically, unless the boss - you or me as
leaders of our respective companies - steps up to the plate to do
something, whether to eliminate order takers from the sales force or
facilitate change in any other needed area, that sick feeling will
persist all year long.
And that's what the budget
process is really all about; being a guiding force by identifying what
needs to be done and then dealing with it. Everyone wants their sales
force to be filled with movers and shakers who understand value, target
opportunities and then have the drive to deliver profitable business.
Every year most executives go through the process of developing a
budget just to find that some area - often the sales forecast - does
not measure up to the needs of the organization. As executives driving
the budgeting process, it is incumbent upon each of us to take
definitive action if we are going to be the force that drives the
organization forward.
So, when you begin your budgeting
exercise don't forget to pull out a mirror - just in case you get that
queasy feeling in your stomach and need to remember who should be
driving organizational change. PCD&M
Peter Bigelow is president and CEO of IMI (www.imipcb.com). He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
