Sales Performance Associates

In 1983 when I joined Jefferson-Pilot Data Systems and began selling newsroom computer systems, I would often throw a little factoid I had come across into my sales presentations. The factoid was that the only profession that was more under-computerized than broadcast journalists were dentists. Now I don’t really know if it every helped me win a sale, but it usually got news directors thinking about how far behind they were.

Well, a lot has changed since then - for both professions. I wouldn’t be surprised if research today would show that no industry has been so rapidly changed by computerization and connectivity in the past ten years as the media industry.

The rapid change in media production, distribution and consumption models present media technology companies - large and small, established and start-up - with huge opportunity. But, technology vendor companies also face formidable obstacles.

Some of these obstacles are largely beyond your control. You can’t control the competition, for example. And few can predict the next new, disruptive technology that changes the playing field for everyone.

You Can Take Control of the Way You Sell

One thing you can control is how well your sales team executes. Yet, I have found that very few media technology companies take effective steps to measure and improve their sales effectiveness. This is especially disturbing when you realize that there are few areas where such a small investment can match the return of improved win rates, increased market share and better margins.

Industry Experts, But Sales Novices

Many, if not most, of the salespeople in media technology companies have never been exposed to modern sales methods and techniques. They are in sales because of their industry knowledge, experience, contacts or a combination of all three. Their “situational fluency” equips them to understand the technical and functional requirements of their customers and how their products and services can match up on a feature-function-benefit basis. But, few have the ability to sit down with a CEO or departmental vice president of a prospect company and communicate the strategic business advantage they offer - even though those executives may be the ultimate decision-maker and have a totally different agenda than an operational or engineering executive.

Media technology sales managers - like their counterparts in other industries - are even more poorly equipped. Typically, the person charged with directing the sales team to deliver promised revenue is a top salesperson promoted into sales management with little or no formal training in sales management. They become the sales “superman” or “superwoman” who must fly in to close critical deals when the salesperson loses control of an opportunity. They seldom have the time to coach salespeople with deals and haven’t been trained to be an effective coach if they did have the time.

Many of these managers are also encumbered by a sales force that is made up of 20-percent winners, 50-percent performers (who could be winners if supported and coached) and 30-percent passengers (the salespeople that will never “get it”). These sales managers don’t know how to document the factors that their winners have and, therefore, have a hard time making sure they recruit quality new salespeople.

The problem is magnified when sales and revenue forecasts are missed because of poor opportunity qualification, inferior execution by salespeople and an inability to make the time to really manage a sales force.

How Do I Know This?

I know this based on first-hand experience. I’ve been that technically fluent salesperson being asked by a non-technical senior executive, “Why should I choose you?” I’ve been that consistently-successful salesperson promoted to sales management. I’ve been in that prospect meeting after being brought in to save the day by an ill-trained and poorly-coached salesperson.

And, I’ve taken the time to learn and develop methods, processes and tactics to address these areas.

Media technology - be it newer digital signage, streaming media and IPTV systems or more traditional hardware, software and systems - are part of a unique and rapidly-changing business with a distinctive selling environment. I’s also an industry that is woefully under-trained in the methods and tactics, the arts and sciences of sales and sales management.

That’s why my firm focuses on helping media technology companies find ways to improve their sales effectiveness and win more business.

I wonder how those dentists are doing these days.

To quote Johnny Carson, “Stay tuned. There’s more to come.”

Jim Cundiff is managing partner of Sales Performance Associates, a sales effectiveness improvement firm dedicated to helping companies in the broader media technology industry improve their sales and marketing effectiveness. You can contact him at jcundiff@sales-perfom.com.