Sending the Right Vibes to your Sales Team

It is a given that as a company leader, you have to do what you can in order to make sure that you serve as an inspiration to your sales force. As a leader, it is up to you to make sure that you give them the push that they need in order to feel the drive to sell, sell, and sell. This is where competitive intelligence comes into the picture. The thing is; your sales people might not be able to comprehend what you are saying at all times, so you go on and give hand outs that stress the points that you want to achieve. However, you are again faced with another dilemma. The fact is that these people have a lot more to do than just sit around and read whatever you give them. So how do you get your point across?

One word: VIBES. No, it doesn’t mean feelings or sensations. What it actually means is Value-Added Intelligence using Benefits, Experience and Synthesis. But what does this mean, exactly? In retrospect, it is an in-depth analysis of your competitive methods, how they affect you and your company and what you do to respond to them. This analysis only involves all the important details. No flowery prose that could take up too much space. You have to put emphasis on detailing all the good benefits of your products and services to the prospective customers that the sales force will be speaking with. You also have to make sure that your sales force has enough experience in the field that he or she is involved in and that you do as well. Otherwise, you might not be able to answer any of the questions that will inevitably be thrown at you. Lack of knowledge would also mean that you will not be able to do the correct analysis of all the data that you have in your disposal. Synthesizing is the last important step. This means weeding out all the key points that you have unearthed into a concise, yet comprehensive information packet that your sales team can look through in a short time and maybe even bring with them as reference as they go about with their job effectively.

However, even as you do all this, it might still be too much for a single person to take on and comprehend at once. That is when you need to bring out the big guns, so to speak. You can involve product and subject matter expert to help you impart all the vital information. There is a wide variety of ways that you can use to help you and your team out. You can do one-on-one coaching sessions, phone consultations, email discussions, group meetings and whatever other way possible. You just have to make sure that your team fully understands and that you are available if they need you.

The Marriage of Competitive and Customer Intelligence

Why focusing on customers and competitors is key to an effective sales force.

The world has shrunk dramatically in most aspects of our daily existence. Communication, marketing, and even dating can be set up and done a wink of an eye. Enormous alterations and modifications to even huge entities are occurring everyday brought about by the ever-shrinking society. A particularly popular bank today being bought by a little-known player in the same industry tomorrow is not an unheard of event. Service–oriented outfits are being forced to lower down prices, minimize cost, expand their clientele, strategize their marketing thrust, and keep afloat because of the fierce competition thanks to globalization.

To keep not only abreast with the ever-increasing competition rivalry (since other entities that formerly belong to other fields of enterprise are now diversifying and are within your shores of expertise) but also get ahead in the market, information is power. Knowing the most important aspects of your trade and more will not only help you organize your business better but will also help you plan ahead. Being able to forecast what will be transpiring in the next couple of months is essential in mapping your next moves.

Now, there are two major types of information that you have to acquire in order to “get ahead”. To start with, you have to know what your clients currently want and what they will want in the near future which is dependent on external forces. Take for example the banking industry. Formerly, people were accustomed to going to the banks, doing their transactions via the teller’s window. But look at the banking industry now. All major transactions, cheque issuance, fund transfer, balance inquiry, payments, account debits, etc., can be done in the comforts of your home via the internet. Imagine a banking institution unable to give these luxuries to its clientele.

Second, you have to know what the other companies are doing. What are their weaknesses? What are their plans? What do they currently offer that you do not have yet? What can you offer that they do not have yet? Armed with these data, you can now plot your tactics in the coming months. However, keep it mind that the competition is doing the same. So, you always have to assume a step ahead. You have to continuously presume that whatever you have thought of, they already have, so think a step further on that idea. In fact, think two steps ahead. Getting the right information and analyzing it correctly will give you the edge when nit comes to planning and mapping out your company’s next lines of focus, thus solidifying your foothold on your market.

The ABCs Of Sleeping Better Before, During And After Trade Shows

All of us, whatever our trade is, belong to a particular segment in our society that has an association or organization of some sort. In fact, in some trades, like pharmaceuticals, and medicine, there are at least two or three organizations on each area of specialization. And much more, there are you might be surprised, sub-organizations based on hierarchy, tenure, and/or class. Take for example the medical field. There are thousands of medical associations and underneath those umbrella organizations, there are sub-groups, i.e., American Heart Association – American College of Chest Physicians. In the engineering domain, Civil Engineering has Structural Engineering underneath it. Now, all these associations conduct fellowship conferences and conventions at the very least once a year. And these activities are called trade shows or conventions.

The challenge in attending these trade shows is how you get the most from them. More than most, of these conferences are set up in resorts or hotels far from where the organization was founded, the sights and sounds distracting you from the true goal of your presence, get as much information as possible to help you in your trade and expand your network for future references. This is where the dilemma lies. There are trade ethics and safeguards that we should put in place not only for us but most especially if we have employees attending such events, the latter presenting the most issues. Here are few pointers when gracing trade shows that you can use and share with your subordinates.

• Even if the theme of the event is about solidarity, union, or strengthening the organization, keep in mind that there would always be competitors within your area of expertise. In fact, everyone in the convention is a competitor. So, be very wary in giving out your trade practices, especially the ones that you think makes you tick.
• Refrain from discussing your marketing strategy, and if the situation calls for it, speak in a low voice. Believe me, some individuals or groups attend these events just to spy on other business entities.
• Each show or event has its own set of guidelines. Know these rules and make sure you apply them to the letter. You do not want to be caught in an embarrassing situation in front of your peers just because you did not read the “Restricted Area” sign.
• Use your cell phones appropriately. Again, you might be discussing sensitive matters over the phone out in the open where everyone can hear you.
• Look respectable. Make sure your employees dress in a proper manner during these conventions. Remember, the way you present yourself reflects your company’s image and work ethics.
• Lastly, when with peers, avoid conferring about specific issues about the company you work for. Bear in mind, you are not alone.

Cross-border Competitive Intelligence

A Competitive Intelligence (CI) individual is faced with diverse challenges when dealing with cross-border data collection processes.  During the planning phase, certain differences should be addressed.  These elements that constitute these differences would be culture, language, and information sources.  During the collection phase, the gathering of required data also needs to consider the same differences as should be addressed during the planning phase.

Expertise in the cross-border CI function involves thorough cultural assessment in foreign markets.  The cultural variables include the effectiveness of different collection methods in foreign markets that should be considered by the CI individual when gathering all the relevant primary and secondary information.

The CI researcher needs to identify such problems like comparability, reliability, and validation of data.  Availability of data, especially secondary information sources, is the case in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Western Europe but probably not in many other countries.  Meanwhile, comparability will be focused here further.

A cross-border CI often neglects to address the challenge of comparability of available data.  It is critical that the data be comparable.  Comparability is important because the data is collected from different countries for analysis to produce intelligence.  The secondary data needs to be fully understood and the meaning of the data recognized at the same time.  This could be quite tough considering that words change meaning due to linguistic and cultural differences and could affect the data gathered by the cross-border CI.

Challenges in cross-border trade are experienced by several countries.  In the case of importing and exporting, problems may occur when official trade statistics of two countries do not match.  Between two countries, indirect trade is the culprit.  However, some countries have already reconciled their trade statistics.  In the case of linguistic differences, foreign markets can use common everyday terms differently.  The concept of supermarket in Korea and Japan is more like the concept of department store in North America.

The best first step is to determine useful secondary information from the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  These International organizations also offer information that is presented and collected under common standards.  Diverse aspects of the cross-border CI data gathering are impacted by the comparability of secondary data.  There are implications to areas such as information requirements and research decisions, setting expectations, and cost of the project.  An expert cross-border CI is knowledgeable and efficient in searching relevant information from published sources.

Corporate Strategies in International Events

Terrorism has not spared the corporate world.  Due to these events, the need for companies to develop strategies in light with international situations grew.  Dealing with domestic and international terrorism is becoming compulsory.  The new global environment is becoming more and more competitive and therefore needs to be addressed with corporate intelligence and strategy.

The present challenges are no longer addressed by theories such as equilibrium-based and complex adaptive systems.  This cause-and-effect economic model focuses on historic competencies by companies.  The theory has led to failure as research reveals.  Another ineffective theory is the complex adaptive systems, based on Darwin’s ideas on evolution.  Darwin’s hypothesis does not work with corporate strategy because some refuse the idea of ‘self-organization’.

The theory most likely to be effective is the complex dynamic systems.  When thinking about the global environment, this theory provides a more realistic foundation.  The levels of both complexity and dynamism are involved in a competitive environment.  The theory successfully recognizes a very vital aspect which is the environmental rate of change.  It avoids the problems related to the two aforementioned theories.

The speed of environmental change accelerates the impact of events brought about by the terrorist attacks.  Corporate strategy and intelligence must be able to think out of the box and deal with the impact of terrorism extremely fast.

Corporate counter-terrorism is best defined as the development of corporate strategy and intelligence skills that enable the firm to effectively anticipate or deal with the discontinuous events of a complex, dynamic environment.  Terrorism is considered illogical and the impact of terrorist events is magnified by the environment rate of change.  An organization must take an overdue look at the role of intelligence function; long enough to prepare for the discontinuities of terrorism.

The key to creating an effective corporate counter-terrorism approach is by using systems thinking and a systematic ‘outside-in’ analysis.  The five (5) tiers that intelligence must be focused to develop an effective counter-terrorism strategy are (1) Global, (2) National, (3) Regional, (4) Corporate perimeter, and (5) Corporate premises.  The company must develop strategies for dealing with each potential threat in analyzing each area.  Strategy, intelligence and security functions must be highly cooperative and autonomous at the same time.

The ten (10) forces in speeding up change and complexity are the following: (1) Market, (2) Technology, (3) Ideological, (4) Economic, (5) Psychological / Social, (6) Legal, (7) Governmental / Political, (8) Moral, (9) Environmental, and (10) Media.  These forces must be observed considerably to come up with a systematic approach to preventing the impact of terrorism in a corporate perspective.

Competitive Intelligence (CI) and Outsourcing

Outsourcing has become a popular trend for most companies especially in the US and UK.  There are these issues of being in touch with the companies’ key issues, being on top of industry trends and have convenient access to decision makers.  These issues have already been properly addressed and have proven to be workable.  The outsourced staff is able to deliver the competitive intelligence function, and therefore does not need to be on-site.

A company that gets into outsourcing, hires an outside firm that provides the staff that performs the CI duties full-time every day.  Typically, there would be a team of 2 or more outside consultants responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating to the organization the needed CI.   This team can function without the need to be in the company’s headquarters.  They would need to spend most of their time meeting with those that contribute to the CI function.

The answer to the question as to why there is a need to outsource is reasonable.  It may not work for every company and it would still be best to build an internal CI function.  However, certain situations call for the advantages of outsourcing.  Outsourcing can fill the gaps for companies that are understaffed and do not have the sufficient budget especially in the case of downsizing during an economic crisis and if an employee cannot relocate to the job for several months.

Outsourcing can prevent two (2) problems in a company.  These are (1) too many ad-hoc requests for low-level tactical information, and (2) infrequent contact with senior management.  Since in most cases internal employees have less access to top executives in many organizations, these outside consultants would have easier access to them.  Since the outside consultants spend less time on-site, they are perceived as hard to reach and would most likely result to fewer requests for low-level tactical information.

Virtual teaming is also effective for CI outsourcing since the CI team cannot always be on-site.  In a typical set-up, companies with several different locations have established flexibility in working.  They are accustomed to using technologies such as video conferencing and conference calls.  This may not be as effective with single-location companies.

It has already been pointed out that outsourcing CI function does not work for every company; it could still be a good or even the best option at times.  If the solution is not to have CI function at all, it is best for the staff to manage issues systematically.

Be Careful What You Say

“Read my lips, no new taxes”, then a few months later, new taxes were imposed. Remember? How about “I will not be sending American boys 2,000 miles away to do something that Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves”, then sends American troops to the Vietnamese jungles a year after this statement. Top it off with the infamous Joe McCarthy fiasco. These are very powerful statements uttered, but weren’t lived up to. Words are very powerful. They command, they coerce, they form policies, they affect people’s decisions and their daily lives. Hence, we have to be very careful in choosing the words we speak for it may affect others dramatically.
Take the news for instance. One slip on an important announcement can spur indescribable repercussions, especially when the broadcast pertains to safety precautions because of an impending disaster or just plain simple instructions on how to wear a gas mask. Declared wrongfully, it may spell catastrophe.
In the corporate jungle, results may not be as tragic or fatal, but erroneous declarations may trigger similar chaotic situations. It actually may be the correct announcement and information, but if relayed verbally using the wrong words, the end result might not be the one desired.
For example, colleagues within the same department may have coined terms that may sound very offensive to some parties but they regularly throw around as friendly banter. Logic dictates you do not use these terms when addressing a larger audience on the grounds that it may not sound as friendly as when you use it within the confines of your section. You have to choose your words carefully to achieve the impact that you want accomplish, and win the hearts of the majority of the observers, not antagonize a certain segment, if not all, of the targeted demographics.
Now, this does not mean that we minimize our words to the point that we miss the message we want to put across. It is important to infuse the key words in the announcement, speak specific and precise words, not the usual street mumbo jumbo ( some people use this to help the audience target relax), and be straight to the point. People would appreciate more declarations that are straightforward and short. Leverage more on the positive side of your topic. For example, “win more customers” is better than “ruin the competition”.
Always remember, before releasing any communiqué, read it and contemplate on its effect.

Be A Person of Integrity

Your favorite hamburger does not taste the same ever since the lone outlet branched out into a dozen other sites. The service in your favorite barber shop suddenly became lackluster after they acquired new equipments and their clientele increased. Somehow, the cake on your local bakeshop does not taste as creamy as before right after they bought another store and expanded their operations. That is the dilemma that engulfs most outfits whenever they increase in size and popularity. The original formula that made them famous somehow gets lost or diminishes as soon as the masses arrive.

That is not the case with Google. Google is still what it is when it started four years ago, a search engine. It did not deviate from the original service that it offered, it did not complicate its system, it did not add additional clutter to what it was. That is the reason why when people want to search, a huge percentage of them turn to Google for help. It offers the cleanest way to search, no links to calendaring or live chats. It is so straightforward colossal multinational companies like Cisco, Yahoo and Red Hat use Google as their official search facility to assist their customers hit upon the information that they need. Quick, simple, and incredibly efficient.

Loading time is as rapid as can be considering the only focus of the engine is to search. Two years in a row, Google won the Webby Awards for best practices in the web in 2002 and the People’s Voice Webby Awards for best technical achievement in 2000. Instead of capitalizing on its popularity and veering away from just plain searching but also sponsoring paying advertisers, Google stuck to its fundamental goal, to serve as a search engine. Of course, it has paid ads on its list and you will see them tagged as sponsored links but they have not been prioritized on its searches. To top it all off, even their rivals are forced to use Google because of its simplicity and speed.

As a lesson, stick to your company’s fundamentals, the ones that made you tick. Always keep in mind that it is what sets you apart from the rest and integrity is the only thing your competitors cannot steal. Continue with integrity, staying true to the company’s original ideals and goals. That is what made the companies that you have grown with linger on through the years.