Case In Point: Lead Generation

Holmes guides companies through process improvement on other pressing business development needs, including lead generation.

One initiative showed just how powerful a process improvement can be.

The first session initiated a discussion that resulted in ideas to drive lead generation. The employees also decided it would be beneficial to tune up communication pieces.

They decided to meet once a week for one hour to work on process improvement.

Next meeting, they looked at how prospects and customers interact with company.

They identified all possible interfaces and zeroed in on first point of contact. Whenever a prospect touches company via web, email, phone call, personal interaction or whatever they took each area and asked simple question,

“What would make this more potent?"

The employees worked their way through complete sales process.

The issues that resulted focused on:

“How can they establish quick rapport?” “How can they build even more rapport?” “How much do they learn about prospect?” “How do they create desire?”

A couple of meetings later they decided to looked at how they close sale.

The employees identified and worked through issues:

“What could we offer to sweeten deal?” “How many different ways could we cost justify?” “How could we make it so it was painful NOT to buy?” “Could we offer risk-reversal at point of sale?”

But they weren't done there—They were so enthused they wanted to look at what happens after sale is made. So they developed more issues:

“What is follow up?” “What else can we offer?” “How can we get something going that creates an annuity?”

Holmes said, “Over a five month period, every aspect of sales process was examined and systematically improved. They totally re-invented entire sales process.”

Before process improvement sessions company was getting one sale for every 100 internet leads After sessions that changed to six sales out of 50 leads.

One year after process improvement effort Internet had become their primary source of prospects and sales.

Working On The Business

We've all heard saying: "work ON business not just IN business." Here's how you work ON it:

You have to ask people three questions:

Where’s pain? What needs to be fixed? What can we do to fix it?

Process improvement can be a very profound and beneficial experience for your company.

“However, most difficult task may for you to let your people speak freely and let them tell you what they think. You have to resist desire to tell them what you think.”

Many companies have never asked their staff “what's broken?”

Holmes warns however, “Top management has to be prepared to deal with difficult responses without retribution. Ask these questions and employees will tell you.

But you have to be willing to respond with care, sensitivity, and immunity.

Employees will remain loyal and enthused only if CEO and management demonstrates respect, integrity, honesty, and forthrightness through process.”

Externally, company profits and earnings determine company’s net worth.

Internally, it’s an achievement when employees can say "I believe in my company and they believe in me and that’s why I’m proud to be an employee."

It’s pretty difficult for companies to manage process improvement without professional help. Having a trained improvement specialist will help make sure that no one can get hurt by what they say and no one will be made to feel stupid or intimidated.

The ideas matter, not who says them. Give people time to think and write some notes before they share their ideas. Capture ideas but not who says them. That way you'll get way better quality answers.

“If you have a good staff, only thing CEO needs to bring to a meeting is his good judgment and willingness to see things through eyes of employees.”

“When you do process improvement, for management it’s KMS Time (Keep Mouth Shut). It may be difficult but you have to stop talking and listen carefully. You have to let data tell you what’s happening.

Your people will fill you with valuable information and ideas on how to fix problems you didn’t even know existed, and lead you to unimagined profits, if only you let them.”

Chet Holmes is President of Jordan Productions, an international multimedia firm that helps companies accelerate growth.

Chet Holmes doubled sales of every company given to him as a line executive working for billionaire Charlie Munger. He has conducted training for more than 50 Fortune 500 and other prestigious companies and is author of The Mega Marketing & Sales Training Program, Business Growth Masters Series and Guerrilla Marketing Meets Karate Master.

For more information visit www.howtodoublesales.com

Methods to Design New Process

By becoming more efficient in process, we can use time not as a detriment but as a significant benefit to our business. Step by step, let's take a further look at how time and efficiency plays a great role in your business.

Increase Demand Forecasting Accuracy. We only need enough inventory to satisfy demand, and that is where part of problem exists. If demand can not be accurately forecasted, then we end up compensating for this unknown with inventory.

Increase Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency. How well manufacturing resources are used to produce a product determines cycle efficiency. Defective product, product rework, and long lags between manufacturing cells cause inefficiency, which can be easily calculated. Raw materials should be converted into finished goods as quickly as possible. The speed at which this occurs defines your manufacturing cycle efficiency.

Increase Supply Chain Turns. Increasing number of times purchases are made may increase acquisition costs and unit costs because of smaller order quantities. But you will benefit by increasing your cash flow and eliminating carrying cost of inventory (warehousing, material handling, taxes, insurance, depreciation, interest and obsolescence totaling 25% to 35%).

Eliminate safety stock. Safety stock is really just a buffer for forecasting variance and supplier delivery time. While many levels are set arbitrarily in automated MRP systems, your safety stock levels will need to be reduced due to improvements in demand forecasting accuracy, manufacturing cycle efficiency and supply chain turns.

Reduce purchasing errors. This can reduce overstocking and, more importantly, minimize stock outs that result in expensive expedited purchases. Sell excess and obsolete inventory or return it to your vendor.

Eliminate delivery variance. Do not allow vendors to deliver early or late and make sure delivered quantity does not vary from order quantity. After all, delivery errors cause need to carry more inventory. Instead, provide suppliers with forecasts of future needs.

Train purchasing personnel. Provide your purchasing and material management personnel with formal training. This will arm them with better negotiating skills that will result in better prices and terms.

Procedures Provide Time Savings

So, as we have seen, we should use each element of process to extract most benefit from our business. With time-saving procedures set in place, you will let your efficiency work for you.

Time Savings Provide Cash in Bank

With well-defined processes and procedures in place, you will increase efficiency by increasing inventory turns. And of course an increase in inventory turns means an increase in cash on hand. It’s there - all you have to do is grab it.

Next part of this series, we will look at finding $250,000 in Accounts Receivable - another step as we work toward our goal of 1 million in savings. So not only aim to reap rewards of extra savings to your bottom line, but also see more cash in bank - $1,000,000 to be exact.