Monday, August 11, 2014

Announcing our open program on "Strategic Sales Management"

Announcing the launch of our open program "Strategic Sales Management". Program runs over 12 weeks with six sessions, each four hour session happening every two weeks.

Click here to read the full course outline. Nominate your people now. Call 09820503710 or email me at maneesh@directiononeonline.com for details.  

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Why attrition is great for Sales leaders?

This example was contributed by a participant who is an AVP sales (west) in an IT company.

"Some of our easiest sales have come through a IT Manager who used to work in a company in Delhi and then moved to Mumbai. This guy happened to be very well networked in the IT community in Mumbai and he referred us to a BPO, a large retail client, a bank and a manufacturing company, all of which were his good friends. Besides this, he has also given us business from his own company.
This taught us one thing. The best support that a sales team can get is from their own happy customers who shift due to career reasons. Too often we salespeople lose touch with our customers, but attrition is the best thing that could happen to us. If we have developed multiple relationships with our accounts, then attrition results in no loss in the existing account which continues as before and if we follow the employee to the new account, the sales increase!!!.

Problem is - too many salespeople believe using references is a sign of weakness, they want to do it alone, be independent.

Institutional sales is however not a one man "cowboy" routine, it requires building relationships at multiple levels, a greater team game.

............example contributed by Amit, AVP Sales at a Bengaluru based IT company.

Maneesh Konkar is a Sales and Negotiations consultant based in Mumbai. 

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Single Biggest Mistake Business Leaders make

At a recent conference for a pharma company, we heard the following conversations happening at the review meetings:

“We need to stop degrowing”
“Why did this degrowth happen?”
“Why did you make this mistake?”
“Don’t make the same mistake in this launch that you made in the last product launch”
“Why is everyone so demotivated?”
“Don’t worry”
“Don’t take tension”
“Don’t be late”
“Don’t come unprepared for the presentation”
“I don’t want daily calls to be less than 45 a day”
“I don’t want complaints from customers”

Sounds familiar to you.
This is the language we use when we discuss strategies and tactics at our review meetings and conversations.

So what's wrong, you might ask?

Well - here is what is wrong.

ALL THESE STATEMENTS ARE THINGS WE DO NOT WANT!!!!

Do you want your people to come late? make mistakes? make less sales calls? come unprepared? Do you want your customers to complain?

Obviously not.

Then why are you talking about it?
"What else should I do", you might ask? I have to discuss the mistake, send a strong message, etc etc.

"Think and talk only about those things that you want"

You might say - that's exactly what I want - I want less complaints, I want less mistakes, etc

Is that what you really want?

Let me show you with an example.

Don't think of a zebra.
That's right. DO NOT think of a zebra at all.

What are you thinking?
I know what you are thinking.

Now - think of a zebra.

What are you thinking now?

You get the point? Whether I tell you to think or not think of a zebra, you do the same thing. i.e. think of a zebra.

So when you say "Don't come late", what happens? yes boss, they all come late. And you know why they do that? Because you told them to "come late".

Because telling them "don't come late" and "come late" is the same thing.

A better way would be "come on time tomorrow"

The human mind does not process "don't" or "NO". It only processes the main message which was "come late", "make mistakes", "take tension" etc. And that is the message we plant in the subconscious most of the time - to others and to ourselves.

So how do we converse:

"Come on time" not "Don't come late"
"Relax" not "Don't take tension"
"Come prepared for the presentation"
"Make more than 45 calls a day"
"Grow 40% this year definitely"


Watch the conversations you make at work and at home.
"I want to be slim" not "I want to reduce weight"
"I want to breathe clean" not "I want to quit smoking"
"I want to get promoted" not "I don't want to be stuck in this role"
"I want to be prosperous" not "I want to get out of debt"
"I want to be healthy" or "I am healthy" not "I don't want to fall sick"


What do you really want? Think and talk only about what you want

Looking for more such solutions to your everyday leadership challenges? Follow us now.

To connect your team to these ideas and enjoy the resultant productivity gains, call us for a training or a session at your conference now at +919820503710 / maneesh@directiononeonline.com

Maneesh Konkar

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

How to build a skyscraper in two weeks

Click here to access original article

How to build a skyscraper in two weeks

China’s Broad Group is revolutionizing commercial building. Chairman and CEO Zhang Yue explains why traditional construction practices are outdated and how the industry can change.

May 2014 | byDavid Xu
Zhang Yue, chairman and CEO of Broad Group, is not one to shy away from ambitious targets. In 2010, his prefabricated construction company, Broad Sustainable Building, completed a six-story building, Broad Pavilion, at the Shanghai Expo in one day. He continued to challenge this feat by building two more structures at record paces—the 15-story Ark Hotel in less than one week and the 30-story T30 tower and hotel in 15 days. His latest ambition is to build the world’s tallest structure. Known as Sky City, the 202-story steel skyscraper is expected to be magnitude-9 earthquake resistant and energy efficient. Ninety percent of the structure is being built at a factory and just 10 percent assembled on site. While the timeline is impressive, what matters most to the Broad Group is its sustainable design and production process. Zhang sees this high-rise as a step toward redefining urbanization and addressing the energy and pollution problems that have accompanied industrialization in China. In this March 2014 interview with McKinsey’s David Xu, a director in the Shanghai office, Zhang describes his journey to sustainable building and shares his thoughts on the future of construction and infrastructure in China.
McKinsey: What are the biggest challenges facing the infrastructure and construction industry today?
Zhang Yue: In general, the industry is underperforming. In many ways, we live in a very intelligent time. Yet there is still no precedent for a creative, low-emission, and practical approach to construction. From city planning to infrastructure development and building construction, from resource consumption to energy use, the industry is lagging behind the time in which we live. I think this is largely due to mind-sets and that humans must change. The construction industry is inherently long term. A small error in construction can cause significant harm to humans and the environment. The consequences of construction errors can reverberate for decades, centuries, and even a millennium. Yet the industry does not always think long term. We tend to think in terms of a project—one building or infrastructure asset—and its timeline.
McKinsey: How can the industry change its thinking?
Zhang Yue: We need to ask ourselves more strategic and long-term questions: What is the objective of this building or asset? How does it relate to the rest of the neighborhood and the city? How will it affect people’s quality of life? How much energy does it use? What problems could it create?
In China, urbanization is happening rapidly. If it continues at this pace without careful consideration of the long-term consequences to the environment, it can cause severe problems. We must take a long-term approach to city planning, construction, and infrastructure and address resource and energy consumption. People living in big cities, with excessive pollution and energy consumption, can hardly enjoy a high quality of life. Urbanization should not happen at the expense of land and the environment. Stakeholders in China can pursue a long-term path to land- and energy-efficient urbanization.
McKinsey: Technology is evolving rapidly and disrupting other industries. To what extent is this happening in the infrastructure industry?
Zhang Yue: Unfortunately, the construction and infrastructure industry is the exception. It is antiquated and out of date. Most work is still performed manually and on site, which is costly and time consuming. For example, today a skyscraper can take five years or more to complete. When the Empire State Building was constructed, it only took about 13 months.
McKinsey: Why do you think technological innovation has failed to permeate the industry?
Zhang Yue: There are two reasons. One, rapid urbanization in China is driving significant investments in infrastructure development. At the same time, innovative financing and investment products are also pouring money into the industry. When demand is strong and the market is good, people do not have much enthusiasm for new technology. They are not motivated to innovate because the profits are there.
Two, excessive regulation of the industry and its supply chain can hinder innovation. In China, there are so many regulations that they do not encourage innovative technology or even thinking. For instance, in construction design, regulations can be so detailed that they specify which types of materials to use and what standard of thickness the materials should be. So, in China the industry falls back on what we call “standard.” Because regulations emphasize standard, builders pursue it at the expense of creativity, efficiency, safety, and ultimately responsibility. As long as a builder does not violate standard, he or she does not bear responsibility for any issues.
McKinsey: What do you envision as an alternative?
Zhang Yue: I think Western countries offer an alternate model. Regulations exist and the guidelines are stringent, to be sure. A building or infrastructure asset must pass inspections and meet safety standards. While engineers bear responsibility for their work, they are free to explore different products and approaches. This model encourages innovation and accountability.
McKinsey: Sky City is not the Broad Group’s first sustainable project. When did you start thinking about sustainable building?
Zhang Yue: We began to explore sustainable building after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. I was attracted to the idea of challenging conventional thinking about construction. Our construction process places special importance on air quality, energy conservation, and sustainable materials. By using 20-centimeter insulation layers, quadruple-paned windows, power-generating elevators, light-emitting-diode lights, and Broad’s cooling-heating-power and air-filtration technology, Sky City will be five times more energy efficient than a conventional building. In China, most builders use concrete because it is standard and they are familiar with it. Sky City will be made mostly of steel, all of which can be reused, if the building is ever decommissioned.
McKinsey: How does the use of an energy-efficient product or material challenge conventional thinking?
Zhang Yue: One product can have tremendous effects. Consider thermal insulation. It does not require fancy technology, simply a willingness to do. A small, up-front investment in insulation significantly reduces the overall cost of a building by lowering heating and cooling expenses. Why then are so few builders in China using thermal insulation? In a word, it is about mind-sets. Thermal insulation is outside of their conventional process and thinking.
McKinsey: How does your construction process differ?
Zhang Yue: If conventional construction is a man building cars in his garage, our approach is to build cars on the assembly line. Ninety percent of the work for our prefabricated, sustainable buildings is done in the factory. Only the remaining 10 percent is done on site. Plumbing, electric, heating and cooling vents, plus the flooring and ceiling, are fitted into a module of 60 square meters. The walls, doors, and windows are stacked on top of the module, which is then transported to the construction site as a whole.
McKinsey: What are the benefits of this process?
Zhang Yue: Our production process is not only fast, but it maximizes efficiency and minimizes waste—less than 1 percent construction waste, compared with the 30 percent generated by conventional methods. Because the majority of work is done in advance, our approach also speeds on-site construction. And because our main site is the factory, our transport and logistics costs are lower. We have greater capacity in the factory to store additional materials and supplies, whereas at a conventional construction site, materials like cement and steel are often delivered daily because the site cannot accommodate extra supplies. All in all, our construction process maximizes efficiency—in resources, labor, logistics, and transport.
McKinsey: As a new entrant, you are showcasing a vastly different business model. What is the likelihood that this model can be replicated?
Zhang Yue: We hope to be a model in countries like China, where the urban population is growing, existing infrastructure is incomplete, and the demand for infrastructure development is significant. But the precondition is that we finish the job and do it well. I must build the best product with the highest efficiency, of the highest quality, at the lowest possible cost. For other builders to follow suit, the production process must be efficient and cost effective, without sacrificing quality. If a building is expensive to develop, the market will be limited. If labor costs are too high, or the construction speed is too slow, the market will evaporate. If quality is hard to control or technicians are required to learn many new and advanced technologies, the barriers to entry will be too great. Return on investment must also be realized fairly quickly, in two to four years; otherwise, investors will lose patience.
McKinsey: When complete, Sky City will measure 202 stories high, with 6 more stories below ground level. It could become the tallest building in the world. What does that mean to you?
Zhang Yue: We are constructing the tallest building to promote the concept that urbanization need not sacrifice land or energy efficiency. This is the real significance of Sky City. When a building is taller, it naturally uses less land. Also, Sky City is a mixed-use development and will include residential housing; commercial space for business, shopping, and entertainment; a school; a hospital; and two square kilometers of green space covered by 100,000 trees. Residents will have access to everything they need in this self-contained development. Think of how lovely our cities could be if we all traveled to work and school and ran errands on foot. Such a lifestyle lessens energy consumption and the number of roads, cars, and traffic jams in our city. According to our calculations, Sky City could help reduce the number of cars in Changsha by 2,000 and carbon emissions by 120,000 tons. These figures mean more than the title of world’s tallest building. We are determined that Sky City will have an impact on the people and city of Changsha, on China, and ultimately on the world.
We hope this project leads three important revolutions: one is a revolution of the construction process; two is a revolution of resource efficiency; and three is a revolution of the construction-industry business model and oversight. If we do not take action and showcase a different model that challenges conventional construction, the industry will not change. There will be huge obstacles, many of which are beyond my imagination. But my resolve is strong. And I look forward to the day when we can reflect on those obstacles over coffee on the 202nd floor.
A new compendium of articles, Rethinking Infrastructure: Voices from the Global Infrastructure Initiative, has been released to coincide with McKinsey’s Global Infrastructure Initiative conference, to be held in Rio de Janeiro on May 28–30. For more information, visit McKinsey’s infrastructure practice website.
About the authors
Zhang Yue is the chairman and CEO of Broad Group. This interview was conducted by David Xu, a director in McKinsey’s Shanghai office.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Do I really need a Mission Statement?

What is a Mission really? The answer to why I exist? Come on!!. We all know the reason for that?My purpose of my existence is to make money. That;s it. period. Once we do that, then we can "give back" to society, etc etc.

Why do I really need a mission for my business?

Because otherwise you as a business owner or sales head will keep running after every inquiry that comes your way. And you will be so busy running after multiple leads that you will end up doing "Spray & pray".

What is Spray & Pray?

Spraying the same sales pitch on everyone and praying that someone listens!! Recipe for failure.

It is an insecure business that goes running after every business opportunity out there.

Why is that not such a great idea:

a. As a business you are not good at everything.
b. You only do a few things well.
c. Your happiest customers are those where you did what you do right.
d. The assignments where you botched up are those where you were not following your "mission".
e. The work that gave you maximum satisfaction was the work that you do well.
f. As a business, that is exactly the kind of assignments that you need to do repeatedly.
g. Strategic Sales Management is discovering your mission and focusing only on those clients where you can fulfill your mission.


For a detailed worksheet of how to develop a "Mission Statement" for your company, click here



Maneesh Konkar is a Consultant is Sales Strategy & Leadership. He actively consults with business & sales leaders. To book him for a consulting session, refer to the right sidebar for details. 





Tuesday, March 18, 2014

10 Ways Aristotle would want sales professionals to use Linkedin

10 Ways Aristotle would want sales professionals to use Linkedin

Click on above link to access original article

In his text 'Rhetoric', Aristotle - the Greek philosopher introduced us to the Modes of Persuasion. He mentioned that persuasion is clearly a function of demonstration and that one needs to demonstrate the following attributes to be persuasive :
  • Ethos : Credibility or Reputation
  • Pathos : Passion or Emotion
  • Logos : Logic or Reasoning
Sales as a profession is all about persuasion. Countless books on influence, persuasion and related topics have sold millions of copies using what Aristotle wrote way back in 350 B.C.
LinkedIn is a great place to persuade your customers and partners given that your LinkedIn profile comes up whenever someone tries to 'google' your name.
Here are 10 ways you can leverage LinkedIn to improve your persuasion power using Aristotle's Modes of Persuasion
Ethos
  • Use the Experience and Education sections to add credibility to yourself. Strong work and academic credentials help create a positive impression even before you meet a prospective client
  • Recommendations especially from customers and partners give you immediate trustworthiness as a professional
  • Endorsements for the right skills and by the right people can help you persuade when you speak on a particular topic from a position of authority
  • Honors and Awards showcases your achievements as a professional. Everyone wants to work with a rockstar
Pathos
  • Use the Summary to exhuberate passion towards your work and your company
  • Active participation in Groups is another place where your passion for a topic could shine through to your prospective clients
  • Use the Volunteer Experience & Causes section to show what causes you care about
  • Use the Interests section in Additional Information to highlight some non work related passions
Logos
  • Use Pulse to gather insights about your profession, industry and companies that lets you have intelligent conversations during customer meetings
  • Use your Company Page to share proof points about your products and services using customer testimonials, canned demonstrations using YouTube or Slideshare and relevant case studies

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Why is it so easy to sell Google?

Google's founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have created a phenomenally successfull company that is the greatest media and internet sensation of our time. Of course they did a lot of things right, below are mentioned some things that stand out:

a. They focussed on creating a superb product: Management schools talk about advertising, these guys had one overriding passion. To create the best search engine in the world. Focus on doing that and they figured the rest would take care of itself. For many months, the Google founders had no clue how their search engine was going to make money, they actually had no clue how to monetize it. These guys were so passionate about creating a better search engine, that was the key. Completely different from the rest of the crowd which creates a mediocre product but then soends tons of money trying to promote it.

b. No advertising: This is one company that has never done any advertising. It initially attracted and continues to attract lakhs and millions of users purely bacause its search engine is the best.

c. Home page - no clutter: Every other website has a highly cluttered home page. That has two dangerous consequences - a - the page takes way too long to load and b - what you actually want you have to search for - which takes time. And time is what a web surfer does not have, The Google home page has no ads. Salute to that

d. A business has to solve real problems: Andy Bechtolschiem, one of the early investors in Google, said "Build something of value and deliver a service compelling enough that people would just use it. That's exactly what Google does - the primary motivation - "an abiding excitement about helping people find more relevant information online, and faster".

e. Have a value proposition that attracts the best employees: And how did they do that. The value proposition to future employees - "millions of people across the world will use and appreciate your software". The investors say about the founders - "they had a great sense of purpose, which is a prerequisite for anybody nutty enough to want to start his own company - says Micheal Moritz of Sequioa Capital. "That burning sense of conviction is what you need to overcome the inevitable obstacles" John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins.



Interested in knowoing more? Read the book. Outstanding work. Google by David Vise. Buy it now.