Emerald Research Publish a case study on Positive Change Partner’s work with Rapiscan’s international sales team.

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How are you differentiating your products and services from your competitors?

How much do you really know about your customers’ business drivers? How well do you really know your client?

How much business are you chasing that you have no chance of winning?

How much extra business can you get from your existing customers that you have not pursued yet?

How can you keep your customers?

How often does a salesman visiting a client have to deal with accounts, logistics or administration issues before they get to sales?

Do you have a coherent, congruent set of competencies, behaviours, performance management and leadership processes in place to outperform your competitors, win more business and build long term relations with clients, whilst maintaining margin and market share?

Is your business judged by its actions or its intentions?

All these questions have been raised and addressed by companies that have transformed from ‘following the trend’ in their sector to ‘bucking the trend’ and outperforming in their sector.

The four key elements to solving this puzzle include sales discipline, relationship skills, account planning and selling value.

The universal truth of any business is that if no one is buying what you are selling, you’re not in business.

Before we go on to explore what makes a good salesperson and what sort of salesperson can act as a barrier to sales, we should clarify a few things:

1. Focus on profit is a very good thing, as long as it comes after focus on providing the customer with their solution.

2. Influence is the backbone of every human interaction; in any conversation both parties will always be influenced. The best way to influence people is to stop trying to influence them.

3. No matter who you are speaking to, you are always selling something (whether it is an ideal, a product, point of view or yourself), so know what you want to sell whenever you speak, but first find out what your customer wants.

4. The best kind of business is repeat business.

Statistics indicate that the average business spends about six times more time and money on attracting new customers as it does on keeping old ones. Old customers can provide you with referrals, will continue buying your product, will become loyal to your brand and if they are really happy with you they will become walking, talking advertisements…And the best thing is, it’s absolutely free! For maintaining relationships that are this important to your business you look to the person at the front line of communication with these customers, your Salespeople! So the question is; how do you, as a salesperson or manager of salespeople, create and cultivate this long lasting relationship?

It is all about your focus and intention in your interactions with your customers;

1. Prepare yourself! Know everything you can possibly know about a customer or client, whether you are selling beds or executive training. Even more importantly than that; know what you need to find out from the customer. What information do you need to match their wants and needs to the features and benefits of your product or service? Preparation and planning prevents poor performance!

2. Opening is your introduction to the client, you are not talking about a product or business; you are finding common ground, calibrating, listening and making your first impression.
Be aware! Some clients prefer the opening to be long and friendly, others want to get straight down to business. Identify their preference and follow their lead.

3. Rapport is the foundation of building trust. This is where we build a relationship, when we are in sync or on the same wavelength and feel similar and/or relate well to each other. There are a number of techniques that are used in building rapport such as: matching your body language (i.e., posture, gesture, etc.); matching voice tonality; maintaining eye contact; and matching breathing rhythm.

4. Need and Wants. At this stage, what you want to sell is irrelevant. What your customer wants to buy is what is important to them, and to you! The skill is asking questions and listening empathically to establish what the client really wants, how this will affect them, what problems they have experienced in the past and what are the consequences to them if they continue in the same pattern. Your questions are determined by the client’s last response. This is the time when you demonstrate commitment to the client. Use the ‘hook and spade’ technique to asking questions, become a great listener to get to the heart of the client’s challenges, wants and needs.

5. Paraphrase everything the client has told you, using their language wherever possible, ask them if there is anything else that is important to them. Challenge what they have said, to make sure they have told you everything, so you are not caught out later on with any objections.
Use paraphrasing to demonstrate you have been listening and you are committed to getting them what they want.

6. Down to business! Make your proposal.

Link Features to Benefits. A feature is what your product does; a benefit is how it helps the customer.
E.g. Feature: Our training is delivered and tailored for all areas of your company.
E.g. Benefit: Every area of your company will grow together ensuring that the change is long lasting and companywide and delivers a positive return on investment.
Clients care about what affects them.
Be precise with your proposal and in each case match the features and benefits of your product to the needs and wants that the client has detailed to you.

7. Paraphrase. Re-cap their needs and wants, how the features and benefits overcome their challenges and ask again, if there is anything else that is important to them. It may be the appropriate time to establish when they want to implement the change they seek and re-establish the importance and benefit of setting a timeframe to completion.

8. Close. Partner with your customer, work with them to find the perfect solution that answers all their questions and together make sure that the solution you are proposing is viable. This is your opportunity to show you care about their experience once they have put their trust in you. Any problems are ‘our’ problems; any solutions are for both of us. You are looking for a WIN WIN, so the customer goes away feeling like he/she has won a prize by consulting you as their Trusted Advisor.

9. After Sales Service! Just the same as when you buy a holiday, computer, car or house, the support you get after any purchase will often determine how the client will reflect on their acquisition.

Follow up after the purchase with a call, a visit or even an email if nothing else is possible. Ask if there is any more help that they need and care about the answer they give, dig for things to help them with. This is where you can cultivate a repeat buy or an eager referral.
This process is ongoing; maintain the relationship and your clients will become your best referrers.

‘It is the chocolate on the pillow that makes the ordinary extraordinary.’

Your customers are the only reason you have a business and your relationship with them will be the reason they buy from you consistently. Salespeople are your front line of communication and your route to an ongoing relationship with your customers, they can be the success and failure of your business and your most important investment in terms of time and money.

If you manage a sales force then ask yourself: Do I commit enough resources to my team?

If you are a salesperson then ask yourself: Do I commit enough resources to myself?

The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking – Albert Einstein

The focus by Positive Change Partners on delivering bespoke development sessions, along with their international experience and wider coaching expertise, were key factors in securing the Rapiscan partnership.

David Kent, Vice President of Sales for EMEA at Rapiscan Systems, said: “What stood out for me was the refreshing approach taken by Simon Ford at Positive Change Partners. They do not offer a ‘cookie cutter’ programme based around preconceived coaching and training ideas. They approached this with genuinely fresh eyes, talked to the team with ‘gloves off’ during initial sessions, and then tailored development training specifically to meet the requirements of the organisation.”

“The sales team manages the European, Middle East & African regions.  When Simon came to see us we were very impressed with his international experience and I felt he positioned the coaching at exactly the right level.”

A key aim for Rapiscan Systems in appointing Positive Change Partners is to increase sales and profitability, but David Kent added: “investing in our people, to help them achieve the best for them personally and for the business is key to us continuing and growing our leadership position going forward.”

“The developmental sessions will give our sales team the chance to step back from the day-to-day needs of the organisation, to work on their own development, and take a more strategic view.”

Rapiscan Systems will provide security screening for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. The company provides security screening solutions for everything from ports and airports to hold baggage and parcel inspection. Clients include those within the aviation industry, major sports events, NATO, the European Union and Customs agencies.

EDITORS NOTES

About Rapiscan

Rapiscan Systems, Inc., a division of OSI Systems, Inc., is a leading global supplier of security inspection solutions utilizing X-ray and gamma-ray imaging, and advanced threat identification techniques such as neutron and diffraction analysis. The company’s products are sold into four market segments: Baggage and Parcel Inspection, Cargo and Vehicle Inspection, Hold Baggage Screening and People Screening. The company has an installed base globally of more than 70,000 security and inspection systems. The Rapiscan Systems product line is manufactured at four locations and supported by a global support service network. As the world’s leading security screening provider, Rapiscan Systems provides state of the art products, solutions and services that meet our customers’ most demanding threat detection needs — while improving their operational efficiency.

The world’s leading security screening provider, Rapiscan Systems, has appointed Positive Change Partners to provide ongoing development coaching for its international sales team.

The focus by Positive Change Partners on delivering bespoke development sessions, along with their international experience and wider coaching expertise, were key factors in securing the Rapiscan partnership.

David Kent, Vice President of Sales for EMEA at Rapiscan Systems, said: “What stood out for me was the refreshing approach taken by Simon Ford at Positive Change Partners. They do not offer a ‘cookie cutter’ programme based around preconceived coaching and training ideas. They approached this with genuinely fresh eyes, talked to the team with ‘gloves off’ during initial sessions, and then tailored development training specifically to meet the requirements of the organisation.”

“The sales team manages the European, Middle East & African regions.  When Simon came to see us we were very impressed with his international experience and I felt he positioned the coaching at exactly the right level.”

A key aim for Rapiscan Systems in appointing Positive Change Partners is to increase sales and profitability, but David Kent added: “investing in our people, to help them achieve the best for them personally and for the business is key to us continuing and growing our leadership position going forward.”

“The developmental sessions will give our sales team the chance to step back from the day-to-day needs of the organisation, to work on their own development, and take a more strategic view.”

Rapiscan Systems will provide security screening for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. The company provides security screening solutions for everything from ports and airports to hold baggage and parcel inspection. Clients include those within the aviation industry, major sports events, NATO, the European Union and Customs agencies.

                                                                      -Ends-

For further information please contact Alex Harbour on:

Tel: 01394 276923 or Email: alex@pier-marketing.com

EDITORS NOTES

About Rapiscan

Rapiscan Systems, Inc., a division of OSI Systems, Inc., is a leading global supplier of security inspection solutions utilizing X-ray and gamma-ray imaging, and advanced threat identification techniques such as neutron and diffraction analysis. The company’s products are sold into four market segments: Baggage and Parcel Inspection, Cargo and Vehicle Inspection, Hold Baggage Screening and People Screening. The company has an installed base globally of more than 70,000 security and inspection systems. The Rapiscan Systems product line is manufactured at four locations and supported by a global support service network. As the world’s leading security screening provider, Rapiscan Systems provides state of the art products, solutions and services that meet our customers’ most demanding threat detection needs — while improving their operational efficiency.

The Organisation:

LSDA NI is at the forefront of education and training in Northern Ireland and has established a reputation for excellence in supporting learning and skills.

The LSDA NI’s programmes are designed to support individuals and organisations, and their services and solution focused products are supplied directly to colleges, training organisations, schools and other public and private bodies.

LSDA NI provides research and development, training, consultancy and technology services to help thier customers embrace new challenges and enable managers and practitioners to meet standards of excellence in their work.

The Context:

LSDA NI was seeking to develop a group of work based learning providers, who were working closely with employers to facilitate the long term unemployed returning to work. These providers were working in difficult economic climate – the recession had led to fewer vacant posts available for their clients, and therefore decreasing the likelihood of employers being open to discussions around employing the long term unemployed.

The Development Need:
The LSDA NI was looking to help the work based learning providers to improve their sales and marketing skills, so that they would be able to engage employers in different and more effective ways. Also to develop their influencing skills, to create more opportunities for employment from the pool of employers.

In order to do this, the work based learning providers needed to be more strategic in their conversations with employers, to adjust their approach, and to adopt a “quality not quantity” mindset to discussions and negotiations.

Working with Positive Change Partners:

When choosing a training provider for this project, LSDA NI knew they needed an experienced trainer of sales skills, as well as a provider who was cost effective and flexible.

On engaging Simon Ford, of Positive Change Partners, LSDA NI found Simon to have “a good understanding of what was needed, he was reactive and fully engaged in the design and planning of the sessions”. During the training sessions worked in tandem with Nicola Reilly, Development Advisor, from the LSDA NI, and Nicola found Simon to be “excellent, very calm and responsive – Simon is very grounded in himself, confident in his own understanding of the subject, and this gave me confidence.”

LSDA NI also found that the back-up support provided by the Positive Change Partners administrative team was invaluable, and equally as vital as the training. The PCP admin team ensured that the course materials, and the training design, were fit for purpose, and they also had the flexibility to change and adjust materials as necessary.

The Results:

In order for the training to be logistically and financially effective, it was delivered in consecutive and long days. The delegates found the training “intense and full on”, which was considered a good thing from the organisation’s perspective.  Proactive action plans were created at the end of the sessions, which has resulted in changes in attitudes, skills and behaviour, and ensured that the training has had strategic and operational benefits.

Spring 2010

The Organisation:

International SOS is the world’s leading international healthcare, medical and security assistance, and concierge services company. With headquarters in both London and Singapore, International SOS operates has a global team of over 8000 employees, including 970 physicians and 200 security specialists. International SOS serves over 66% of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and operates in 70 countries, with 500 remote medical project sites, 25 global alarm centres and 32 clinics. Over 100 languages and dialects are spoken by their diverse international team.

The Context:

The highly entrepreneurial and evolutionary company was seeking to release significant business potential in the insurance portfolio, to create direct customers from the current end users. The business needed to create a complimentary working model, which ensured the current insurance clients were kept on side, while relationships with the end users were developed to create new business opportunities.

The Development Need:

International SOS needed to create a new international team who had the capability for delivering challenging global business development targets for the new fiscal year starting 1 July 2010.  The team needed to be formed quickly and effectively so they could start the new ways of working as soon as the new fiscal year started.  A new mindset needed to be created within this team, to ensure they achieved not only on a multi-regional basis but also across-borders with a strong emphasis on collaborative working. This new team needed to operate as a cohesive and cooperative team from 1 July 2010, and in order to do so, needed to agree new ways of working and challenging budgetary targets.

Working with Positive Change Partners:

International SOS identified the need to work with independent, neutral facilitators and engaged Positive Change Partners to design a 3 day team development event, which created a strong team, who embraced the new ways of working and were able to go back to the regions to deliver the corporate objectives.

Positive Change Partners provided skilful facilitation which in 3 days took a diverse, international team, who had never met as a team before, to a point where they were able to agree a set of common, and compelling, objectives, and agree the actions needed to achieve them.

Adam Thomson, Group General Manager, International SOS describes the facilitation as “hugely helpful and well regarded” and “the facilitators became the voice of reason, took the emotion out of the situation and achieved group buy-in”.

The Results:

During and after the event, International SOS benefitted from significant improvements in international collaboration, ideas generation and sharing of information.  More significantly the business has achieved and exceeded their financial targets for 2010/2011.

In May 2011, Adam Thomson, Group General Manager reports that:

“The facilitation by Positive Change Partners, was absolutely seminal to being able to hit the new financial year running, and I am delighted to report that we are on track to hit, and exceed our multimillion dollar budget, this has been a terrific success. “

In a business climate where we did not have the luxury of any discretionary spend; we had to demonstrate real and tangible value in bringing Positive Change Partners in to work with us.  Their focus never deviated from the results orientated goals we set and it is not difficult to evidence the clear impact they had on our ability to deliver against budget.  It was a job extremely well done.

Neuroscience research demonstrates to us that we absorb more information (learn) from birth to the age of 14 than we do for the rest of our lives. The more we think we know, the more it limits our ability to learn.

Research also establishes that innovative and creative thinking is far more prevalent in children than it is in adults (just listen to the stories they come up with?). Given a simple puzzle, children will usually through creative thinking find a solution quicker than their parents. There is no ‘box’ to think outside of – they just think without limitation.

As a leader, how often are we faced with challenges and struggle to identify the ideal solution? Perhaps we find the first option will work, but is it the best option?

The Problem

Here are nine dots, your task is to connect them all with

• Only four straight lines
• Lines must be connecting (don’t remove your pen from the page)
• You cannot retrace your steps

Good Luck!

In tough economic times how is it that some companies not only hold their own but actually grow, while others struggle or even go under?

Working with numerous corporate leaders and managers across a variety of business sectors in recent years, we have found that genuine leadership of company teams is the key to survival and growth.

True leaders come into their own when trading conditions are most challenging. Such leaders put their own ego aside to inspire cohesive teams that relish taking collective responsibility. Motivated by the right leader, energised teams will work together to achieve specific outcomes and react quickly to grow market share and add value no matter how tough the market might be.

Strong leader? Or management dictator?

The single biggest influence on a team’s performance is the attitude and behaviour of its leader.

Repeatedly we find leaders and managers who genuinely believe they are respected by their teams and are convinced that their leadership skills are either very good or even excellent. Yet their team members see them as demotivating and dictatorial.

This is because what we do (our behaviour) often does not match what we plan to do (our intentions). How we behave, even when we act in a way that we genuinely believe most accurately demonstrates our intentions, can all too easily be interpreted in the wrong way by others.

One client we worked with told us: “I have an open door policy. Anyone from the team can come and see me if there is an issue.” When asked how often team members came to talk to him he said “very rarely”. He believed the team looked up to him as an experienced and “strong” leader.

The team, in comparison, saw him as dictatorial when under pressure and team members felt undervalued. They believed he never really listened to them or appreciated their opinions.

Even when team members agreed that he could be inspirational, they felt this was only ‘short term’, that he showed only superficial interest in them and their opinions, and did not build genuine trust with any of them.

Perception versus reality – bridging the gap

When confronted by this gap between his own views of his leadership skills and how his team viewed him, the client was surprised and disappointed. His heart-felt aim was to be an open, supportive and inspirational leader and he could not understand how his behaviour could be so badly misinterpreted.

We were able to rebuild the relationship between team and leader, bringing great benefit to the client, his team members and the whole company.

The ABC of effective leadership

Every organisation develops its own ‘culture’ or ‘environment’. As a result mannerisms, language, communication styles, attitudes and behaviours are adopted subconsciously throughout that organisation. Within departments too, team members, without even thinking about it, adopt many of the team leader’s attitudes and behaviours.

Which is why the right leadership, and how it is delivered, is so influential and so instrumental in driving performance.

So what are the attitudes and behaviours demonstrated by successful leaders? How do successful leaders build high-achieving teams of dedicated, inspired and motivated individuals?

1. Attitudes are contagious: Leaders must ensure their attitudes are worth catching. Our attitudes affect the way we feel, our behaviour and ultimately the results we deliver. A valuable exercise is to look at leaders who are genuinely positive and constructive and see what they do, how they behave and what makes them stand out.
2. Set clear objectives: Successful leaders give their team a clear vision with no ambiguity. They will communicate clear strategic objectives including: what they want, when they want it, who is critical to success, the specific roles individual team members will play in the process and details of how that success will be achieved. This clarity inspires confidence.
3. The Team: A real, unified team working together and for one another will always outperform a group of individuals, no matter how talented, pulling in different directions. Great leaders drive and exploit that advantage.

The Five D’s of great leadership

Outstanding leaders choose a team which then sets specific objectives and aims for targeted outcomes. Within a successful team, members monitor and measure their own progress, take responsibility and are accountable for results which they define and own. They know that together they make a difference, work towards success collectively and support each other along the way. Motivating a team to be successful requires five key qualities in a leader:

• Determined – be focused and single-minded
• Disciplined – peer discipline and self-discipline create value-driven organisations far more effectively than top-down control
• Dedicated – enthusiasm and commitment can drive a business through hard times
• Dynamic – having new ideas and the courage to put those ideas into practice will set you apart from rivals who focus on problems not solutions
• Driven – propel, motivate and lead, to inspire people to achieve more than they thought they could

Summary

Excellent leaders channel their needs, ambitions and ego into the wider goal of building a great company, department or section and for their area of responsibility to excel. By employing the “right” people excellent leaders build a high performing team whose success generates greater motivation which in turn breeds more success.

For Sales Courses with Positive Change Partners please click here.

What is Leadership Coaching?

Coaching, in terms of leadership development, can be delivered in two main ways. Team leaders can

• undergo coaching as part of their own development, or
• acquire the skills to adopt a “coaching” style of leadership which helps them develop their team

The “coaching” style of leadership aims to get your team to

• work out the options
• decide on the best strategy
• implement that strategy

This approach ensures that team members “own the result” and makes them more accountable. Success in achieving these goals demonstrates the value of developing a leader’s own coaching skills, and validates coaching as a legitimate leadership development practice.

Is Leadership Coaching recognised and valued by business?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that “96% of organisations surveyed saw an overall positive impact on individual performance following a coaching initiative and 87% said it had a positive impact on their organisational performance.” The CIPD also reported that “Coaching as a practice appears to be widely accepted in the UK”, while the Association for Coaching reports “widespread belief in the value of coaching in the UK”.

Coaching can play a major role in modern leadership development and is winning the confidence of Human Resources professionals and procurers of leadership development.

What does a Leadership Coach do?

Broadly speaking the role of a Leadership Coach is to help executives, directors and other team leaders become more effective in the areas in which they want to improve and to achieve the standards that they have set for themselves.

Good coaching and the best Leadership Coaches take inspiration from a variety of sources including Neuro Linguistic Programming, Psychodynamics, Transactional Analysis and Counselling.

What should you look for in a Leadership Coach?

The coach you need is someone who

• you can build a trusting relationship with
• is mature, experienced and qualified
• can demonstrate they are working solely for your benefit
• is an excellent questioner and listener.

Positive Change Partners can help

Leadership Coaching offers personal development that is entirely flexible. You can start working with a coach immediately face-to-face, by ‘phone, or by using a variety of communication options so that the training is delivered at a time and at a pace to suit you.

For more information, including supporting evidence, please email us for an extended version of Alex’s research.

To experience coaching yourself and see how it can benefit you and your organisation, contact us today. Members of our team are experts in coaching and some were among the first to bring coaching to life in the UK.

For Leadership Courses with Positive Change Partners please click here.