What are your resolutions this year?
Exercise more, spend more time with the family, climb Mt. Everest? Whatever those things are, we set out every January 1st vowing to accomplish them during the new year. Most of us set our goals by looking at where we are, what we would like to do differently or better, and make a commitment to change in the upcoming year.
Your company likely has set new goals for the upcoming year as well. And, you most likely have new sales goals to go along with them. So, not surprisingly, you can bet your clients have set new goals, too.
Do you know what they are?
Here’s a case study based on a real client. The client is a retailer whose comparable store sales and profitability have dropped like a rock. Given this information and actions taken by many retailers, the tendency may be for a seller’s account strategy to focus on exploring with the client solutions that help reduce and better manage operating costs. But it turns out that’s NOT the company’s strategy. Several of the retailer’s publicly-stated annual goals, which were easily found on the client’s website are:10% increase in revenue and 15% increase in operating income
So here’s the answer…This client’s primary focus: growing revenues NOT cutting costs! If the goal is to boost operating income at a faster rate than sales, doesn’t this imply the need to cut operating expenses? With that said, we can still explore our cost-focused solutions, right? Wrong again. Turns out the retailer plans to leverage costs like those at the store and corporate which are somewhat fixed.
So, does this mean the client would not be interested in exploring way to better manage expenses? They may be but the primary focus is growing the business. Just like in our personal lives, we can only focus on so many activities. The more directly you can align your solutions with the goals your clients are being managed and measured on, the more likely you are to catch their attention and ultimately make a sale. So, make a resolution to sit down with your client, research their website, talk to your peers, and find out what their goals are for this year and if they’ve changed. A few of the trends we’re seeing in our research this year include:
- pursuing significant growth opportunities in emerging markets
- managing cost structures in core markets with struggling economies
- a focus on social responsibility and “greener” technology
Are these what your client is focused on?
By tailoring your solutions to your client’s priorities, not only will your client view you as a value-adding partner instead of yet another transaction-focused vendor, you’ll improve your chances of meeting your new goals too.
