Professor Willem Verbeke

Extraordinary Professor in Sales and Account Management

Erasmus School of Economics.

Rotterdam

Companies only survive when they can develop new products and also put them in the market. Often, we think about selling a “product” but a product is not what is sold. I like to call products a “technology” which stands for  a) the product itself,  b) people like “innovators” or “late adopters” who buy the product but  c) ideas: when people starting to use new products the relationship between people change. For example: when people in a company buy a computer system then these people don’t only buy the computer (the object) but the way in which they cooperate, will also change. For instance, they will start sending e-mails, go online with news (the idea). In what way people will start to work differently cannot be predicted because it is very often so that as a result of this use people will obtain a different view on what is different or that they understand what is different once they see it in action. It is therefore that buying innovative products go hand in hand with insecurities. A lot of sales people then meet their buyers, customers who often reject developments (defensive). What best can a sales manager do in this situation to improve the selling skills of his sales people? 

Often when we talk about adopting innovative plans, we think about resistance in the market. However, very often there is resistance in the company itself. To put it paradoxically: in case sales people do not understand there is resistance among his customers than this shows that a sales man fails to imagine how a customer looks at the product. People in the company should learn to understand the customer before they continue selling. Often this leads to a different approach in communicating of the product or the adaptation of the product. Because of this it is often that new ideas rise for adaptation.

Creating an Innovative Climate: companies that sell innovations have the opportunity to do so because there is an innovative climate: they can develop new products, sell these and by selling these (while passing the resistance) they will continue to develop new products. One cannot exist without the other! How can sales managers play a role in this situation? We suggest that sales managers can play an important role in these ongoing developments and this sales process because they are both familiair with the market and the company. Good sales people, as is our experience, visit their clients. Not primarily to check how their sales people function, but to keep in touch with the market and to feel what is going on. People in the market do not only buy products, but get fresh ideas by using the products they have developed. However, and maybe not directly intuitive, other potential customers have the right or wrong idea about the product, because they have never bought or used it. Capable sales managers have a good ear for such developments. Often they go even further: they also talk with people within the company. How do you look at the market? How can we sell this new product better or what can we add to the product? If a sales managers can catch the thoughts in the market and communicate these to the people internally then we speak of a knowledge broker.

Clinton and his famous town hall meetings! We see this term popping up everywhere. We see the end of the sales man and the beginning of the knowledge broker. Knowledge brokering means that people try to understand how people in the world think and share this information with others to make them even a little bit smarter. The most well known knowledge broker in the world is Bill Clinton. He organized meetings to escape from the White House and to keep an open view: “Town Hall Meetings.” Talking with citizens to use this inspiration to brainstorm with members of the staff. Imagine a staff meeting with a president who the world is not familiair with. False decision forming is the result. This also goes for the sales manager: if a sales manager does not know his own market laws than he will become a CRM specialist: counting sales visits; he or she starts to pose questions like “How many leads are in the Pipe Line?” Sooner or later, sales people will start to act pipeline-wise: meetings will reduce to mechanical bombarding of questions dominated by fear. If a sales manager is able to sense the internal and external market then he will also be able to inspire his sales people and that, of course, is what every company dreams of. 

Knowledge brokering and innovative leadership: It is remarkable that the stimulation of an innovative climate demands a special kind of sales manager: he has to be curious (what can I learn?), he has to be resilient (seeing customers and walking around in the company), he has to have guts (listen to people that are resistant) as well as being flexible (talking to everyone on every level). Not all sales managers posses this ability. What about I write about that later. One thing is clear: Sales Managers, get away from your desk, use your CRM wisely and be a knowledge broker. It is only then when you can inspire your colleagues to selling new products. Bill is your example! 

Send reactions to: verbeke@professionalcapital.nl