'Excuse or Great Idea: How to use customer contact through sales as a listening post for developing new products and improving your business.

MSM SALES MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS &
LOCUS RESEARCH
EXCUSE OR GREAT IDEA
How to use customer contact through sales as a listening post
for developing new products and improving your business
© COPYRIGHT 2014 MSM SALES MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Aug 2014

CONTACT P.2
For further information contact:
Dan Hansen
Managing Director
Mobile +64 (0) 21 059 6233
Email dan@msmalesmanagement.com
MSM Sales Management Consultants Limited
PO Box 1025 | Seventh Avenue | Tauranga 3175 | New Zealand
Telephone +64 (0) 7 571 1139 | 0800 123 529
Email info@smsmalesmanagement.com
Website msmsalesmanagement.com
UK Office
145-157 St John Street | London | EC1V 4PW | England

AGENDA P.3
• Introducing MSM
• The opportunity
• The roles of sales and product development
• Moving to a more informed customer engagement
through better questions
• Aligning internal processes

ABOUT MSM P.4
• MSM specialises in delivering increased profitability through sales in
local and export markets.
• Our expertise is in helping companies develop export sales in;
• Food and beverage
• Health, beauty and nutrition
• Precision manufacturing and electronics
• Innovation, Technology and Media
• This year MSM will support in excess of $130m of gross sales, over
$100m will be related to export

WHAT WE DO P.5
International business development sales
With commercial experience in over 30 countries, MSM helps manufacturers enter export
markets using a proven, robust framework for success. Core markets include Australia,
America, United Kingdom and Europe.
Market entrance (new markets with current products)
Success in one market sector rarely ensures growth in another. MSM works with successful
organisations that want to grow market penetration outside of traditional markets.
Commercialisation of new products and services
Bringing new products and service lines to market is both costly and stressful. Our approach is
all about de-risking market entry and focussing sales resources towards return on investment.
We have significant experience in bringing secondary processed products to market.
Developing best-in-class sales organisations
Building continually successful sales teams and distribution networks is a combination of the
right people, skills, sales processes and systems. We have a history of developing sales teams
and distribution networks that exceed budgets and support continued growth

OUR PROJECT EXPERIENCE P.6
AUSTRALIA
• Financial services
• Technology (software
and services
providers)
• Manufacturing
• Natural health and
beauty products
NORTH AMERICA
• Technology (software and services
providers)
• Manufacturing
• Natural health and beauty products
• Electronics
UNITED KINGDOM & EUROPE
• Technology (software and services
providers)
• Manufacturing
• Natural health and beauty products
• Distribution
• Electronics
NEW ZEALAND
• Building products
• Financial services
• Construction services
• Distribution
• Training services
• Technology (software
and services
providers)
• Printing services
• Media

SITUATION P.7
• Business development people are working at the coal
face uncovering and understanding customer needs with
a view to completing sales.
• Product development teams go inside customers’
businesses to:
• Understand the context products are used in
• To develop new products to meet customer needs

THE OPPORTUNITY P.8
What if we could...
• Generate closer engagement between sales and product
development.
• Develop more informed views of customers internally.
• Develop more informed relationships with customers.
• Deliver products that provide greater commercial value
to the market.

THE ROLE OF SALES P.9
• Has the role of sales changed?
• Drive sales revenue against a budget or target.
• Maintain the customer relationship.
• Customers are better informed.
• Emphasis on customer understanding means a more
collaborative approach is needed.

P.1
0
WHY DOES THE FEEDBACK LOOP
FAIL
So if we have a greater understanding of the customer, why
does a sales conversation generally fail to inform product
development?
• For the most part the context dictates the perception.
• Its only constant and consistent feedback across a sales
team that prompts change.
• There is a fine line between an excuse for poor sales
performance and customer feedback.

P.11
Better Questions are, for the
most part all that separate sales conversations from
product development
But shouldn't we be asking better questions anyway?

P.1
So what does a Better 2
Questioning process
look like?
1. Describe the customer’s situation
2. Articulate the customer’s problem and the effect it has on the
business
3. Detail your solution and the way it addresses the challenge
4. Drive impetus for change today

P.1
3 SITUATION
• What does the business do?
• Understanding key relationships?
• Wide-angle view of the business.
• General view of the industry.
• Most sales conversations stop here.

P.1
4 WEAKNESSES
What are the challenges facing the business?
• What keeps the people up at night?
• What are the customer’s weaknesses?
• Can we clearly articulate back to the business what the
challenge is?
• Do they agree?

P.1
5
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THE
WEAKNESS
What are the effects of the challenge on the business?
• Is it monetary, time, opportunity cost?
• Do we really understand the impact?
• Who is impacted?
• What happens if the business does not change?

P.1
6
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF OUR
SOLUTION
• What can we do to solve the customer’s challenges?
• What would the effect of our solution look like?
• Who would benefit?
• Is the benefit monetary, time, opportunity cost?
• What is the business case?

P.1
7 TIME FOR CHANGE
• Does applying our product drive impetus for change
today?
• If not, do we really understand the customer problem
and impact?
• What do we need to change in our product to address
the problem?
• Have we solved the real problem?

P.1
8 OBJECTIONS
• Sales Objections are continuous improvement feedback
in real time
• Most businesses miss the benefit of objections as they’re
focussed on the opportunity
• Objections tend to stay with the sales person, maybe
team, until there is critical mass.
• Using a objection register is an easy way to distribute
feedback across the business.

P.1
9 SALES PERFORMANCE
• Sales excuses tend to be one dimensional, using a
process like SWEET reduces the risk of emotive
feedback because outcomes are found from fact derived
from in-depth questioning.
• The SWEET process rolls up through management.
When an organisation expects better clarity of
understanding, sales people start asking better
questions.

P.2
0 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• Sales reviews, account reviews should include some
representation from product development.
• Product development should be made aware of sales
losses and objections.
• Product development can utilise the sales function, sales
people are often the most market-engaged of all staff.
• It’s often easier to have sales people take ‘what ifs?’ to
market rather than minimum viable product or concepts.

P.2
1 KEY TAKE-AWAYS
• Better questioning is the key to minimising sales
excuses.
• The SWEET questioning process is one of the most
effective.
• Management set the expectations.
• Opportunity to involve product development across the
sales cycle.
• It’s often easier to have sales people take ‘what ifs’ to
market rather than minimum viable product or concepts.

P.2
2 CONTACT
For further information contact:
Dan Hansen
Managing Director
Mobile +64 (0) 21 059 6233
Email dan@msmalesmanagement.com
MSM Sales Management Consultants Limited
PO Box 1025 | Seventh Avenue | Tauranga 3175 | New Zealand
Telephone +64 (0) 7 571 1139 | 0800 123 529
Email info@smsmalesmanagement.com
Website msmsalesmanagement.com
UK Office
145-157 St John Street | London | EC1V 4PW | England

'Excuse or Great Idea: How to use customer contact through sales as a listening post for developing new products and improving your business.

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'Excuse or Great Idea: How to use customer contact through sales as a listening post for developing new products and improving your business.