|
|
 |
 |
|
Q. What does SalesDiagnostics do?
A. SalesDiagnostics is a business service solution that provides insight into Buyer perceptions. The underlying knowledge and recommendations we provide enable our Clients to: (1) Increase revenue by improving win/loss sales ratios, (2) Focus product, marketing and sales resources on high-priority opportunities, (3) Make better informed decisions on: pricing barriers, product functionality, marketing effectiveness, personnel knowledge gaps and company image perceptions, and (4) Understand and quantify the strengths and weakness of their company compared to that of the competition
Q. How does SalesDiagnostics collect its data?
A. SalesDiagnostics goes directly to the source for the critically important data a company needs to make informed decisions. There are no middlemen, no personnel to sensor and filter the data, and by guaranteeing complete anonymity to the interviewee, each Client receives output data that is pinpoint accurate. Based on Client interest, we utilize both web and phone based interviewing techniques.
Q. Why is third party collection of unbiased data so important?
A. Each company has its own labyrinth of informal processes to educate itself on customer and market demand. A typical course is the highly filtered feedback that comes from a company's customers and most recent lost prospects via the sales and account management channel. These "requirements" become the keys to how a company makes decisions on its product's price, functionality and general approach. Invariably close to how the deal was won or lost, personnel providing this information aren't in the position to be objective. As a result, the data is guarded, filtered and not wholly accurate.
Q. What measurements can we use to see improvement on our business if we work with SalesDiagnostics?
A. Based on the breadth of the research you have us conduct, the areas of measurement can be significant. Specifically, by benchmarking current profits and quota results, win/loss ratios, lost sale conversions and training requirements, your company can accurately track progress over time.
Q. I'm a sales manager. How can I benefit from using SalesDiagnostics?
A. As a sales manager, you probably stand to gain the most from completing a project with SalesDiagnostics. Top-performing sales executives consistently close the largest contracts, routinely exceed quota, generate the largest percentage of sales and provide organizational momentum. Unfortunately, these "over-achievers" usually represent less than 20% of the typical sales team. The output you receive from SalesDiagnostics will help you win more deals, increase the likelihood that your product/service features and pricing are in line with market expectations, and give your team the needed ammunition to know what the prospect expects in advance!
Q. As a senior executive at my company, how can we benefit from using SalesDiagnostics?
A. One of our primary goals is to help executives evaluate and quantify their company's competitive strengths and weakness from the Buyer's impression of your product/service features and market positioning approach. Second, is to evaluate and identify individual and team strengths (based on perceptions of customers and prospects) to align training and coaching requirements by uncovering strengths and needs.
Using SalesDiagnostics as a key resource in gathering this critically important data, you will have answers to the following questions:
(1) What hits or misses the mark in our current sales process?
(2) How does our sales team perform from the customer's perspective?
(3) How does our product/service compare to that of other similar vendors?
(4) Will our new customers willingly recommend our product/service to their peers with a message that we would want delivered?
(5) What changes to our company's product, pricing, and approach should be considered to optimize market demand?
Q. As the lead in our product development area, how can I benefit from using SalesDiagnostics?
A. Our analytics and output will give you unique data points to effectively evaluate and quantify competitive strengths and weakness from the Buyer's impression of your product/service features and market positioning approach. It will be a great benefit to you and your team to know that the data forwarded to you on market requirements is not only accurate, but reflects specific requirements directly from the customer. This unbiased and unfiltered feedback, from buyers and lost prospects, provide your organization with the data it needs to make effective and fully informed decisions on product/service features, pricing parameters and product/service image.
Q. We use resellers to sell our products. How can we benefit from SalesDiagnostics' services?
A. Winning more deals (via a direct sales team or reseller channel) is the goal. Certainly your channel partners have a similar interest in learning how to close more business and maximize their resources. Each of SalesDignostics' services is equally applicable in a reseller scenario.
Q. What do our customers need to have in order to access your survey tools?
A. Provided that we implement an online approach to gathering data, all that is required of any respondent is access to the Internet. Upon your request, the survey can be designed with or without password protection.
Q. Can we conduct survey research without the web?
A. Absolutely. Many of our Clients have SalesDiagnostics conduct its data gathering via one-on-one interviewing.
Q. What is the best way to conduct survey research? By web or by phone?
A. Both are highly efficient and when properly prepared, can offer high response rates. SalesDiagnostics offers both.
Q. How do you know that lost prospects will respond to a survey?
A. SalesDiagnostics will address each and every respondent with respect and professionalism. Our experienced team of Outbound Contact Managers (OCM's) will work with each respondent to best arrange time and response method for the collection of the data your company is seeking.
Q. Can we not just gather this type of data ourselves?
A. Gathering data via querying new customers or recent lost prospects is not difficult and often informally done by an organization that focuses on improving itself. However, the lack of accuracy, completeness and objectivity substantially impacts the results.
A natural communication barrier exists when someone is questioned directly by the interested party. As anonymity is key to honest and forthright feedback, a company going directly to its customer/lost prospect, receives (at best) filtered and partial information. Add to this that the key questions a company needs answers to cannot be asked for risk of putting a customer on the spot, and the self-research approach is doomed to fail.
Accuracy of information, complete confidentiality, an unbiased and safe environment for response and minimal personal inconvenience are all required to optimize results. This can only be achieved by an independent firm with expertise in survey design and analysis.
Q. How often should we conduct this research?
A. We recommend that a company redo its research at least every two quarters. Based on quantity of new customers (and/or lost prospects) this data can be effectively compared to previously collected data. This benchmarking approach will give your company a thorough progress report and continued confidence that its decisions and approach is working. A secondary benefit is that which often comes from re-surveyed customers. Quite often the response is extremely favorable as your company will be viewed as one which is highly focused on customer service and its customer's well being and needs.
Q. Our perception is that we don't lose too many deals each year.
A. This is an understandable assertion and one which may be a criteria for your company in selecting a different audience to collect Buyer-based feedback from. As an example, often our Clients will use our Buyer Satisfaction service to collect unbiased information from newly signed customers; typically looking back 1, 2 or 3 quarters.
Q. What will our involvement be during a project?
A. Our engagement team will put together a detailed project plan during our initial kick-off meeting which will include a description of the steps and responsibilities of our unique process. Most often, our Clients find their involvement at the beginning and end of a project as the need to set objectives and discuss output and actionable results are required.
Q. Will we have direct access to the data you collect?
A. Yes. You own the collected data and will be provided access to it once it is tabulated and prepared in a readable format.
Q. How will the final output data be presented?
A. SalesDiagnostics prepares survey findings in a format that best suits each Client. Reports are typically prepared in both Word and PowerPoint documents.
Q. Why will your information differ from what we already hear via our sales team?
A. While most companies have formal processes to evaluate business opportunities and results (via the use of sales tracking tools), they lack the systems necessary to analyze the specific reasons how they won a new customer. As important, they are unable to accurately get at the root-cause of the lost opportunities from unclosed deals due to the inherent nature of the communication process. Why would a company, especially one that has chosen not to do business with you, detail the reasons why they didn't consummate the deal?
They will not. Any information that is provided is usually quite tame and high level, lacking the detailed specifics that a company needs to appropriately self-evaluate itself. This is where SalesDiagnostics enters the equation.
Q. What information will we need to prepare for your team to get started?
A. SalesDiagnostics will provide a Needs Analysis collection sheet prior to our kick-off meeting. The information provided on this sheet encompasses respondent data which will help guide our response collection team and Client specific objectives which will be tracked from the outset of the project.
Q. How quickly can you put together and complete a project for us?
A. Project length will vary based on several variables including number of respondents, collection of concurrent survey with multiple audiences, and the length of time given to respond. Average time is approximately five weeks from project kick-off to final recommendations session.
|
|
