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24.09.2010 – DJ DGAP-Adhoc: Supervisory Board reorganises Management Board of Beate Uhse AG

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C-Level Sales Management — Helping Salespeople Handle Gatekeepers

As a manager, you know your salespeople will always have trouble getting to C-levels and other influential executives. So you’ve got to help them with ideas, your example and a push.

The first rule of gatekeepers is “Always assume they will be blocked,” and with this in mind have discussions with your salespeople before upcoming sales calls and pursuits that go something like this.

“Who’s your prospect?

Who’s will you be meeting or calling?

What will you be prepared to say when this person resists introducing you to others on your way up and out?”

This set of questions has many benefits.

It reminds the sales person that his or her contact is not the final stop. Salespeople tend to stick with their main contacts for many reasons which will discuss in future articles. It will signal your sales person that you expect him or her to keep moving up and out to those with more authority and influence.  It gets the sales person conscious of the fact that they’re probably going to be blocked. Now, if she or he hasn’t considered the idea of being blocked this will certainly get him to realize it’s a distinct possibility. It forces the sales person to prepare what he or she can do to avoid or handle the block if and when it happens.

Salespeople usually don’t think about being blocked and usually feel comfortable going along with their main contacts.  Therefore, you must coach them that no matter who their contact is – high level or in between, and no matter where they are in the sales cycle – they will be blocked and they must be prepared to avoid or handle it. This applies to B2B sales, selling to doctors and other professionals, and even selling capital goods to consumers.

So let’s get you as a manager prepared. Suppose you’re reviewing prospects and sales opportunities with one of your salespeople.

What will you say?

What will you listen for?

Then, what suggestions will you give if your sales person argues that there will not be a block, or when he fumbles on what to do if there is one?

See, it’s important for you to be just as prepared as it is for your salespeople to be prepared. Take a moment and think about this.  Write down your ideas.  As you’ll see later, they will become very handy.

For example I was talking with a manager today and telling him about this article. He said, “That’s all well and good Sam, but what should we do about voicemail?”

Well, if you think about it, voicemail is a block. So I asked him, “Before you make a phone call, do you think about what you’re going to say, or do, if you get a voicemail?  What if you encounter an admin and she is resistant to put you through to her boss?”

“Well, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I figure out something to say in the moment,” he said.

So I asked him, “Give me a few examples of what you would do knowing you were going to be blocked by the voicemail or an admin.” He then quickly rattled off three or four things he would do.

So I told him, “Write these ideas down and keep them close by.  Review them before you make your next call. Better yet, go over these with your salespeople so that they get prepared for the blocks they are sure to get via voicemails, admins or their contacts.”

Now let’s apply this to you. You make sales calls either with your salespeople or for your own accounts. You know intuitively you’ll frequently get blocked by your contact or an admin or the voicemail. Make a list of the things you might say and do in those situations. Again, preparation is the key.  Having a list ready to look at is an easy way to get prepared. It’s an easy way to become more successful. And it’s an easy way to coach your salespeople.

Salespeople tend to charge ahead until they get stopped. Then they try to figure out what to do on the spot. Some can pull it off and some can’t. However even the best will be served if they stop and put their gatekeeper game plan together before they encounter the gatekeeper. The only way this will happen is if you help them get prepared.  I guarantee they won’t do it by themselves.

So share your ideas with them. Role-play with them. Follow-up with them after a call to see what success they had getting past the gatekeeper. Ask them what worked, and what they would consider doing differently in the future.

This is one step along the way to becoming a great coach and manager. Once your people see you’re serious and persistent they will start preparing their blocker strategies before they encounter the blockers. And, you know if they can prevent the block and can handle gatekeepers, they will be far more successful closing sales. 

However, it starts with you, the manager.  Practice what you’ll say to each of your sales people when you reviews prospects and forecasts.  Write down some ideas to give them and keep adding ideas to it.  If they see you’re prepared, they will get serious about getting themselves prepared.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus Tip:   FREE E-Book “Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers”.  Just click this C-Level Relationship Selling Link http://sammanfer.com/GatekeeperEbook.htm .   Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to be successful and feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders. 

How to Franchise – Strategic Planning, Documentation and Management of Franchise Systems

Imagine opening 20 new business locations without having to foot the bill for real estate, equipment and development costs or taking on any of the risk. Even more, imagine finding managers to run all those locations, who are just as committed to growing the company as you, and you don’t have to pay them a dime. Finally, imagine that these managers will hire, fire and manage all employees as well as foot the bill for all operating costs and expenses. Sound far-fetched?

Not if you’re planning to enter the franchise industry, one of the fastest ways to grow a small business without breaking the bank. For many companies, franchising a business (or licensing) is a sensible way to achieve rapid, profitable growth without giving up any control or ownership. Going from a single location to a dozen in a couple years, or a hundred in ten years is possible and well-documented because franchise owner-investors put up all investment capital, shoulder all risk and assume all day-to-day operating responsibilities.

It’s expansion, using OPM – Other People’s Money. Also, the franchise company gets paid handsomely for teaching others the secrets of how to operate its business. First, there’s the up-front “membership” or franchise fee of ,000 to ,000 paid for using the brand name and operating methods. In addition, there are continuing royalties of 5% to 10% of gross sales for ongoing advice and consultation. In essence, a franchise development program allows a company to get out of the trenches and become a highly-paid general overseeing its soldiers. Long-term options are also attractive. Build an empire and relax, or let the franchise company be acquired by an increasing number of large companies that look for small, but growing franchise companies. According to the International Franchise Association, 900 new companies have franchised in the last three years.

ENTERING A NEW BUSINESS
A company planning to franchise must realize it is entering a new business, offering an entirely different service (training & support) to entirely new customers (business owner-operators). This new business requires different skills, abilities and expertise. In the new business of franchising, it is critical to develop effective evaluation, documentation, mentoring, training and consulting skills. Since these new skills are rarely present within existing personnel, an outside franchise expert is needed to train existing personnel and plan the transition. The first step involves determining whether or not a business can franchise, and if so, what needs to be developed. Next, strategic franchise planning is necessary to create a “blueprint” for successful expansion efforts. Experience shows that, just like a building, the foundation developed at the beginning will create lasting consequences affecting the relative success (or failure) of the entire venture. Legal (franchise disclosure document, franchise agreements) and operational documents (franchise operations manual, franchise training program) are prepared and drafted and finally a franchise registration process is required in some 14 states, depending on which state(s) the company sells franchises. These phases are discussed below.

THE FRANCHISE FEASIBILITY PHASE
An indispensable step before any franchise development program gets underway is an analysis of the concept and business model. Has the concept been sufficiently proven in the marketplace? How profitable are existing prototypes or company-owned outlets? Franchising will not solve existing problems, it will only intensify them – and usually at a serious cost to franchise investors. Franchising should not be viewed as a method to raise capital, expand a business that has existing problems, or a way to get rich quickly. There must be sufficient profitability in the business model so that royalty and other payments can be made and leave the franchise investor with a sufficient profit. With a franchise feasibility analysis, a determination can be made about:

(a) whether franchising or licensing expansion ideas should be pursued, postponed or abandoned; and
(b) assuming a positive result in (a), what needs to be fine-tuned or developed from scratch for the franchise program.

Besides determining if and when the business can franchise, the analysis should also include providing guidance and direction so as much of the groundwork as possible can be done by existing personnel. This has proven to be a very effective approach and significantly reduces franchise development costs. If the feasibility analysis is positive, the other phases discussed below follow. My twenty-eight years of experience in the franchise industry lets me share a valuable insight about franchise feasibility studies. Too many companies leap into franchising without doing a feasibility study, or if one is done it is performed by a franchise consultant or group that tells everyone good news – they’re all “franchise-able.” The vast majority of franchise feasibility studies I’ve done either identify areas that need attention before franchising makes any sense or tell the client to forget about it and pursue other options.

THE FRANCHISE STRATEGIC PLANNING PHASE
A successful franchise development program begins with a solid plan – a foundation for franchising. The long-term goal is to establish balanced, integrated, successful business relationships with qualified individuals who support the company’s goals and image. Creating an enduring relationship requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses all aspects of the franchise endeavor.

The starting point is a detailed analysis that covers:

(1) identifying profile characteristics of who will be the best franchise owners for the particular business;

(2) competitive positioning to make the franchise stand out from the other 3,000+ franchise companies;

(3) geographic scope – where and when will franchises be sold;

(4) analysis of the company’s organizational strengths and weaknesses relative to franchising;

(5) identifying the appropriate franchise organizational structure as well as staffing requirements and responsibilities; and

(6) structuring the franchise relationship for a balanced, win-win scenario.

What should emerge from this detailed analysis is a specific strategic plan and framework for guiding virtually all franchise efforts. Despite the long-term importance of the franchise planning step, too many emerging franchise companies enter franchising with no plan or planning – other than “let’s try and sell a lot of franchises.” They rush through (or neglect entirely) the strategic planning process, thereby creating future franchise litigation land mines that are ticking franchise lawsuits waiting to happen.

Often, this is because they only utilize the services of a franchise consulting firm or franchise attorney, where little or no attention is paid to critical strategic planning, operational and organizational issues. Normally, these firms draft “boilerplate” franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements and franchise operations manuals based on a questionnaire completed by their client, who is presumed to have made all strategic decisions. The franchise documents are presented, along with an invoice and a handshake – hardly the ingredients for success in the new business of franchising.

THE FRANCHISE DOCUMENTATION PHASE
If the company has made doing a good job at the planning stage the number one priority, franchise documentation goals will be apparent. Proprietary and intellectual property assets (like operating techniques, customer information, recipes, formulas and methods) need to be identified and protected. A trade secret protection program is developed and implemented. The name, logo and tag lines should have been previously registered as trademarks or service marks.

franchise operations manuals
Franchise operations manuals and training programs are developed, often from scratch, to impart business operating skills to the franchise owner as well as ensure uniformity of products and services. The franchise operations manual and training program curriculum must be drafted with a particular focus. Certain topics, chapters and policies found in manuals for a company-owned chain, for example, are entirely inappropriate in a franchise environment, creating significant liability (lawsuit) issues for the franchise division.

I routinely find franchise operations manuals drafted by franchise consultants or do-it-yourself manual kitscontaining inappropriate chapters or topics. Not knowing where the bullets come from in franchise litigation, they proceed blindly ahead using “boilerplate” manuals where most (but not all) instances of “hamburgers” are changed to “tax returns.” The support aspect of the franchise relationship needs to be carefully considered, structured and reflected in the franchise operations manuals.

Deciding who writes the franchise operations manual is a relatively simple question to answer, yet many new franchise companies also fall into a trap here. Bewildered by the new business of franchising, with its legal requirements, franchise operations manuals, training programs, etc., they decide to “delegate responsibility,” usually to a high-priced franchise consultant who produces the operations manual and sometimes even the legal documents. Putting aside the practicing law without a license issue on the legal documents, does using someone to write your franchise

Investing In A Management Franchise

Management franchises can be a fantastic route to business for people who would love to run a business for themselves but don’t really like to get their hands dirty. The key advantage of a management franchise business is that you hire staff as the business needs. This helps to ensure nearly immeasurable capability for business development and leaves you released from the day-to-day hands-on work to focus on growing the business from a management level.

Its not unusual in the initial stages, that some franchising opportunities may necessitate some straightforward involvement in the hands-on work until the earnings grow to a point that will support hiring in of staff and so multiply the overall work power of the business.

There are a good number of viable management franchise opportunities, particularly where they involve supplying of services to the business-to-consumer or business-to-business markets. If the service entails reasonably straightforward, repetitive tasks then this is perfect for being run as a management opportunity.

A few decent examples would be domestic and/or company office cleaning services where cleaners can be hired to carry out the cleaning tasks. Domiciliary care where carers can be employed to carry out the tasks required. Also retail outlets such as property lettings/sales, fast food restuarants, print shops and similar where human resources can be hired to offer the services to the consumers.

Furthermore, some B2B services such as cost reduction, recruitment and business consultancy can frequently be run as managment franchise opportunities with the provision of teaching to the recruited personnel.

Researching a Management Franchise

In common with any other commercial investment, its wise to take time to do your investigation before investing in a management franchise.  Examine your strengths and weaknesses and then go through systems which fit with the things you enjoy doing as well as your personality.

Be certain to investigate funding choices with your bank as finance will play a big function in the franchise investment. In addition its wise to ask the bank if they have knowledge of any past history on the franchise opportunity you are considering. Go to see the franchise owner to understand their setup and additionally talk to a variety of franchisees to get realistic opinions concerning how the franchise performs for them on a daily basis.

Search out legal advice as there will be legal contracts involved in the franchise investment and its important to be appropriately knowledgeable and covered in relation to any repercussions. Once you have decided on your choice, devote yourself to following the confirmed method and doing your best to make the management franchise work for you.