IB Woman
Issue No. 61 - October/November 2011
Knowing the key to systems reform
by Colette Smith
I’m a great believer in firstly ‘seeking to understand’. Familiarization is a key part of the process of maximizing the revenue potential of any business.
The first few meetings with the client is about gathering information about their business. This typically includes business structure, key personnel and how they generate revenue. Also I like to get a feel for the market – competitor product and pricing, market shares if known and markets serviced.
Reporting is also important to understanding the status quo: Customer numbers, units sold, revenue per customer and repeat purchasing.
I don’t believe in trying to fix something that isn’t broken.
Once I get a good understanding of the existing operation it usually becomes very clear where the opportunities lie.
Often, improvements can be made to the existing process which don’t cost much money but can return big rewards, such as improving sales reporting, sales disciplines (that result in increased strike rate per proposal) and sales management strategy.
On the marketing front, there are often ways to increase penetration and reach across the market by improving market segmentation, promotion and distribution (channel) strategy.
I like to look holistically across the marketing and sales process within a business and see where the ‘big rocks’ are for improvement.
Typically t...
