2017 – Will sales goals be met?

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Is your sales team on track?
Are your sales people working or resting on their laurels? Are they selling more products to current customers rather than going out to do the harder work of landing new customers?
Your sales force may not need an overhaul, but if the idea of having a well-developed sales pipeline seems like a pipe dream, it’s time to fix the process.
All too often companies think that the key is to just hire more sales people.
Focus on how customers prefer to buy. Knowing customer preference can ultimately help you see how many salespeople you need and how best to use them.
I developed a point system with minimum monthly requirements of face-to-face visits, meaningful telephone conversations and other customer contacts (ie – Email, Mail, Corporate social media contact, Etc.)
The point system eventually allowed us to understand that within our industry, we could develop a sales person to be at a $3 million yearly sales run rate within 18 – 24 months.
We could then predict sales and company growth.
Do you have a tracking system to determine if sales are on track?
Do you have a process and training to keep your sales group on Track?

Third quarter — Are you making your sales or ready to make excuses?

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Excuses

Third quarter makes or breaks sales success. You as a sales person need to have the pipeline going with plenty of upcoming opportunities working. Many sales people have lead times of 9 to 15 weeks. If you aren’t booking orders this quarter you won’t be able to fill the last quarter of the year — Then out come the excuses.

Obviously if you haven’t completed booking all orders for the year by end of this quarter or early into next quarter sales for the year can’t happen.  Management questions of performance will begin.  What is happening?  Where are the sales?

The problem with sales that bothers me most follows:

I’ve read that more than 1/2 sales people do not have the right skills to be successful. Not because of lack of talent, but the inability of organizations to provide specific tools and training for sales success. Many companies do not have a defined sales process. Many companies don’t have a process to share best practices.  Sales managers don’t coach sales people. There is often no tracking system. 

With this being true, sales people have no choice but to become excuse making machines. 

Having defined processes based on success are imperative. Over the years from personal experience and really good sales training I have developed a program for sales success. Several sales people from other selling areas have taken this system and developed and adapted it to their specific situation and have attained really great selling success.

Let me know thoughts and/or if you want more information.

Make 2017 your best year yet?

Lean Manufacturing!

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I started on my Lean Journey in 2007. I joined a group of likeminded people wanting to improve Aerospace supply chain. After reading about Lean Manufacturing and hearing testimonials I took a complete leap into the world of Lean. I was producing approximately $10 million per year in sales, had good quality, very low (terrible) inventory turns with only reasonable on-time delivery.

I wanted my Company to be the best in class for our products. I hired two Lean managers, told one to start at the front end of our manufacturing process and the other to start at the end and eventually they would meet somewhere in the middle.

1st year I had no increase in costs. The lean initiatives paid for the two Lean managers. 2nd year my costs started dropping, profit improved and we began seeing improvement in quality and delivery. Inventory started dropping, inventory turns started an upward trend.

I was so naïve those years that I hadn’t realized I wasn’t even in the game for Lean — Yet. Gradually I began to see the benefit for my entire enterprise, from sales, order entry, engineering, and manufacturing through after delivery service.

Do you have a lean understanding or do you view it as a personnel and cost reduction opportunity?

Make 2017 your best year yet!

A good week!

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I have been learning the profession of selling for many years.  I have read and studied many books and articles, and attended quite a few courses and seminars on selling.  For many years, I had a company on retainer to provide continuous sales training for my sales staff.  I have continued using a sales “Cook Book” — a behavioral measurement system for staying in the selling game and meeting goals.

Last week was a good week, making sales goals for the company and continuing with behaviors to get future results.  

Earlier this month I was asked to form a weekly Accountability Group for several sales people.  We have had three sessions and already each of us, including myself, see better sales results.  Our objective is to make sure we are all following the behaviors needed for making sales goals weekly, monthly and for the year.  By leading the group I find myself becoming better focused on making my goals happen. I’ll describe more about our group and results in the future.

Are you measuring your daily behaviors to get desired results?  

If you have thoughts on this — Let me know.  If you would like a sample of our measurement planning “Cook Book” — Let me know.

Make 2017 your best year yet!

Quality, Delivery, Cost/Price!

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Several years ago at a large supplier conference for one of the major aerospace companies, I was asked to participate on a panel discussion about having the Aerospace quality standard AS9100 and taking a company through a “Lean Journey”. There were five supplier companies participating.

After purchasing and Aerospace manufacturing company in the late 90’s I learned quickly that quality was a given.  High quality standards were a must.  My problem at the time was that quality was pretty good, not yet the best, but delivery and cost/price were really bad.  We could not produce on-time and at market pricing we did not make much above break even at the bottom line.  We worked for several years to get delivery and cost control.

About ten years ago we were introduced to “Lean Manufacturing”.  Life in manufacturing began to shift and shift well.  We were maintaining quality standards and began knocking off low hanging fruit in waste around the plant.  As we studied “Lean Principles” it became obvious as you grow in quality, AS9100, and apply “Lean” they absolutely go hand in hand.   Our plant really excelled at having high quality product, on-time delivery and a better bottom line was shaping up.

However, back at the conference I had a question from the audience.  A person who had been close to our company and had visited us in the early days asked:  “Mr. Fry there was a time years ago that you said there were only two possible outcomes of Quality, Delivery and price.  A buyer could have only two, not all three.  What do you say now? “.  Well there was a hush in the room.  All eyes and ears turned toward me.  It certainly was not a trick question but actually I had not thought about the concept for many years.

I answered that with current high quality standards coupled with “Lean” it was possible to have great quality, on-time delivery and cost/price control — which means to all you in this room cost reduction.  That brought laughter and applause from the crowd.

So, as we grow our current company Polytronix Machining & Fabrication we are approved at current AS9100c and are beginning the process of the new AS9100 2017 series of changes for the next generation of quality — AND — We are going full bore in “Lean Manufacturing”.

I am very interested in collaborating and discussing this further.   Let me know your thoughts.

Make 2017 your best year yet!

Quality after AS9100c !!!!!

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For many of us in Aerospace businesses we work with the quality system AS9100c. This year a new more advanced and comprehensive version comes out.

We had our first meeting this week for change needed and requirements for the upcoming revision. I believe the Quality System AS9100 makes us a better more efficient company. I like it!

In 1997 I was first exposed to the Boeing quality system D1-9000a. Our company became certified late 1997. When exposed to better and best quality practices our company has stayed focused and embraced the system and practices. Our current company Polytronix Machining & Fabrication is certified and working with AS9100c.

Since I learned about “lean principles”, some years back, and the savings possible within our organization, I have aligned everything to coincide with “Lean” and the highest quality standards available.

I am sure there will be challenges to the new quality system. We are going forward and will be ready for audit later this year. Good luck on your journey!

Make 2017 the best year yet!

Give up? – Never!

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“Never, Never, Never, Never — Give up!” –  Winston Churchill

So drive by gyms on the way to work — What do you see? Parking lots with fewer and fewer cars.

Tiresome to write about goals when inside you know that you won’t or can’t keep them going.

End of first quarter is near. Are you feeling good about the accomplishments so far this year? Will you feel good about completing the first three months.

Interesting question — especially for me. I am pretty much meeting or exceeding my goals set for Q1 of 2017. I always look back and see that I could have done things differently, or better. However, I do feel good with progress made so.

Comments?

Make 2017 your best year yet!

Last month of 1st quarter 2017!

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What is your attitude toward the first quarter of the year?

  1. Are you ahead and going to finish the first quarter of the year with sales, personal, family, financial, etc. goals on-track or ahead of schedule?
  2. OR— Are you the person who says “I did Ok this quarter, just a little or just a lot behind — Not to worry! — I have three more quarters to catch up!”

Like most people I have talked with, we all seem to fall into one of the above categories.

In my career I was the person always going to have plenty of time in the last three quarters to catch-up. Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t.

Several years ago I read a great article and when I find it again I will most likely publish it and recognize the author. The gist of the article was to get the feeling of success as soon as possible with new a new year and new goals. Try really hard to get goals accomplished monthly. But — Be extremely diligent in getting the goals completed and even get ahead for the quarter. The feeling of knowing that you are there or ahead is mesmerizing. It can literally fuel you to do better the next month and quarters ahead.

You owe it to yourself and the “Stakeholders” / “Stockholders” around you to be the best you can be.

Make 2017 your best year yet!

 

Readers

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“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” ― Harry Truman

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Some years ago I was giving a toastmasters speech titled “All leaders are readers.” I felt something was missing from the title. This quote by Harry Truman sums it well.

I am an advocate of continuous reading. I started a reading program many years ago. As a slow reader, the idea of reading one book per week really was not viable in my life style. I decided to begin a practice of reading minimum 5 minutes per day. I read several books that first year and I tracked my reading habit. After several years I grew my goal to 20 minutes per day, and several years ago I switched to reading pages per day. This year 2017 I have a goal of reading minimum of 20 pages per day.  Does this mean I am diligent and read every day — No! But I do average 20 pages per day.

As I have discussed in the past I really look to Jim Rohn – Author, Entrepreneur, Speaker – as a mentor on business and living. He had a philosophy of reading that included all types of books. Get in the habit of reading for your profession, but also read books on opposite thinking and throw in a few good novels.

Harry Truman was right “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Do some “Internet” research and you will find most leaders are readers.

Think about reading for your 2017 goals. Begin a reading program and track it.

Make 2017 your best year yet!

Easy or Difficult?

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Great potential!

Have you ever thought about how easy or difficult it is to do business with your company?

I look at other businesses and items of interest, especially on the internet. Many times I turn away and do not get any information about the company or its products. If before I see the product or service I have to give my contact information or worse, a credit card to see something free — I leave!

Having said that — I started looking at doing business with my company. Is it easy or difficult? My conclusion was that it was difficult. We didn’t really make things easy.

So now I am on a quest of making this business easy to get information and do business with us. Not an easy quick task. However, I am continually reviewing our practices and asking — “What makes doing business with us easier?”

Is it easy or difficult to do business with your company? Good luck — !

Make 2017 your best year yet!

I am going to make doing business with us easier – www.Poly-PMF.com