I had a lively conversation with an old friend last Sunday. A friend I have known since high school years. A good friend and a good family person, Milben was your typical Kuya who looks after the younger siblings. I was a regular guest in the house and had the honor to know the family up close. Honors Class during our high school years, Editor in Chief crusaders, President XU Central Student Government, a good son, a good brother and a good friend. My best guess is he had good parents, who were devout Catholics, who took time and effort to raise responsible kids. Milben was always a diligent student even in our High School days. A kind of diligence and work discipline which became a competence to be used with a degree of effectiveness in the various responsibilities he assumed in later years. When many of our classmates at 4A 1992 went to Manila to study at Ateneo, UP and La Salle, we stayed behind with the scholarship offered to us by Xavier University. Assuming the Regional Manager for Luzon position of Johnsons and Johnsons, the skill by which Milben managed his transition from Unilever to JandJ with due consideration for his personal bias for work-life balance where family is an essential factor is noteworthy for analysis for every student or professional for that matter. We can only count so few in the region who has managed a stable successful career in Corporate Sales while maintaining a work-life balance. Surely, some of the Best Practices that can be derived from a successful career as Milben’s can be found in the other pages as Decisions founded on Critical Analysis over recklessness, a Principle-centered life based on the Right Virtues over Vices, the right formation formula wherein family plays a crucial role of building the values and life’s skill foundation of children so successfully observed by our Tsinoy kababayans and lastly, the competence of a child to pursue knowledge beyond the norms, tradition and structures around him such that creativity is universal and is a personal choice rather than a matter of circumstance. Simply put, the first foundation of a child is the family; after which is the community where he grows into manhood which includes the school, religion and circle of friends; and lastly, self awareness and determination, the child's realization of his freedom, potential and intellect such that, ultimately, he has a choice as to what kind of life he will live.
Its enlightening to hear insights from Professionals with tested performance and milestones. Its more enlightening to realize that, despite their stature and the power of the brands they manage, the concepts they share with you are basic principles. No rocket science they say. Milben proposes that the process of selling is simply an exchange of values. Things go wrong if there is a breakdown in the process. In corporate sales as it is in basic selling in General Trade, customer buy products because of profit opportunity while a sales executive sells a product to achieve sales in terms of peso collection. Many other exchanges can be executed following this simple formula. Even in Distributor Management, the same principle applies. A distributor agrees to invest in inventory and distribution structure to gain long term profitability while the Principal Company agrees to entrust his distribution standards to a distributor to gain long term business stability and profitability. Loss of goodwill between trade partners happens when the balance is not observed. An illustration of which is a Distributor forced to extend credit to the trade to achieve a sales target at the risk of his liquidity and bad debts. Or a supermarket invest in a slow or non moving product at the risk of his investment where capital in the inventory sleeps for many months when product sleeps in the shelves. Or a transaction gone sour when a customer realizes that the contract is one sided or the risks are not manageable or the rate of returns not good enough versus risks involved.
Thus, we find the phrase “ execute a mutually beneficial exchange of goods” in the definition of Salesmanship. Sustainable business transactions are founded on mutually beneficial arrangements. A “purchase” satisfies a particular customer need, while a “sale” satisfies a financial need of a company. Postulates the sustainable motivation of seller and buyer to long term business relationship.
Professional Salesmanship Definition "The holistic business system required to effectively develop, manage, enable, and execute a mutually beneficial, interpersonal exchange of goods and/or services for equitable value." – American Society of Training and Development
We derive from this definition three components of Professional Selling:
Holistic business system. A holistic system which extends to other business departments as finance, logistics, and marketing and other management functions as planning, leading, organizing and controlling; and competence of selling and persuasion with focus on sustainable sales results. As a business system, it has a science in its underlying principles and its application. It has the quality of organization and a systematic structure of operation.
Mutually beneficial. Valued parted with for value received. Sales executive are able to strike an accord with customers under the premise that the former has something to offer that is beneficial to the client – an opportunity for profit, an opportunity for business growth.
Interpersonal. The human factor remains a crucial element in any human endeavor. “Interpersonal” refers to a sales person’s personal character of relating or working with other people. It is the quality of being able to communicate, negotiate and develop relationships, personal and professional.
Having dissected the definition of Salesmanship as a profession, we must appreciate as well the word “selling” which encompasses the core process of every Sales Executive. Selling is the act of persuading someone to buy one's product or service. Related to the art of persuasion, the act of influencing the mind by arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a determination. ( Brainy Quote ) It refers to the systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, by which a salesman relates his offering of an idea, product or service in return enabling the buyer to satisfy internal and external motives.
Effectiveness in 21st century Professional Salesmanship would require competence in the various processes, skills, marketing management and related subjects; and professional competence as achievement orientation, communication and influence, interpersonal skills, customer service and leadership orientation, change leadership, strategic orientation and creative thinking and entrepreneurial orientation. Basic skills as planning, leading, organizing, controlling, driving, computer and tech skills, presentation skills, face to face communication, learning, people skills, prospecting and probing skills, and facilitating skills. Working knowledge on performance measurement and performance standards development – measurements as sales performance, call effectiveness, coverage, reach, availability, out of stock rate, visibility, handling, profitability, liquidity, asset utilization to mention a few. KSIs vary from one industry to another but the principle is the same – “you can only manage what you can measure” Peter Drucker.
In my consultancy practice, I have experienced first hand the idiosyncrasies of one industry to another. While working with a computer company in NorMin, the decision making process to buy a computer is far too different from FMCG. The distribution of the computer industry aligns itself to the nature of the product as a high value commodity. Business people in the industry are more conservative than FMCG resellers. The selling process is different as well. Although the details are different but the principles are similar or congruent. With much friction, I deducted formulas and translated it to the computer industry. Principles as Product Knowledge - Features,4Ps, Unique Perceived Value; Customer Appreciation - Database, Historical Sales, Channels; Knowledge on Competition - Value Proposition, Market Share, TOT; Appreciation of Terrain - Area, Company, Industry, Industry Best Practice; Market Situation- Niches, Peculiarities, Demographics; Target Market - Income Bracket, Demographics and Consumer Behavior - Decision making Behavior, Trends, survey.
Seems complicated but a simple process can be adapted to gain competence on the aforementioned items. If I may borrow a quote from Winston Churchill “ continuous effort is key to unlocking once potential”. If one loves marketing and has a passion for selling, one can discern knowledge and labor towards competence. With conscious effort, a student in Salesmanship can become the finest salesman – competent, right attitude, knowledgeable, excellent with people and able to deliver results.
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