Story 1 – manufacturing / sales / management
You’re in charge of a medium sized company. It is nearly half way through your financial year. Your internal sales team is on and about their targets – that’s the good news. Your external sales team is 40% down on their target; and their forecasting is a mess. You don’t even know that they’re getting to their customers.
The trouble? Communication? Trust? Systems? Effort? Personalities? The momentum is downward, so you’re forecasting a 50% deficit on target on your main source of income! Your personal interventions have not worked… you’re stressed, your FD is stressed. What do you do?
A good call to a coach provided a weekly intervention for the team, almost in an “outsourced sales manager” role. The outcome? A system that improved forecasting to acceptable levels (a happy FD!), a belief in the supply chain and the good intent of management, improved communication between all role players within the business and the clients, and… here’s the kick… the original target for sales was exceeded by 120%.
A good sales system is essential for protecting persons and company’s rights in unethical practices like competitor’s poaching staff. It was such a system that was implemented, and even the notoriously anti-admin sales guy started using it for mutual benefit!
Story 2 – retail / management
The retail sector has peculiar challenges, because it is especially susceptible to monochrome management; that is that turnover alone matters. So a positive work environment is especially beneficial in high-stress industries like retail.
Working blind with a new set of staff presented challenges for an established brand in retail. Not all of the staff shared values or interests with the company and/or each other. And therefore “cattle prod” motivation proved necessary on occasion for the team and certain individuals. After 18 months a key moment from our coaching was realised; this was a monthly turnover record created through value-based sales techniques (right down to floor layout and stock presentation). This record was a 40% increase on the best operational month prior in that store.
Alumni staff members (professional and casual) from that period now include company culture and regional managers, accountants, and lawyers. They can be found within that same retail company, and in multinational companies and boutique firms. Developing your people and their longterm interests impacts your bottom line almost immediately.