| Sales may be the lifeblood of any organization. But what does a corporation do when
the executive leadership sees that a transfusion might be in order?
Nationally, many companies have turned to sales consultants to diagnose their
situations; the local community is no different.
Several Huntsville area companies in various industries have found that a profile
developed by a world renowned national consultant was just the right medication needed to
help the smooth flow of revenues.
The Dave Kurlan Sales Profile aided the growing corporations in determining what their
sales goals and formulas were and which individuals were most suited to push toward
achieving those goals.
The profile and other tools are all part of the process, say the company executives, of
maximizing marketing plans in a business community more noted for its engineering
excellence than its sales savvy.
"We understand the technology we produce, but the challenge is to market it in an
environment where it's not just a matter of the lowest bidder wins," says Dr. Hal
Pastrick, president of Cummings Research Park's SRS Technologies. The company, which has
110 employees in Huntsville and produces such products as environmental management
software and infrared/ultraviolet heat detection devices, has recently pushed into the
commercial market for the first time in its 18-year history.
"We don't have a sales and marketing force per se. Right now, it is our six
division managers and myself," said Patrick, whose company recently completed the
Kurlan profile and analysis. The company leaders worked with local sales consultant Ted
Gulas. "The bidding process with the government has become more competitive . . . but
it's still very laid out for companies. We knew we needed help in adapting to the
commercial environment."
Gulas and his wife Debbie own Performance Plus-a franchise of Priority Management
Systems, Inc.-and Performance Max, Inc. in Madison County. Gulas has worked with the
Kurlan profile for the past two years with numerous local and national companies. He has
done consulting since 1989.
"I'd work with customers and they'd tell me that their biggest dilemma was how to
find quality salespeople and how to evaluate their existing salespeople," Gulas said.
"Every year, companies invest millions of dollars in sales training with people who
will never be able to truly execute. The profile finds problems that are undetectable with
other instruments."
Gulas said many of the companies that come to him for advice have actually had
increasing sales figures over the past several years. "They want to know how much
better their better can be," Gulas said. "Companies are being more proactive
today. They are looking to better develop process skills, not just task skills."
Kurlan, who is with the Massachusetts-based Objective Management Group, Inc., came up
with the sales and marketing profile in 1989. Since that time, 10,000 companies have taken
the test. "Psychological tests can tell you if someone is outgoing," Kurlan
said. "But they won't tell you if someone will execute."
"I look at hidden strengths and weaknesses," he added. "You don't look
for capacity for learning, you look at potential for growth, incentive for change, and
ability to change. Active, not passive."
Kurlan said the biggest concern he sees today with individuals in sales is an
inconsistency between buying habits and selling habits.
"When your salesperson makes a personal purchase, does he or she shop on price? If
you expect your people to close within four sales calls and your new hire can't buy
anything in fewer than 10 trips to the mall, there's a problem," Kurlan said.
"Someone in sales will make the mistake of tolerating stalls and put-offs if they can
empathize with a potential buyer, because that is the way they buy in their personal
lives."
Gulas and Kurlan said companies need to work at shortening sales cycles, to go for the
quicker "yes or no" than the prolonging "maybe." However, in most
cases in the corporate world, that doesn't mean successful salespeople should be too
aggressive with their face-to-face sales techniques.
"The fast-talking, aggressive-to-the-point-of-manipulative salesperson is part of
a dying breed," Gulas said. "Today more than ever before, potential customers
want more objectivity than subjectivity in the approach."
Gulas said the Kurlan profile and analysis is for salespeople, sales managers,
presidents and other individuals involved in the sales process. "It is only effective
after companies react to the findings. Answers in the analysis alone aren't enough to make
for change," he said.
Kerry Lovvorn said that change may be more visible in a company's long-term profit
margin growth. Lovvorn is the president of Scottsboro's Telko Enterprises, Inc., a steel
structure fabricator which deals mostly with the restaurant industry. The 10 year old
company has 25 employees. "I was interested in how to improve the quality of sales in
the extended scope," he said. "The analysis helped us to better define our
objectives and look at how we can develop better long-term customers."
Even though Telko has been in the commercial market for many years, Lovvorn said
winning a job was similar to winning a government job through the bid structure.
"This specific market was mainly directed by price alone. If you could offer the
lowest price, you got the job. There wasn't much sales to it," Lovvorn said.
"But that continues to change today. To do well in today's environment, you have to
seek out new customers who are doing things different ways. More factors are entered into
potential customers' decisions today."
"We need a quality sales force today more than ever," Lovvorn added,
"but it doesn't just happen overnight."
A good corporate salesman has to realize that rejections are not to be taken
personally, according to David Milly, president of Theatrical Lighting Systems, Inc. of
Huntsville. "It takes someone who feels good about themselves and the environment
they are working in. A good self image is very important," Milly said.
TLS, Inc. serves mainly the entertainment industry with supply, operation and servicing
of advanced lighting systems at concerts and other events. Since the company employs only
18 individuals but does business all across the United States, Milly and other top
administrators at the company have had to wear salespeople's hats on many occasions.
"This industry is about having the ability to understand customers' needs,"
Milly said. "It's not so much selling as it is solving people's problems. This is a
glitzy field, but it's a technical field. It's not like selling cars."
Milly said the Kurlan profile helped himself and several TLS employees identify
strengths and weaknesses in sales and marketing. It has also helped company leaders
realize how to better identify subtle differences between the serious customers and the
"window shoppers."
"I'm very happy with the people we have working for us now. But since we first
started (in 1981), we've hired a few non-successful individuals in sales," he said.
"Hiring a bad salesman costs you thousands of dollars and hiring a good salesman
saves you thousands of dollars," Milly said. "The better the screening process,
the better chance you have of bringing in a winning individual."
Is your company's sales performance critically low or would you like to try a little
"preventive medicine?" A sales consultant could be just what the doctored
ordered. |
