Common Sales Objections

 It’s no secret that dealing with customer objections and closing the sale are two of the most difficult aspects of a salesperson’s job. In fact, the ability to execute these functions effectively can make or break careers. And these challenges aren’t uncommon pain points for salespeople: according to research collected by HubSpot, more than 36% of those surveyed said closing the sale is the most difficult part of the sales process, while 40% cited prospecting.

1. “It’s Too Expensive”

Price is at the top of just about every prospective client’s objection list, with almost six in every 10 buyers wanting to discuss it on the very first call. Of course, this can be a nightmare for a salesperson who just wants to guide the client through a product or service’s features and benefits. When a customer balks at the price, it can feel daunting to close the sale.

One way to handle the dreaded pricing objection is to give the customer some time to object. Let them voice their concerns (and truly listen to what they’re saying), and then ask any follow-up questions that help summarize their objection. Talk through it with them. Emphasize the product’s value, but avoid discussing price right away. Instead, ask them to consider what it will cost them if they do nothing, and help them consider the bigger picture of their business and bottom line.

2. “I Don’t Like Contracts”

Not everyone wants to be locked into a contract, even if it costs less than paying month-to-month. The prospect may cite lack of interest in a long-term commitment, or they may just be dragging their feet on next steps. Ask them exactly what they’re looking for in both contract terms and price in order to kick it up to your sales manager to explore possibilities.

For managers: Win over hesitant prospects by offering a month-to-month plan with no risk or long-term commitment, and to sweeten the deal, offer them a lower price if they lock in for a year or more. They may just want to test things out for a few months before signing on for the usual contract terms. The upside is that the no-contract terms generate more revenue and give your company an opportunity to ‘wow’ them with your product or service.

3. “I’m Already Under Contract with Someone Else”

Discovering that your prospect is already under contract with someone else can be a tricky course to navigate, but it doesn’t mean all hope is lost. After all, if you backed down every time your competition got to someone first, you wouldn’t have much of a client list. These prospects may just need a reason to pull the plug and take the financial penalty to break their contract and sign on with you. If possible, ask what their contract terms are and start sleuthing to get more information.

Ask questions about whether or not they’re satisfied with the competitor, and what they like and don’t like. This is your chance to jump in and empathize with their frustrations, and talk through how your product or service is different.

For managers: Once you or your team has the prospect’s curiosity piqued, authorize enough of a discount on the first month to cover the cost of terminating their current contract. It’s a win-win for everyone — except for your competitor.    

4. “There’s No Time to Deal with This Right Now”

Procrastinating clients who simply won’t sign a contract are common in just about every industry. We already talked about how some prospects don’t want a long-term commitment or are under contract with someone else. But others are just too busy and simply don’t have the mental bandwidth to consider one more proposal. That’s why continuous follow-up is key in order to catch prospects at the right time. Sometimes success is just a matter of being there at the right moment.

For managers: It’s time to roll up your sleeves and go after their business. Instead of just asking when you can call these prospects during the next quarter, find out what they like and don’t like about your product. Then, prepare a small presentation and go over the details with them to clear up their concerns during your next meeting.

5. “I Need to Talk to My Team”

Customers who insist on talking to their team before buying from you are likely just procrastinating and want to hold off on making a decision. Or, they may not be the actual decision makers in the first place, and are the wrong people to talk to. This is the time to get a new strategy in play. For starters, find out what their team is looking for, and ask for a lunch meeting to explore things further.

For managers: Follow through on the efforts of your salesperson by finding out who the decision makers really are and asking for a meeting. Even if they decline your invitation to meet, you have their information in hand and a better idea of who to address directly during the next sales round so you can work through their objections and close the sale.

 

Effective Communication

Communication needs to be effective and efficient for better and smooth functioning of an organization.

Effective communication is defined as communication between two or more persons in which the intended message is −

• 1)properly encoded

• 2)delivered through appropriate channel

• 3)received

• 4)properly decoded and understood by the recipient(s)

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In other words, communication is said to be effective when all the parties (sender and receiver) in the communication, assign similar meanings to the message and listen carefully to what all have been said and make the sender feel heard and understood.

In a business organization, communication is said to be effective when the information or data shared among the employees effectively contribute towards organization’s commercial success.

In the words of R.W. Griffin, "Effective communication is the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended".

American Management Association (AMA) has defined effective communication based on the following ten points −

• Clear idea regarding topics and receiver of communication.

• Determination of purpose.

• Understanding the environment of communication.

• Planning for communication with consulting others.

• Consider the content of the message.

• To make the receiver aware about the value of communication.

• There must be feedback from the receiver.

• To define properly whether communication messages are of short-run or long-run importance.

• All actions must be suitable with communication.

• Good listening.

Effective Communication is defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently. Business managers with good verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills help facilitate the sharing of information between people within a company for its commercial benefit.

Significance of Effective Communication

In this section, we will understand the significance of effective communication −

Construct and Foster Sustainable and Productive Relationship

Effective communication should be the focus in businesses as it becomes largely difficult to properly construct and foster productive relationship without it.

Give space to Innovations

Effective communication facilitates innovations in a business organization by allowing employees and management to come up with innovative ideas that might further help in the overall development of the organization.

Help Build an Effective Team

A work environment enriched with effective or open communication helps in building a cohesive and effective team. Effective communication always boosts the morale of employees. It brings in the zeal in employees to work towards achieving the common objectives of the organization. Regular internal communication can also lead to an improved work ethic if the staff are reminded of achievements and feel that they are working towards a common goal.

Effective Management

When there is hassle-free and open communication between the management and the employees, it leads to a steady rise in the pace of progress of the organization. Effective communication, therefore, yields effective management. Managers come to know the attitude and grievances of the employees and the latter gets to know the managers’ attitudes towards them and also the policies of the organization.

Contributes to the Overall Growth of the Organization

Effective communication builds desired interpersonal, interdepartmental and management-employee relationship which in turn are essential preconditions for realizing the vision of the organization. In other words, effective communication contributes to the overall growth of the business.

At the professional level, it is essential to know how to deal adequately with peers, make good decisions even in stressful situations. This is one of the reasons why effective communication skills are increasingly valued.

Effective communication in the organization enables the employees to deepen their connection with others and improve teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving capacity.

Characteristics of Effective Communication

The characteristics or principles of effective communication are pivotal for ensuring a productive communication. The major characteristics are as follows −

Completeness of the Message

Communication must be complete so as not to baffle the recipient. Better communication helps in better decision-making by the latter. It develops and enhances the reputation of an organization.

Clearness and Integrity of the Message

The message to be conveyed or sent must have clarity and integrity for better understanding. Clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of the message. The pith and substance of the message should be based on honesty and accuracy.

Conciseness of the Message

The intended message must be free from verbosity and should be so written that it is intelligible at the first sight. Short and intelligible message sent to the receiver is ever appealing and comprehensible. It saves time and cost as it is understood at the first instance.

Consideration of Physical Setting and the Recipient

In order to make communication more effective, the overall physical setting, i.e., the media of communication and the work environment, must be considered. The content of the message must take into account the attitude, knowledge, and position of the recipient.

Clarity of the Message

The message should have clarity of thoughts and ideas in order to be understood clearly. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words and symbols.

Courtesy to be Maintained

The sender's message should be so drafted or prepared that it should be polite, reflective, and enthusiastic. It must show the sender's respect for the receiver and be positive and focused at the receiver.

Correctness of the Message

The drafting of the message should be done in such a manner that the final message doesn't have any grammatical errors and repetitions of sentences. The message should be exact, correct and well-timed.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

Sales Pitch

 A sales pitch is a salesperson's attempt to persuade their audience to buy or believe what they're offering. That offer might be the chance at another meeting, information on your product or service, or a personal pitch all about you. Whatever the subject matter, it should be quick, to the point, and attention-grabbing.

1. The One-Word Sales Pitch

Can you boil your entire presentation down to one word? It might seem silly, but consider the power of a brand that has complete command of one word. "When anybody thinks of you, they utter that word. When anybody utters that word, they think of you," Pink explains.

For example, HubSpot's one-word pitch might be "flywheel." President Obama's one-word pitch during his 2012 reelection campaign was "forward." Think of the single word that represents your offering and use it as a punchy tagline.

2. The Question Sales Pitch

This one should only be used when you're confident that your buyer either somewhat or completely understands the value of your product.

Instead of phrasing your pitch as a statement ("Strategic outsourcing will reduce your company's costs"), reformulate it as a question ("Would strategic outsourcing reduce your company's costs?").

Why does this work? "Question pitches prompt people to come up with their own reasons for agreeing (or not)," Pink writes. "And when people summon their own reasons for believing something, they endorse the belief more strongly and become more likely to act on it."

3. The Subject Line Sales Pitch

Salespeople are masters at the art of crafting intriguing email subject lines. Take that expertise and apply it to your sales pitches.

Pink writes that strong email subject lines follow three principles: utility, curiosity, and specificity. However, you shouldn't try to add elements of each into a single email header or sales pitch.

4. The Twitter Sales Pitch

Tweeting is an exercise in clarity and brevity. What would your sales pitch sound like if you only had 140 characters to work with?

Formulating a Twitter pitch forces you to think critically and creatively about the main highlights of your offering. It can also help you trim the unnecessary fat from your sales presentation.

5. The Pixar Sales Pitch

"Toy Story." "Up." "Finding Nemo." "WALL-E." Pixar is a master at creating not just stunning visuals but stories that resonate with children and adults alike.

Although the stars of the studio's movies range from robots to sea life to talking toys, each has a similar story structure at its core.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

2002260

Re-imagining Procurement

 COVID-19 has caused significant disruption on global supply chains, with manufacturing haltes and airports and seaports shut down throughout the pandemic. But how has procurement been redefined? Here are McKinsey's five ways to reimagine procurement.

1. Strengthen supply chain resilience

As supply chains become increasingly more global and interconnected, they face a number of challenges, including climate change, the rise of a multipolar economic system, added geopolitical risks and the risk of mass healthcare events. During the past several years, at least one company in 20 has suffered a supply chain disruption costing at least US$100mn. Companies with complex supply chain networks, such as automotive and technology manufacturers, are particularly vulnerable.

It is the right time to conduct a thorough assessment of supply chain risks and manage them more thoughtfully. Companies can create better transparency by working with suppliers to gain information about their next-tier suppliers and their upstream value chains. Business continuity planning has taken on a new meaning, designing contingencies not just for a single supplier plant to go offline but also for entire countries to be inaccessible.

2. Zero-base category strategies and value creation

Procurement leaders are reevaluating individual spend categories to make the most of shifting market dynamics and addressing the risks posed by changing value pools. At the beginning of the pandemic, some of the most dramatic value-pool shifts happened in commercial real estate and oil and gas, which were among the sectors most affected by forced shutdowns. To capture or regain the potential value the shifts created, procurement leaders may need to completely rethink their strategies for the affected categories. In order to create value in commercial real estate instead of simply renegotiating leases, a procurement leader can consider how the organisation’s work practices will likely evolve in the future as flexible and remote working grows. 

Some procurement organisations may seek to minimise risk exposure by structuring contracts to build in performance incentives. Instead of contracting with IT suppliers on the basis of time and materials, procurement departments can look to peg contractor fees to performance. 

3. Invest in partnerships and innovation

Companies are seeking opportunities to create competitive advantages for themselves in a bid to counter the downturn that the pandemic has created, including through partnerships and joint innovation. Connecting with partners that have an existing infrastructure or complimentary service can make it faster and easier to adapt to a changing environment. In Australia, in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, supermarkets in need of extra personnel to handle a sudden increase in sales contracted with thousands of airline workers who had been sidelined when airlines downsized.

4. Accelerate adoption of digital and analytics

Procurement leaders have long since talked about digitising procurement for a considerable amount of time. However, its discussions with them indicate that progress has been slow. Many are trapped in pilot purgatory, making small investments in select use cases that never scale up to achieve real business impact. The rapid adoption of new ways of working that the pandemic necessitated forced companies to accelerate the shift to digital. As remote work becomes the next normal, digitisation can be an important enabler of effective collaboration across functions. In a bid to counter crisis-induced margin pressures and increased volatility, spend analytics can provide a rich source of new insights and opportunities that together creates new forms of competitive advantage. For example, in procurement of selected minerals, predictive analytics can already be used to integrate information including mining activity, shipping data, weather and economic indicators and can even analyse satellite images of at-port stockpiles to give a much more accurate prediction of market prices.

5. Transform to a future-ready operating model

To lead in the next normal, procurement departments must transform how they operate and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders. Adopting an agile operating model could allow procurement functions to scale up or down quickly to respond to sudden supply challenges. Agile methods could be applied to key strategic issues, such as assigning a cross-functional sprint team to accelerate capturing value in a specific spend category or creating a negotiation factory to deliver contract negotiations in assembly-line fashion or rapidly onboarding a new supplier.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

PGDIM

Cloud Logistics

What is CLOUD LOGISTICS: 

Ideal for complex, volatile environments, cloud computing enables a variety of new ‘logistics-as-a-service’ (LaaS)-based business models. Logistics providers can activate and deactivate customizable, modular cloud services on demand using a pay-per-use approach. This allows highly scalable service and management capabilities without requiring the traditional development, setup, and maintenance costs of own IT infrastructure.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS & IMPLICATIONS:

In recent years, logistics providers have begun to embrace cloud logistics as it enables rapid, efficient, and flexible access to IT services for innovative supply chain solutions. Already today, more than 50% of logistics providers use cloud-based services and a further 20% are planning to do so in the near future.5 Looking ahead, open and web-based APIs will form the basis of modular on-demand cloud logistics services, replacing outdated, legacy communication systems (such as EDIs). Furthermore, edge computing will continuously enhance cloud logistics by utilizing computing power close to the data, drastically reducing bandwidth requirements.

Modular cloud logistics platforms

It offer open, web-based access to a choice of flexible, configurable on-demand logistics-related IT services that can be easily integrated into supply chain processes. Cloud-based transport management systems can assimilate orders, billing, and track-and-trace services in one combined platform. Pay-per-use models enable small and medium-sized logistics providers as well as larger companies to react more flexibly to market volatility, paying only for the services they actually need and use, instead of having to invest in a fixed-capacity IT infrastructure. Companies using cloud-based solutions can budget for this as operating expenditure.

Cloud-powered global supply chains

It virtualize information and material flows by moving all supply chain processes into cloud. With complex and fragmented global supply chains, logistics providers often have to deal with a variety of transactions taking place between multiple parties, using different warehouse and transport management systems. Cloud allows for the coordination and orchestration of this information into one integrated view, making it a key enabler of a virtual ‘control tower’, providing 360-degree management dashboards. Furthermore, cloud gives companies more precise control over their global inventory levels and the location of shipments and assets. Ultimately, this paves the way for sophisticated supergrid logistics networks.

KEY OPPORTUNITIES

Agile, flexible, and elastic business models enabled by high on-demand scalability of IT services

■ Improved ability to control supply chain processes through digitized processes and easily shared real-time data

■ Increased price transparency for users of LaaS software through pay-per-use or renting models

■ Integration of services in central platforms using open APIs

KEY CHALLENGES

■ Compatibility and integration of modular cloud services into supply chain management systems remains a challenge

■ Performance concerns such as latency triggered by increased data volumes and real-time requirements

Data migration and security issues need to be verified (e.g., maintaining control of sensitive data)

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

PGDIM

Digital Twins

 A digital twin is a digital copy of an actual physical product, process, or ecosystem that can be used to run virtual simulations, using data to update and change the digital copy to reflect any changes in the real world.

The idea behind a digital twin is to let us see what might happen if we were to make certain adjustments in real life. These adjustments can be trialed on the digital twin without having to test potentially expensive changes on the real-world counterpart.

Creating a digital twin requires different elements, including:

Sensors capturing operational behaviors of assets and processes (vibration, temperature, pressure, etc.), alongside their functioning environments (air temperature, humidity, etc.)

Communications networks providing secure and reliable data transfer from physical devices to the digital world

A digital platform that serves as a modern data repository pooling and storing shop floor sensor data with high-level business data (e.g. MES, ERP). By combining these data sources, actionable insights can be derived for data-driven decision-making – using advanced AI/machine learning algorithms.

First realized in the aerospace industry, digital twins are now gaining traction across industrial verticals. You can build a digital twin of almost everything regardless of its size – from single components and assets (rotors, turbines, pipelines, etc.) to complex processes and environments (production lines, manufacturing plants, wind farms, etc.). The level of sophistication and detail of your digital twin models depends on the availability and maturity of your IT infrastructure.

3 Applications of Digital Twins for Industry 4.0

Digital twin technology renders unprecedented visibility into assets and production to spot bottlenecks, streamline operations and innovate product development. Below are the three major applications of digital twins for Industry 4.0.

Predictive Maintenance: Gaining a holistic view of the health and performance of equipment, companies can immediately detect anomalies and deviations in its operations. Maintenance and replenishment of spare parts can be proactively planned to minimize time-to-service and avoid costly asset failures. For OEMs, predictive maintenance using Digital Twins can provide a new service-based revenue stream while helping improve product reliability.

Process Planning and Optimization: A digital footprint ingesting sensor and ERP data of a manufacturing line can comprehensively analyze important KPIs like production rates and scrap counts. This helps diagnose the root cause of any inefficiencies and throughput losses, thereby optimizing yields and reducing wastes. Taking it one step further, rich, integrated historical data on equipment, processes, and environments can enable downtime forecasting to improve production scheduling.

Product Design and Virtual Prototyping: Virtual models of in-use products provide comprehensive insights into usage patterns, degradation point, workload capacity, incurring defects, etc. By better understanding a product’s characteristics and failure modes, designers and developers can correctly evaluate product usability and improve future component design. Similarly, OEMs can deliver customized offerings for different groups of customers based on specific usage behaviors and product implementation contexts. Digital twin technology additionally aids in developing virtual prototypes and running robust simulations for feature testing based on empirical data.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

Communication Gap at Workplace

Communication is the heartbeat of an organization. A communication which is ineffective or even absent within an organization can cause a communication gap at the workplace.

By definition, a communication gap at workplace is the misinterpretation of information or the complete lack of communication within the company. Such a phenomenon can occur between employers and employees or between employees of different ranks. Let’s see which could be the reasons that cause communication gap between employees, and which – between employers and employees, and how the management can address these issues.

Reasons for communication gap at workplace between employees

The communication gap between employees may eventually sabotage the growth of a company, so such a company issue should be addressed very carefully and seriously. The causes of employees not being able to communicate qualitatively or not communicate at all might be:

Experiencing fear

Whether a certain employee is afraid to speak with an employee of a higher rank, has concerns for the reactions they’ll receive, is worried that will be accused of something, or even has personal issues of expressing their opinions, they will most likely prefer to keep the information themselves.

Experiencing doubts

Employees at work usually interact with each other during the day but are they confident enough to discuss company-related topics? Often, employees might be unsure if company information should be shared with their colleagues or they simply believe that such information is not within their colleagues’ concerns. In reality, employees would love to be informed about projects and news related to their own company. Knowing such information would boost their motivation and engagement.

Wrong attitude and body language

Besides speech, the tone of voice, the facial expressions and the body language also participate in the communication between individuals. All these factors can impact the way a piece of information is perceived. A single sentence can mean different things only by the voice tone it’s being said. This may often cause misunderstandings or misinterpretations for the person 

Inappropriate channels or timing

When not talking directly, using channels that some employees are unable to use or not trained to use may cause a communication gap at workplace. Also, sending essential information too late might not be very useful for some employees. All these factors increase the communication gap and slow down the company processes.

What can employers do?

Flawless information and informed employees certainly have a positive impact on the growth of a company. Luckily, there are tested steps that can help the management bridge the communication gap at work between employees.

Recognize the causes.

Once you realize there is a communication gap between your staff members, you need to identify the factors that caused this communication gap to emerge. Which employees are responsible for not transmitting the information? What are the reasons they failed? Which are the ineffective channels involved? Explore all possible factors that could lead to the existent communication gap and then move on to resolving.

2. Analyze different solutions

Depending on the scope of the communication gap and the factors that caused it, analyze different approaches that can help resolve the issue. Dig deeper into the problem so you can evaluate the resources necessary for fixing it. Organizing training seminars and consulting professionals in the field could be of great help.

3. Follow up

Making sure the problem no longer exists requires that you continuously follow up with your employees to see how communication goes after the measures you’ve taken. If the problem still exists, readjust your strategy and test out other approaches to address the issue.

Communication gap at workplace between employers and employees

Communication gap at workplace between employees and employers occur even more often than communication gap among employees but the reasons are similar. On the one hand, the fear of the superior figure in the company hierarchy might stop employees from addressing a company issue which needs attention. On the other hand, the employer might feel that sharing company information with his employees is unnecessary or they can misuse this information. Keeping sensitive company information to yourself is wise – it might save unpleasant consequences but keeping company news, projects and campaigns from your workforce would do you more harm than good. Here is what you can do when you identify communication gap between your workforce and yourself.

Encourage employees to speak up

Eliminating fear and mistrust is an important prerequisite for a smooth communication between your employees and you. Assuring employees that their voice will be heard will motivate them to express their opinions, speak up when they identify a problem, share their own ideas for improvements, suggest strategies for increased productivity, and give feedback for company-related matters.

Listen

When encouraging your employees to speak up, you need to actively listen and take under consideration their concerns, ideas, and feedback. If you can, establish an open-door policy which will break the barriers between your employees and you. Mind that there might be differences in the way young employees and older employees might want to speak with you. While young employees are okay with using technology, older employees would usually prefer to speak face-to-face.

To sum up,

Communication gap at workplace is an issue that can be solved once you identify the factors that cause it. If you find it hard to understand what were the reasons for the communication gap, you can always consult a professional in the field who will also help you come up with a strategy to solve the issue. We hope we’ve been helpful with this guide

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

PGDIM