Process-Centric Sales

In the high-tech world, we're constantly focused on improving processes. Manufacturing, R&D, testing, and engineering can all be improved by mathematical means like Six Sigma and the like. So, is sales such a process? Treated as a process, can sales be optimized in the same mathematical manner? Perhaps. But ask your customers how they feel about that.

I recently had a conversation with a client about restructuring their sales department to be "optimized" for performance. They would segment the talents for "hunting" and "farming." Sales warriors devoted to hunting down the next opportunity would close a deal, then hand it off to farmers who excel at account management and relationship building. Seems ideal, right?

But, nobody in the room was prepared to talk about the recent challenges that occured when several customers suddenly went cold after being introduced to their new rep. In situations like those, it becomes obvious that people buy from people, not companies or brands. Can customers be modularized and moved along an assembly line?

While nearly every aspect of product manufacturing and delivery is scientific... sales is still an art. Art cannot be improved mathematically. It cannot be taught, nor learned.

Have you ordered new phone service recently, or purchased any major enterprise software? It is this process-centric approach toward sales that has resulted in the poor customer service and impersonal sales style that plagues major companies today.

Thank Goodness for High Oil Prices

Oh, don’t worry. I’ve already set up a special email filter in anticipation of all the hate mail I will receive for this right-wing stand. No doubt, the title of this article raised your eyebrows a bit, and perhaps your blood pressure, but hear me out.

Let’s look at some high-level facts. During the century-old oil consumption market in the U.S., the only period when consumption has actually decreased was for a brief decade from the early 70’s to the early 80’s. What happened? Two things: Gas prices soared during the ’73 oil crisis while simultaneously the EPA, which was officially formed in 1970, had begun to actually bring about change in the lives of everyday Americans.

Now, I’m not here to say that EPA regulations were flawless. I recall as a teenager, rebuilding an old engine with my dad and wondering why there were belt-driven air pumps that did nothing but force fresh air into the exhaust. Nonetheless, forming the EPA was a first step toward conscientious environmental protection.

So, whatever your theories on the cause for oil prices today—be it the war or peak oil projections—one thing is true: recent prices have caused the first noticeable decline in our insatiable oil consumption to ever occur in my lifetime (Reuters, 5/06/08).

What can we learn from this history lesson? Oil prices in the 70’s forced a market shift and ultimately lead to the popularization of gas-efficient smaller cars (Which, incidentally, killed the muscle car. That does make me sad. But it was for the greater good.). So, I say “thank goodness for high oil prices” if indeed ten years from now we can look back and realize that the price pinch forced us into greener technological solutions for energy, transportation, and lifestyle.