But more often than not, this is exactly what we come across when networking; you know the sort, described in many ways but for the purpose of this blog, we’ll just refer to them as the ‘network bore’. It’s all about them, what they do, how good they do it and how great they are at it.

Right now the economic climate is ‘forcing’ many people to try their wings at this networking thing but as many of us know, networking as a way of meeting potential new clients has been around for years and if you think about it, it’s always been around we just never gave it a name. My dad always knew someone who could fix the tap, mend the roof or service the car and if he didn’t he asked a friend if they knew someone – that’s networking, isn’t it?

Except now we’ve made it all formal, it’s become a little scary and in recent months I’ve met many folks new to networking and just don’t know where to begin with it all. So, what are the rules?
The way I see it having been at it and run a few of these things over the years, here are a couple of basics:

First, don’t tell folks ‘Buy my stuff it’s great!’ ; find out about them, who they are, what they do and what they are looking for.
Second, getting referrals from networking is all about building trust, how do you do that? That’s a topic for another time.
And third; try a few, there are lots of networking opportunities out there at it’s ‘horses for courses’, so try a few till you find the ones that suit you, where you’re comfortable – but a word of caution, don’t be too comfortable.

For many ot you reading this, it’s kind of stating the obvious but this is just the start; i’m not claiming to be an expert but be wary of those that say they are – so much of life is common sense and networking is that.

So, let’s tackle the issue that continues to be the ‘thorniest’ of all - Sales. You know it’s incredible to think that if you’re taking advice about your business, how to get it on track, keep it on track , get more business, MORE customers; that you’d take advice and guidance from someone who in their past career has actually done it and done it successfully.

Now in recent times there’s been all sorts of so called advisors, introduce Sales via the back door ‘soft selling’ or ‘the accidental salesman’. What a load of ‘phooey’ and more importantly, it’s plain misleading, sales cannot be an accident. Accidental selling may well lead you to accidentally going bust! You have to have some structure, some knowledge and some ability.

Only the other day I received an email from an old contact who was telling me about her new business and that there was one issue that kept coming up; that of Sales. She went on to say that she’d never thought of herself as a salesperson, and that Sales was her weakest point.

What was interesting about her email was that she’d recognised her weakness and was looking for some help to solve it; when running a business it’s so important to recognise the things that are holding you and your business back and to seek a solution, sooner rather than later. I know that many of you have the same concerns about Sales and so I hope to ease the pain a little by helping you understand what you need to do and how. Simply to begin with and more detailed later.

Sales is the Simple Exchange

Sales is the simple exchange of your product or service for someone’s money, it’s a 2-way street of you wanting something from them whilst in return them needing and wanting something from you. Fundamentally you cannot make someone buy something they do not want or need but it’s up to you to know and find out enough about your prospective customer, their needs, wants and problems, so as you can help make that exchange happen. Whilst it’s as simple as that, the journey to this exchange is complex, challenging, fun, heartbreaking but incredibly rewarding for both parties.

Sales is not about ‘the gift of the gab’. The best sales people listen not talk.

To begin with make sure you understand what your product or service is and who you believe would buy it. Now I know that you think you know the answer to both but just check.

Secondly, put a short bullet plan together – not ‘War and Peace’ no one will ever read it, least of all you; just a summary mainly comprising of the type of customer, size, location, industry sector, the title of the decision maker and all important – targets. What are you aiming to achieve this year? And what action do you need to take in order to make it happen?

To end with I’d just like to say that your business must be founded on honesty and integrity with products and services that offer real solutions and value to people and businesses. I wish you well and look forward to giving you more insights and knowledge on how to successfully sell and build a business of high reputation and standing in your community.

So that’s it for now, there’s a lot more to come, if you have any questions till the next time feel free to email me – go to my website www.antoniofalco.com and look out for details of the launch of my new Biz Club, helping small businesses to understand the key components of running a successful business.

antonio

‘Over the 45 years I have been selling and in my numerous years in my capacity as a Sales Director overseeing the performance and management of many sales people I can confidently say that Antonio Falco ranks amongst the very best I’ve worked with.
His ethos and professionalism along with his intellectual understanding of sales, the process and psychology, is part of his performance that has made him successful.
His knowledge of the sales processes allied to his skill and ability to put them into practice, have elevated him to
”Master of the Art”
Antonio has the ability to share his skill sets in an interesting manner which enables his “audience” to absorb the information very quickly.
Any company or individual would do well to listen and learn from him’

Dave Huxley
Sales Director, QED

The knock on effect of not starting new projects has been clear there could be years ahead when house builders could have a period when no properties will be available for release leaving them in a situation when it will be all outlay and no income. The biggest issue is with house builders with plenty of current housing stock and no takers.

There is no point in looking to Government for leadership; they have no more ideas than the average person on the street as to how to solve the issues of the day. As for Banks, well, they have no inclination or pressure to lend and being in public ownership has only meant them becoming more aggressive in cutting down their loan book.

It’s down to business to lead the way and do what most good businesses do best – use ingenuity, innovative thinking, and gumption to come up with a solution, after all, it’s their business and their industry.

Looking at all the parties involved we have the following key players:
The house builder with plenty to sell; the buyers with no money; The Bank of England with a historic low rate and the lender(s) unwilling to lend.

Just like mortar, if one of the component parts is missing or not in the right proportion, quantity or quality – the wall won’t stand. In this scenario the Lender(s) does not appear in enough quantity; the buyers don’t seem to have enough quality and the builders are out of proportion on prices. With this kind of ‘muck’ it’s not surprising that not a lot of walls are being built.

So what’s the solution? Well if all the elements exist then the answer has to be in the way you bind them together. What needs to happen is that house builders need to work in partnership with lenders; they then need to work as one in order to successfully sell and fund new property sales.

This collaboration will only work if the following is implemented:
First, the two parties need to agree that they are working in partnership to achieve the same end result. Second, as part of the terms regarding how they are to work together to promote and attract customers the following rules need to apply:

a) An exclusive working relationship.
b) Each party to promote the other beginning with the builder selling property to those buyers willing to use ‘their’ lender.
c) In turn, the criteria from the lender needs to go back to be being more realistic, for example, a 20 or 25% deposit for first time buyers is not realistic.
d) The buyer is a genuine buyer committed to buying a home not an investment.
e) The builder looks to guarantee part of the loan for an initial short period.

Exclusivity may at first seem a diffcult concept to accept particularly as it appears in favour of the lender, it does. The lender can lend to other mortgage seekers but cannot seek an alliance with another major house builder. Whereas the house builder can only use the lender and no other but in return, the lenders’ criteria is less stringent and more realistic.

For example returning to the issue of a deposit; if the calibre of the buyer is such 100% loans could still be viable, provided the buyer meets the rest of the criteria. In addition the builder will need to guarantee a part of the loan for a short, initial period. Whilst this may at first seem to be unpalatable, the builder needs to remember the object of the exercise namely to sell the vast stock of properties they have in their portfolio. If the buyers’ criteria is correctly identified and applied the risk should be minimal.

So, what should the criteria be? To begin with the buyer has to be just that – a buyer looking for a home to call home not an investment; they will be required to make a 3 – 5 year commitment to living in the property. Their financial status needs to be strong demonstrating their ability to afford repayments (even up to 100% and possibly interest only to begin with) plus all other expenses (utilities etc.), along with a good employment history. The precise details of what is acceptable to be agreed between the builder and lender.

There are however some areas of concern around the execution of this plan.

 First and most critical, it must be ensured that the terms and understanding of the collaboration are clearly understood and well negotiated.
 The joint marketing and advertising is of a high calibre with properly formatted joint messages.
 The criteria for new buyers cannot be not onerous, or poorly presented by sales staff from both parties.
 A smooth process from initial contact with house builders’ representative and the follow on to the lender needs to be a seamless experience from the buyer.
 Properly trained sales staff, particularly at the house builder sites. It will not be good enough to simply have representatives, they will need to be highly professional, business like and competent in their understanding of the process as it is no longer a matter of showing details of floor measurements and colour options for bathroom suites.

In order to successfully construct this kind of partnership, it is important that the vision is set out and effectively followed and driven through by strong leadership. If house builders and lenders could imagine the powerful effect of such a collaboration in terms of marketing and advertising to potential new buyers of the advantages in choosing the partnership of X lender and X builder to secure their new home – this would have a profound effect on their view of their industry and the market of which the net effect would be taking back control resulting in the a reversal of fortunes.

For sure the last thing needed is yet another seminar or another speaker regurgitating that overused, worn out, clapped out, unimaginative, ‘have no real idea how to help you or your company but this’ll get the crowd going’, phrase – ‘you need to thrive not just survive’! Followed by a litany of non-descript mainly in-effective ideas of how to ensure that you’re clamping down on costs and that your stationery budget isn’t running away from you.

What’s needed is a more intelligent and sophisticated response as to how to deal with the issues that face your business and making it through, requires more than just cutting your stationery budget.

Now don’t get me wrong, you need to ensure that budgets and costs are kept in check, all good businesses should be doing that anyway and if you’re not – do it. Run a tight ship and when times change for the better don’t go back to the old ways.

Be aware too that when it comes to expenditure that actively and effectively promote and raise the profile of your business, be careful not to trim that budget too tightly.

This is the time for Vision and Leadership. What is the vision for your business?

Vision, is not a Mission Statement. It’s not the usual bland, predictable recitation about how much ‘you care about your employees’ or how ‘customer care is your company’s priority’.

A vision for your business needs imagination, foresight, a mental picture of how you see your business and how you want it to be seen. Most times it’s difficult to define and in my work with customers I’m often able to see for them what the vision for their business is, it’s a powerful starting point.

In tough times those at the top have their knowledge, experience and calibre pushed to the limit. Their personal performance is in the spotlight as those in need of vision, direction and leadership look to the top.

Over the past few years business has concentrated on process and management and much of that has been ‘flaky’ at best.

Vision and Leadership : People not Processes

Today’s business environment has become all about the figures – now! But to achieve them is not and has never been about ‘brow beating’ staff and customers into performing and ordering and won’t be about ‘thriving not just surviving’.

For more about me and my services feel free to go to my website – www.antoniofalco.com

‘How do companies go about trying to sell in a market of economic turmoil?’

What would be your response?

There was no clear answer from the panel.

I believe that the answers no longer lie with the usual celebrated consulting sources. The pre-determined and pre-prescribed methods of analysis and solution no longer deliver.

It’s time for clear, straight and effective answers.

In times of difficulty our test of knowledge, experience and calibre is pushed to the limit. Our own personal performance is in the spotlight and those that need direction, leadership and answers look to the top.

Some look for help, not in desperation but in demonstration of their commitment to their business. It is key to understand precisely what and how is affecting your business; this is not as obvious as may at first appear to be.