Distributors need to put the same effort into creating visibility on the front-end of the sales cycle as they have on the back-end of their businesses, according to Brian Gardner, co-founder of Selltis, in the latest episode of MDM’s Executive Briefing, out now.
“I believe putting this focus on the front-end can yield results,” Gardner says.
The front-end of the sales cycle includes lead management, qualifying opportunities and pursuing projects. The back-end includes quotes, orders, follow-up and serving the customer.
Gardner simplifies this even further into three areas: opportunity, quote and order. Most distributors, he says, have processes in place for the order, and some for the quote. But many don’t have formal processes in place to track and act on sales opportunity.
“It starts with management commitment to change,” he says. “That’s probably the biggest thing I see.” Distributors need to change processes and put a system into place to manage sales opportunities; that could include using a customer relationship management (CRM) system or a less formal setup through Excel or Access. The key is to create better visibility at the front-end of the business.
In the Executive Briefing episode, Gardner also talks about other steps distributors can take to build focus on the front-end, including approaching it as a team solution (and not just for the outside salespeople), starting small, committing to training and having sales management drive the change, not IT.
Watch the full episode now, which also features a 7 Minutes With interview with Jay Drummond, now retired president of Turtle & Hughes Integrated Supply, on the role integrated supply plays in the industrial distribution landscape.
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