Customer life cycle

The Customer Life Cycle The Customer Life Cycle provides a lens for understanding the customer’s experience at four critical phases, from buying the solution through the end of its useful life. Each phase offers an opportunity for an innovative salesperson to find sources of differentiation. The following four steps are typical of the customer’s experience with a product or solution: Shopping: Identifying the right solution and vendor options, establishing buying criteria, making initial screening decisions. Buying. Bringing a product or service through the process of contracting, financing, and paying, and receiving supplies and equipment. Using: installing and using the solution, disposing, upgrading, recycling, discarding, replacing. By looking at each of these areas from the customer’s perspective, salespeople can identify opportunities to expand the offering. This may involve providing additional services or add-ons as part of the solution or offering options that add value and generate benefits the customer can’t get elsewhere. 1. Shopping. In this phase there is great variability in how efficiently companies go about sourcing suppliers and alternative solutions and how clearly and accurately they are able to define their search criteria. Suppliers can help by making their services and products easy to find and understand, and providing tools and expertise to help the decision makers clarify technology and other requirements, as well as criteria for selecting a vendor. 2. Buying. Salespeople usually overlook this phase, focusing instead on their own company’s policies rather than on the needs of the customer. By better understanding how the customer buys, a sales organization can help the customer solve problems—offering leasing and financing options, for example, or helping the customer with elements of the purchase such as taking delivery of equipment or supplies. Example: A salesperson selling janitorial and sanitation products to a group of hospitals came up with the idea of using a system similar to the one used for reordering pharmaceuticals to automatically reorder the products as they were being used up. 3. Using. Although usage and implementation are where most companies consciously add value to the offering, few look beyond initial installation and conventional service contracts. This is an area where innovation and in-depth understanding of the customer’s priorities and business processes can produce creative ideas for offering benefits unique to the customer. Example: A salesperson working with a large distribution company helped them increase the efficiency of their warehouse operations by bringing in an expert from her own company to change the way products were being coded. 4. Disposing. Depending on the product or service, the salesperson may be long gone by the time customers reach the final stage of the Life Cycle. Today, there are many new opportunities to differentiate at this point. Companies can emphasize recycling and reusing, as “green” becomes a corporate value. Salespeople can look for ways to help companies that must discard equipment or by-products, provide options for recycling or reuse of part or all of the product/equipment.

Estados Financieros: Definiciones

Estados Financieros La toma de decisiones tiene una importante dependencia a la información financiera de un negocio, una buena decisión siempre debe estar sustentada en un análisis multifactorial, es decir, que se deberá tomar considerando factores como los comerciales, industriales, legales macro y micro económicos y desde luego, factores financieros, pero esto no basta si no se tiene un amplio conocimiento del negocio y del mercado. Tomar una decisión considerando una sola variable podría terminar en una catástrofe con consecuencias irreversibles. Es común escuchar que la información es poder, pero esta debe ser fiable, oportuna y con una buena interpretación. En esta colaboración estaremos abordando en forma general la interpretación de los estados financieros. Por definición, un estado financiero es un informe general sobre la situación financiera de la compañía, estos informes se caracterizan principalmente por presentar cifras devengadas de la operación, es decir, sucesos que ya se presentaron y que están registrados contablemente. Su periodicidad es variable de acuerdo a las necesidades de la dirección, sin embargo, se acostumbra entregarse mes a mes con entregas acumulables por trimestre, semestre y año. A continuación los estados financieros más comunes y sus definiciones generales. Estado de Resultados También conocido como Estado de Pérdidas y Ganancias y es aquel donde se puede observar en forma general los Ingresos percibidos de una compañía por su operación. Además, se podrá encontrar los costos y gastos incurridos para la obtención del ingreso reportado y principalmente podrás encontrar la utilidad de las operaciones antes y después de impuestos. Este estado financiero contempla un periodo de tiempo definido, es decir, puedes analizar las cifras sobre un periodo que tu definas, Ej.- Estado de Resultados del 1 de Enero del 2013 al 31 de Enero del 2013. Balance general Este Estado Financiero muestra la información a una fecha determinada, EJ- Balance General al 31 de Diciembre 2012, y puedes encontrar información relevante como los activos de la compañía (aquello que la compañía posee para la correcta operación del negocio), los pasivos (todas las deudas que la compañía presenta al momento de la evaluación) y el capital (la diferencia matemática entre el pasivo y el activo que es el patrimonio neto de la compañía). Estado de flujo de efectivo También es conocido como Estado de Origen y Aplicación de Recursos. En este estado podrás ver el flujo de dinero que se generó por la operación de la compañía y su aplicación, básicamente segmentado en operación, inversión y financiamiento. El método y la conclusión en la interpretación de estados financieros tienen que ver directamente con quien realiza el análisis y su necesidad, pero te comparto algunos puntos relevantes para su interpretación. Los estados financieros están diseñados para identificar tendencias, relaciones y estatus de la compañía. Generalmente se presentan en forma comparativa entre años para definir y entender sus variaciones. Existen fórmulas matemáticas que pueden ayudarnos a encontrar las relaciones entre las cuentas que se presentan. Estas fórmulas son conocidas como razones financieras y son comúnmente usadas en los negocios, algunas de las más reconocidas son la razón de rentabilidad, razón de liquidez, razón de rotación de inventarios y razón de apalancamiento. Identifica las actividades core del negocio y revisa su impacto en los estados financieros. Los términos de pago tanto de los proveedores como de los clientes significan mucho en los estados financieros. Poner atención en su impacto en las cuentas contables y de ser necesario re negociarlos. Es común pensar que poca utilidad es algo malo, o que muchas ventas es algo bueno. Existen estrategias comerciales y financieras muy agresivas donde ocurre lo contrario para beneficio de la empresa. Estas y otros dilemas tendremos durante la interpretación, infórmate y genera escenarios que apoyen tu decisión, pero recuerda que en el arte de las decisiones no existe una camino escrito ni un resultado único y correcto, por el contrario, encontrarás una zona de soluciones que tendrán consecuencias que deberás analizar en tu toma de decisiones. Como resultado del análisis de los Estados Financieros debes poder tomar decisiones como las que marca el siguiente cuadro. No importa cuál sea el método de análisis e interpretación de la información, lo que realmente es importante es contar con esta información y su interpretación en el momento adecuado. Recuerda que esta información deberá ser útil para la toma de decisiones y por ella debe ser clara, útil y oportuna.

Sales: Key Success Factors

I’m frequently asked, “What are the key skills a sales professional must have to succeed in today’s competitive market?” The first thing that the sales professionals need for getting success is to recognize that a salesperson is a professional, just as physicians, attorneys, and commercial pilots are professionals. Three critical components work together to form a solid foundation for professional skills development that results in exceptional performance for all professionals: systems, skills, and disciplines. Each is defined as follows: 

System: A set process or organized procedure that leads to a predictable result. 

Skills: The individual’s knowledge and ability to execute the system. 

Discipline: The mind-set of a professional; how he thinks. (This is probably the most critical component.) Discipline is about the quality of execution and it includes the individual’s emotional or mental stamina, which is required to achieve the highest standards of performance. In short, these three areas represent knowing what to do, how to do it, and having the emotional strength to actually carry it out at a quality level. 

That being said, the five most important skills required to achieve exceptional results today involve the ability to: 

Research and prepare 

Before your sales professionals engage with a new client or a new opportunity “they must be prepared not to be prepared.” They should be so prepared that they are able to be relaxed, open minded, and ready to travel any path their conversation with a client may take them. Even highly experienced sales professionals don’t just “wing it.” They make sure they understand their client’s industry and business, and the job responsibilities of the individuals they will be working with before they arrive for a sales call. They also recognize the characteristics of a high-quality opportunity and understand they need to be ready to guide their client to a quality business decision.The exceptional salesperson does his homework to understand the very real and very complex problems clients face. He is prepared to assist them in sorting through all the available alternatives to create a solution that the client would not have been able to come up with on his own. 

Diagnose 

The amateur salesperson “prepares to present,” but the successful professional prepares to “diagnose.” Quality diagnosis is the ability to guide the client through a conversation in a manner that brings awareness, clarity, and ownership to the client’s problem or missed opportunity.Within the client’s organization, the problem to be addressed may materialize in a number of places. Each individual impacted by the solution to the problem is responsible for a different function within the organization and each will have a different perspective on the problem, different data to contribute, and different motivations to change or do nothing. Accordingly, while the diagnostic conversation has a generic framework, no two are the same. Your salespeople will need to craft a unique conversation with each individual.The true professional creates and follows a diagnostic map and acquires the raw information needed to make an accurate diagnosis and design an efficient solution. He will ultimately understand how the absence of his solution might affect the client’s individual and organizational performance. This process allows the salesperson to become a true business advisor. 

Dollarize 

The salesperson must help the client quantify the financial impact of the situation. The client will likely need assistance in understanding how much it will cost his company if he doesn’t take advantage of your product or service. Top professionals should be prepared for three possible outcomes: —The financial impact is large enough to justify the investment required, and the salesperson moves forward and does business. —The financial impact of the problem to be solved is not as great as other issues the client is facing. In this case the salesperson discusses when it will move to the top of their priority list. —The financial impact is not enough to justify the solution. Given this situation, the salesperson may have to scale back the proposed solution to match the financial impact, or it may be more lucrative to find a greater opportunity elsewhere. He is always willing to walk away from poor quality business. Collaborate This is the ability to collaborate with the client to “codesign” a solution in a manner that provides the client with pride of authorship and the confidence to invest. This process began with a thorough diagnosis and expanded with input from the salesperson’s extensive knowledge of the industry. It is possible that the sales professional has more experience dealing with these problems than the client does. Collaborating to solve the client’s problem through open and honest communication creates trust. The professional salesperson knows if his solution is to be accepted, the client must thoroughly understand the problem to be solved, take ownership, and champion the change for successful implementation. Get your mind right. You can help your sales team make great leaps in sales performance and raise their results from average to good or good to spectacular by simply changing the way they think. What top professionals have taught us is that the foundation of their mind-set is first and foremost an intense focus on bringing value to their clients. They believe and behave as if their success is an automatic by-product of their clients’ success. Successful sales professionals are guided by the credo of another group of professionals—the physician’s Hippocratic Oath: “First do no harm.” They know that their success is based on their ability to minister to the needs of their clients. They approach their clients thinking, “How can I help them succeed?” rather than “What can I sell them?” They see their job as a process done “with” the client rather than “to” the client and they know how to succeed: together.

Recognition and Reward

Recognition and reward go a long way in the workplace — especially if you're trying to motivate your employees.

But there are a few common mistakes managers make when trying to show workers their appreciation that can do more harm than good.

According to management consultant Bernard Marr, they are:

1. Only rewarding results. 

"Effort is often just as important while a select few may be responsible for a winning 'result' (a big sale, or a major project for a client completed on time), don't let those working behind the scenes feel underappreciated."

Also know that you don't always have to wait until a "win." It's important to recognize progress, too.

Big projects may take a long time to come to fruition — and it's easy for employees to get frustrated and lose enthusiasm along the way. But if you keep them "engaged and feeling appreciated for the duration," they'll likely produce better results and want to stick around. 

2. Promoting a "superstar" culture.

If you've created an office where everyone knows they "should try to be more like someone," you're doing something wrong.

"Motivating and incentivizing should be carefully balanced so individual success does not appear more beneficial to the business than the work of the team as a whole," Marr explains. "If staff feels that one 'superstar' employee is constantly rewarded for the performance of the group, then motivation will suffer."

He says it's important to remember that success can be recognized at the individual, departmental, and company-wide level — "and it should always be recognized at all three."

10 career choices you’ll regret in 20 years

Every day we are faced with choices in our careers that will affect us over the long term. Should I volunteer for that new project? Should I ask for a raise? Should I take a sabbatical? Should I say yes to overtime? But sometimes we miss the biggest choices that will cause us to look back on our careers 20 years from now with pride and contentment — or regret. Here are some of the career choices we often make but will regret deeply in 20 years’ time: Pretending to be something you’re not. Maybe you’re pretending to be a sports fan to impress your boss, or you’re keeping your mouth shut about something to keep the peace. Maybe you’re pretending that you’re an expert in something that’s really not your cup of tea. But continuously pretending to be something you’re not is not being true to yourself and will keep you feeling empty. Making decisions based only on money. Whether we’re talking about your personal salary or your project’s budget, making decisions solely based on money is almost never a good idea. Sure, it’s important to run the numbers, but there are dozens of other factors — including your gut feeling — you’ll want to take into account. Thinking you can change something about the job. Much like a relationship, if you go into a job thinking, “This would be the perfect job, if only…” that’s a red flag. Chances are, unless you’re taking a leadership, C-level position, you aren’t going to be able to change things that are fundamentally wrong. Settling. You’ve got an OK job, with an OK salary, and OK benefits, but what you really want is… You’re not doing yourself any favors settling for something that is just OK. Believe in yourself enough to go after what you deserve, whether it’s a new position, a pay rise, or an opportunity. Working 50, 60, 80 hour weeks. You might think you have to work that much — because it’s expected, because you need the money, because you want to look good to your boss — but no one reaches their deathbed and says, “Gosh, I wish I’d spent more time working.” Putting friends and family last. Being successful at your career means surrounding yourself with supportive people — and often, those people aren’t your coworkers or employees, they’re your friends and family. Ruin those relationships and you may find your career success just doesn’t matter as much. Micromanaging everything. This applies to your team and employees, but also to life in general. If you micromanage everything instead of sometimes just letting life happen, you’ll find yourself constantly battling anxiety and overwhelm. Avoid making mistakes. If you’re actively avoiding making mistakes in your career, then you’re not taking risks. And while you may keep up the status quo, you won’t be rewarded, either. Take the risk. Make the mistake. Own it and learn from it. Thinking only of yourself. The best networking strategy you can possibly have is to actively look for opportunities to help others. If you’re always putting yourself and your needs first, you’ll find you don’t get very far. Not valuing your own happiness. It’s a sad truth that people often believe they can put off happiness until later, but sometimes later doesn’t come. Prioritize being happy today. That might mean switching jobs, or it might just mean choosing to be happier with the job you’ve got. Author: Bernard Marr is a globally recognized expert in strategy, performance management, and analytics.