T Q (S) M =
Total Quality (Sales) Management
By Paul
Varga, SME-Cleveland Member
Ever wonder why Total Quality Management (TQM) is usually
implemented only in the manufacturing end of a business?
It's because sales and customer service are so difficult
to change that many companies never get it done. Yet
sales is the contact with the customer and the aim of TQM
is to meet and exceed customer expectations! As sales
managers we need to address this problem area.
If we work on just the following aspects of TQM we can
accomplish real gains:
-
Identifying and
removing barriers to hearing the customer
-
Satisfying rising
customer demands
-
Viewing your company
as a big team composed of smaller teams all
working toward one common goal: customer
satisfaction.
-
Analyzing
relationships with customers-both traditional
external customers, and other internal teams.
Continuously assessing what is working and
improving what is not.
WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT
Salespeople resist TQM for some serious reasons. First,
they have always been told that they are
"special," which of course they are. It takes a
special kind of person to enthusiastically sell after
being turned down, sloughed off, and misled by customers
all day. Their motivation needs to be frequently
freshened by financial and emotional incentives,
fun-and-games, and inspirational sales managers.
Because of all this attention, many salespeople view
themselves as being "above" their fellow
employees in accounting, manufacturing, purchasing,
R&D, etc. The sales manager needs to soften this
attitude in order for the teams to all work together
successfully.
Next comes lack of technical support. No individual can
have all the expertise needed in today's complex world.
Success is built on the pooling of everyone's area of
depth; technicians often need direct access to the
customer's technicians. Basically, salespeople need to
have a good understanding of the technical side of what
they're selling. Additionally, they need to be computer
literate as buyers swing to ordering electronically, even
directly accessing sellers' inventory/production data
bases. Unfortunately, many sales managers don't provide
for enough of this technical training and support to
achieve TQM in sales.
Another reason for the resistance is money, to the degree
that compensation is based on commissions. Why take the
time to really understand and meet customers' needs when
the same time can be applied toward meeting sales quotas
that earn commissions right now? Some sales managers have
gotten around this by changing to compensation systems
blending commissions with incentives for new account
development, customer retention, and increased volume
with existing customers.
Finally, some sales managers just don't wan to make the
effort to implement TQM. Others don't want to face the
costs that go up as TQM is implemented and the company's
culture starts to change. However, as the months pass,
the financial picture will start to look better as the
new "total TQM team" shortens response time,
reduces waste, devises ways to exceed customer
expectations, and increases sales.
HOW TO GET THERE
The first step to bringing
the sales force on board with TQM is through education on
what it is and what its benefits are for themselves and
for the company. Of course, they should already be
familiar with the company's goals and its plans to
achieve them. You do have these written up, don't you?
Next, salespeople need extensive training in your
technical areas. In today's world they must be able to
thoroughly discuss exactly how your equipment,
capabilities and talents can help each customer achieve
his/ her goals. An ideal kind of training is an
"internship" within your company, which also
fosters development of team relationships between the
various workgroups. Beyond technical knowledge,
salespeople also need training in sales skills and
customer analysis, which is available in SME Cleveland's
Eight Week Sales Course. This course is sponsored by SME
especially for those members (and their sales staffs)
whose companies don't produce their own sales training.
Another way to help sales and provide value-added
services to clients is through customer training relative
to your industry. This involves meeting with customers,
determining what they are trying to accomplish and the
equipment/capabilities/talents they have, then designing
and delivering the required training. Customer training
is usually beyond the scope of the salesperson, requiring
the direct involvement of the sales manager or a support
staff. But guess what happens when you extend TQM this
way? You really understand the customer, and he/she
becomes convinced that your company is an extension of
theirs!
TQM can make your company stronger, but applying it to
just your manufacturing departments gives you less than
half a loaf. Only with the inclusion of the sales
department will this innovative technique become your
competitive edge.
About the author.-
Paul Varga has been President of Service Graphics, a
printing company, for over 20 years. He is currently on
SME Cleveland's Board of Directors and prints the SME
newsletter.
This article appeared in
the May 1995 edition of SME Focus. It appears here with
the permission of SME.
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