Intro by Jeff Bronswick, Managing Partner of Bronswick Reicin Pollack:
Friends –
Loyd Ivey is President and CEO of the Mitek Communications and Electronics Group, a privately held enterprise that includes industry-leading consumer and commercial audio brands like MTX Audio, Atlas Sound, IED, and several others.
No matter the innovation, Mr. Ivey has been a major proponent and contributor to the advancement of the electronics industry for more than 30 years. Mr. Ivey is widely recognized for his innovative thinking and entrepreneurial success.
I would like to thank Loyd for offering his expertise to us and our clients.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bronswick
As promised, here is part 2 of the Cornerstones to Running a Successful Business:
There are many things you have to worry about when running a business. Taxes, insurance, costs of goods, overheads, all of these things affect your profitability. While you can streamline and closely manage all of these expenses to minimize their impact you still have to sell something to make money. Selling is the most important part of being in business and having people that understand the fundamentals of selling are paramount to any business success.
As a sales person you do not have to be the smoothest talking person in the world to be successful; to be successful you need to know when and with whom to do business. In my 40 plus years in business I have learned many things in this regard and share a process with our salespeople all of the time. It’s not my ORDERS like I’m a drill sergeant, but an acronym for an easy process that can help any salesperson be successful.
The ORDERS process is tied to a secondary process, which doesn’t have a name but that are like driving rules, which everyone understands although they all may not obey them. When you come to a stoplight and it’s red, you stop; when it’s yellow you proceed with caution; and when it’s green you go. The same principle applies to each stage of the ORDERS process.
O is for opportunity identification.
R is for resources.
D is for decision maker.
E is for exact solution.
R is for reoccurring sales.
S is for systems.
O – Does opportunity exist? There is no point in meeting with a buyer or customer about a product if they are not bringing on new vendors, if they do not have any jobs coming up in the near future, or for any other reason that they are not looking for your product or service. Using the company expense account is nice to get a free lunch but it just wastes your time and the customers if there is no opportunity.
R – Do you and your company have the resources available to devote to the opportunity? If you have limited inventory or long turn-around times on shipments but the customer expects shipments every two weeks in the end something is going to suffer. You have to be able to meet the customer’s expectations with the resources you have.
D – Are you talking with the decision maker? While there are many people that might influence the decision maker and it is good to have relationships with them so they are familiar with your products, the decision maker is going to be the one that eventually pulls the trigger. If you aren’t talking to or can’t get to the decision maker, the opportunity is going to take up more of your time than you may want to devote to it.
E – Do you have the exact solution? If the customer is specifically looking for a product that has X but your product has Y, the customer is going to be disappointed and your relationship will end.
R – Is the opportunity is going to include recurring sales? A one-time large sale is great but many recurring sales over time are even better. Be wary of how much time you will have to devote to a one-time sale versus the profit earned and the lost time talking to other customers. Where is your time best spent?
S – Do you and your company have the right systems in place to meet the customer’s needs? Do you have a second shift of employees that can work to meet a timeline? Can you meet requirements for multiple shipments or do you have the necessary certifications to do the job? Ensuring your systems are in tune with the customer will ensure a successful relationship.
I always tell our salespeople to follow these steps in this order, and at each step evaluate whether the “light” is red, yellow, or green. If it is green, move on to the next step, if it is yellow use caution, move forward and critically evaluate the next step, and if it is red, stop and move on to the next opportunity without wasting any more time.
It is so simple and easy to follow, and can help any person become a great salesperson and help make their company or business more successful.
Thanks for your time……….
Sincerely,
Loyd L. Ivey
President
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