Five changes that put immediate cash in your pocket.
“Revenue Science™” highlights things to do and “things to not do”. Any time an individual or organization does those things “Revenue Science™” has identified as “things to not do” there is an increase in the “Cost of Chaos”.
Some or all of the “things to not do” below will be challenged by many who have done these for years and been successful. There are books, training programs, leadership models and metrics supporting every one of these.
“Revenue Science™” has observed organizations that are in a buyer frenzied bubble and those with competitors who have less revenue skills that get away with doing these things and looking like winners. The math will show they won but they paid a high price in the short-term and much more over the long-term for what they declare as a victory today
In the short-term the “Cost of Chaos” gives up margins, competitive wins and defines the seller as a commodity vendor. In the long-term the cost structure is too high, staff and customers see only a transactional organization and the brand stands for nothing (think GM).
Stopping these 5 things will put money in the bank, prove value and integrity, attract the right customers and staff and this is just the start of the benefits of less “Cost of Chaos”.
- Stop cold calling and other sales lead marketing efforts
Create marketing outcomes required and design activities expected to create those outcomes. Then create the sales outcomes and the selling activities expected to create those sales outcomes.
Next determine who is accountable for the outcomes and which specific activities that will achieve those outcomes and the investments in each. Finally measure the required investments to get those required outcomes with options. Near 100% of the time the sales investment is much higher than the marketing investment so let cheap money deliver marketing leads and the big money get signed high value contracts. Never use big money to do cheap money work. Having a sales person doing marketing increases the “Cost of Chaos” – so stop doing that.
- Stop discounting
Discounting screams to the world we tried to charge you too much, but you caught us (this can never be described as integrity). Now the issue is which one of us will take advantage of the other.
Discounting is not about value and proves neither party agrees to the value needed or received.
- Stop owning the customer
Since you either make money from or with a customer. Making money from is about trying to own the customer so the customer buys what the seller wants to sell. The second is partnering between the buyer and seller to improve both organizations profits (no one owns anyone is this model).
Who has seen a customer who wants to be “owned”?
- Stop competing
“Revenue Science™” recognizes the speed of change in the market. Customers change, technology changes, politics change and the economy is always on the move. Change challenges every organization to just keep up with those 4 things. Changing with the times must have a purpose and the two clear choices are I change to be better than my competition (the customers almost NEVER cares) or I change to be more important and valuable to my customer.
In a world of high speed, expectations and cost don’t waste time trying to one up competitors and focus all resources on delighting customers with ever increasing value.
- Stop funding activities
Company 1 – I made a hundred calls today. We had 1000 clicks last month. We responded to 23 RFPs in March.
Company 2 – The required outcomes achieved are 5 qualified appointments today, 50 online signups for our seminar, and 4 contracts with new clients and 2 from existing or past customers.
The first company completed all the activities they funded in the last month just before they declared Chapter 11.
The second company who achieved their strategic outcomes had record earnings and used their experience to decide if the achieved outcomes could be improved with changes in any tactical activities.
“Revenue Science™” asks why would anyone continue to do any of these 5 “dumb stuff” once they understand “things to not do”. Just stop doing “dumb stuff”. Capture the “Cost of Chaos” savings, since the “Cost of Chaos” only buys anchors to slow down growth, get the cash and the growth when you just stop doing “dumb stuff”!