Partners in Excellence

AUGUST 7, 2024

Continuing my series on applying lean/agile manufacturing principles to selling, I was reminded by Charles Green and Dave Jackson about an important aspect of these principles that is never mentioned by those promoting lean/agile in our sales assembly lines. It’s called Jidoka or Autonomation.

Trust 139

Trust Assembly Line Manufacturing GTM 139

Partners in Excellence

APRIL 12, 2023

There seems to be an arrogance or conceit in so many of the conversations I see about the future of selling. My feeds are filled with new technologies, new selling models, new engagement strategies, new organizational structures. Sellers have, blindly, applied “manufacturing” technique to managing their selling process.

Assembly Line 125

Assembly Line Customers Tradeshows Manufacturing 125

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 19, 2021

Dr. Stephen Covey’s fifth habit, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” is a fundamental principle of selling and leadership, yet it is rare that I see this principle exercised. They are not widgets to be passed from sales specialist to sales specialist down our sales assembly line.

Assembly Line 112

Assembly Line Drivers/motivators Technique Sell 112

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 5, 2023

Come up with more “clever” sequences and techniques, cast a wider net. Our sequences, our assembly line techniques for herding through processed that are optimized for us will fail! The temptation is to do what we’ve always done, the only thing many sellers know, do more!

Customers 133

Customers Assembly Line Commission Technique 133

Partners in Excellence

JUNE 27, 2024

For some reason, there’s a huge attraction to applying “manufacturing techniques” to selling. Second, it always produces the same outcome (manufacturing experts will quibble, but we do design manufacturing lines to produce zero defects.) And this concept ripples back through the manufacturing line.

Manufacturing 62

Manufacturing Assembly Line Sell Up-sell 62

Partners in Excellence

MAY 23, 2024

Since the target customers, initially, for these tools were individuals and small teams, the methods others had used in consumer product selling were adapted. And just like consumer products, mass marketing techniques were used to make customers aware of products. And assembly line process started to emerge.

Assembly Line 77

Assembly Line GTM Minimum Viable Product Non-Profits 77

Partners in Excellence

JUNE 12, 2023

So much of what our focus in “modern selling,” seems to be the adaptation of Lean Manufacturing techniques into selling. We’ve created “assembly lines” with specialized functions, passing our customers from one station to the next. We cannot manage or control the variation!

Manufacturing 71

Manufacturing Assembly Line Technique Quota 71