A lot of sales efforts and strategies which are customer facing and are centric around product features and benefits. Someone who had been very successful in his sales career once told me, “Sell benefits, not features. Everyone talks about features.” I always consider this piece of advice whenever I am speaking to a customer, partner, or our sales team, regarding products. Complex sales is based around the concept of taking your solution, teaching a customer about the solution, tailoring it to a customer’s individual needs, and then challenging them to implement it through a compelling process to drive action. Customers deserve value, and if you’re not driving value to a customer’s overall operation, then the customer’s time is being wasted. The concept that I use to drive this home with our customer partners is the “Triangle of Triumph”. This is an easy way to understand, from a 30,000-foot view, what goes into a successful solution. As stated above, far too many people focus on the product portion of the pyramid. Even if you sell the benefits of a product, you are leaving the two most important components out of the overall solution. My belief is, and I’ve seen it happen time and time again, that if you don’t focus on People first, then Processes second, a Product solution will never work.
When you step back and look at it, this is a novel concept, but how often is it that we pump the brakes and observe things from a “big-picture” viewpoint. As a company with a need, whom would be actively seeking a solution, the majority of the time, you will be seeking a “product”. What should be the focal point is a more holistic approach, which starts at the foundation of the need and then works its way up to cap off at the point of the need. That is where the simple graphic above is so powerful; for example, the Great Pyramids of Egypt had to have a base foundation built before they could come to the definitive apex atop the pyramid. Had the base not been built sturdily, the rest of the structure would tumble to the ground. This is exactly the case with any solution that a business or company might seek. No matter the industry, you must build your company and programs around this concept. This is why we, at FlexPAC, try to be cognoscente of this and apply it when we work with our prospects and customer partners.
In the Triangle of Triumph, there are 3 components:
- People
- Processes
- Product
First, let’s evaluate the People component. From a broad perspective, no business can operate without People. It’s an inherent fact of the structure of a business. If someone didn’t create the business, there would be no business. People are the most important building block of a business, as they are the engine that drives it. So, why is it the case that so many times the People which are involved and critical to a program’s success become overlooked? This should be step one of an Improvement Opportunity evaluation and the main consideration of the People who are to be involved. These are not only the stakeholders and decision makers but also the people responsible for using the solution day-to-day. The People element might be one of the trickiest and most fickle dynamics in implementing a solution within a business. The right people in the right seat are crucial to a successful program and customer partners deserve to have a supplier partner that consults them on the People element.
Next is Processes, which are the general practices that People follow during a specific application. The pack-out process of a shipping employee where he receives the product, puts the product in a carton, applies void-fill, seals the carton, labels it, and sends it off to be shipped would be a definitive process for shipping a product. We deal with several aspects of our customers’ processes and see a multitude of different ones throughout an organization’s operation. The focus on process is a highly valuable way for a company to reduce their operational costs and maximize their profit. In order to optimize a process, FlexPAC has a simplistic approach. We first look at a customer’s operation through our Operational Analysis. What this allows us is to gain insight into a customer’s specific operation and then gather data surrounding the improvement opportunity. After we’ve completed the operational analysis, then we can determine what improvement opportunities make the most sense and will drive the most value to our customer’s bottom-line. If a process isn’t improved, then true cost-value cannot be realized. Labor, in most cases, accounts for 40% – 70% of an operational budget and represents the greatest opportunity for cost-reductions through maximizing productivity. Without the right people in the right seats, a process won’t work. But if you have properly trained people that take accountability and ownership of a process, you have 67% of the fight won!
Finally, we’re at the tip of the Triangle of Triumph, where the Product block lies. Don’t get me wrong, a high-quality, innovative, and functional product is very important to a successful program. FlexPAC operates 5 product groups – Packaging, Facilities, Safety, Automation & Equipment, and Corrosion Prevention. Within each of these groups or verticals, we carry numerous products to serve our respective markets. There are certain product innovations that create value, but that value is created through the process change or improvement that product necessitates. This is why, the product component is at the point, but not what the overall program is built upon. For customers or prospects that are seeking solutions, it is of their best interest to connect with a supplier who understands this like FlexPAC.
The 3 components of a successful Improvement Opportunity are People, Processes, and Products. They are all reliant upon each other, and for an optimal program, you must have the 3 components working in harmony. People are the ones responsible for following the processes and using the products, if they are not properly trained, do not take ownership, and are not in the right seat, the majority of the time even good processes will likely fail. If the processes are not well established, communicated clearly, and followed by all, the product will not work to its ultimate potential. A high-quality and innovative product which demands improved processes and requires good people to use it are what all companies should seek. When the 3 components are synchronized into a high-functioning solution, the Triangle of Triumph is achieved.
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