Interview with Paul Travis.

How does interim management work?

Well you know your question is so simple yet it’s indicative of much larger things that are going on. There is so much change in today’s business world. It’s very different from how things used to be thirty years or forty years ago. For example, when someone was talking about getting a new car he/she was referring to purchase – where money might have been owed but the ownership was still under the person’s name. Now in the last couple of decades, the institution of car leasing came about and therefore now you have the flexibility. Well I used this as an example because of the mechanism of employment is starting to change. Interim management is a manner or is a means of bringing in talents to accomplish specific objectives and solve specific challenges within companies. But its more like a rental, more like a lease, than it is acquiring a new asset or bringing on somebody who is going to be a long term employee. Instead of spending 3 to 12 months searching for the perfect candidate and putting them through the recruiting process, a hiring company brings in an interim manager very quickly, usually weeks instead of months and that person’s assignment is limited by definition so the interim manager seeks to complete the mission. This is really in contrast to the dynamic where a W2 executive might come aboard and then start to look for things within the organization that naturally align with what they are doing and so they sort of justify their position. In fact those individuals typically expand their division and they want to make themselves important within the company. They hire staff and all the new responsibilities that they have created, then go about filling those positions. But it’s a different thing than interim management.

What would you say are the main benefits of a company using intern management?

Well as I was just alluding to, the speed of being able to bring on talent and to solve problems is a great one. There’s also the philosophical issue of executing real work rather than keeping a chair warm. And then there’s other benefits both tangible and intangible that are pointed out in the book Leadership on Demand. For example objectivity: bringing in somebody who who can assess challenges with a much broader scope in mind. There are times to market, bringing somebody in who can focus and get new products out, being responsive to competitive changes as opposed to the way things have always been done. There’s also the ability to change a corporate focus, by bringing somebody new in, for example an interim CMO marking officer might focus on how to get a product positioned. And then after 6 months they might bring in another CMO who really focuses on going to market. So it’s no longer about positioning. There are other great benefits, for example compliance with publicly held companies. Changing out a W2 vice president is considered by the SEC is a material event and has to be disclosed. Where as interim manager is not.

Great, what size companies would you say typically use interim management?

Well since interim management is a mindset and paradigm change rather than a specific answer to a given problem. It’s useful by companies of all sizes. There are chapters in Leadership on Demand dedicated to the specific benefits in case studies for early stage companies. There’s another chapter which covers interim management in large establishment companies.

And what differentiates what you do for a company compared to a consulting company?

That’s a great question, in particular because one of my non-profit roles is as president of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Institution of management consultants. I am very well versed in consulting as well as in interim management. In general, consultants operate externally to the organization as much as they’re customers are within the organization and they go in to understand what the challenges are. At the end of the day they have no real authority to see that their recommendations are implemented. They don’t have hiring and firing authority. I really can’t tell you how many CEO’s I’ve spoken with over the past decade who have brought in consultants whom write a great report on the solution to a problem. Then I’ve seen someone turn away from their desk and pull out a great leather binder with a report on it and they tell me they had consultants come in and assess their problems, but nobody actually spearheaded the implementation of that solution or it was given over to employees to implement from an internal mindset. Einstein said, it was hard to solve problems from the same manner of thinking that they were created. So interim executives go inside the organization and have a reporting authority, the change happens because they drive it. And to be honest, if they stay too long after three, six, nine, twelve sometimes eighteen months they end up facing the risk of becoming part of the problem. They lose their objectivity.

What would you say are the biggest challenges companies face when trying to grow revenues?

This is a great way for me to use the classic consultant response which is: it depends. For large companies their revenue challenges tend to be centered around their own success and all of their momentum they have gained. The process of becoming a large company has created systems, that processes, procedures, customer channels and product lines. So if they see the opportunity it’s really like changing the direction of a battle ship. They are very slow to take advantage of new revenue opportunities. My experience personally is more in smaller-mid markets companies where the challenges are at the other end of spectrum and tend to be scale. So they just don’t have the talent to pull off big ideas or sometimes they don’t have enough mind share with dealers to be able to launch new programs. Or maybe they are trying to do so many different things with limited resources that a better outcome could be obtained by focusing on one major initiative and hitting a home run.

And how does interim management help companies grow the revenues?

Well you know every situation is different but in a prescriptive manner I would say that the president or CEO should ask those direct questions to the interim management candidate. Does this person knows what they are doing and will the interim management executive execute? Because that is the whole point of this. On that topic there is something I would caution against because it has happened to me numerous times and that is, don’t ask for a references until you’re ready to make a buying decision. As I’m with clients day after day, I think about it from their perspective. After you have a problem solved would you want a call on a weekly basis to discuss how something has gone. No you want to read a reference letter or a case study and only check in with them if you’re ready to buy. And you just need somebody who can serve as a human validation point.

How can companies that are interested in interim management find you?

They find me on the web or though a recommendation from one of my clients. Almost everywhere these days there is a lot of information known whether you’re buying a car or if your looking up a new appliance or your looking at a new resource for your company. There is a lot you can find out, for example my direct URL is www.meetpaul.us and you can read my bio and I have a blog that is full of the way I think about marketing. It also highlights success stories and also failures and other things which could have been done differently. That blog is at www.marketing-2020.com. And then we can have a conversation about what their specifics are. If I’m the right person, then I’ll structure or suggest a structure that we can go with to the next value of evaluation and if I’m not the right person then iIll bring in a partner of a another company where it would be a better fit for them. So I’m always looking for a way to win.

Paul what blogs and books are you reading at the moment in the marketing field?

I have to say that I have a lot of books on my bookshelf and I’m much more successful when reading things online than carrying books around with me. As I’m focused on bringing social media into the mainstream. I like to watch sites like www.mashable.com and I also like Seth Godin’s work and a lot of forward thinkers on twitter, like Guy Kawasaki.

Great! Thank you Paul for joining us today, how can companies find you or get in touch with you?

If they haven’t remembered the websites that I mentioned before like www.meetpaul.us and www.marketing-2020.com. The great thing these days is that every search engine that I know of of will find me if you type in my name, Paul Travis and marketing. I would be happy to chat with them to see if I’m the right person or where there’s a service organization that I can point them to. You always have to chat with somebody.

Success in sales comes from creating clarity in the mind of your customer. Clarity in understanding the problem to be solved, clarity in evaluating the possible solutions available and clarity in determining the real value to the business that each solution provides today and in the future.

Clarity helps the customer to move forward with commitment and confidence. How do you create clarity? The first step is to listen. Warning: Do not be deceived by the apparent simplicity or obviousness of this critical first step. Listening is the foundation of success in sales. Listen intently while the customer describes his or her current situation, and then describes their future desired state so that you can help the customer to quantify the size of the gap between the two and move your collective thinking to how to close the gap. The key to success here depends on your ability to listen intently and this means being able to temporarily suspend your self-interest and avoid doing all the talking. Listening is an underdeveloped skill in many sales professionals today and listening is vital to being able to create clarity for your customer. 3 simple steps to follow to create clarity:

Listen to Learn
Mind-set Tip #1: Listening to learn is vital to your success in creating clarity for your customers. It is all about wanting to learn which transcends the desire to simply understand your customer. When we are in learning mode we are open and receptive to new and different ideas and able to explore and play with them freely. Listening intently in this frame of mind will significantly help your customers to clarify their thinking and their decision making.

Listen with Your Eyes
Mind-set Tip #2: Listen with your eyes by focusing your attention on observing your customer. Observe the customer’s body language as she describes her challenges and the ideal solution she would like your help to deliver. Listen with your eyes in an objective and nonjudgmental way. Observe her thinking. Look beyond the words she uses. Look for the hidden drivers of her behavior. Focus your observation on looking for insights into how she responds to your questions, how she makes decisions and what motivates her to commit to take action.

Listen with Your Mind
Mind-set Tip #3: Listen with your mind by listening for the unconscious forces at work in the head of your customer. Think about how they process information. Do they want facts and figures and benchmark data, or do they prefer anecdotal customer stories and case studies, or do they show a preference for testimonials and references? This will help you to understanding how they: 1) think, 2) decide and 3) behave. Knowing this will allow you to navigate your way successfully through the complexity of their decision making process.

Success in sales today is about helping your customer move from chaos to clarity. Do this by listening to learn about how they think, process information and make decisions. When you create clarity your customers will commit to moving forward with you and be confident in achieving their desired outcome.

So today when I volunteered to help a college get some of her old leads and contacts info up-to-date, (yes I know it should have never been out of date to begin with, but we will deal with that issue another time) I knew that it would be an uphill battle. In some cases I had to find out if that person still worked for the company, and if not who replaced them. And in other cases why we simply haven’t contacted them. All this without looking like a buffoon or a telemarketer digging for a quick sale. Since all I needed was the contact info-and not the real person I took a different approach.

Rather than preach to you the best way to do this. I am going to tell you the way I did it, feel free to pick apart, or use it to your advantage. That’s what this blog is for.

Here is what I did to have a successful sales call.

1. Names, Names, Names.
   - Whoever answered the phone I addressed them by their name. And immediately told them my name and the company I was with. By addressing the person by their name it made the conversation much more personal. And I acknowledged them, and not the person I was trying to get to.“Hi Denise, this is Mike with ACT,Inc.[...]“
2. Admit defeat right-away
   - I wasn’t afraid to let the person on the other end know that we had dropped the ball and needed to update our information. In one word-honesty. No smoke and mirrors here, we lost contact and I want to re-establish it.“[...] I was calling because somehow we lost contact with Gene Kelly at your company. I know it shouldn’t have happened, but I was hoping to update his email address. He had inquired about our product at the ASTD trade show and I was hoping to send him an email follow-up.“

   If Gene didn’t work there: “Ok, so it looks like my info is really out of date, do you by chance know who replaced them? And if so could I have their name?“

3. My number-YOU BET!
   - Because I wanted someone’s information I wanted to make sure they had mine, so I offered my contact information to them. That way if the call got interruped or they received another call the ball was in their court. Basically I offered trust.“Just in case we get cut off, I want to give you my direct line, that way if they have any questions they can contact me.“
4. More than happy to email
   -I really didn’t need to talk to the person, and the secretary being the adamant gate-keeper most of the time didn’t want me too, I knew that my information could be assertained from them. So I asked for what I needed and told them why and what I was planning to do with the information.“I really don’t need to talk to Gene, I am just looking to update his email address. That way I can just send him the information he needs and he can view it whenever he wants.“
5. Thanks, I really appreciate your help.
   -After I received the info from the person I thanked them personally for helping me. And in the show of gratitude I used their name.“Denise I wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me out. I am going to email that information to Gene, and if either of you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.“

At the end of my calling adventure, I had a 99% success rate (one person didn’t answer the phone). And most every call ended with the person saying “Wow, that was easy I wish more calls were like this!” To me that one sentence is the true measure of how good your phone skills are.

The Selling Point:
Secretaries are used to being overlooked and often trampled on when it comes to salespeople. I make the secretary my best friend, often I don’t even try to get to the decision maker on the first call. Let’s face it, sales is about relationships, and if you only view the relationship with the decision maker as important–its time to change jobs. Some of my biggest sales came from never talking directly to the money-person. Instead I empowered the secretary, it gave them a sense of importance and gratitude. And I was never afraid to just be human on the phone, if I made a mistake, or wasn’t sure if I could get to the person I needed I admitted to it. Sometimes I will even jokingly comment on what a good job they are doing preventing me from getting through.

This article was originally posted at The Marketing and Sales Idea Blog and is licensed under the Creative Commons 3.0 license.

The famous McDonald’s restauranteur, Ray Croc, used to say “There is no competition”. What he meant was that we can’t blame others for our failure with customers (I would add children or spouses as well!)

Some years ago, Rockefeller Corporation did a study which asked, “Why do customers leave companies?” Their findings, in David Letterman bottom-up style:

• 1% – The customer dies.

• 3% – The customer moves away.

• 5% – The customer has a friend who provides the service.

• 9% – The customer is lost to a competitor.

• 14% – The customer is dissatisfied with the service.

• 68% – The customer believes you don’t care about them.

So what is the opportunity here? Just ask:

1. When was the last time you “touched” your best customers with a special VIP offer?

2. How about your “medium” customers with an up sell or a product line extension?

3. And rather than kick your worst customers to the curb, how can you monetize that relationship (and recoup your investment) by finding a strategic partner for whom those customers could be bright new sources of revenue?

As P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a customer born every minute”!

Paul Travis is an interim marketing executive at OneAccord. Mr. Travis is based out of Seattle with 25 years of experience in high technology, marketing, and consulting. He can be reached at Paul.Travis(at)oneaccordpartners.com and at 206-910-2222.

First there is the issue of who and then there is the issue of who not.

Presidents, CEO’s, COO’s, and even CFO’s of companies should consider an interim executive if they have:

• Stalled or unacceptable levels of revenue

• An “empty chair” in the CMO, VP Sales, or VP Business Development roles

• Competitors growing and/or taking market share

• Tectonic shifts in the market without a strategic response.

Leaders should not hire an interim executive if the organizational culture has demonstrated a propensity to worship a high-end consulting firm who will write a beautiful report to adorn your desk – because an interim is going to roll up his/her sleeves and make things happen.

Another time leaders should not hire interims is when the culture suggests there is so much defensiveness that failure is unavoidable. One COO we interviewed for our book, “Leadership on Demand”, put it this way, “If you’re an interim, your staff looks at you just like the child looks at the stepfather: ‘You’re not my daddy’.“

Seasoned interims, who have been on these battlefields before, are boldly direct with their questions – in order to sniff out organizational resistance in advance. It can save a lot of energy all around if the horse isn’t ready for a jockey.

Paul Travis is an interim marketing executive at OneAccord. Mr. Travis is based out of Seattle with 25 years of experience in high technology, marketing, and consulting. He can be reached at Paul.Travis(at)oneaccordpartners.com and at 206-910-2222.

“When the going gets tough the tough get going.” – Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK’s Father)

We are entering a period of enormous change and uncertainty. We are witnessing the emergence of a new world order and a new business era. The Financial Crisis will impact the global economy, but where, when and by how much we don’t yet know. One thing is for sure. The “New World” will be less tolerant and less forgiving of much of our current “Old World” sales practices. In a downturn, customers will reassess their activities, expenditures, suppliers and business relationships to see where they can make savings, streamline their business and find new levels of operational efficiency to drive down costs. This presents the New Era Sales Professional with an unparalleled opportunity to take the lead by helping guide their customers through this reassessment process.

A simple and effective way to move your thinking to a NESP (New Era Sales Professional) is to ask yourself the following questions:

* What will help my customer’s business in the new world economy?
* How can I leverage my understanding of my customer’s business, my knowledge of their industry and my products/services to do this?

A Five Point Plan to protect your existing business and maximize your sales in an economic downturn:

1. Keep cool. Stay positive, confident and motivated.

We are entering a radically new business environment. Things are going to be difficult (maybe), different (definitely). Your ability to maintain your energy, enthusiasm and conviction are vital. A positive mindset determines your ability to achieve and to succeed by overcoming obstacles, barriers and constraints that are going to appear to surround you. The first victory is over one’s self.

2. Keep close to your customers.

Look for new and innovative ways to make your customers more competitive by demonstrating how you can save them money. Gain a deeper understanding of what is truly important and of value to your customers – and know why. Visit your customers more often. Get to meet and know more people in the customer’s organization. Set a goal to meet 2 new contacts on each visit you make. Call high and wide. Know your customers better than anyone else.

3. Keep focused on customer value.

To succeed in the New World of business stay focused on 2 critical things: 1. the customer and 2. the customer’s unending pursuit of performance improvement. In the New World business value will captured in 3 areas: i) achieving lower costs, ii) gaining high levels of productivity from smaller organizations, and iii) striving to create sustainable competitive advantage. Look for new and innovative ways to better serve your customers. Innovate and re-validate your current product/service value proposition. Actively seek ways to add value to your customers above and beyond your current product and service offerings.

4. Keep prospecting.

Selectively target new clients. Prospecting has and always will be the base metric of success in sales. In the New World the focus shifts from prospecting to prospecting effectiveness. Quantity (Old World) yields to quality (New World). New Era prospecting means being ruthless in deciding how and where to invest your time and effort to develop new business opportunities. That means deciding which prospects and which prospecting activities you are going to stop so that you can concentrate on New Era Prospecting.

5. Keep growing. Invest in yourself.

Develop your New Era Sales Skills and your personal value proposition. It may seem counter-intuitive, but when it gets harder and harder to fell big trees it is time to stop and sharpen the saw. Sharpening your sales skills means setting aside time to develop your skills through reading, listening to podcasts, attending seminars and conferences, participating in training programs and joining expert groups. In the New World you are responsible for your own self development.

By finding ways to deliver new levels of business value to your customers, above and beyond what they are used to today, you will stand out from the crowd especially during an economic downturn.

Sales, like any other complex activity, require practice. Professional baseball players are undeniably good at what they do. They certainly understand the basics of their sport-batting, fielding, and throwing-yet they still spend hours every day practicing the timing and execution of those fundamental skills with the help expert coaches. Salespeople are no different; to stay at the top of their game, they too need to rehearse the fundamentals of their profession under the guidance of professional trainers.

Of those executives who do see the need for training their sales team, few utilize the most effective methods; in fact, many still confuse product training with sales training. Professional baseball players don’t spend their time studying every intricate detail of their bats and gloves; instead, they practice using those bats and gloves to hit and catch balls. Likewise, while understanding her products is important for a salesperson, understanding what motivates its customers to purchase those products and practicing how to successfully sell those products to solve its customers’ needs, is far more important. “Sales training isn’t about ‘war stories’, sales tricks, or slick closing techniques. And it definitely isn’t about complex models that are quickly forgotten a few days after training,” says Jeff Rogers, a President for OneAccord with over 20 years sales, sales management, and sales training experience. “Effective sales training consists of developing strategies and tactics for discovering prospects’ core business drivers, building listening skills, and learning how to effectively and efficiently navigate the sales process.”

Almost as important as the training material itself is the professional delivering the training. Sales managers, in their daily interactions with their team, usually concentrate on “what to do”; an experienced sales trainer, however, can provide salespeople professional advice and techniques on “how to do it”. To be as successful sales trainer, a professional should possess the following three requirements:

1. Substantial sales experience
2. Extensive sales training experience
3. A specific understanding of the specific industry, environment, and company

Effective facilitators use their experience as salespeople and as sales trainers, as well as their in-depth understanding of the selling environment, to provide proven selling strategies and tactics customized to specific industries, companies, and even groups and individuals.

During the dotcom era, products practically sold themselves. Develop a product, hire a sales team, and set them loose-voila, a recipe for success. In the tough economic times we are currently facing, however, buyers are more sophisticated. In order to be effective today, salespeople must understand what it is that motivates their buyers; they must also have the skills to use this information. Even experienced sales people must constantly practice these fundamental selling skills and undergo periodic training with professional sales trainers to continuously develop and update them. Any organization that hires only experienced salespeople and fails to provide them with proper sales training is setting itself up for disaster.

Need help reaching your company’s sales goals? Visit www.oneaccordpartners.com to learn about our experienced interim sales executives.

Photo by Mike Schinkel