In this 3 minute video John Smibert talks with Wayne Moloney about 'Lean Selling'.
Wayne explains that 'lean selling' is about growing profitable revenue by increasing customer value and reducing waste in the sales process..
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This is one for sales leaders, CSO's, CEO's and CFO's who are striving to reduce selling costs and grow profitable revenue.
Wayne Moloney is a leading business strategist specialising in sales and business development. Wayne has a very specific specialisation in 'lean selling'.
See more of the 'TALKING SALES' series here
Interview Transcript
John: Hello, welcome back! I've got with me today Wayne Moloney. Wayne's a business strategist specialising in sales and business development, with a very specific specialisation in 'lean selling'. Welcome, Wayne!
Wayne: Hi, John!
John: Lean selling... it's a term I haven't heard a lot. I've heard a lot about lean manufacturing and lean production, etc., but lean selling? Tell me a little bit about that.
Wayne: You're with the vast majority, John. I mean, most people associate lean with Toyota and post-war manufacturing. But lean in its simplest form is about adding value and reducing waste, and it can and should be applied not just in manufacturing and sales but across all areas of business, but in particular I'm focused on the sales side of it.
John: Okay, that makes sense I guess. You said "value" and "waste".
Wayne: Yeah.
John: So that's the focus? [01:00]
Wayne: Absolutely.
John: How do you identify how to put value together and how to eliminate waste in a sales environment?
Wayne: In its simplest form value is anything that the customer's prepared to pay for. Now, that transaction may not be a financial transaction, it could be a transaction in time. So, if the customer's prepared to give you time then they see value in what you're delivering.
John: Okay, that makes sense. So if we're going to look at our sales process and look at how we improve - make it lean, eliminate waste and get more value in it - what are the sort of things we should be looking to put in place?
Wayne: Well, we need to start with the voice of the customer, and that's a catchphrase that's used in lean a lot, and that's understanding what the customer sees as value. If you're selling a premium brand then they may see it in the images projected. If you're selling a low cost item then it's very much in how cheaply can you get that to market and what they're prepared to pay for at that end. As far as waste is concerned: anything that is not helping [02:00] you deliver something to the customer that they see is value by definition is waste.
John: Okay, so bottom line is: if we're going to be able to sell more productively, if we're going to be able to get more value to customers then we've got to look at our lean processes and improve them.
Wayne: Processes is the optimum word. You need to have in place a process that helps you eliminate the waste and add value as replicable, and you define that and then work to that.
John: Sound great.
Wayne: Excellent.
John: I look forward to our next discussion to learn more about 'lean selling'.
Wayne: Thanks, John!
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See more of the 'TALKING SALES' series here
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