Sales and Distribution Management

Christian Petrini, CSO of Frey & Frey AG, spoke to the Rochester-Bern EMBA class about strategic selling. He says that the role of leadership and emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly important for successful sales. This means that companies need to change the way they sell, they lead, and they manage their customer relationships. In his guest lecture he gave some input on how this can be achieved:

A VUCA World

We live in a VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). “In a constantly changing world, where knowledge is available everywhere, it is not what I know that counts, but what I can do,” says Petrini. Some of the strategies for navigating a VUCA world are:

• Market Research and Intelligence: In a VUCA world, the ability to gather, interpret and act on market intelligence is critical. Companies need to spot trends and develop proactive strategies. “Be fast, be curious, be agile,” says Petrini.
• A purpose-driven organization with strong values and culture: In a complex environment, culture becomes a critical stabilizing force in a company. In addition, companies with a clear purpose are better equipped to attract and retain talent and customers.
• Agile and adaptive leadership: Leaders need to be able to make quick decisions in the face of uncertainty. They need to motivate and inspire their team and drive change. This requires emotional intelligence, strategic thinking and the ability to foster a culture of continuous learning.

The Art of Selling

“The art of selling is getting to know your customers,” says Petrini. Only when you understand your customers’ problems you can help solve them. That is why Petrini advises salespeople not to take a presentation or a folder to their first meeting with a customer. “The first meeting is about listening and understanding the customer. Ask questions and find out what their needs are,” he says.

In other words, it is about customer centricity. When salespeople listen, they can respond accordingly, leading to better results, more success and customer loyalty. It is also important to note that the customer journey does not begin with getting to know the person and does not end with the transfer of money. Selling is a never-ending story: the after- sale is the pre-sale.

Why the Customer Buys

“Customers buy because they trust the company. Someone buys an iPhone because they trust Apple,” says Petrini. Trust takes time to build. On the other hand, trust can disappear in seconds if something goes wrong. Companies need a good dose of empathy and emotional intelligence to deal with this. In this respect, complaints can also be seen as an opportunity, because there is no better way to show customers that you care than by solving their problems.

According to Petrini, empathy is what gets you in the door. In other words, it’s what makes you connect with people and get them to listen to you in the first place. “Before people think about what they think about your message, they will make a judgement about you as a person,” he says.

Transformational Leadership

“Leadership is not a question of position or title, but of personality,” says Petrini. According to him, there is no such thing as “new leadership”, because what we are experiencing is simply a renaissance of human leadership: the practice of leading oneself and others in a way that empowers everyone to reach their full potential. Transformational leadership is when leaders know how to encourage, inspire and motivate people to perform in ways that create meaningful change. There are four elements to this style of leadership:

• Idealized influence: Transformational leaders don’t expect people to do things they wouldn’t do themselves.
• Inspirational motivation: They encourage open communication and provide a clear vision for the team.
• Intellectual stimulation: They believe in diversity, generate new ideas and inspire people to ask questions.
• Individualized consideration: They encourage conversation and sharing across the organization.

High Performance Sales Teams

In a group, efficiencies can be multiplied, knowledge shared, and networks expanded. To achieve this: “take people from being lone wolves to being part of a team,” says Petrini. His advice to managers is: foster the strengths, promote the best, put the right people in the right positions and don’t wait too long (make quick decisions). He concludes: If you want to sell, build a team of empathetic, identified people who are passionate about your service or product.