provided by: 
In the world of contract manufacturing, getting work used to rely on word-of-mouth and handshakes.
Not anymore. Today, a job shop must actively pursue new customers, and selling one's services requires poise and preparation. In this issue, Fabricating & Metalworking again talks with Rod Jones, chief learning officer at Mori Seiki University, Rolling Meadows, Ill., about the selling process for the contract manufacturer. The process involves four elements: preliminaries, investigation, demonstrating capability and obtaining commitment. In the previous two issues (archived at www.fandmmag.com), Jones talked about the first two elements. This month, he tackles the third step: demonstrating capability.
F&M: What misconceptions arise when demonstrating capability?
Rod Jones: Too often salespeople dive into demonstrating their shop's capabilities first. They show off the technology they use and how cost-effectively they could serve the customer's needs. Unfortunately, what those needs are hasn't been uncovered yet.
As discussed last month, a shop has three levels of needs: component level (e.g., a surface-finish on a shaft of a pump assembly); manufacturing needs (e.g., part-flow issues); and business-level needs (e.g., need to increase sales or market share).
The decision-maker at most companies doesn't have component-level needs top-of-mind. So, if a contract manufacturer comes in and touts his ability to improve surface finish on a shaft component of a pump assembly, the decision-maker will ask—so what? He'll get that glazed look, and before long you've lost him.
However, if that same salesperson relates his capabilities to how he can reduce overall cost of the pump assembly—and thus giving the decision-maker possibilities on how to increase market share and grow the business—the discussion will move beyond that of a typical sales call.
F&M: What business-level issue should be addressed first?
Jones: For a transaction with a contract shop, the first business-level decision the customer makes is whether to keep a process in-house or outsource.
Your job as a salesperson is to help the shop make the right choice. This isn't just about making a sale; it's about forming a profitable business partnership, and a bad partnership is terrible for both companies involved.
Here, as in other stages of the sales process, the best way to move forward is by asking questions. What is the company's rationale behind outsourcing? Have they made the product in-house? If so, what were the results? What other options are they considering? How did they start their business and how did it evolve? Where does he hope his business to be in five years?
Note that this gets the potential customer talking, which frees up the most valuable asset during the sales call: time. Throughout the sales process, you must respect the time limitations given to you. If a potential customer says you have 15 minutes, leave the majority of the time you have for questions.
Why? It's because when the potential customer talks, time limits often go away; there's no end to the clock. The potential customer always has time; it's just a matter of what priority he's giving the sales meeting in relation to other things going on in the office. If he's doing the talking and giving you more time than originally planned, you can be sure the meeting has moved up in priority significantly.
F&M: When and how should a salesperson start talking about how his shop can help?
Jones: After asking questions and getting to know the customer's needs, you should know whether your shop can effectively meet those needs. If your shop can't, then graciously end the meeting. Otherwise, you're wasting time, which can create a negative reputation that might hurt you, especially if the potential customer could use your services in the future.
The core to demonstrating capability entails the value proposition. Up until now you've relied on that potential customer moving the sales process along, describing his shop and his business needs. Now comes the time to succinctly describe what you can do for him.
In presenting your value proposition, never overdo it. A salesperson who comes to the meeting with 40 benefits shows he's more engrossed in his shop's capabilities than about the problems the potential customer deals with every day. Instead, give three to five principal benefits your services provide—and make sure each can plainly solve the customer's business-level problems.
Another factor enters here: credibility. Demonstrating capability may involve showing how well you can run parts for a customer, through providing demo products and the like. Credibility enters the mix by adding trust, and the best way to do this is through other satisfied customers. During the sales process, take the potential customer out to lunch with current customers. This gets that current customer talking with your potential client.
Those conversations can greatly help you reach the ultimate goal of this entire endeavor: obtaining commitment.
Editor's Note: Within the following installment of this series, Rod Jones will cover specifics behind the remaining portion of the sales process: obtaining commitment. Jones is chief learning officer at Mori Seiki University, Rolling Meadows, Ill. He may be contacted at rjones@moriseiki.com.