Thinking differently about how to succeed in business

A business that’s in balance has a clarity and simplicity of focus. 

It develops great products and services and There's a laser-sharp focus on building relationships and winning business. There’s almost an obsession to provide excellent customer service. 

And because everyone shares a determination to continually improve, achieving success is that little bit 
easier.

To do this requires a different way of thinking, and that’s where the Holistic Sale comes in. 

This is a model of best practice business development processes, strategies and actions based on decades of research and experience.

It’s an integral part of the Ithaka Leadership Development Model, and we use it to identify the underlying causes of underachievement in performance.  Then we provide with the right mix of training, coaching and mentoring to help you achieve your true potential.

Learn more about the Holistic Sale Model 

Create strategy with focus

Developing a marketing strategy for your business can sound like a time consuming and a complicated process and it can be unless you decide to take a minimalist approach. 

This means keeping it as simple as possible by focussing on the absolute basics. In this case I'm talking about generating revenue through sales.

The basic requirement for any business is a viable market with long term growth potential. Stagnant, saturated or declining markets are not a good idea, unless you plan to revitalise them. So the starting point for any business is to assess the market potential, which is code for “How much money can this idea make?”

And the simple equation to use is this;

Average Sales Value x Number of Sales - Costs

This will give you a very high level view of the net revenue potential, which is the right starting point.

Identifying opportunity is one thing but achieving it is another. This is where strategy meets execution and to succeed you need the following;

• Messages that attract attention, arouse interest and motivate action;
• A plan to communicate your messages and engage with potential clients to create a vibrant supply of sales enquiries;
• The right sales skills to win business and develop relationships;
• A focus on customer satisfaction to win repeat business and referrals

Obviously there is detail behind each point, but if you start from this position you will have a clear view of the important things you must do to succeed.

As American military commander George S. Patton once said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week". And that's exactly the same in business.

A new way to think about how to create sales success

"Reinventing the Sale" is a book by Ithaka Leadership Development Director John Rees, which is based on one simple fact - the nature of business has changed but many businesses haven’t adapted. 

In today’s globally connected economy, buyers have access to more information about you than ever before. They have the power to make or break your business unless you provide exactly what they want, when they want it.

But many companies don’t realise this and they still rely on the old ways of sales and marketing. Either they don’t know how to adapt, or they refuse to believe there has been such a fundamental shift.

To succeed you must be fast to serve or face extinction, and the way you do this is by reinventing the way you sell. Essentially this means simplifying the way you do things to make it easy for people to do business with you. 

It sounds simple, but in reality it’s hard to achieve and that’s where this book will help. It’s based on the Holistic Sale model which looks at a business as a whole, to identify the real reasons why sales performance falls below expectations. It then addresses these issues with best practice processes.

You can get a free download of the ebook here.