Posted by David Rhoads on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 @ 04:22 PM
Out of the 1000’s of lease applications we
review, the number one thing our customers can do to improve their credit
profile is update their Dun & Bradstreet Report. Blue Street’s team of
credit professionals will guide you through the simple reviewing and updating
process.
As you may know, D&B is a publicly
traded company that provides information on businesses and corporations. Often
referred to as just "D&B" the company is best known for its
"D-U-N-S Number" identifier that is assigned to over 100 million
companies worldwide.
It is critical that before you begin the process of leasing or financing
equipment that you are confident you have a positive D&B profile on record.
The first thing a bank checks when reviewing applications is your company’s
D&B profile. Your profile gives the lender a snapshot of both your business
and credit history.
How do I know if my D&B profile is up to date and accurate?
Call us. Blue Street Capital will pull your D&B (while you are on the
phone) and explain to you how your report looks from a lender's perspective,
describing all of the positive and negative aspects of the report and what you
can do to remedy any potential problems. We do this free of charge. Unlike
a credit report, looking at your D&B report has no affect on your business
or personal credit.
Call us at (714) 316-1180 and ask to speak with an
account representative.
What if my D&B contains mistakes?
If there are any "negatives" regarding your credit history, don't
worry - remember that Blue Street Capital has options for all types of
credit. Even the most responsible businesses have credit blemishes that we can
work around.
If D&B reflects something negative about your business that you know to be
inaccurate, we will explain to you how it can be fixed. Again, Blue Street
Capital provides this service free of charge.
What if I don't have a D-U-N-S number?
If you do not have a D&B profile, it's not a show-stopper. But having a
favorable credit history listed in D&B will go a long way for you in
getting the lowest rates on your equipment leasing or financing. If you are new
to D&B we can help you understand how to setup a profile and why this is an
important tool for your business.
Contact us today for your FREE D&B Consultation!
Posted by David Rhoads on Mon, Mar 08, 2010 @ 04:47 PM
Is your sales process structured in a way that ensures that you retain and gain large clients? If not, you should consider developing a sales account plan to focus your sales team on profitable clients, products and services. Developing and executing a sales account plan can bring significant revenue rewards. To develop your process, follow these nine steps:
Identify your sales channels, divisions, and types: Review your past two years of sales, sorting by areas and distinct sales group. Distinct sales groups could include:
- Product line or product category
- Geographic sales area or sales region or country
- Customer type such as commercial, government, retail, etc.
- Divisions such as manufactured goods, distributed goods, etc.
Identify the top 20 to 25 percent of your current clients for each channel: Sort each distinct sales groups by total sales and identify your top clients in terms of profit margin and revenue.
Create a sales account plan for each large client: Create a unique sales account plan for each of your top clients, based on their sales history. A basic plan should:
- Identify the sales team responsible for your client.
- Show historical sales information for that client.
- Estimate next year’s revenues for that client.
- Identify business development opportunities within the client.
- Create strategies to preserve current sales and generate new revenue from the client.
- Detail the steps and timing of your plan to realize the revenue goals for that client.
Identify target clients that you want to win in the current year: Every business needs to add new clients to thrive. Create a profile for your ideal client. Identify target clients for each sales area that you want to win in the current year.
Create sales account plans for each target client: After you identify target clients, create a sales account plan for each of them. A new business sales account plan should:
- Identify the sales team responsible for the targeted client.
- Estimate historical purchasing the target client makes from your competitors.
- Call the client’s purchasing department.
- Find out how they make buying decisions.
- Find out who makes the buying decisions and who influences the buying decisions.
- Create a “buying decision” organization chart of the target client.
Identify any sales opportunities by asking the target client if you can do it cheaper, better or faster, etc. Detail the steps and timing of your planned actions. Coordinate your sales efforts with your marketing department and website team to maximize your presentation.
Calculate your sales goals: One of the final tests of your sales plan is to add up all of the revenues from your current client and target client sales account plans. Do the collective sales account plan goals meet your sales goals? If yes, then you can execute the plans. If not, then review the plans again and make revisions to your strategies to get more sales or revise the sales goals to match the account plans.
Execute the sales account plans: Review your plan weekly and confirm that your team is completing the action items on a timely basis and getting the expected results.
Revise your compensation programs to match your sales account plans: Many companies start a sales account planning process to correct antiquated incentive compensation systems. Think about resetting your incentive, bonus or commission programs to coincide with team and/or individual achievements.
Mitigate the single point of failure in your plan: A good sales account plan is a well thought out strategy that is client-focused and creative. Some of the most successful sales account plans involve discussions and planning sessions with the client and also brainstorming with your staff by presenting questions such as “What would you do to steal your client if they belonged to your competitor?”
Sales account planning requires time, dedication and focus. But the rewards are increased market share, revenue and profits.
Barry MacKechnie, Founder and Owner of MacKechnie Consulting, Inc and has been advising CEOs and providing executive level services to clients and organizations for over 40 years. To see a sample account plan template, click here. You can contact Barry at barry@ceo-services.com