You are supposed to win deals

A fazer lembrar um poema de Brecht este texto "So Good It Sells Itself":

"Your product is not so good that it sells itself. If it were, you would be unnecessary.
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Your product may be far better than your competitors’ products.
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Your product may be different from anything on the market now.
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Your product may produce better outcomes.
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Your competitors believe their product is better than yours.
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The reason you want a product that is so good that it sells itself is so that you don’t have to sell. You want to make selling easy, and you believe—mistakenly—that your product, your service, and your solution is what is supposed to win deals. The very opposite is true: You are supposed to win deals."

Especulação sobre um caso de insucesso(?) (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.
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Quando saí da universidade em 1987, Cavaco Silva tinha acabado de ganhar a primeira maioria absoluta, Portugal estava de novo na moda e a SONAE ascendia ao estrelato na economia portuguesa.
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E foi na SONAE Indústria que tive o meu primeiro contacto com o mundo do trabalho. Por isso, a SONAE ocupa um lugar especial na minha história pessoal.
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Nos últimos tempos, as notícias sobre a SONAE Indústria referem um encolhimento, com a concentração da actividade em Portugal e na Alemanha. Ainda esta semana apareceu a notícia "Sonae Indústria concluiu venda de fábrica em França". Outras notícias foram ocorrendo ao longo dos últimos meses:

• (Fevereiro 2015) - Vou apenas especular
• (Outubro 2014) - Acerca da proposta de valor baseada no preço
• (Outubro 2014) - Curiosidade do dia (está tudo podre)
• (Julho 2014) - Pena que não haja espaço ...
• (Março 2013) - Curiosidade da manhã

Lembrei-me de escrever este postal ao ler estes trechos:

"That’s why a majority of the managers I surveyed said that routine and operational aspects of their work consume too much of their time.
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There is little time to think about why you do what you do, about the meaning and purpose of your work beyond the immediate deliverables. It’s no wonder routine crowds out strategy.
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learned the hard way that she was very efficient—at the wrong thing. She was not much different from many successful managers who continue to devote the bulk of their time to doing what they have learned too well. They define their jobs narrowly, in terms of their own areas of expertise, and confine their activities to where they have historically contributed the most value and consistent results.
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To avoid the kind of competency trap Sophie fell into, you need to understand how once-useful mind-sets and operating habits can persist long after they have outlived their usefulness.
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That is precisely what happens when we let the operational “day job” crowd out our engagement in more strategic, higher-value-added activities. Like athletes and companies, managers and professionals overinvest in their strengths under the false assumption that what produced their past successes will necessarily lead to future wins. Eventually we become trapped in well-honed routines that no longer correspond to the requirements of a new environment.
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We enjoy what we do well, so we do more of it and get still better at it. The more we do something, the more expert we become at it and the more we enjoy doing it. Such a feedback loop motivates us to get even more experience."

Especulo que a mentalidade que criou o sucesso da SONAE Indústria dos anos 80 e 90 do século passado, passou o seu prazo de validade assim que o mundo mudou e Portugal a Europa Ocidental, deixou de poder ser competitivo nos custos. À muito que a mentalidade de engenheiro do século XX com o seu "Como podemos reduzir o custo unitário?" (que nos remete para dentro da fábrica, para a eficiência), já devia ter dado lugar ao "Como podemos aumentar o preço unitário"? (que nos remete para o utilizador final e para a co-criação de valor)
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Trechos retirados de "Act like a leader, think like a leader" de Herminia Ibarra.

Focalização, focalização, focalização

Mais umas ideais interessantes sobre a superior importância da focalização nos negócios:

"In its simplest form, strategic thinking is about deciding on which opportunities to focus your time, people, and money, and which opportunities to starve.  One of history’s greatest strategic thinkers, Napoleon Bonaparte summed it up this way: “In order to concentrate superior strength in one place, economy of force must be exercised in other places.” If dead, despotic French emperors are not really your style, Michael Porter said it like this: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
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Strategic thinkers must decide where to focus, not merely what’s “important.” Strategic leaders must consciously table some “important” projects or ignore some “important” opportunities.
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Napoleon once said, “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” Perhaps that’s also why this precious ability to decide is the defining feature of those deemed worthy to hold the highest leadership positions."

Só a focalização permite a concentração de recursos no aprofundamento de uma proposta de valor que leve ao "sell it for more" ou ao "make it for less", sem focalização são precisos compromissos que reduzem a especialização numa vantagem competitiva, que reduzem o alinhamento do mosaico de actividades.
Trechos retirados de "3 Myths That Kill Strategic Planning"

"focus on selling more effectively."

"Some prospects don’t understand how paying more can cost them less. [Moi ici: O truque do value based pricing, pensar no ciclo de vida que inclui o pós-compra. E se o comprador não chega lá, é tarefa do consultor de compra demonstrar as contas e abrir a mente do comprador para esse mundo] You are faced with a choice. You can either more effectively sell the value you create, or you can eliminate price as an objection. It’s easier to lower your price than it is to sell better. [Moi ici: Demasiado fácil e, quando não se investe na actividade comercial, quando não se trabalham os argumentos, quando não se focaliza nos clientes-alvo, ... é inevitável a erosão do desconto]
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This is how sales organizations, salespeople, and whole industries are commoditized. If you have chosen low price as your strategy, then you need to compete by eliminating costs and providing the lowest price in all cases. But if you have decided to sell the additional value you create, the value that makes you different, then you need to focus on selling more effectively.
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Reducing your price to increase your revenue is one way to go about increased sales. But that choice comes with reduced margins. You may indeed end up increasing your sales and selling more while building a far less profitable, and less valuable business. And you might also build a business that doesn’t make a difference in the end."

O que é que a sua empresa faz para vender melhor?

Trechos retirados de "Why You Cannot Match Your Competitor’s Price"