Randy Amerine

Sales and Business Development Management is a complex process that requires clear focus and constant progress assesment / adustment particularly in todays everchanging environment. The process of setting the long term goals should be based on historical performance data that can be evaluated and adjusted based on new data and outcomes as they are experienced either positive or negative. Agility is key in your sales support and business development systems. These key outcomes should be evaluated on a consistence cadence and adjustements made as needed to drive accellerated outcomes with your sales and business development teams.

The key item to focus on is the desired outcome from the standpoint of the product features and capabilities. Options that do not meet those areas of priority will be taken out of contention based on an open discussion of solution alternatives and performance evaluation. The overriding focus should always be as follows. 1. What is the desired objective. 2. What is the impact on the customer and the organization. 3. Is the solution executable and profitable for the organization. 4. Are the objectives for the market, financial objectives, and product benefits aligned with the outcomes.

When this occurs it is clear their are gaps in communication that are likely on both sides of the discussion. At the end of the day it is your responsibility to identify and document customer expectations clearly and then get agreement from the customer on this assessment. You should also ensure that all relevant customer stakeholders are engaged then review your assessment with the key customer decision maker(s). Regular and frequent check in with the client on performance to expectations can assist in minimizing this situation and related negative outcomes.

Yes embracing change is fundamental to any executive role. However in my view what is even more fundamental as an executive leading a team is to "Create Change". No progress has ever been made with out creative change. As an executive you should be organizing teams in your organization and in your industry associations to anticipate and drive change not just respond to it. Creating change versus responding to it empowers your teams and benefits your customers. Creating differentiation very often increases revenues and profits. Always be reading the changing tides of your products and the markets you serve. If you don't your competitors or new entrants to your markets will. "One of the greatest barriers to change are entrenched beliefs."

Associations can be a vehicle for progress in sustainability. Aside from networking and education there are other areas of focus. One is to identify committees in the association that benefit from strategic and or subject matter expertise contributions from yourself or others in your organization. A key example is the types of impact that regulatory efforts have on an industry effecting their sustainability efforts to comply with the regulations. Support from your sustainability team, legal team or other industry experts help hone the messagge at an industry level back to the regulatory agencies to assist them in their efforts so that sustainability goals can be attained in the least disruptive mannner to that industry.

Assuming you have a relationship with a high quality Franchisor you should be able to ask them for guidance. Depending on their sophistication they may even have a relationship with a provider where they have negotiated preferred rates for their Franchisees. You can also ask for referrals to Franchisees in the Franchisor network that are similar to your profile and seek their input. Aside from that it depends on the sophistication of your IT organization and their ability to do this type of assessment and selection with internal resources. Beyond that engaging wtih an IT professional services firm can be very vaulable for several reasons. They can look at your overall IT structure and evaluate your needs given the most current options.