David Fox, chairman of PP Control & Automation, believes companies are not investing enough time and money into developing a selling strategy, adding that it could cause more damage than both Brexit and the skills gap.
“It seems the US is the only country in the world where it actually puts its ‘sales’ professionals on a pedestal,” said Fox. “The rest of us prefer to tuck them away in the smallest possible office and, in recent years, bestow a whole new job title on them: business development managers, for instance.”
Fox also believes that anyone can be a sales person. “I’m not buying into this magic formula that only a few have got it,” he explained. “Sales is more about getting the process right and making sure people get access to the right training and support.
“Securing orders is the lifeblood of any business and without it a company can’t grow, invest in technology and employ and develop people. This is why we should make a concerted effort to change perceptions and perhaps even look at developing some form of qualification for this profession.”
When Fox took over PP Control & Automation in 1979, the company was focused mainly on offering panel building services to a small customer base. In 1993 he recognised that the firm needed to behave differently to its competitors, and embarked on a 24-year journey of continuous improvement, embracing automation and giving every member of staff a personal development roadmap.
The company now employs 200 people and provides electrical control systems, cable harnesses and sub-contract manufacturing solutions to customers globally.
The secret to this success, says Fox, is a focus on sales. “We had a significant change in our sales approach in the mid- to late-nineties, starting with our successful pursuit of a world number one machinery builder. This transformed our thinking as it proved we had an offer that would sell.
“I’m a firm believer of learning from the very best and that involved reading lots of sales books, the majority of which – unsurprisingly – were written by Americans. We get everyone in our sales team involved, almost like a book club you could say. Each person takes a section and then presents what they have learned to the rest of the group. Sales have gone up from £12m to £20m in three years so something must be working.”
