Sales Support

Sales Support

There are two programs that I believed made our sales efforts effective.  They were our sales support philosophy and our incentive programs. 

We made sure that our sales organization had technical support through the development of a very skilled field organization that worked hand in hand with our sales people, customers, and installers.  They provided technical support to the sales person, and assisted the customer in the development or their customized ATM software and processing systems.  After the sale they worked with the customer and our installation team to assure a smooth efficient installation of the hardware, test and install software and systems, and finally assist in the training of the customers personnel. 

An outstanding and dedicated software development group at our home office supported the field teams. 

Finally we offered our sales teams an outstanding home office customer visitation program.  They were encouraged to invite customers to Canton at our expense.  The customer was accommodated in the best hotel in the area and transported by limousine.  All meals were hosted by a home office executive (Often the President or Chairman).  This gave the prospect or customer the opportunity to get to know the management team and gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our corporate commitment to our products, philosophies, and customer satisfaction.  Then the customer visited our display area, where all the company’s products were on display and demonstrated by experts on each product.  If the customer requested specific information about a product or system they were visited by and expert or escorted to that specific department for a more in depth presentation.

In addition to this program, as a part of our community support initiative, we took advantage of the annual NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement festivities to host 50 to 75 of our best customers for a great weekend of parties, golf and of course the enshrinement and the game.

We also insisted that the offices that had professional sports teams have season tickets to those games and regularly invite customers and prospects.

At major conventions, we always hosted luncheons, a provided a suite for our sales people to entertain their customers and prospects.  Early in the history of the ATM the Bank Administration Institute initiated an annual convention devoted to this market.  We thought it was such a good idea that we committed to hosting a cocktail party for the entire convention.  In return for our commitment to do this we were given the premier center front location for our booth.  These parties became quite famous because we always brought in famous entertainment and held them in very memorable locations.  The only speech that was made was a welcome to the party and thanks for the business.  We never tried to sell anything.

Finally we hosted an annual Christmas luncheon for the New York bankers at the 21 Club.  Again the only speech was from Ray, who just said Merry Christmas and thanks for the business.

Lessons learned:

1.  Sales of complex hardware and systems require professional support programs.

2.  Always make sure that the sales, support, and service organizations operate as a team.

3.  Getting to know your customer in a comfortable environment is very beneficial.

4.  The involvement of top management in the sales process is an important part of the sales process.

5.  Demonstration of support to your community and your industry is good for your employees, customers, and the community.

6.  A great message is delivered when you don’t try make a sales pitch when you are entertaining.

Corporate Sales & Marketing

Corporate Sales & Marketing

Sometime in the early 80s Ray and Earl decided that I should assume responsibility for the sales & Marketing of all the company’s products. 

The next ten years of my career required me to be away from my family frequently.  In addition to taking on all corporate sales, we also decided to begin to go global.  More about that in later chapters. 

It was during this period that our three girls were really beginning to establish themselves as both good high school students, and talented musicians.  I regret how much I missed being a more active part of their successes and failures.

Missy our oldest daughter decided she wanted to go to a high school for the deaf in Tennessee.  Reluctantly we agreed that it would be a good program for her and easier than her public school teachers having to be concerned about her ability to understand lectures and given special attention.  It worked out very well for her and she went on to Gallaudet University in DC and earned a bachelors and Masters degree.  She is now a very successful counselor in a girls school in Los Angeles and does great work for her church interpreting the bible and teaching sign language in Eastern Europe on a volunteer basis when she can.

Patti in addition to her studies became an accomplished drummer, softball player, and a better golfer than her father.  She was part of the highs school marching band and our local drum and bugle corp.  She went on to Bowling Green University became the lead drummer in their marching band, and got her BS degree.  After working in several positions she decided to go to Ashland University and got her Masters Degree in Divinity.  She is now a counselor at Ashland University.

Karen was also a good student and became an accomplished flutist.   She was also in the high school marching band.  She went on to the University of South Carolina.  Became active in a sorority, helped with the football-recruiting program as an on campus guide.  After graduation she became active in her sorority as a visiting representative of the sorority assigned to help with recruiting and local chapter reviews and training.  After that she began work in the insurance industry.  She also got her masters in marketing at Case Western Reserve.  She is now a vey successful executive at Progressive Insurance Company.

Unfortunately their mother Jan passed away before the girls had established their current successful careers.  I know she is a proud of them as I am.  She had a great deal more to do with their molding and mentoring than I did because of my travel and work commitments.  I hope I was able to help some.

Lessons learned:

1.  Your work and career are never more important than your family.

2.  When you are home give as much time as you can to helping your family further their desires and development.

3.  Cheer for your children whenever you can.

4.  Stay in contact with family even if you are on the other side of the world.

Customer Mentors

Customer Mentors

My first customer mentor was Al from Atlanta.  He was the father of “Tillie the Teller”.  Earl, my boss at Diebold, introduced me to him.  Al was an early adaptor of ATMs.  Although he had deployed a competitor’s equipment, he liked our system and customer service philosophies.  Al introduced us to a number of our first customers in the South.  He eventually replaced his equipment with ours and used our equipment when he moved to two other financial institutions.   Al also became a very good personal friend who I could go to for advice on the financial institution markets and new products and marketing ideas as we developed them.

I was also able to develop a mentoring relationship with an executive from each of the two largest financial institutions in the US in the 70s and 80s, Dan at Bank of America and Fred at Chase Manhattan Bank.  Both became good friends and advisors.  They were both very instrumental in getting the market really started.

I also had a great mentor in Las Vegas that helped us get into the casinos.  Another mentor in Miami that moved to the west coast and helped us with both the California and Washington markets. 

There were a number of others that seemed to want to be helpful when you were open to them and delivered on your promises.  I believe these mentors were responsible for our success. 

Lessons learned:

1.  Always be open to advice and assistance.

2.  Don’t over commit and always deliver on your promises.

3.  Get to know your customers on as personal a basis as possible.

4.  Ask your good contacts for advice frequently,  It will serve to solidify your relationships.

Selling the Market

This phase of market development presented several challenges:

First, we had to convince the market that we had a superior and reliable product.

Second, since we were not known as a systems company, we had to convince the market that we could be competitive with companies like IBM and NCR.

Third, we had to convince the market that ATMs would supplement their marketing strategies by providing an exciting new service that their customers would use.

For most of 1975 we focused or attention on getting the first 30 or 40 customers involved in our previous product successful with our pilot program.  Then we began to focus our sales efforts on the large to medium size financial institutions that we knew would be a positive influence on the market.  Remember at this time interstate banking was not allowed and a significant number of states did not allow bank branches. 

The pilot installations and one single sales success really started a significant positive market change.

One of my early mentors in this process was the IT manager for a small local bank.  John was very helpful is both testing and critiquing our early ATM software. More importantly he suggested we develop online transaction processing capability and helped us along the way with real world testing.  As a result we were the first company with the ability to implement real time online transaction processing.  Yes, even before IBM and NCR.  That took care of that challenge.  Well more on that later.

One of the ideas that really helped with the consumer acceptance issue came from a bank that was an early adaptor using Docutel machines.  In order to humanize the machines and make them friendlier, they named them.  In this case “Tillie the Teller”.  AL, the VP of marketing for the bank, became an important mentor and a great friend of mine.  Virtually all the early adaptors of ATMs began to name them.  It was a great marketing idea and helped us sell ATMs.

However the key event in moving this market was the decision by Bank of America to purchase 100 ATMs from Diebold.  This was not only good for us but energized virtually all financial institutions to make sure they stayed competitive with this giant financial institution.

Lessons learned:

1.  Always keep your eyes and ears open for mentoring.

2.  Always take the time to prove your product or system in a controlled environment prior to full release.

3.  Be on the constant look out for new marketing ideas and spread the word via your sales force.

4.  Never assume you cannot achieve sales success if you are not the biggest and most experienced.  Ie…Bank of America.

Developing the ATM Market

After infusing our sales, marketing, service, and development teams with people experienced in technology, and systems, we were ready to begin the process of market development.  I believe there were three philosophies that gave us the impetus for success.

1.  Our firm commitment to customer satisfaction.

2.  Our commitment to provide outstanding service and support to our customers and associates.

3.  An unwavering commitment to always doing the right thing in all circumstances.

Here are just a few examples of those philosophies at work.  Ray, our Chairman and CEO felt we had not fulfilled our commitment to customer satisfaction with our first ATM offering, the imports from the UK.  He called me to his office and expressed his concerns and directed me to offer each customer who had purchased one of those machines their money back or one of our new systems at no cost.  To give you some idea of the courageousness of that decision, the impact on the companies bottom line was nearly a negative20% .  The impact on our ATM business was a delay in any profit contribution for at least a year.  As it turned out the decision was received so well that the real impact was a kick start to our business.  This group of customers willingly became our pilot group and subsequently our biggest boosters.

We understood from our discussions with our customers that ATM systems had to be available to their customers 7/24 on a very consistent basis.  In keeping with that requirement and our service philosophy we established the following policies.

1.  Service response to a system down would be less than 2 hours.

2.  If the system were not back in service in 4 hours a notice would be posted in our home office system and in my office.

3.  If the system were not back in service in 8 hours, I would make a personal call to the president of the bank, explain our actions and assure him that the problem would be resolved.  I also gave them my direct office number and my home number in case they need to reach me for any reason.

4.  We also established a strict ratio of geography and number of systems a single service territory could support.

5.  Finally to assure control of these policies and facilitate the reporting, we established a central dispatch system in our headquarters to give every customer an 800 number to report problems on a nationwide basis.  Eventually this system was implemented for all of our products.

Fortunately, there were very few alerts that ended up in my office because our field teams really responded to the situation with great enthusiasm.

One of the most difficult policies for us to implement was to limit the areas we would allow our sales force to sell to because of the service area restrictions.  For example there were just not enough banks with a confined geography for us to keep our commitments to in the Dakotas and other areas like that.  As much as it disappointed our salesmen and some customers in those areas, “It was the right thing to do”. 

Going back to our decision to replace or reimburse our original ATM customers, although it was very costly, “It was the right thing to do”.

The lessons learned were somewhat obvious but worth repeating.

Lessons learned:

1.  A firm commitment to superior customer satisfaction is one of the primary keys to success with any product or system offering.

2.  Providing outstanding customer service not only provides customers who are willing to give positive testimonials, but willing to reorder your products and systems.

3.  “Doing the right thing” forms a solid basis for all decisions and in many cases allows you to make difficult decisions without remorse.

Changing The Sales Culture

Changing the sales culture of a 100 plus year old company is challenging.  Most of our relationships with our customers had been with the security and facilities organizations in Financial Institutions.  We had begun to establish some relationships with the retail bank as we developed the pneumatic tube and remote drive in banking business.  However we determined through many discussions with financial institutions and our consultants study that we needed to now learn to communicate with the marketing, retail, and systems organizations.  In addition as we were developing this market, we needed to elevate our contacts within financial institutions to the mid and upper management levels. 

The new sales specialists we were hiring would help us make these changes in disciplines’, but we knew that penetrating higher up in the organization would require the time and efforts of myself, the most senior managers in the field, and our upper management.

Since I had been working in the field for a couple of years developing the new drive in banking product line, I concentrated on the senior level Area Managers in the field.  I asked them to get me appointments with senior level managers at the large and medium size Financial Institutions.  We went in as a team, which was, myself, the Area Manager, the Diebold representative assigned to the account, and the ATM specialist for that region.  I wanted to make sure that all of our personnel involved with the account were introduced at these levels.  Earl, Ray, and Joe, our National Sales Manager, also participated in this process by arranging introductions where they had previous relationships.  They also joined us on a number of calls in the field. 

There were also a number of traditional events that helped this process.  At all the major conventions we hosted several luncheons for the senior level managers of financial institutions at very prestigious restaurants.  Because Ray was an avid baseball fan, we owned season tickets to all major league teams, and bought tickets to all playoff and World Series games.  Finally, we hosted an annual Christmas luncheon for all New York Financial Institution executives at the 21 Club.  Now all the ATM specialists and myself were included in these events.

As a result of all this effort, our sales organization was introduced to a higher level, which enabled them to get the audiences they needed to persuade prospects to consider Diebold as their supplier of ATMs.  This was a courageous task for many of them because their current contacts were not happy with them going ever their heads.  Fortunately, because they were an experienced sales force, in the majority of cases, they were able to manage the situation.

I do not want to leave you with the impression that we forced this strategy on them.  Prior to initiating the plan, we all spent a great deal of time in meetings, both group and one on one, explaining the reason and expected results of our plans.  We also made sure we listened to their concerns and adjusted were their recommendations made sense.  I felt that by the time we initiated our activities we were in sync and would be successful.  It did accomplish our goals.  I think some of the specific experiences might be interesting and educational.  I will discus them in the next chapter.

Lessons learned:

1.  Changing a culture requires good communications and support from all levels of management.

2.  Using entertainment allows you to establish more informal relationships that are very helpful.

3.  Allowing the people who will be effected the most be part of the planning process helps the process of culture change.

4.  Approaching the customer as a team, demonstrates to the customer that this is a company not individual program, and has the full support of management.

5.  Finally, we realized that this approach assisted our sales efforts in all product lines.

        

Creating a New Culture

We spent the better part of the next 5 years changing the culture of the Diebold Sales, Manufacturing, Service/Installation, Administrative, Data Processing and R & D organizations.  They all had to understand and embrace the new world of technology oriented; systems, and self service products. 

The sales organization was the biggest challenge.  They had to develop new contacts and prospects in their existing accounts that in many cases their old contacts did not even associate with.  We were asking them to talk to data processing, systems, and retail bankers instead of security and construction people.  In some cases where they had moved up in the organization and made contacts with higher management in financial institutions it was easier.  Unfortunately that was not the norm.  In many cases the sales people were afraid to go to new people, fearing they would upset their established relationships.  We were aware of all these challenges due to our interaction with this organization during our Product Management days.  The frequent trips to the field helped develop an understanding and empathy for our field organization.  This also helped me select, orient, and develop the five new Automatic Banking specialists that were hired to provide support and sales assistance to our field organization in the field.  We wanted them located in the Five Area Sales management offices so they could be closer to the field and become part of that culture.  We also added account managers for the larger financial institutions and a field support organization. 

The field support organization was designed to support the sales and service team with customer specific systems designs for proposals and installations, training for our customer and sales personnel, and service support related to systems issues.  As you can see this was a very critical resource.  Interestingly it was the first time, as a company, that we ever employed women in a professional salaried position interfacing directly with customers.  Another culture change for our company and I discovered later for some of our customers also. 

I think it is worth a short digression here to relate some of the challenges these women faced.  As much as I tried, I am not sure I completely prepared them for some of the situations they might face.  Inappropriate advances were made by both some of our people and customers.  Our employees were easy to deal with.  They were terminated immediately.  Unfortunately you cannot terminate a customer.  However I did find myself a few times having to have a very serious discussion with customers.  Having committed to our associates that any inappropriate behavior was unacceptable, I did tell, even, customers that we would cease our relationship with them if the behavior continued.  I recall one convention where I found our first and best support person, Judy, crying in the study of the suite we had rented for entertaining and socializing with our customers and prospects.  It was the last day of a very busy week and she had worked long hours every day.  She had just forcibly rejected a married customer that she had worked with for some time back in her territory.  She was both shocked and worried that she would damage our relationship with the bank.  I reassured her that she was more important than any customer relationship and we can fix the relationship by doing the right thing.  I spoke to the banker and asked him to apologize to her the next time she had occasion to be in his bank.  He apologized profusely to me and did put her at ease over the next few weeks.   I told her to take the rest of the night off and moved her to first class with me for the trip home.  We talked a lot about a number of similar situations that she had endured but was afraid to talk to anyone about.  I think I was able to assure her that she was more important than any customer that could not use proper decorum when working with her and she should not be afraid to tell us about these situations.  This of course prompted me to call the entire field support team into Canton and discuss our policies regarding these situations.  It was also a great opportunity to get their input on all the issues they were dealing with.

I will discuss the sales and service culture changes in the next chapter.

Lessons learned:

1.  Take time to understand why people resist change.

2.  Help everyone understand the reason change will be good for them and our company.

3.  Take time to listen to the people who are interfacing with your customers.

4.  Do not hesitate to demonstrate your moral and ethical principals to both associates and customers.

5.  Always treat people as the valuable asset they are and be sure to let them know it.