Turn on the TV, log into the Internet or read a newspaper, book or magazine and you'll hear how you and your company can go "green." Going "Green" means taking actions focused on protecting our environment and our natural resources. Regardless of how you feel about the movement, few people disagree with the concept of safeguarding the environment. As I sat on a plane last week headed for "the green paradise" of Florida, it occurred to me that the Green principles of reducing pollution, reducing waste and recycling and protecting our resources, apply to our sales environment just as readily as it does to our physical environment. A healthy sales environment is the foundation for profitability. Here are some actions you should take to protect your sales environment:

Reducing the Sales Pollution Is your sales environment being polluted by negative, derogatory comments about the competition? About management? About difficult customers? About the "other sales people who don't pull their weight"? When your sales team is presenting to prospects or clients, do you hear the same old bull, the same old story? Are they "emitting" hot air and failing to sell the value you offer? Time to clean up the environment by focusing on the positive. Capture new client success stories, refocus the team on your customers and their needs, conduct an unbiased audit of your competitors that reminds your team that denigrating the competition merely makes them look weak not the competition.

Reducing Waste in Your Processes Seriously examine each step in your sales process and compare it to your customer's "buying process." Do they sync up? Where can you eliminate non-value add activities? Where can you add value for your customers? What paperwork can you trash that adds more frustration than value for your internal and external customers? Do you really know which marketing efforts have a clear ROI? Look for waste everywhere and then get rid of it.

Repeat Business, Not Recycled Business Recycling and counting on the same old customers is easy - too easy. That false sense of security is the weak link your competitors will capitalize on to steal your business. You must earn repeat business by consistently providing new value, higher levels of service and by consistently talking to and listening to your customers.

Your People are Your Business - Protect Your Resources Surprised when one of your best sales people leaves the company? It's a wake up call you should heed. Keep your best people happy by regularly rewarding them with money, training, recognition and new products to sell. Review your compensation plan annually to insure it reflects market place changes in customers' needs and in employment opportunities. Examine territories annually for distribution fairness. Freshen and update marketing materials and sales tools. And fire the non-performers. Nothing demoralizes good sales people as fast as ignoring the slackers!

Perhaps the most important aspect of the environmental movement is the acknowledgment that man and his environment must be in balance. In the business world, the most successful companies acknowledge and act on the same premise: that their customers are partners and in any partnership both parties must receive equal value. When that "value scale" is unbalanced, you place short term goals over long term; you are happy with quick sales due to manipulation rather than on an open honest dialog with your customer or prospect: you choose fast to market over product quality. Just as the environmental movement attempts to secure a healthy physical future, adapting the environmental principles to your business environment will insure a long, healthy future for your company. Time to "green" your sales environment!

Need help "greening" your sales environment? Contact Catalytic Management. Ask us how our process improvement consulting will eliminate process waste and shorten your sales cycle.