[00:00:00] Welcome to B2B Sales Trends, the podcast dedicated to sales leaders in the B2B space where we share conversations about innovative and successful sales transformations to keep you up-to-date on the latest trends. This podcast is brought to you by Global Performance Group.
[00:00:22] Welcome to yet another fabulous episode of the B2B Sales Trends podcast. We show that brings you hacks, tips, thought leadership for sales, marketing and customer success. It's brought to you by us, Global Performance Group, a revenue improvement,
[00:00:40] but teach that influence behavior change to provide sales people and customers' success people. The confidence of the skills, the confidence to execute these well and the courage to sell and negotiate based on customer outcomes. My name is Harry Kendall Bachham, one of the founders.
[00:01:00] Today I have with me no other than Jeff Brades. Jeff is the group senior vice president of Client Retention, Ed Sadek. So welcome to the B2B Sales Trends podcast, Jeff. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me today. Very happy to be here.
[00:01:20] Thank you. Jeff gives a little bit of an introduction about yourself and Sadek. So, to start this off with. Thank you. Yes. So Sadek is one of the largest global facilities management providers. We're a 20 billion Euro company and we specialize in supporting organisations in multiple sectors.
[00:01:44] The oil rigs in the middle of the North Sea to major facilities in sports, Serenas, all the way back to corporate head offices, all the way back to schools, universities, senior care homes, government facilities etc.
[00:02:01] We specialize in making sure that we provide support and historically we were of food based organisation. That's our heritage, that's our legacy. We also as well support in other aspects of facilities such as all the way through from building maintenance, cleaning, reception, mail room.
[00:02:23] So effectively making sure that our clients can then do what they do best, which is banking, you know, renewable energy, running major sports events, running hospitals, health care etc. And we help and we partner in that aspect. Thank you for that introduction, Jeff.
[00:02:43] We've done a little bit of research on you and you're linked in a bio really focuses and emphasises the importance of having a plan. Having a plan that is welcome, having a plan that's understood and anticipated by others, particularly like that part.
[00:03:02] Could you share a little bit about on how this approach applies to client retention and renewals, especially in B2B sales? Absolutely, Harry. Thank you. I was so expecting for me. I always think it's really important to engage with your internal external stakeholders.
[00:03:24] I come from a marketing background, historically, predominantly in FMCG industry. And what was always quite interesting when agencies would come in and present to us. They would be like this grand reveal, you know, and it's the classic marketing presentation.
[00:03:41] So we would always sit there and think, you know, this is very high risk because if they haven't understood correctly, if they haven't pitched it correctly, you know, it wouldn't always necessarily land well. And I've seen some presentations where that hasn't in the case.
[00:03:55] The learning for me going forward is absolutely around anticipation. And the word that we try and manage and work against within SLEXO is expectation. So expectation for us is understanding and again, the same thing applies to our internal stakeholders. But for our clients.
[00:04:12] And we're talking on B2B aspect here. Understanding what it is that they expect from SLEXO, making sure that we are then able to deliver on that. And then occasionally where their expectations are outside the scope of what's available to us or possible for us, communicating that back.
[00:04:30] So that everybody is clear and understood. We have those expectation meetings and we carry those out. Regular stages throughout the contract life cycle from the very beginning all the way through to the very end. And it's really important that we make sure that they add value.
[00:04:48] I think individually personally, I look at other people's LinkedIn profiles and if I may, you know, when I see what they write about themselves, I wonder, I wonder third parties would write the same thing about you.
[00:05:00] So for me, I wanted to communicate that in my LinkedIn profile because it's important to me personally and professionally. But it's also important functionally for us at SLEXO to make sure that we listen.
[00:05:13] Everything that we do should be inside driven, everything that we should do should be for the needs and the benefits of the people that we're working for, the clients that we are there to help and support on a daily basis. Love it, absolutely. Love it.
[00:05:29] You know, retaining clients renewing contracts is key to every organization and you know, in your role as the group senior VP of client retention it's a day. So what strategies? What things have you found most effective in ensuring that clients not only renew.
[00:05:54] But also see added value, which is basically the basis of renewal in there ongoing relate with today's patient. I think for ourselves, you know, we've historically been a service management company.
[00:06:14] We have created a contract between ourselves and our service and our clients and then we have provided the services according to that.
[00:06:22] Anyone who's worked inside those kind of B2B industries will be familiar with the kind of classic, you know, quarterly business review where you review the contract and, you know, the meals,
[00:06:33] those have this many grams of rice and you're supposed to have four salad items on the bar. These are all the qualifying factors that we absolutely need to make sure in place, that's why we have a contract contract is there for us.
[00:06:47] But the contracts also is the biggest constraint on both sides. It's a constraint for the client because it doesn't always give the client the opportunity to explore how else we can we can help and assist.
[00:06:58] And it also doesn't encourage and sometimes incentivize us to want to step outside of that contract. So again, holding those regular meetings and again, you know, the expectation meetings is a classic way to do that to sit, to listen to them follow up.
[00:07:14] We have a structured process in place, which we implement across the organization.
[00:07:19] And I know that might feel a little bit like we're imposing, you know, groups structured you down on people, but it's done to support and it's done to help and we always do it with the mindset of being a tool part of a tool box to aid and help.
[00:07:35] A large amount of people who are senior leaders in our business are not account management experts. They don't have account management expertise trained insulin that's not meant to be in any way disrespectful to their skillset, but a large amount of them come out of our core base.
[00:07:51] They are chefs, they are facility managers and they are excellent at that. And we are excellent service management company and I'm extremely proud to work for for for so next. But we're not always enabled in the way that we would like to be in terms of account management.
[00:08:08] And so that's the bit we want to work towards, the bits trying to listen to understand and to be brave, to be brave enough to expand on what exists today.
[00:08:18] Because the challenge largely for many, and it's for the client as well, is do I really want to break the status quo? You know, have a good relationship here. Sometimes we've been working with clients for 40 years. We may have a contract which goes forward 30 years in time sometimes.
[00:08:35] You know, it's you know, we're very long relationships in place and to put that a jeopardy for the benefit of what sometimes people might see as a small amount of incremental business is a challenge and it's our responsibility from a growth perspective.
[00:08:53] And we give them the confidence to know that the contract is there to run the day-to-day business but it shouldn't be the boundaries of the relationship. Right, really like it very much. Obviously, sedexo has a large customer success. So you guys call it operators, audience there.
[00:09:18] I've recently read that other companies are really getting a large force behind that renewal process, IBM, for example, or at the other day is increasing their customer success force from 300 to over a thousand people.
[00:09:40] Can you share some key challenges that you've seen in the client retention and renewal process? It's a day-to-day, so how have you addressed that for the benefit of that growing audience? For us, I think one of the key areas is time.
[00:10:02] You know, we work in a, you know, let's be candid, a low margin industry and we should be a low margin industry because we're providing services back to our clients at the best available cost.
[00:10:15] So we're not a kind of organization that has a surface of consultants sitting on the bench you are ready and available.
[00:10:22] So we have to choose our battles carefully and we have to make sure that we work with our key clients, our top clients, and those clients with whom we believe we can have a strategic and a mutually beneficial relationship. For us, therefore, that targeting process is inherently important.
[00:10:40] And in terms of the retention of our business, we have a tool which we call right client-prite terms where we evaluate what are the minimum criteria that we want to work with in terms of the client-prite terms.
[00:10:49] So we have a tool that we want to work with in terms of organisations that we engage with.
[00:10:56] What are the services that we think we can provide, which are most beneficial to the client because what we're best at and how can we do that in a way that brings innovation that brings meaningful enhancements over and above cost?
[00:11:15] I was to give an example and I probably, I'm going to speak on behalf of the industry now. So I'm not speaking on behalf of Synex, I'm speaking on behalf of the industry. If I look at hospitals, our industry provides food into the healthcare market.
[00:11:33] We work in hospitals where people are ill, they need nutrition, they need support, and we do that very well. However, in many geographies and I think there's no one listening to this will be surprised here.
[00:11:46] The hospital food is not always the best. Why is that? Because largely in time we have let ourselves and again I speak as an industry rather than a Synex.
[00:11:58] And from a client-based we have let ourselves get to a place where cost is the key driver and cost is the key driver of the relationship.
[00:12:06] And we're working consistently and we've done some great examples on how we're working now with our clients, particularly in places like North America.
[00:12:14] To reverse that kind of historic relationship and that historic perception where we lead with expertise, we lead with, you know, we have, I believe we have, you know, as many dietitians as any other company in the world.
[00:12:28] We have dietitians who can help and can support, we can bring expertise. So that the conversation is not about price.
[00:12:35] The conversation is about actually somebody wanting to recuperate from a major operation needs nutrition, they need health support, and they need a series of support networks that are in place. And I think that's the kind of conversation that we need to try and encourage with our clients.
[00:12:53] But we can only do it if we have expertise that we can bring to the table, and we can only do it if we're trusted to be able to then come good on those commitments.
[00:13:03] So all very well asking client-friendly and honestly to invest in in hand services, but we then have to be able to come good on those commitments that are asked of us.
[00:13:14] And again, that requires us to invest internally to support, but also as well to communicate across the duration of the client life cycle where when elements are needed because the last thing we want is we get to the last two, two months, six months, nine months, 12 months of the contract.
[00:13:33] And we answer into negotiation and we've got nothing in terms of back story to talk about that doesn't happen now because of the process we've put in place, but historically it did.
[00:13:44] And it left us in a weakened position because if the only thing you've got you've been going to talk about when you're going to a room is price, then the only thing you're going to talk about is price.
[00:13:55] It's that term of innovation that you've mentioned, I think that's very important. What kind of innovation can you bring to my relationship on goingly? Because if it's only price that we're talking about then it's a win-lose, right? And the relationship needs to be enhanced by other things.
[00:14:15] Over the, over the life cycle, you know your time at Sydexer has seen, you know, a shift towards transformation, shift towards digital transformation and talking of innovation. How has digital technology impacted client retention and what role has a played in really enhancing your client relationships?
[00:14:42] It's impacting us massively on a day-to-day basis, and I think it's kind of in two, three key areas. The first bit if I profess against that is the move within the industry that we've seen, and if I look back, you know, 15, 20 years, we largely had cost-plus contracts.
[00:15:00] You know, we provide, and again I'm talking about an industry level there rather than necessarily a Sydexer level. We provided, you know, service, we charged a margin on top of that. It was all open book, the client saw everything, we then had an agreement.
[00:15:16] There was a view within the industry that this actually wasn't beneficial to both sides, because it didn't encourage, you know, efficiency. So the industry we then moved more of a management fee which is effectively where we just get paid fee by the month, by the client.
[00:15:33] And that encourages innovation from our side because the risk is now on us. What we're actually seeing increasingly is a requirement from our clients for us to be subject matter experts.
[00:15:46] And if I look back to our outsourcing methodology again, as I saw it 10 years ago, it was very much this is what we want you to do for us. We want you to provide this amount of meals.
[00:15:59] We want you to do this in terms of facilities provision and it was very clear and it was quite rigid. What we see now from our clients is actually Sydexer, you're the expert.
[00:16:15] You work on a global level with number of clients. What do you see that helps you? So there are many ways that digital is helped us. One is frankly, incidentally.
[00:16:27] So our ability to align to consistency or rental, our ability to have consistent insight methodology, our ability to be able to share information from wanting to another. Maybe somebody's working on a you know, a large international bid. They want to be able to share information.
[00:16:45] You know, I can give you an example just yesterday we had our team in China contact us saying we're working on a bid with this international provider. Where else do we have business with that client around the world?
[00:16:58] Now I'm going to be absolutely candid a few years ago. We would have not been able to answer that question because we didn't have the infrastructure systems in place. We now do that internally helps us manage externally.
[00:17:11] But from an external perspective partnering with various partners in terms of the digital solutions and again, I go back to insight driving this.
[00:17:22] Because it's all very well staying are we want a robot in reception or we want you know, you know, a flocking services that robots and automated we want digital sensors.
[00:17:34] Selling the technology ahead of the need is not what helps and we've learned that a little bit, you know, when all the new digital tools came around we were a little bit quick to serve.
[00:17:45] We've learned that now and we again through the expectations through the ongoing elements of the client life cycle. What is your business need and then how can we help you help you meet that need? Right, good point.
[00:18:00] You mentioned before and you emphasize the importance of acting fast thinking big, feeling cheap when when when you've implemented initiatives right. Could you provide some of some examples of how this acting fast thinking big, feeling cheap philosophy has benefited a client retention efforts at today.
[00:18:27] Yeah, absolutely. I think for you know for us today we have to recognize we're an incredibly large organization in excess of 400,000 employees worldwide.
[00:18:40] And sometimes it can feel you know that we're a little bit of an oil tanker and so it's about breaking it down into bite size chunks. If I give an example of this, we are currently deploying a training program to our senior operators around the business.
[00:18:57] So we're talking here about the people who interface with our clients on a day-to-day basis there either present on site or their responsibility for those clients.
[00:19:07] We are taking time to recognize that they are our agents for change. They are the people who can, who can help transform our organization and can help transform the relationship and the discussions that we have with our clients.
[00:19:23] If they're just contract based if they're bound around what we signed and agreed to deliver then frankly and honestly we're only ever going to be able to deliver on what we agreed upon.
[00:19:33] There's no scope for expansion in there and that leaves our clients unhappy because we've not been able to demonstrate the innovation that we talked about previously.
[00:19:43] We initially thought that the way to do that was you know by doing you know maybe a few cheat sheets PDFs which we would share because again when you're working a big global international multi-segment business it's scary.
[00:19:58] It's scary to think how can I interact with our business in a way that's helpful and a way that's not distracting them from the very thing that we want them to do which is engaged with their clients on a day-to-day basis.
[00:20:09] We were encouraged and we were challenged by our senior leadership team go big no big be brave. Which was a little bit scary to begin with because we thought what does that mean but we weren't big.
[00:20:22] We've come up with a program which we've recently pressured us in our head office with a few operations that we brought in from around the world.
[00:20:32] But some of it didn't work and the great thing about that was that we've failed and we've understood and we've modified that program before we ask our operators to step away from day-to-day interactions with their business.
[00:20:45] Before we asked them to get up the plane and come to a hotel in the middle of nowhere for three days and then get frustrated that the training and the support and the ongoing pathway that happens beyond that doesn't hit them mark.
[00:20:57] So I'm very thankful to my team who frankly push me to do that session because it gave us that opportunity to say,
[00:21:06] Actually if we're going to fail, let's fail in a room of five people. Let's not fail in a program that's going to touch a few hundred people around the world. Great.
[00:21:18] And I think that's very important to learn some of those lessons to implement them and go large because that's the one that will affect and change.
[00:21:31] I've gotten to know you quite a bit over the last few months and you are clearly a leader in a thought leader in the B2B sales industry, in the retention industry. The merging trends have you see affecting client retention and renewals.
[00:21:54] What trends are you seeing going forward in the coming years and how should companies adapt to these changes? I definitely see a movement from service management to account management and again if I look back to what we kind of mentioned previously,
[00:22:12] the contract being the limitation of how you engage. We have a ten year contract with safe in this client for the next 10 years.
[00:22:20] And we would we would make our money through delivering services that our clients were happy with, we would retain our business because our clients were happy with what was delivered.
[00:22:32] The trend that I see is a constant need to challenge that relationship from the very first day that you engage in that client with that kind. So we have and I'm sure most people do but part of our process, we have a kickoff meeting.
[00:22:47] You know that kickoff meeting should not be scared to challenge the initial deal that's been proposed not to throw it up and say this isn't what we agreed to.
[00:22:57] But to say okay this is our starting position, how else can we help you and this only comes from insight and insight for me is micro and macro.
[00:23:07] So we have micro analysis which we undertake by on a within a particular account and we will understand then you know are the consumers because again we have our B to be but our B to be decisions are driven by our B to see business consumer acceptance.
[00:23:24] So if the food that we are serving in a university is not of a suitable standard, the students will let the university know the university will change their service provider at the nearest opportunity. So we have a multifaceted relationship that we have to keep in place.
[00:23:42] And those trends definitely, for B to be perspective need to reflect what's happening on the retail history. So increased incidence of plant-based menus, healthy reading options and ability to to source from outside.
[00:23:57] And one of the trends that we've seen I think you know again in years gone by we had a relatively captive audience.
[00:24:05] If you were working in a head office you would largely unless you were in a city centre you would largely bound by the facilities which will within that building.
[00:24:14] So there's no longer the case you can now have food delivered into you, you can bring food in from home. More easily you have a wide range of options available.
[00:24:23] So this challenges are industry and it challenges to listen to not just to clients but also as well to consumers. And to recommend and to understand what other consumer trends that are needed. And we have to communicate these at every single point of engagement with our clients.
[00:24:41] We should constantly look in for ways that we can improve our services, we should constantly be looking for ways that we can help our clients be better on what they do.
[00:24:50] Because nobody goes into a university cafeteria and says, I really like the university it's just unfortunate that they picked the wrong service provider. What they say is the food in this university was not of the standard I expected.
[00:25:05] Alternatively if the food is exceptional then you know it drives, it drives employee engagement, it drives better learning patterns, it drives better recuperation in healthcare facilities, you know it drives better and you know.
[00:25:20] And a better desire for people to want to go into the office in these post pandemic times. So it's on us as the service provider to not just sit there and say actually this is what we've been asked to deliver.
[00:25:33] We have to we have to approach it from account management perspective and that has to be a consumer driven account management mentality. I love that idea of what is this going to drive for you in my dear clients.
[00:25:49] My dear client and how can we help you to operate more efficiently more better to create better results for you versus pushing what we need to push. Very good, great.
[00:26:04] And if it brings out to me what you said a Jeff is and this obviously links very much into what we do is, you know, there's a constant need to challenge the client. That's what's your words early on in the last answer.
[00:26:21] I really like that because and that's difficult for people, right? And this is what what clients look for. How do you bring innovation to me in order for us to do that we need to constantly challenge things?
[00:26:37] I really strongly believe that a big misconception is oh, you know, we have to innovate. The word innovation is in everybody's corporate presentation nowadays and it's sort of a beaten to death term. But what does that actually mean?
[00:26:53] Is that a trip to brainstorm island where we'll come up with a wonderful idea and and how to up and leave? Innovation is a process, the vision is a process of question, is a process of, is a process of challenge or in situation.
[00:27:10] The tough question sometimes and in a way that falls all under the need of or under the term of the constant need to challenge. But people need the confidence and the competence to do that. How do we bring innovation to clients is by executing that process?
[00:27:31] I think it's a real important part that many times is overlooked within organizations. It's great. Yeah, and if I could just add in there, hurry as well, I think it's really important that you innovate with the client, not to the client.
[00:27:45] So I think again, you know, with well, well-meaning intention we've all kind of, you know, had examples and you relate back to the digital earlier, you know, where we've been to a trade show.
[00:27:58] We've seen our clients will love this and then we'll go back and we'll present these three or four technologies that we may be saw.
[00:28:06] What we try to do when we do it throughout the game throughout the contract life cycle, not 80 months before the end of the contract, not 12 months, but you know, 34, 5, 6 years before trying to understand what does innovation mean to that client.
[00:28:21] So some of that client's innovation just means will you stop serving the same super every single Monday morning, yeah, wherever it would be lunchtime, yeah. For some innovation means I want delivery robots that are delivering across and we've implemented all elements across that spectrum.
[00:28:39] But understanding what innovation means because it's not always, you know, drones to all of that kind of kind of capability sometimes. Very simple, very small, very meaningful innovation is all that the client is asking for.
[00:28:56] And an understanding that you've taken time to listen and to look around with fresh eyes to take up those fresh eyes. Absolutely. Let's switch gears here a little bit. A couple of more questions I have for you before we wrap up. As.
[00:29:21] What are the key qualities you look for in operators or customers success team to, you know, successful or to ensure successful client retention renewal and growth within an account. I think one of the really.
[00:29:39] The elements for me and I'm sure we've all seen the Simon Sinek, you know, golden circle video.
[00:29:45] But it's that why it's it's understanding why are we here and that goes right back to my my early appointment on the LinkedIn bio, you know, it's why why am I at work today? What am I here to achieve what am I here to help and support with.
[00:30:03] And from a client perspective and from a, you know, we need to understand why has that client chosen to work with sedex. So and sometimes the answer to that question might be.
[00:30:14] You know, Mike leaders to a place where we then understand that the why they chose us we are not meeting today because maybe in the terms of the existing contract.
[00:30:24] Having yet got us to that place and that's what then drives, did you said that innovation the growth of the discussions because you know if for example.
[00:30:34] You know we're working in a head office and you know that the people within the head office are not using the catering facility in the way that we like.
[00:30:44] We can go back into our old world or not our old world but we can go back into a non partnership mode where we start saying, oh well it's because the price in it some rise because food options isn't right actually you know we should sit listen understand.
[00:31:00] We can't just challenge ourselves, challenge the client, challenge the contract challenge what the consumers are asking for that you know the employees within that facility.
[00:31:10] And then build up as a notion around that and again back to the point on thinking big that may mean that we go back and ask for something that's radically different from what we do today.
[00:31:21] And that requires nerves you've got to be brave to do that because the comfortable place everybody likes to be comfortable the comfortable place is to work with what we already know.
[00:31:31] Now one bit that we do therefore consistently try to do is to pull what we call the voice of a client out of our existing engagements some of surveys etc.
[00:31:43] You know we have some algorithms data management engines which allow us to understand what are the key themes that our clients are asking of us so that we can then feed that back from expertise back to those clients because the problem of course is.
[00:31:58] You know if I made a little story I learned this when I was working in India for a couple years we have very high food inflation.
[00:32:05] So we created this this brochure or which we gave to all our clients which talked about what was driving food inflation and you know what were the key.
[00:32:15] You know metaphactors that we're driving and this was this was 2010 2011 actually that was useful it was very well received it was a good educational tool.
[00:32:26] But what he didn't help the clients was what do I now say to my CFO so that I can put a higher budget in next year so so then we had to start working on modeling and say right okay we expect food inflation to be at this sort of level next year.
[00:32:42] And that clients have already appreciated that because actually then they could go back to their teams internally and say actually.
[00:32:49] We believe that food inflation is growing at this level we therefore need to budget next fiscal year for this increase they can then come back to us and we can have a healthy conversation as opposed to. anything about that because I've already locked my budgets for next year.
[00:33:05] It's a small example but that's partnership and it's a difference between our feeling that we're knowledgeable because we're writing a brochure that talks about what food inflation is.
[00:33:16] And being supportive in terms of we're helping our clients model for the future so that they then in turn can give us the tools to be successful and that for me is strong partnership. loving. We almost at the end Jeff you've provided really good insights for listeners.
[00:33:38] Let's do a top three skills as I call it final questions. Final question. Share with the audience your perception of what are the top three skills and behaviors that operators or customers success people need to
[00:33:59] execute over the client relationship cycle to ensure that contracts are in needs and give it to me in the order of priority in your mind. Number one number two number three skill of what operators need to have an execute well.
[00:34:16] I would say number one they need to be able to work on multiple time frames so this is challenging again in a you know in an industry where sometimes time is not.
[00:34:29] It's not abundance but they need to be able to step out of the day today and they need to be able to look.
[00:34:37] Of course we need to know do we have enough potatoes for lunch today we need to know do we have enough staff available to be able to support the reception. You know whatever the service we're providing in that of course we absolutely have to do that.
[00:34:52] The total number of the people in the business are the total number of people in the business. These are the qualifiers the hygiene factors called and what you will but we have to have that ability to step back from that day to day service delivery.
[00:35:04] And say actually from an expectation perspective. What does the client expect of us and how can we therefore put a program in place to support that over the next 12 18 24 36 months.
[00:35:18] And we would be they have to be translators and this is actually in a way harder than the first part because they have to be able to talk to the client as an employee of sedexo.
[00:35:32] And to communicate sedexo strategic vision and to communicate where sedexo and value you know again we often a challenge by our clients what do you what do we get outside of the site team that sedexo brings.
[00:35:48] And it's really important that we help our operators understand what that is so that in turn that operator can then communicate that back to the client.
[00:35:58] What they also then have a responsibility for and it's really important this that they communicate back to us the needs of the client.
[00:36:07] Because if we're not understanding the needs of the client then our marketing teams our you know food food platform teams our technical services teams our HR teams. And you know learning and development teams are not creating the right supporting content to help then be successful.
[00:36:26] And what then happens is we then just end up inventing at the point of need there's risk that we can't fulfill our promises so the operators have to make sure the customer success managers have to make sure that they help us understand because they're the people who are walking living breathing inside our client sites on a day to day basis.
[00:36:45] The third piece if those two are in place is be brave you know our XDC Michelle and they'll use to say budget budgets destroy companies.
[00:36:57] And whilst he was slightly tongue in cheek what he said and if I see a phone was listening he most certainly wouldn't agree with that statement and he's right not to.
[00:37:06] I'm making their is if you are constrained by your contract if you are constrained by just hitting your numbers by hitting your budgets and then you are bound within your existence as a said earlier you are bound within your existing relationship.
[00:37:18] You have no capability to to grow and expand by on that so you have to be brave. So as I said it's it's about making sure that you you know you step out of your time frames you're a translator but also as well you can exhibit bravery.
[00:37:34] Fabulous and if I think about those three points multiple time frames translate and be brave. I'm sort of breaking it down to the skills necessary again so how do you generate in the multiple time frame environment and serve and challenge client expectations.
[00:37:56] I think that's a great point to translate the how do we position and frame value and share value internally in all of this is only possible by being brave and courageous.
[00:38:07] It also as well there are aspects of that and again in a large multi segment decentralized client river organization.
[00:38:17] It's quite easy sometimes to to again to invent at the point to be to not necessarily understand the need for for for process and structure so for us particularly in those kind of listening areas.
[00:38:32] We have very structured engagement you know as we said voice of the client expectations elements that we work towards and for those.
[00:38:42] Where the subject matter experts and my role and that goes right back to the links in bio of our providing something that can be anticipated and appreciated.
[00:38:51] My role is to market sell and communicate that so that somebody who's in you know hospital facility in Chicago can understand actually if I implement that in the way that I've been asked to.
[00:39:05] I get value I get value of that because it allows me to manage the relationships strategically across the contract lifecycle.
[00:39:13] I can set myself up in the best possible position to retain that business when the opportunity arises and I'm not ending up in a position where I've read it.
[00:39:23] Reactively across the contract lifecycle and then with six months ago all of a sudden I'm panicking because I don't have innovation I don't have a sale story I don't have a roadmap I don't have. The strategic web of influence and relationships in place right absolutely.
[00:39:42] You so much for your fabulous insights I know our listeners appreciate your input and. Very very valuable information that you have provided that to them thanks everyone for tuning in again to the B2B sales trends podcast until next episode be brave be courageous.
[00:40:08] Happy renewing happy retaining and happy selling look after yourselves. Bye bye.