By Virginia Mburu
Mwakazi- the Passionate Entrepreneur and owner; Makao Interior
Designers wants to expand his customer base. He recently hired several Sales
Representatives and it is now time to
send them to the market.
As he prepares to do so, he comes across this reading in Luke
chapter nine where Jesus is
sending out the twelve disciples.
On deeper analysis, he picks some important points to consider as he readies
his team for “Project expand”.
1. Let there be an
agreement
Luke 9: 1 "When Jesus
had called the Twelve together......"
And the agreement is reached by people who come together and
deliberate on the issues at hand. No wonder Jesus calls the twelve together and
proceeds to.....
2. Give them power
and authority
Luke 9: 1 “...he gave them power and authority to drive
out all demons and to cure diseases,....”
Jesus delegated Power and
authority together not separately. He
equipped the twelve with the power (ability) to perform the necessary tasks and
the authority (right) to do so. You can be sure the demons would have given
them a tough time if the disciples did not have the authority (right) over
them.
Mwakazi noted
that he needed to define the powers and authority to delegate to his
representatives. Which ones? To what extent? How were they to exercise the
power and authority? But then, he also
noted that it was paramount to......
3. Define the business
mission
Luke
9: 2 ...and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Jesus was sending the
disciples out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal which was in line with
his mission which was to “preach the good
news of the kingdom of God” as spelt in Luke 4: 43.
Mwakazi realized that he had not yet defined the sales
mission for his business. He observed that as he crafted one, it had to be in
alignment with the business mission. With a clear mission, he could then....
4. Craft the sales message
Mark 6: 12 “They went out and
preached that people should repent.....” Mwakazi
referenced other authors of this incident and noted that according to Mark, the
message all the disciples preached was similar, clear and simple. He was to
have a clear message and understood by all Reps before they started to.....
5. Prospect
Matthew 10; 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search
for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.
While referencing other authors, Mwakazi noted that Matthew
records that the twelve were to search for a worthy place to lodge in. The disciples had to
make the right choice of the home. Once they chose, they were stuck there till
they left that town!
This was particularly important as it
impacted on the next step in the process. Mwakazi needed to set up a system on how to prospect for worthy
prospects who were most likely to quickly turn into customers.
6. Build and maintain
relationships
In Luke 9: 3-4 Jesus told the disciples to "Take nothing for the journey--no
staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter,
stay there until you leave that town.”
The twelve were to travel light and stay
in the same home they chose which meant that they had to develop and maintain relationships
with the people they were sent to as they were to depend on them for shelter
and food.
This got Mwakazi thinking on how he was
to get the reps to build great customer relationships as it was the customers
who paid their salaries. As they built the relationships, the Reps were to.....
7. Expect and quickly
get over rejection
Luke 9: 5 If people do not
welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a
testimony against them." Some
would reject the disciples or the message. Get over it and move on to the next
customer while keeping in mind that.....
8.
Teamwork wins
Mark
6:7-12 7 “Calling the Twelve
to him, he sent them out two by two....” Did someone say that two is better than
one since when one falls, the other lifts him up? Enough said as Mwakazi noted
that he needed to......
9. Immediately Execute
Luke 9:6 So they set out and
went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people
everywhere. The disciples immediately took their
message to the customers in the villages. Hit the road when the message is
still very hot and enthusiasm high and for sure......
11. Expect reaction
from the market
Luke 9:7-9 “Now Herod the
tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some
were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had
appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back
to life. But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things
about?" And he tried to see him.”
The Representatives presence in the market will be felt and the various
stakeholders in the market will certainly react. Will they be perplexed, curious, indignant,
worried etc.? All the same, Mwakazi decided that he would identify in advance
the various stakeholders, the expected reaction and his next course of
action.
He was not to be caught napping!
All the more reason why it was paramount to.....
12. Set up a
reporting structure
Luke 9: 10 “When the apostles returned, they reported
to Jesus what they had done.” How will the performance reports reach the business? How
will these reports be analysed and integrated into the business to move it to
the next level? With the expected successful results, Mwakazi
also needed to plan on....
13. Where to retreat
to
Luke 9:10 “........Then
he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,....”
Jesus and his disciples withdrew to
Bethsaida possibly to review the plans, processes, areas of improvement etc. as
well as celebrate results. Where would Mwakazi and his successful team retreat
to? Mwakazi picked up his phone......
Over to you Passionate
Entrepreneur;
- How do you prepare your sales Reps before sending them out to the field?
- What else could Mr. Mwakazi do to prepare his Reps?
Share your experiences, suggestions or questions
in the comments section below. Who knows- You could probably be one of the
beneficiaries of one of the miracles resulting from the next sales expedition!
Whatever you do, make sure it results in less
work, more money and positive impact.
Update
Virginia Mburu
Passionate Entrepreneurs Coach
Virginia empowers and motivates Passionate Entrepreneurs to realize their purpose and pursue it. She then assists the entrepreneurs to clarify, prioritise and focus on management and marketing strategies and action plans that will get them to work less, make more money and positively impact within one year. Access some of her gifts- absolutely free lessons on biasharacoach.blogspot.co.ke
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