A Process Of On-Going Improvement (POOGI) - Part 24

We are continuing our series based on The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints.

To describe sales as a process, we must define the steps of the process. Of course, these may vary somewhat between industries and companies, and may be described in more or less detail. One such list of steps for a sales process is:




Often not considered are the capacity of the sales process and the flow of work through the sales process. In the example above, the capacity of the organization is greater than where work is (snapshot 1) except in one place: engineering at 20. Is it the case that in your company you may have one or bottlenecks that slows your responsiveness when trying to win new customers? As in the example above, will such a bottleneck serve to further reduce the rate at which you win new business?

In snapshot 2, we’ve assumed we’ve doubled the capacity of engineering. Now the rate of sales through the sales funnel is limited by the capacity of Production prototype at 35.

No, sales funnel management is not rocket science. But few organizations—including machine shops—are managing their sales process.

To manage your sales funnel, you must (1) define the steps in your sales process, (2) determine the capacity of your organization to perform each step in a time period, and (3) measure how many prospects are in each step a particular point in time.


...to be continued.

Here's to maximizing YOUR profits!

Dr Lisa Lang

(c)Copyright 2008, Dr Lisa, Inc. All rights reserved.

The steps to implement Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) are not that hard to understand or explain. The difficulity lies in applying it to YOUR specific situation. If you don't know how to do that or do it incorreclty, it could lead to the conclusion that -- TOC doesn't work.

We are going to take 5 companies through the process of implementing DBR remotely. We will explain each step and discuss any questions or concerns specific to your situation. This will be a 12 week program with one session per week. Each session is 90 minutes in length. All 5 companies will be on the same call to take advantage of learning from the other companies. During this 12 week program you will learn:
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NEXT Group Mafia Offer Boot Camp: September 24, 25, 26 2008 in Denver. More information at http://www.mafiaoffers.com/. There are also PRIVATE and On-line Mafia Offer Boot Camps. The July boot camp SOLD OUT and there is no group boot camp in August. Don't miss September!

Are you a Vistage/TEC member who would like your team to hear my speech? Here it is: NEXT Maximizing Profitability Event (no charge): September 23, 2008 in Denver from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Science of Business Training Center. More information at http://www.viable-vision.com/. You can register by fax or on-line.