TOC for Sales & Marketing

Introduction
The TOC for Sales and Marketing Approach is for those individuals and organizations who want to significantly improve their bottom line performance, but can only do so by effectively addressing the external factors constraining their performance ­ external constraints such as insufficient market demand, poor supplier performance, or the unwillingness of the financial institutions to provide the necessary capital - and are ready to shift from the Cost World to the Throughput World.

If:

• Competition is fiercer than ever
• There is unprecedented pressure to take action to increase sales
• The pressure to reduce prices is high
• A lack of sufficient improvements in other areas jeopardizes the increase in sales
• There is not enough money for advertising
• Marketing has to launch new products/services at an unprecedented rate
• A lack of sufficient innovative ideas jeopardizes the ability to increase sales

In the Throughput World management efforts are directed toward the "weakest link" (the constraint), therefore improving the overall performance/strength of the "chain" (organization).

Objective
To get a better understanding how TOC constraint management enables a company to achieve significant, sustainable, long-term improvements on its bottom-line within a short period of time (40-50% improvements are common).

Description
Through the use of the TOC Thinking Processes, open discussion, interactive computer-simulations and interactive exercises, participants gain an in-depth understanding of the subject matter.

The in-depth understanding of the subject matter is achieved through taking the participants through six steps.

1. Consensus on the core problem.
   • Existing problems are analyzed and the core problem is identified
2. Painting a direction for a generic solution
   • The basic direction of a solution is examined
3. Agreement that the solution overcomes the core problem
   • Major issues related to the solution are addressed
4. Elimination of any potential negative side effects introduced by the solution
5. Developing of a generic solution
6. Discussion on how to implement the generic solution into participants specific environment.
   • How to implement this solution and how to overcome "resistance to change" are discussed as well.

Through extensive and interactive discussions, participants discover:

• The real factors that inhibit the effective management of the external constraints;
• The common causes of these real factors; problems;
• A simple, logical, generic solution that alleviates the impact of the external constraint on the organization's performance, and Provides the external constraint with significant, quantifiable bottom line benefits
• How to customize the generic solution to a specific environment;
• How to overcome obstacles blocking implementation.

The workshop:

• Focuses on the obstacles that blocks an organization to effectively address an external constraint.
• Reviews implications of supplier’s perception of value vs customer’s perception of value
• Examines issues and viewpoints of the producer, the customer, the end-user and the product itself
• Identifying the necessary components to support a sustainable win-win.
• Focuses on the obstacles that stem from the organization’s marketing strategy

The TOC Sales and Marketing solution involves developing a win-win. In order to effectively address an external constraint, the organization must construct and present an offer that represents a “win-win.” This is what we call an "unrefuseable offer."

To construct and present such an offer requires that we create a shift in the way that our offer is valued by the external constraint: from one that is based almost solely on "price" - where the other important elements of our offer are left virtually unquantified (the ones that can make or break the deal); to one that is based on "price related to bottom line benefits."

Hence, one of the major elements to be addressed in providing an external constraint with an "unrefuseable offer" is quantifying the value of the offer in terms of its impact on the external constraint's bottom line. Bottom line here doesn't necessarily mean Net Profit - it might mean Return-On-Investment, Inventory Turns, Cash Flow, or keeping within budget. What's important in doing this is looking at the bottom line through the eyes of the external constraint and determining what it considers to be important. Quantifying the offer in this way enables the external constraint to value the organization’s offer on the basis of the "bottom line benefits it gets for the price" rather than simply the "price."

A solution doesn’t sell by itself, therefore the TOC Sales and Marketing solution involves:

• Bringing the prospect to agree on their magnitude of their problems/needs
• Bringing the prospect to see that they all stem from the same source: the core problem.
• Communicating the above in a way that builds trust in the sales person as well as the organization.