Alex Berry sets up consultancy to help sales people in business aviation excel.

Tuesday 31st January 2017

In business aviation, sales people are some of the most valued individuals. Their ability to bring in clients and repeat business is vital to a business's bottom line. Recognising this, Alex Berry, drawing on his near 20 years experience selling and marketing in the sector has established a new consultancy, www.alexgberry.com, to help companies improve their sales process, train and galvanise their sales people to win more business.

"Selling is primarily a process, but one which can be constantly improved," he states.

Drawing on his experience in sales and marketing supporting blue chip industry names including NetJets, Marquis Jets, Bombardier's SkyJet International, VistaJet and since 2010 as Group Sales and Marketing Director of charter brokerage Chapman Freeborn, Alex asserts: An efficient, effective sales process with well recruited sales people who are constantly trained and improved is the foundation of a successful sales organization."

He sets out to address every aspect of the sales process with clients, offering options to improve the process (and ultimate sales performance) using whatever tools offer the best and most appropriate remedy. From a single day Sales Process Audit, to ongoing coaching and development. Alex's insight, energy and experience can be game changing.

In addition he offers bespoke in house sales training and coaching, sales management coaching, effective CRM use and advises on customer communications, either from a new business perspective or in enhancing the management of existing accounts.

Alex works with the Objective Management Group (OMG), which provides growing companies with the timeliest and most accurate insights for growing sales, profits and market share. It looks at people, strategies and systems to evaluate whether sales people can actually execute the company's strategies, meet expectations and whether they truly belong in their roles.

One new industry sector that Alex Berry identifies as needing sales help is the new SETOps operators, which will be able to offer regular public air charter under AOC operators as soon as EASA waives the rules.

"No matter how good the new aircraft and service is the crucial matter will be letting the potential customers know that this option now exists. If they don't know, they won't consider buying it, let alone actually buying it. Whilst it is not in everyone's taste or budget to spend £100k on a car, £5k on a watch or even £300 on a dinner for two, they do know there are options in all those categories for consideration," he says. Business aviation needs to be an option for every possible prospect."

"Day after day I observe groups of four people, in first class rail doing the regular commute to London or Edinburgh, and statistics say this is happening many 1,000 times more across the country. Between them they will have spent somewhere in the region of £1,000, yet if asked what the other options could have been to complete this journey, a private aircraft is very rarely, if ever, on their list."

If business aviation is to reap the obvious benefits and advantages of SETOps then it is vital that they start to sell the benefits, build the value and widen the customer base. There is no point in simply trying to draw Citation Mustang customers into the Pilatus PC-12 or convert Phenom customers to a Daher TBM 900 so they can save a few pounds. This exercise simply devalues the whole industry, and accelerates the race to the bottom."

Rather this sector should be embraced because it positively expands the brand of business aviation and will help bring in future customers.