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William McMillian
12:03
It was a great game and very agonizing lost. However, knowing that we gave Michigan all they could handle, if I were Navy I would be afraid, be very afraid!!! Go Army Beat Navy!!!
Midshipmen
12:02
William, did you lose any sleep after that Michigan game?
Bill Schafer
12:02
We are out of time.  We will publish a transcript and follow up on questions we could not answer.   Keep fighting and know that while we have challenges, you are appreciated, respected, and a key driver of our company's growth!  Have a great weekend
William McMillian
12:01
The Sales Force Advisory Council has been around for some time. We continue to evolve the council to make it truly a vehicle for the voice of the sales force.  During the Re-Org we combined both B2B / B2C to create a region view that encompassed all key positions within the sales force.  The next meeting will be the week of Oct 14th. If you have input please contact your local Advisory Council member.  If you have a question of who your contact is please contact your manager.  Also, we will publish a copy of the members following this webchat.
Bill Schafer
11:59
Engage Employee....RBM is a great role.     I was involved in a discussion recently that really reminded me of why I believe that the RBM role in our organization is one of, if not, the most important role in our organization.  It hit me that I have not adequately communicated that on a frequent enough basis and has caused me to reflect on why our organizational and business success are highly related to the execution and leadership that this group both collectively and individually demonstrate.  

RBMs do have demanding roles that are the key focal points that tie together our ONE Michelin strategy, and a strategy that will evolve in the future as we further begin in 2020 to determine how to align and integrate Camso.  This will likely create increased business opportunities while also continuing to provide opportunities related to leadership and mgmt.
As someone who began their career as a TBM, I am aware of the impact, as a young and new employee, that my RBM had on my dev, career, and how I see the world
TBM
11:57
In regards to the SalesForce advisory council. When it was first introduced, and maybe there was some misunderstanding, but a lot of us were under the impression that this is a revolving opporutnity. Meaning that every year or so we would have a new representative for each zone. Is this still the case and if so when will we see a new opportunity to voice our opinion for who should be representing us?
Bill Schafer
11:55
Engage Employee......I wake up daily hoping to keep you that way!!
William McMillian
11:55
I would agree that the all roles within the organization are evolving.  Leadership is a core skill that is required for the RBM role.  It is a skill set that is highly necessary for the future success of our organization.  Leadership also entails the coaching and development of people.  We win or loss with people.  Also, the title of the Role is Region Business Manager which means there has to be a focus on driving business results for the organization. There is a delicate balance but at the end of the day we are a sales organization and as a sales leader, the responsibility is to drive business results by understanding and effectively managing your business which include knowing your customers, competitors, financial performance, and how to work with people to drive a top line result.
Engaged Employee
11:55
Follow up on TBM's question about the role of the RSM:  While it is easy to say that we view it as the most important role . . . I'm curious as to what you as senior managers would say to someone considering being an RSM as to why it is a desirable role when you weigh travel, product complexity, people coaching etc.   I believe your challenge today is to 'sell' this as a truly desirable position.  Could you take a stab at why someone should want to take on this challenge and particularly at this level of compensation?
Bill Schafer
11:54
Great question. We don’t have the marketing team here to provide the most up to date information regarding your question. Certain topics I am clueless on and I empower the experts to answer :)
We will follow up with them, and also follow up with the teams to provide information on any other questions we can’t answer.
Guest
11:53
We still seem to be slow at reacting to the market when we see products and services that are not priced competitively or are not performing to our high standards.  What specific actions are being taken to address this issue.
Bill Schafer
Individual personal development is very important to the company and we recognize it does require you to carve out time in your schedule. Please work with your manager or your development partner for the right development opportunities that suit your professional ambitions.  Some of these may be formal trainings, some e-learning, and some on-the-job application (like projects). A great time to discuss this is during Frequent Feedback with your manager.
11:51
Guest, part of steering a business is constantly managing the balance between markets, volumes, margins, etc and pricing does play a role in this process.  Over the last several years we have had some price modifications at year end and we are currently in the process of discussing what actions we should take in 2020.
Mr 18k
11:50
It's very difficult to carve out time and step away from the business to work on personal development (ie formal training). Any advice from your careers on how to best manage this?
Guest
11:49
Has there been any discussion of an upcoming price increase?
Bill Schafer
11:48
Field TBM.....Regarding Tweel retreading, great question.  While we do need some competitor retread processes to be capable to retread Tweel, without question  there is pressure and focus internally to improve and increase Tweel process capacity within our plants.  I will follow up on this topic and ensure that our Off Road marketing team (Justin Brock) can follow up with an update per consultation with Tom Brennan.
TBM
11:48
I have heard that the role of the RSM is changing to be more of a Business Analyst/MBAish (#'s) and less Coaching?  Is this the direction?
William McMillian
11:47
Within our new organization, the need for collaboration and communication has increased significantly.  We have done a couple of things to try and address this.  #1 is the increased utilization of the Sales Force Advisory Council.  They are a huge vehicle that represents the voice of the sales force.  #2 Within the B2B RT staff, we have created Subject Matter Sponsors to work specifically with the HNA in an effort to bridge the gap on communications and align on key objectives for the sales team.  The DOCBs are in direct contact with Marketing, Sales Operations, Supply Chain, Pricing, SP, SFDC etc.  To date we have seen an increase of alignment and collaboration.  #3 At the B2B Staff level Sales and Marketing conduct Monthly staff meetings to ensure we are continuing to drive alignment throughout the organization.
Field TBM
11:46
When will we see some increased pressure from HNA to our MRT retreaders to add Tweel?  So far, most options we have are with Bandag retreaders.
Bill Schafer
11:45
Ron...Anchorman...classic film!     We are working, for a reduced number of targeted customers to be able to early in 2020 be able to manage both dealer orders, fleet DRs, via one system / process.  It is key that we quickly begin to send a message to our customers that we will treat them as ONE (ordering , billing, etc).  Again, for a select small group of targeted fleets in early 2020 we hope to deliver a ONE Michelin process.
11:44
I’m not aware of connectivity issues and I’m not sure if MITS is aware. If you’re experiencing these issues, please call the Michelin Service Desk at 1-844-352-5093.
Maverick
11:43
Email connectivity seems to be an issue that has lingered for more than a week.  This is really causing some communications issues.   Asking if MITS is aware and an ETA for corrections?
Rambo first blood
11:41
What measures are we taking to close the gap between field salesforce and HNA? It seems that HNA makes decisions based on their own findings and not of the feedback from the field? (i.e., price increases Uniroyal vs Double Coin, or launching programs like we did towards the end of last year to get sales with huge backorders?)
Ron Burgundy
11:40
When do you anticipate the ability to bill a Camso product on a Michelin DR?
Bill Schafer
Closer....keep closing!!!   Sales does impact NPS.  Account Management is a part of the questions that our customers receive.  They care about responsiveness, follow up, support, etc.  Many of you provide timely feedback to dealers and fleets based upon NPS feedback and this has a great impact on customer satisfaction and our NPS scores.  Continue to review the feedback for your customers and respond on a timely manner.
11:40
In regards to the conference details, we will have more specific information to share in October. Most sales employees will be arriving on November 17 and departing Wednesday, November 20. Some will be asked to stay through the customer portion the second half of the week.
Bryan Dingler
11:38
Regarding the conference in New Orleans. When will we receive more details on the event? Schedule, customer list, dates, etc?
Closer
11:37
What impact does Sales have in improving the NPS?
Bill Schafer
11:37
CA, thanks for expressing this.  We are working to source more tires, for a variety of reasons, from NA and Europe.  That said, the quality of our products, regardless of where they are made is the same.  We can reach out to Marketing to provide additional selling tools, in the interim, to help you with your efforts.
Marco
11:34
The Advantage Reload enhancement has been an absolute "game-changer!"   I can't express how significant "ease of doing business" is to our customers.  Being able to enroll and have access to the benefits in the same day is critical. Thanks
Bill Schafer
11:34
We’re excited to have B2B and B2C together for the first time for the conference this year, along with our customer base. It will be a unique opportunity to show off One Michelin’s abilities to Expand Possibilities for our customer and employees. We are coordinating careful guidelines to appropriately manage the number of attendees so it remains a valuable experience for internal and external attendees.
Guest
11:34
What can we expect in New Orleans with the dealers attending for the National Meeting? Are we concern with too many people attending (B2B, B2C, HNA, Dealers)?
William McMillian
11:33
I believe if you ask the DOCB for the SEZ, he will tell that its one of his number one objectives.  I am very confident that him and the RMs within the SEZ are working diligently on a plan.
CA
11:32
Some customers in Canada are rejecting to purchase tires made in China, XDS2.  Will this continue in 2020?
Bill Schafer
11:32
OnTheRoad,  regarding NPS, while our scores are still -1 pt versus 2018 and below our growth target for 2020, I will say that I am pleased we are using NPS to drive increased consciousness across our entire company regarding challenges and issues that our customers face doing business with Michelin.  this is driving accelerated change although not yet visible in our NPS results.  The first step to progress is a shared consciousness that we have problems, and while this may historically been understood by the M&S community, I do not believe it was well understood elsewhere in the company.  That is now changing behaviors, understandings, engagement, etc.  We have customer rooms with tranverse teams attacking issues that are dealing with these topics as well as a lot of other topics.  Keep being honest with us regarding issues coming from our customers.
Guest
11:32
Do we have plans to grow a dealer in the SE Particularly in MS, and LA? Snider has about 1-2 sales reps in the state of MS. The competition has about 3-6 reps at every store, and blankets the whole state. What plans do we have in place to grow share in these markets?
Guest
11:31
Kudos to the marketing team for the newest On/Off Road Tires Key Reference Guide (very Power of One!!) Fleets are loving it! Recommendation to use this format for other application/segment reference guides going forward and including the Agilis line as well!
William McMillian
11:30
Yes, based on the Managers Communication Resource guide that went to all manager there will be another communication coming out in early Oct.  However, those individuals who were impacted have already been notified.  Finally, we are working aggressively to place them in other opportunities within the organization.
Sales
11:28
Will there be more information released on what specific territories are being suppressed and how many people's jobs were affected?
William McMillian
11:27
TBM, the role of the TBM as well has evolved.  I agree there has been a lot of additional complexity added based on the changes within the organization.  We have spent considerable time this year working through simplifying the focus for the TBM. The concept behind One Michelin is for us to leverage the collective capability of the organization.  We are not looking for everyone to be able to know everything about all products, however, we should be leveraging our teammates and functional experts to assist us in accounts where there One Michelin opportunities vs trying to solve these situations alone.
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