The correct application of the Sales Excellence content promises a sustainable increase in professionalism in sales with a holistic effect within your company directed at your existing and potential customers.
This is not simply said (written), but is based on many years of experience in B2B sales.
The following figure first gives you an impression of the comprehensive approach of Sales Excellence, whose implementation process begins with the creation of an actual profile and ends with sustainably valuable customers.
To the diagram a little story:
After I was entrusted with the task of taking over the sales department of a well-known steel foundry a good 20 years ago, I set out on a quest to develop myself and thus “my” company further. Further education and training courses made me aware of the Sales Excellence approach of Homburg, Schäfer and Schneider. The authors dedicated themselves to this topic since 2001 and have been developing it consistently ever since. I took up the aspects and very quickly realised that sales alone cannot achieve the growth targets set. I began to think holistically in order to incorporate the established cross-divisional structures, processes and interfaces and harmonise them with the sales targets. At that time I convinced my colleagues with my ideas for multidimensional communication. Work preparation increasingly spoke with the design department, was interested in quality assurance issues and explained these directly to the customer’s QA department. This also led to meetings without participation of the classically acting persons in purchasing and sales. Today we speak of cross-functional action for a holistic customer focus. The turnover developed very positively. The market shares increased and consolidated. In the course of time we realised our strength in the market and started to question it. We proved that we have strong customer loyalty through the complex relationships that have developed. The mutual interest and understanding grew. Quasi as a by-product of multidimensional communication we achieved a higher quality level and a delivery reliability, which was even documented by some customers (!) with an OTD (On-Time-Delivery) rate of 100%. Re-purchases, cross-selling, recommendations for an acceptable new customer rate and a lower price sensitivity were also the positive results. Our understanding of the customers, their markets and their customers (vertical/multi-level marketing) increased steadily, because we received true information from each side and learned how to use it correctly. Gradually, our organisation adapted to the customers intuitively (today described as a learning and/or agile organisation) and sustainably. It was simply fun – together on all levels and with the customers.
Of course, I was not able to summarise all aspects and backgrounds of the successes from the application of the Sales Excellence approach in such a short time. Above all, the systematic approach and the digital transformation are hardly or not at all apparent here. The change process alone, the numerous individual and group interviews with the people involved and the coordination of the increased flow of information were among the elementary components and prerequisites for this development. However, the brevity of the story shows in a simple way the necessity of a holistic implementation. The relationships that have been established stand for sustainability, which naturally have to be cultivated.
The view of the big picture.
In the course of implementation or consulting, care must be taken to ensure that the individual elements of Sales Excellence are broadly reflected – see diagram below.
But one thing is still important to me.
Recently, I have had to hear and read that the Sales Excellence approach to the inclusion of digitisation has been thought too short or even incomplete. I resolutely reject this perception that is alien to practice. For me, digitisation or even digital transformation of processes and information is only a logical consequence; never the beginning of a strategy or process. A supporting and integrated CRM system only makes sense when the understanding and action of the organisation, more precisely the customer-oriented, cross-functional and cross-departmental employees, are available and lived for a cause, e.g. a CRM.
I do, however, admit one criticism regarding the little treated topic of price management. Due to the complexity, the depth and the enormous effect of a correct price management I also dedicate a separate field of application for my consulting and in the interim.
Stay tuned.
Allow yourself to be carried away by what I have to say and let me share in your thoughts. I would be happy to discuss opinions, experiences and ideas with you. Ask me about concrete problems, the causes of these problems and possible solutions for your personal strategy work or implementation.
Students or pupils are welcome to consult the content or the scientific literature reference as a suggestion for their own work. I am also happy to give tips here.
More blogs will follow. Soon you will find further relevant content for strategy and implementation: brand management, communication management, price management etc.
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