A lot is written about “the VUCA world”. Most of the articles come from the areas of business model development and marketing. One area of a company that hardly seems to change is sales. It is not only a multi-channel sales approach or stronger partner sales that need to transform the sales system. We present the 4 success factors in sales and show examples of how they can be used.

Success factor 1: Relevant customer data

This success factor is undisputed on a meta-level. Every article, event, manager and consultant emphasizes how important customer data has become for success. What is often forgotten is that not every customer data point is equally valuable. What does a company do with the information that a customer has visited the website with an Apple smartphone? What does it mean for a B2B salesperson if a customer likes a post on LinkedIn? Can a company optimally manage sales for the future based on past sales? Our projects always show that the sales department has enormous potential to gain more valuable customer data, but that this has not yet reached the minds of those responsible. In a sales meeting, salespeople can easily determine how ready the respective company is to accept future innovations. In addition, salespeople can easily determine how price-sensitive the company in question is. This is very valuable information for sales management. The larger the customer base, the more valuable this information becomes for sales management. In innovation sales in particular, all customers are usually approached instead of gaining information about the customers in advance to determine who is willing to accept an innovation as an early adopter.

Success factor 2: Continuously improved customer value model

Success factor 2 builds on success factor 1. In most companies, the term customer value is still viewed as an analysis of sales in the previous period. The fundamental focus on profit instead of turnover is often still difficult. Reservations are quickly expressed about a contribution margin-based customer value model. However, the aim is not to introduce a customer lifetime value immediately, but to improve the customer value model step by step. The respective model must also be used in everyday life. We recommend starting with a classic ABC analysis based on the customer contribution margin and then developing customer scoring in the second step. However, valuable customer data is required for customer scoring that is relevant to management. This is why success factors 1 and 2 are linked. The 4 success factors in sales cannot be viewed in isolation. Customer scoring can include qualitative information, such as the aforementioned openness to innovation or price sensitivity. Elements such as customer satisfaction or joint product development are also conceivable. In practice, the selection of dimensions and their optimal weighting takes an average of three years. Only then does the customer value model function stably. In a further step, consideration can be given to the mathematical representation of customer value in terms of customer lifetime value.

Success factor 3: Reduce interfaces

The term sales enablement increasingly calls for cooperation between marketing and sales. In most B2B or B2C sectors, 70% of customers have already decided what they want to buy when they meet a salesperson. Success factor 3 is therefore closely linked to success factor 1. Customers inform themselves about the respective offer on the website, on a landing page, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. A powerful CRM/marketing automation system with a tracking function can collect individualized customer data. However, this data should not remain in marketing and should only be used for the famous newsletters. The interfaces between marketing and sales need to be reduced. This means that marketing should once again see itself much more as sales than as pure communication. Sales must strengthen its digital skills. Sales staff must be able to anticipate the new channels in their own approach and learn to use the respective key figures. In practice, there is still an immense lack of understanding of the huge effort required for the transformation in this area. In the context of sales enablement, marketing must recognize that, in addition to customers, sales is an increasingly important target group for its own activities. It should be noted that the interfaces between the innovation department and sales also need to be put to the test. IoT and blockchain offerings require explanations.

Success factor 4: Targeted sales activities

The 4 success factors in sales result in a consistent control system. If the first 3 success factors in sales are taken into account, the sales system is able to deploy the respective activities in a targeted manner. The famous “watering can” stays in the garden. Based on the customer value analyses, visit times, discounts, trade fair invitations, etc. can be geared more profit-oriented. The system should be regarded as self-reinforcing. The more valuable customer data is available in sales, because more is collected and the interface to marketing is reduced, the more efficient the customer value model, the more likely it is that sales can organize its activities in a profit-oriented manner. Many companies have a great deal of untapped potential in sales. We often hear excuses such as “we are far too small for such an approach” or “we are far too large and complex for such an approach”. But the points presented here should not just be seen as a goal, but as a continuous transformation with bold steps.

Outlook on the 4 success factors in sales

Sales is facing a fundamental transformation. Put simply: less sending, more listening. The acquisition of valuable customer information in a structured manner has not yet been recognized as a key success factor in most companies. The establishment of a powerful customer value model presupposes that customer coverage contributions are available in the company and that the necessary skills are available to create and continuously develop them. The statement “it’s too complicated” does not refer to the topic of the customer value model, but to the lack of skills of the person responsible. Sales enablement is gaining momentum in practice. But it is too often misunderstood as pure data exchange. Sales enablement involves enabling marketing to think more in terms of sales and enabling sales to anticipate the many technological developments in marketing. By considering the 4 success factors in sales, a company is able to align its sales activities in a more profit-oriented way. The increasing uncertainty that automatically exists in a VUCA world can thus be significantly reduced. The 4 success factors in sales presented here are based on our Sales Excellence approach, which was developed with the Center for Sales & Retail at the HWZ.