Sales Growth: Five Proven Strategies from the World's Sales Leaders (Hardcover)

Foreword xi Preface xv STRATEGY 1 FIND GROWTH BEFORE YOUR COMPETITORS DO 1 The best sales leaders drive growth for their companies. They use data and insights to anticipate market momentum and pinpoint where untapped potential lies. They steal the march on competitors and lock in new customers first. CHAPTER 1 Look 10 Quarters Ahead 3 Insights from economic, technological, and behavioral megatrends translate into opportunities at the front line. The best sales leaders invest ahead of emerging demand and cultivate demand for products that won't be available for years. Peering into the future and harnessing tomorrow's trends is a job for sales leaders, not just visionary CEOs. Interview: William J. Teuber, Jr., EMC 14 CHAPTER 2 Mine Growth beneath the Surface 17 Averages are misleading. Take a microscope to existing markets and see the opportunities that competitors routinely overlook. Drill down to the zip code level or look at customer segments by industry or demographic characteristics to reveal untapped pockets of growth. Then turn the analysis into a simple message for the front line. Interview: Alejandro Munoz, Pioneer Hi-Bred 28 CHAPTER 3 Find Big Growth in Big Data 31 The explosion of big data (such as customer behavior or social media chatter) opens up amazing sales opportunities. This is rocket science, but if you're left behind, you'll miss out--perhaps for good. Retailers could boost operating margins by up to 25 percent, and all kinds of companies could follow suit if they build insights from a wide array of internal and external data sources and create tailored selling propositions based on personalization. But to maximize the benefi ts of big data, it needs to be at the very heart of the sales culture. Interview: Shashi Upadhyay, Lattice Engines 45 STRATEGY 2 SELL THE WAY YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT 49 Sophisticated customers are not interested in traditional sales models. They demand faster, more seamless, and even enjoyable sales experiences; they want more information and more value, and they want it now. Delivering all this is hard enough--doing so profi tably in both mature and emerging markets is a major challenge. Leading sales organizations are fi nding ways to improve digital, direct, and indirect channel performance, and are cracking the code of how to integrate them. CHAPTER 4 Master Multichannel Sales 51 No company can compete today using only a single sales channel. But with so many channels to manage, how can you ensure consistency, maintain close contact with customers, and raise profitability? The best sales leaders blend remote and fi eld sales, integrate online and offl ine channels, orchestrate direct and indirect sales teams, and even use service as a sales channel. Interview: Gregory Lee, Samsung 62 CHAPTER 5 Power Growth through Digital Sales 65 You have a website, but can your company really claim to be cutting edge with its digital strategy? The most forward-thinking organizations see sales fi gures and conversion rates skyrocket when they get online and mobile platforms right. They test and tweak constantly to delight the customer and turn clicks into sales. They embrace social media and understand that buzz is only valuable if it hits the bottom line. Finally, they recognize that digital cannot stand alone--it is seamless integration with other channels that wins the day. Interview: Margo Georgiadis, Google 81 CHAPTER 6 Innovate Direct Sales 85 When did you last change your direct sales approach? Leaders of the most successful direct sales forces have done just that. They now engage customers early--often before any sales pitch--for example, by putting customers in touch with the experts who will infl uence their decisions. Even for the biggest suppliers in the most highly developed markets, there are always new ways for hunters to land new customers. Interview: Jan Geldmacher, Vodafone 95 CHAPTER 7 Invest in Partners for Mut