Last week I closed off by provoking that all the sales system development I had described in the previous three parts of this mini-series has the potential to provide a nice value add for your customer that does not necessarily derive added loyalty and commercial returns.  Now this simply cannot be allowed to happen. The key is in designing  these new innovative functions and value adds in such a way as they provide for Sales Exec visitation at the desired frequency <of the company that employs the Sales Exec>.  You are looking for the “unfair advantage” in this endeavour over the competitor Sales Execs and their employing companies that are still playing the race-to-the-bottom game.  At the most fundamental level, this is the quid pro quo.  The concept sounds like…

“Mr/Mrs customer, I realise you consider that in this type of product/service area, my competitors and I are relatively undifferentiated, and so your main consideration in choosing usually comes down toprice/discount.   I would like to host an entirely different conversation with you about a range of value adds I/we <my company> can deliver on an on-going basis that will elevate our total offer out of the commoditised race to the bottom.  The outcomes of this debate will provide a classic win-win for both of us.  But I need to ask you to be open minded at the outset, as a number of these concepts will challenge the way you think about supplier relationships and also about how you company performs effective.”

How does this deliver on my promise of conversion to added customer loyalty and commercial returns in your sales system environment?  Twofold…

• The developed tasks/initiatives can be written into your company – to – company referred supplier agreements  <off-setting product/service downward pressure on price>
• They should be designed and positioned in such a way as elevate the Sales exec role into a “program director” … Which should provide for visit frequency at the desired rate and with the “unfair advantage”

Come back next week: “Position in market”… an underdone piece of analysis in plotting your sales team optimisation

Want to learn more? Check out ‘The Challenger Sale = Brilliant for your sales systems…BUT… there is a missing piece (part three)’.