The document discusses the purpose and shifting role of sales forces. It notes that as products and services become more substitutable, the purpose of sales forces is moving from communicating value to creating value. It suggests sales forces need to take a consultative or enterprise approach focused on deeply understanding customer needs and customizing solutions in order to create enough value to justify their costs. The document advocates eliminating barriers between functions to organize work around core processes and create extraordinary value for key customers.

1. Creating Value through
the Sales Force
Vassilis Engonopoulos
Fani Petraki
Vassilis Kassimatis

2. • Based on research by Neil Rackham (author of SPIN® Selling), John
De Vincentis of McKinsey & Co. and the team at Imparta
• Opportunity planning and account management; strategies and skills
Aimed at meeting specific business objectives
What is ‘Creating Client Value’?

3. What’s the purpose
of a sales force?

4. What’s the purpose of a sales force?
“The reason for a sales force is to ensure that the
customer has the right information about the
advantages of your products at the right time, so that
the purchasing decision is influenced in your favor.”
… Regional Sales Manager
Printing Equipment Company
“The sales force convinces the client to buy from you
rather than from a competitor by showing how your
services are superior.”
… Senior Consultant
Systems Integration and Software Company

5. What’s the purpose of a sales force?
“The sales force exists to show customers that you
have something worthwhile to offer that meets their
needs.”
… Salesperson
Office Products Company
“The sales function is like a translator: its job is to
take your products and services and translate them
into language that the customer understands.”
… Sales Manager
Control Systems Manufacturer
“The purpose of a sales force is to communicate to
customers the value of your offerings.”
… Senior Vice President
Sales and Marketing, Large Regional Bank

6. The common factor:
Each definition is about

7. The shifting marketplace
Unique
products/services
Substitutable
products/services
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
● no competitors
● buyer has no
alternative
source
● perceived
uniqueness
● numerous
competitors
● buyer has many
options/choices
● no perceived
uniqueness

8. Where are you?
Today
10 9
In 3 years
Unique
products/services
10 9 8 7
3 years ago
Substitutable
products/services
6 5 4 3 2 1
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

9. What’s happening in the Last Years
Today
10 9
In 3 years
10 9 8 7
3 years ago 6.4
Substitutable
products/services
6 5 4 3 2 1
Unique
products/services
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
4.5
3.7
SSI Data: 47 corporations 773
sales
executives

10. Why are products and
services in most markets
becoming less unique?

11. ● New products/services
● Value-added services and
support
● Product bundling & pricing
● Customized options
Create Differentiation
Market Forces
Corporate Strategies
Decrease Differentiation ● Products/services look more
similar
● More of them (Increasing
competition)
● More demanding clients
● New Technologies (quicker
time to market, internet, etc.)

12. Creating value vs. Communicating value
● Selling process
must create value
for clients
● Not enough for
salespeople to
communicate
value
● Salespeople must
become value
creators
Market Forces
● Product/service
creates the
value
● Salespeople
communicate
product
benefits
● Salespeople
succeed
through value
communication
Corporate Strategies
Substitutable
products/services
6 5 4 3 2 1
Unique
products/services
10 9 8 7

13. …and customers are changing too.
What’s the biggest difference in
how major customers behave
today compared with 3 years
ago?

14. Most people agree that :
• Customers are getting tougher to deal
with (94%)
• They treat you more like a commodity
(76%)
• But they also demand more expertise
and support than ever before (89%)
• They are using new purchasing
techniques to force greater concessions
from their suppliers (75%)

15. Buying strategies in the new purchasing
world
Difficulty of obtaining
substitute product/service
Strategic
importance
of
product/service
high
low high
Shop
Leverage
Manage
Risk
Partner

16. Define “Value”

17. What is value?
Value = Benefits Cost
Practical test:
Value is something the customer is
prepared to pay for.

18. What is value ?
What are the levels of value?

19. Your
Capabilities
Customer
Needs
Strategic
Tactical
Political
Individual
In order to define value you need to
consider ….

20. Your Capabilities
• Company
(reputation, coverage, scope, processes…)
• Products and Services
(and the specific advantages you can offer)
• People
(individual expertise, experience, contacts…)
• Other
(strategic alliances, exclusive agreements, partners, sister
companies, etc.)

21. Client possible needs
Broader view of customer’s business = More opportunities
Deeper view of what they care about = More value
created
Functions,
Finance Marketing SalesObjectives e.g. IT
KPIs Reduce account
churn by 10%
Challenges Successfully launch
new product – £300k
sales in Q4
Wider
Goals
Use extra budget to
drive sales growth

22. What things do we do for our
customers during the sales
process that are so valuable
that customers would be
prepared to pay for them?

23. Customer value survey
We asked 1,100 buyers from US
companies:
Has anyone ever made a sales call on you
that was so valuable you would willingly
have pulled out a check book and written
them a check for the call?”

24. Where customers perceive value
• Talking brochures: negative value add
• Customer advocate
• Time-stamped info on industry/competition
• Problem solving & customized solutions +
• Change of strategic direction
-

25. The value map
VALUE
DISADVANTAGE
VALUE
ADVANTAGE
High cost
offering (Y)
can compete
with low cost
offering (X)
if it has
more benefits. X
YCost
Benefits

26. but . . .
VALUE
DISADVANTAGE
VALUE
ADVANTAGE
Y can’t
compete
at higher
cost without
additional
benefits. X
YYYCost
Benefits

27. Value selling strategy
VALUE
DISADVANTAGE
VALUE
ADVANTAGE
OPTION 1:
Create more value
in selling process
1
OPTION 3:
Hybrid of
options 1 & 2
3
OPTION 2:
Slash sales costs
2
YSALES
COST
VALUE CREATED IN SELLING PROCESS

28. Which option
has the
highest
success rate?
VALUE
DISADVANTAGE
VALUE
ADVANTAGE
1
3
Y
2
Which value is more important ?
OPTION 1:
Create more value
in selling process
OPTION 3:
Hybrid of
options 1 & 2
OPTION 2:
Slash sales costs

29. The toughest strategy to execute
VALUE
ADVANTAGE
1
3
2
VALUE
DISADVANTAGE
Y
• Most people believe
hybrid should be
easiest
• Very, very difficult
with many failures

30. Customer value types & selling models
• “a cheaper, no-hassle pie”
Extrinsic
value
buyers
• “a bigger, better tasting pie”
Strategic
value
buyers
• “a balanced diet”
VALUE = BENEFITS - COST
+
Enterprise
Assets
Intrinsic
value
buyers
Transactional
Selling
Consultative
Selling
Enterprise
selling

31. ©2010 Neil
How do you position your
sales force?

32. Redesign Boundaries with your Customers
Unlike transactional or consultative selling, the enterprise relationship is
not under the control of a salesperson or even a sales team. There are
many more people and many more types of people who participate.

33. Enterprise Sales: Erase Functional Walls
• The key to successful enterprise selling is to eliminate
the inefficiencies and waste that exist at the boundary
between the customer and the selling organization.
• Boundary problems, however, exist not only between
companies but also between functions or other
departments within a company.
• The guiding principle of process thinking is to break
down these barriers by organizing work around
cross‐functional core processes instead of separate
functional departments.

34. Investing to meet the customers expectations
Investment by customer
Investmentbysuppliers
Consultative
sales
WASTE
Over resourcing
RISK
Competitive
vulnerability
Transactional
sales
Enterprise
sales
Create
extraordinary
value
Create
new value
Strip
Cost

35. Is this for real?
Are these things happening
to our industry?
If so, what should we do
about it?

36. The Three selling mode
• Transactional sales forces have unsustainably high cost structures
• Consultative sales forces don’t sell deeply enough to win business
• Enterprise players lack the cross- functional capacity to create enough
value to cover the huge costs of this approach

37. Using sales resources
• We can no longer afford to put the most resources to the
biggest customers: this is the era of lean selling,
especially in transactional sales.
• We must put our sales resources where we can create
most customer value.
• The winners shift transactional business to cheaper
channels.
• They put more resources into the opportunities where they
can create most value.

38. . . . So what do I do about it?
Talking brochures can’t survive. So don’t
be caught in the vanishing middle; up the
bar and aim for bigger consultative sales.
1
2
3
Ask yourself, “would the customer write a
check for this call?” -- that’s how you know
if you’re a value creator not just a value
communicator.
Create more value through understanding
customers more deeply than ever before,
by problem solving and by customizing
solutions. See products & services as
tools, not ends in themselves.