nach oben

2023 | Buch

Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Strategic Sales Management

Insights and Guidance from Top Interim Managers

herausgegeben von: Peter Buchenau

Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland

Buchreihe : Future of Business and Finance

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Über dieses Buch

Sales is a CEO's job, or at least it should be. But many entrepreneurs and managers come from other disciplines such as legal, production or product marketing – or they may have inherited the business. In most companies, a sales director is responsible for the operational management of the sales department. However, sales also need to be considered strategically, in terms of the business, the products or even the target market, for which many entrepreneurs or sales managers unfortunately lack the time or even the knowledge.

In this book, experienced interim managers reveal the most important and necessary strategic methods and approaches to maintain and lead competitiveness for years to come. Readers will benefit from the first-hand insights of prominent and internationally experienced interim managers such as Ulvi Aydin, Uwe Brüggemann, Michael Eckardt, Ulrich Girrbach, Elmar Gorich, Ralf Komor, Peter Kuhle, Siegfried Lettmann, Thomas Mertens, Stephan Rohe, Rainer Simmoleit and Stefan Zeiss. Practitioners and MBA students in particular will benefit from these insights into what makes strategic sales management successful.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Weak Brands End Up in Outlet Stores

What Will Effective Product and Brand Management Look Like in the Future?

Abstract

Companies have always had to deal with change. And strong brands have always adapted to this change. The main challenges facing brand management in our changing times are digitalization, hybrid customer groups, and the demand for companies to assume social responsibility. This chapter looks at brand management in the consumer goods industry.

Ulvi Aydin

It’s Never Too Early: Selling the Value of Digital Services

Abstract

This chapter is aimed at decision-makers in B2B companies who are involved in the process of transforming their products and services and particularly at managers in the field of sales and product management. In it, you’ll learn

Why digital services are (or should be) treated as a separate part of the service
What challenges need to be addressed when pricing products and services
Why customer value is the most important argument in favor of selling digital products

Uwe Brüggemann

International Sales: An Opportunity for SMEs

Abstract

Is international sales truly the most demanding field of business? No, of course not, but it does pose an enormous challenge for any company. To illustrate why, this chapter highlights the example of a business partnership between a German company and a Japanese company. When it comes to international sales, there’s no avoiding a systematic and structural analysis of the situation, the foreign market, and the competitive environment. Opportunities and risks must be identified and assessed in advance. For a company to succeed, it requires a carefully developed sales strategy and a business model tailored to specific requirements. The cultures of both the foreign country (in this case Japan) and the domestic market (in this case Germany) will greatly influence the development of the business relationship. In any internationalization campaign, these conditions and characteristics of the foreign market will always affect the international sales strategy.

Michael Eckardt

Market Segmentation: Create a Clear Focus for Your Sales Activities

Abstract

Market segmentation helps to create order: first in your mind, then in your sales department. Often, customers and potential customers are not processed in any discernible order, meaning that valuable company resources are not used efficiently. Market segmentation is the process of dividing the market into several target groups to make it easier to understand. This chapter will explain how to filter out the most promising customers from the crowd and how to target them more effectively using sales and marketing strategies.

It’s a situation you’re probably familiar with: Your field sales force is whizzing around outside the company, visiting all kinds of customers and bringing back various technical requests, which now need to be processed as quickly as possible. When asked, the sales force employees report that the potential offered by each of the customers (some of which may be new) is always very high, or at least quite significant. The requirements of the individual customers have little if anything to do with each other.

The order in which the R&D or application engineering department processes this flood of assignments depends on which customer is putting them under the most pressure or on their relationship with the sales force. The focus here is not on creating value.

In these cases, valuable company resources are misused, if not wasted completely. The most effective way to remedy this is to have the sales force focus on customers that the company can serve in the best and most expert way possible with the given resources.

Ulrich Girrbach

The G.E.I.S.T. Concept

A Holistic Value-Management Process Model for Digital Transformation

Abstract

This chapter outlines the individual aspects of the G.E.I.S.T model and explains how they can be effectively applied when adapting a company for digitalization. By focusing on five essential company resources, you can identify areas of required action and define specific process models for digital transformation. This results in a holistic model that experts and managers can use to guide their planning and implementation processes.

Elmar R. Gorich

Agile Customer Co-creation: The Customer as an Innovator

Abstract

In today’s fast-paced business environment with ever-shorter innovation cycles, it is more challenging than ever to stand out from the competition. A close focus on customer needs is the key to a successful product launch. In this context, “Agile Customer Co-Creation” is emerging as a key strategy that offers a wide range of benefits to companies. By actively involving customers in the development process, companies can not only address these needs directly. They can also harness the potential for continuous innovation and differentiation in the marketplace. Adopting this approach is becoming an imperative for any organization that wants to achieve market leadership and sustainable growth.

Ralf H. Komor

MetaSales: From Virtual Reality to Business Reality

How VR Can Transform B2B Sales

Abstract

In an increasingly digital world, the digital customer experience is becoming ever more important. Rapid technological progress is opening up a wealth of opportunities for companies to use digital solutions in order to boost emotional appeal, improve customer experience, and stand out from their competition. Some digital pioneers are already using virtual reality (VR) in sales, service, and product development. Customers and suppliers facilitating VR can now, for example, meet in virtual spaces to work collaboratively on digital twins of all kinds of physical products. From technical tools to machinery to entire building systems, near to no limits can be found. VR is revolutionizing the way in which buyers and customers interact. This chapter will focus on an example project conducted by a top player in the pharmaceutical industry, which illustrates how VR can be used to create an exciting, interactive, and immersive product experience, even in cases where the products concerned are highly complex.

Products are becoming more interchangeable, and customers are quicker to switch suppliers. At the same time, the rapid development of digital technology brings with it more and more opportunities to improve the customer experience and retain customers in the long term—it’s just a matter of using the right technology. This may sound like a futuristic fantasy to many, but for some companies, it is already a reality: As an example, companies are using virtual reality in sales and product development to secure an immense advantage over competitors. Those who act quickly to integrate VR into their sales activities can become digital pioneers, with the power to improve USPs and win market share. What can VR do today? And why should every company learn how to harness it as quickly as possible?

Ralf H. Komor

Service and Customer Retention

Abstract

The digital transformation of our business world is opening up new opportunities for companies to find and retain customers. A customer-focused strategy is a critical success factor and one that will also shift the operational focus toward service. After all, good service builds customer loyalty. Technical customer support has always been a key strategic business area. However, when combined with digital solutions (smart solutions), B2B service can evolve into a valuable sales channel or even a digital business model in its own right. Today, if companies do their homework, they can use digital service solutions to offer long-term added value for its existing customers while also tapping into new growth markets.

Industry 4.0 is transforming the way in which companies generate value. Modern customers expect much more than they used to—in both the B2C and B2B sectors. Nowadays, problems and their disruptive effects are recognized much more quickly and must be rigorously avoided. For provider companies, this poses a challenge—but also an opportunity! However, companies can only take advantage of this opportunity if they are generating perceptible added value for their customers; that is to say, if they remedy problems immediately or prevent them from arising in the first place. Despite this, most digitalization projects being implemented in the context of Industry 4.0 are only focused on improving efficiency (Staufen AG, Deutscher Industrie 4.0 Index 2019 – Eine Studie der Staufen AG und der Staufen Digital Neonex GmbH, 2019). And while this is obviously a worthwhile endeavor, it is also one that the customer typically doesn’t see.

Peter Kuhle

Targeted Development of an Innovative Business Model in Practice

Abstract

Business model innovation is important for the survival of any company, especially today. Nevertheless, many companies are too reluctant when it comes to developing new business models. In this chapter, Siegfried Lettmann, an executive interim manager who develops new, innovative business models for his clients, among other things, describes what this process looks like in practice. Suitable tools can help to minimize business risks throughout the process. By using these tools and modern methods, companies can develop a new business model in a structured and efficient manner. The new business model is only actually implemented once it is assured that it will also work on the market, step by step, from thought experiment to reality—and to market success.

Business model innovation is one of the most underutilized but powerful methods of generating sustainable profit growth and economic development and of creating new markets and industries (Mills-Scofield, Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers. Campus, 2011).

Siegfried Lettmann

Sales as the Key to Change Within Companies

Abstract

Successful companies intensively reflect on their structures from the customer’s perspective. Using the example of the Aachen-based company ELSA AG, once a top computer industry player, this chapter will demonstrate the positive effects of the magic market-sales-company cycle when it is carefully controlled—but also the destructive consequences of allowing it to become a vicious cycle through mismanagement.

Thomas Mertens

Developing International Sales Partnerships

Abstract

Once a company has decided to tap into a foreign target market, the first step is to find a local distributor in that country. In order to lay the foundations for a successful manufacturer/distributor relationship, it is important to forge an equal and trusting partnership. This is followed by a targeted process of developing the distributor by means of training, a clear focus, and management, which will help to pave the way for long-term collaboration.

Stephan Rohe

Business Development in Turnaround: Win New Customers with Fresh Insights

Abstract

Win new customers with fresh insights. The profitable businesses of tomorrow require continuous development today. The importance of this task becomes particularly clear in times of crisis, when companies need to make up for lost ground and establish systematic methods for monitoring the market and competition. This monitoring yields insights that can be used to identify opportunities and systematically exploit them. If a company’s problems persist, it may need to call in an interim manager to get it back on track. With their experience and external perspective, interim managers are quick to identify new business areas. At the same time, they can empower a company’s employees to strategically analyze and cultivate the market. These temporary partnerships can help even small and medium-sized companies to convert potential into success. How can companies regain relevance with new fields of business? A case study.

Rainer Simmoleit

Customer Centricity Leads to Customer-Focused Product Development

Abstract

What do you do when your figures are stagnating? SMEs often neglect their strategy work in favor of day-to-day business. However, successful innovation requires a fundamental understanding of end customers’ needs, processes, challenges, and expectations. This chapter presents some of the “voice-of-customer” methods that companies can use to identify their customers’ needs, based on several real-world examples.

Rainer Simmoleit

Aftermarket Business Is Superseding Traditional Sales

Abstract

This chapter is based on many years of practical and relevant experience. In it, you’ll find some inspiring insights and tips that you can put into your own practice. There’s no need to go into academic theories—after all, there are many others who get along very well without them. Even companies like Amazon, for example, rely primarily on key business virtues, such as the consistent pursuit of timeliness, continuous improvement in all areas, and so on—one of the reasons they are so successful. Read on to learn how an optimized aftermarket business can generate new orders and higher margins for your company, almost single-handedly—resulting in more business from satisfied existing customers, but also from a few new ones.

Stefan Zeiss

Backmatter

Titel: Strategic Sales Management
herausgegeben von: Peter Buchenau
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-40605-8
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-40604-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40605-8