Sales Strategy

Made By: Sajal Kumar (18) Saumya (112)

Terminology Review
Sales Strategy: A sales strategy consists of a plan that positions a companys brand or product to gain a competitive advantage. Successful strategies help the sales force focus on target market customers and communicate with them in relevant, meaningful ways. Sales representatives need to know how their products or services can solve customer problems. A successful sales strategy conveys this so that the sales force spends time targeting the correct customers at the right time.

Thus, Sales Strategy is an operating plan for a companys sales force.

What does a Sales Strategy do? Allocates sales resources efficiently to drive selling costs down and revenues up. What does it mean to use a Sales Strategy? CEO can get the most out of his/her sales force.

Sales Strategy comes from Corporate Strategy, and thus has a life cycle.

Sales Strategy Solves Typical Problems

Merger of sales forces after Acquisition Declining Sales Revenues Declining market share Increasing cost of sales Changing market- product mix New Product launch that falls short of sell-through expectation New market entries posing competitive threat

Types of Sales Strategy

Direct Sales Strategy
Sales people attack the competition head on when talking to the customer. They talk about each feature of the competitions product and compare it to theirs. The term "negative selling" refers to the direct sales approach.

Indirect Sales Strategy

It apply more subtle techniques by demonstrating features and benefits not available with the competitions products or services without ever mentioning them by name. This is more sophisticated, positive sales strategy requires research and analysis of the competition.

Components of Sales Strategy

Product Placement

Promotion

Testimonials

Core selling strategies for the sales force

Helps In creating Brand Awareness

Available for prospects to read or watch lend authority to a small business and the products and services it offers.

Steps for Formulating Sales Strategy

Step I: Assess Performance Environment Step II: Evaluate Organizational Design Step III: Conduct Competitive Analysis Step IV: Develop Buyer Personas Step V: Develop a Roadmap

Step I: Assess Performance Environment

Things like Corporate Strategy, Business Life Cycle, Market Dynamics How are you at Sales ?

Review existing documentation Research industry markets Interview executives and management Survey Sales Force Survey Customers Mystery Shop competition

Step II: Evaluate Organization Design

Look at Sales Structure, Value Chain, Sales Channel, Processes/Tools
Questions to ConsiderHow do you apply? Is Compensation inciting correct behavior? Is there an active Performance Mgmt. plan in place?

Does the CRM platform maximize efficiencies?

Step III: Competitive Analysis

Including Stakeholder analysis and identification of competitive openings

Competitive Intelligence -> links sales strategy to competitive response

Content Generation

Information Competitive Aggregation Intelligence

Strategy

Business Action

Magazines Newswires SEC Filings Web Sites Census Market Research Newspapers Internal & External Experts

Business Intelligence Software News Portals Online Directories Vertical Portals News Portals Research Shops Monitoring Tailoring Archiving

Competitor Profiling SWOT Analysis Trend Analysis Simulation Forecasting

Communications Brand Marketing Position Human Resources Suppliers Mergers/Acquisitions Financial

Product Dev. Business Dev. Public Relations Marketing Information

Step IV - Develop Buyer Personas

Dont just try to understand who your customer is. Understand 12 how they buy. Otherwise you cant tailor your sales methodology

Step V: Develop a Roadmap (Reviewing)

With ROI models, Change Management Plan, Sequencing of improvement initiatives Requires a Sales Force Effectiveness team to carry out
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Developing a Roadmap
Clear roadmap in developing sales strategy to achieve corporate goals

Success

Momentum

Research and define the marketplace, strategies and measures of success

Develop the systems, processes and communicatio ns that drive results

Design

Impleme nt and execute defined strategies

Strategies successfully executed and creating measurable results

Build

Systems, processes and communicatio n are Standard Operating Procedure

SOP

Best Practices in Sales Strategy

Ensure active and visible CEO/Business Unit Leader participation Agree on financial & operational term definitions Plan and execute robust communications Garner continuous cross-company engagement Deploy/contract talented resources to carry out build & improvement efforts Dont forget to link to Corporate Strategy Continually refresh strategy as needed

Analyzing Sales Strategy

Strategy map: is a tool that helps in describing sales strategy.
In strategy map framework strategy is a game plan for winning. It is set of strategic objectives bound in a cause and effect chain where one objective at lower level perspectives lead to objectives at higher level perspective. Ordinarily in a typical strategy map, we can explain our entire sales strategy, in about 20-25 objectives across all the four perspectives. Strategy map template has four perspectives- financial perspective, customer perspective, internal perspective and learning and growth perspective. Together, four perspectives bring balance to the strategic thrust of the organization. Strategy makers can change the perspectives depending upon their context

Financial Perspective

At highest level is financial perspective. Articulation of sales strategy must start with financial sales objectives.

Customer Perspective

Guide to search and select strategies for customers Search for objectives that help in achieving certain customer oriented generic strategies such as which segments of the customer universe should sales managers focus on, so that they can achieve strategic objectives that are set in financial perspective.

Internal or Process Prospective Learning and Growth prospective

Guides strategy makers in choosing strategic objectives which help in fulfilling objectives set in financial and customer perspectives.

Guides strategy makers in harnessing and leveraging power of people, technology and culture.

 Scorecard: One of the most important steps in articulating

strategy is to define measures for strategic objectives selected. Measures** bring certain degree of clarity to the strategic objective and also help us track the execution of these objectives

 BMW original Strategy:

CASE STUDY: BMW changes its Sales Strategy for its I3s Pure Electric

Strategy Number ONE: which aligns the BMW Group with two targets: to be profitable and to enhance long-term value in times of change. And this applies to technological, structural as well as cultural aspects of our company. Since 2007, they have been implementing various initiatives in keeping with the strategys four pillars: Growth, Shaping the Future, Profitability and Access to Technologies and Customers.
Mission statement up to the year 2020: the BMW Group is the worlds leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.

BMW activities remains firmly focused on the premium segments of the international automobile markets.

BMW Swift in Strategy with I3s

Reflecting the cars niche status, just one dealer from each major capital city will be appointed as official i-car dealers, although BMWs entire network will be trained to service and maintain the cars. A pre-production vehicle to generate awareness and commence its local publicity. The company is keeping local pricing, although the cars hitech, ground-up carbon-fibre and aluminium construction. Expect pricing to kick off from close to $70,000, with a premium for the optional range-extender hybrid.

Customer Prospective: The company will also sell circa-$1500 wallboxes household 32A fast-chargers. Design features include pillar-less suicide doors, U-shaped headlights and tail-lights with daytime LEDs.

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