sales-driven-company-how-to-align-your-company-with-a-focus-on-sales

"95 percent of our core competence lies in sales."

Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth replied to my question about whether he would describe his company Würth as sales-oriented. A success example that is also suitable for other companies? Core competencies arise through the integration of various individual competencies or the combination of knowledge in business-relevant areas. They form the basis for strategic competitive advantages. Every company that operates strategically professionally will therefore deal with the topic of core competencies and their development and maintenance. It is very rare for companies to build their core competencies in sales, as Würth does. For most companies, sales is seen as the channel or the final stage to the customer, a part of the marketing mix, an operational function. This means they are missing out on opportunities. I refer to companies as Sales Driven Companies that consider sales as the differentiating factor in competition. They strive for optimizing sales and integrating sales holistically into the company to effectively differentiate themselves from the competition. Conditions for the success of your company as a Sales Driven Company, based on my experience, are that... ... sales provides real added value for customers. ... this added value is appreciated and recognized by customers. ... the sales approach cannot be easily imitated by the competition. "Sales Drive" in this sense is a way of differentiation. It can be developed and used in competition either alone or in combination with other differentiating factors (e.g., innovation, product advantages, etc.). To turn a company into a true Sales Driven Company, meaning to align the company as a whole towards sales, you should consider the following components. Strategy of a Sales Driven Company How do you differentiate yourself compared to the competition today? Most companies do not have a clear answer to this question. Genuine advantages are rare today. Could sales be a differentiating factor for your company? If yes, this topic becomes a top management responsibility from today onwards. Is sales part of your strategy? Is it mentioned there? What does your company really need to do to outperform competitors? Structures and Processes of a Sales Driven Company "Structure follows Strategy," applies here as well. If sales should be your competitive factor, you must anchor it accordingly. Is sales anchored at the executive level? Does this person have the necessary expertise, or was the responsibility merely delegated to them? Have you established structures and processes that empower sales with the necessary assertiveness? Do you know your sales processes? Can you measure and systematically optimize them? Systems of a Sales Driven Company "Sales Drive" is created by aligning your systems optimally with sales tasks. Do you have a powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, for example? Even more important is the question: Does it truly support the processes and is it used by employees convincingly? Culture of a Sales Driven Company The dimension of "culture" consists of two elements here. Firstly, the direct corporate culture, including values, behaviors, norms, and other historically developed aspects of the working style in the company. Does your corporate culture support sales? Do your employees (not just those in sales) think and work in a sales-oriented manner? Additionally, there is leadership culture, primarily shaped by the behavior of leaders. Do your leaders embody sales orientation? Are they involved in sales and supportive of it? Employee Competencies of a Sales Driven Company This aspect includes all activities related to personnel development, especially training, career paths, integration of new employees, and formal and informal socialization processes. Are you systematically developing sales-oriented competencies in all employees? Aligning the entire company with the sales task is a topic for company leadership, not just sales management. The levers also show how profound the concept of a Sales Driven Company is. Your feedback is welcome What do you think of the concept of a Sales Driven Company? How do you assess the chances of implementation? Which topics seem particularly important to you? Where do you need more input? About the Author Prof. Dr. Dirk Zupancic is a Professor of Industrial Marketing and Sales and the President of the private German Graduate School of Management & Law in Heilbronn. Additionally, he is a habilitated lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. Article by Prof. Dr. Dirk Zupancic is one of the Top100 Speakers in our catalog. Find their profile here!