Sales-i's top tips to make your sales performance doesn't suck! Expert insights on the tricks behind successful selling. For more information and to read our other ebooks visit http://www.sales-i.com

1. An honest guide for wholesalers & distributors
Whyyoursales
performance
andhowdatacanhelpitsuckless

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Some
hardtruths

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of salespeople misstheir
quotas.That’stwothirds
ofyoursalesforcefailing
todowhatyouhiredthem
todo:sell.Asproblemsgo,
it’sanexpensiveone.
Notonlyareyoumissingoutonlostsales,you’re
alsotakingahitbypayingforaresourcethat
underperformsmonth-on-month.Research
showsthattheaveragesalespersoncosts$500
perdaytoemploy.That’saninvestmentnot
everywholesalerordistributorcanaffordwithout
asolidreturn.Butit’snotaneasyproblemtofix
either,especiallywhenthecostofreplacingabad
salespersonissaidtobeaneye-watering$114,957.
Sowhat’sbehindthiscostlysalesperformance
problem?Wespokewithhundredsofwholesale
anddistributionbusinessesinNorthAmericaand
Europetofindout.
Onethird(33.6%)saytheirbiggestchallengeis
acquiringtimelyinformationtohelpmakeasale,
and28.3%endupwastingtimetryingtogather
datafromdifferentsystems,inmultipleformats.
39.9%claimtousetechnologytohelpwithdata
analysis,but13.8%stillsortthroughdatamanually:
somesalespeople(6%)arestillmakingdecisions
basedsolelyongutinstinct.
Tocutalongstoryshort:whensalespeople(even
thereallygoodones)don’tusetherightinformation,
theycan’tperformaswellasyouneedthemto.
Somedon’thavetheinformationatall,somecan’t
accessitfastenough,andsomejustwon’tuseit.
Theresult?Wholesaleanddistributionsalesteams
aremakingjunkcallsandgoingintomeetingsblind,
andit’shittingyourbottomline.
67%

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Junkcalls

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ofallcustomerinteractions
takeplaceoverthephone,
soit’sincredibletofind
thatsomanycompanies
today still fail to make
everycallcount.
Withonlya20secondwindowtoraiseinterest,
salespeopleneedtobeabletopresentclear,
relevantinformationtoguidethesalestraight
fromtheget-go.
Spendanhourlisteninginonyourteam’ssales
callsandaskyourselfwhichoftheseisabetter
representationofwhatyouhear:
If the first story sounds more familiar, your
salespeople aren’t connecting with your
customers where it counts. They’ve got a
customer insight problem, which in turn
means you’ve got a junk call problem.
90%
Analysisofthe
perfectgolfswing
Discussionof
recentweather
Predictionsforupcoming
sportingfixtures
Misplaced,mistimedor
misjudgedsalesattempts
20%
10%
20%
50%
A
5% Smalltalk
20% Anticipatinga
customer’sneeds
30% Timelyup-selling
thatgrowsanaccount
45% Smartcross-sellingthatadds
newproductlinestoanaccount
B

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Danger
Lowvisibility

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Somesalesteamsare
doomedtorepeatbad
practiceslikemaking
junkcallsforoneprimary
reason:theylackvisibility.
49.5%ofthecompanieswespokewithstruggle
tospotwhichcustomers’ordersaredroppingand
wherethenextsalesopportunitieswillbe.
“Weweredeliveringtoplineinformationon
customeraccountstooursalespeopleinpaper
packsmonthly,soyoucanimaginethequantity
ofpaperbeinggenerated,postedandhandled.
Wadingthroughthatmuchinformationtounearth
salesopportunitiesorchangesinbuyingbehavior
wassimplyimpossibleandtheinformationwasout
ofdatebythetimethesalespeoplereceivedit.”
Bathroomsuppliesdistributor,UK
Thatmeanssalespeoplearegoingintocallsblind
withoutthedatatheyneedtomakemeaningful
recommendations.
Thelackofvisibilityiscompoundedwhenmanagers
areunabletokeeptrackoftheirsalesteam’s
performance;notjustwhichcustomersthey’ve
spokentoandwhen,butexactdetailsaboutwhat
wassoldandforwhatprice.
Ofthesellerswespoketo,16.6%reportedthattrying
togainvisibilityintotheirsalesteam’sactivitieswas
theirmostsignificantday-to-daychallenge.
“Wehadasalesteamwritinglongmonthly
reportsthatofferedveryfewbenefitsbuttook
alotoftimetocreate;theyhadlittleaccessto
salesdataandwereflyingblindforalotofthe
timewhenitcametosellingtoourcustomers.”
Tilesupplier,UK
It’snowonderonly13%ofcustomersbelievethat
asalespersoncanunderstandtheirrequirements.
Sohowdoyouturnthissituationaroundandwina
customer’sconfidenceaswellastheirbusiness?

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sales
Restoring
clarity

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Thefirststepinsolving
yoursalesperformance
problemisrecognizing
thatit’snotyoursales
team’sfault.
Alotofsalespeoplearesetintheiroldways.
Butwholesaleanddistributionsalesischanging,
soevenreallytalentedsalespeoplearestruggling
toperform.Toselltodayyouneedinsightand
agility.Youmustdeliverasmart,personalizedand
predictiveservicethat’spartsales,partcustomer
service.Whichmeansifyoursalespeopledon’t
havetheinformationtheyneed,they’regoing
inblind.Andifyoucan’tseewhatyourguysare
doing,youcan’toptimizetheirperformance.
Restoresalesclarityandyou’llunlocktwo
keyadvantages:
1.Totalvision.
You’llhavevisibilityofyourteaminthefield.
Wherethey’vebeenandwherethey’reheaded
(andwheretheyshouldbeheaded,whichisn’t
alwaysthesamething).
2.Informeddecisions.
Whenyoucanholdthenumbersuptothelight,
that’swhenyouturninsightintoaction.Discover
whichcustomersyouseetheleastbutselltothe
most.Identifyweaknessesinyourproduct
portfolio.Trackhowtargetedcampaignsaffect
uptake.Inshort,you’llbeabletouseinsightto
fuelyourdecision-making.You’llsellsmarter
andyou’llsellmore.

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Itallstartswith

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Traditionally,when
wholesalersanddistributors
wantedtoimprovesales
performance,theystarted
witheverythingbutthe
data:theyhirednewsales
reps,investedintraining
oroverhauledprocesses.
Nowdataisearningrecognitionasdistributors’and
wholesalers’mostvaluableasset.Bystartingwith
howyouorganize,useanddisplayyourdata,you
canmakeadramaticimpactonsalesperformance.
Andwhileyoumaycomeupagainstresistanceto
change,rememberit’sinyoursalesteam’sinterest
asmuchasitisyours.Nosalesprofessionalwants
toworkharderforlongerreelinginlittlefishwhen
theycansellsmarterandcatchkillerwhales.
Thedifferenceisinthedata.
We’veidentifiedfivekeyareaswheredatacan
helpyoursalesperformancesuckless–soyour
teamcansellmore,plugleakagesandgrowyour
customerbase.

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Fiveways
datacanhelp
yoursales
performance
suckless

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Knowyourcustomers
““Weweren’tabletoknow
eachandeveryoneof
ourcustomersinside
outandwehavelotsof
independentaccounts,
eachspendingadifferent
amountwithus.Itwasn’t
alwaysthemostefficient
tospendtimepreparing
individualreportsforeach
ofthem.”
Animalfeedmanufacturer,wholesaler,
distributor,UK
Deliveringthekindofservicethatgrowsaccounts
isn’tpossibleunlessyoureallytakethetroubleto
knowyourcustomers’buyinghabits.Andsimply
havingthisdataisn’tenough.
Ifit’sspreadacrossmultiplesystemsand
applications,itwon’tgiveyouacomprehensiveview
andyoucan’tactonit.Whenyouknowwhatyou
sold–andwhatyoudidn’tsell–atalltimes,youcan
meetyourcustomers’needsmoreexactly.Take
theluckoutofright-place-right-timesales:findthe
patternsandanticipatetheneed.

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Makebettermargins
“Wewereveryrelianton
manualreportingand
countingstuffuponyour
fingersjustwasn’tfeasible
anymore.”
Soilsupplier,Ireland
Arguablythemostimportantindicatorofsales
performanceandcertainlyamassivecontributorto
successfulgrowth,marginsarewhereyourdatacan
reallymakeadifference.
Salesopportunitieswaitfornoman,sodon’tlet
dataholdyouup.Havetherightinformationonhand
whenyouneedittomaketherightoffersatthe
crucialmoment.
Andaswellasindividualsales,keepaneyeonthe
biggerpicture.Doyouknowwhichcustomersyou
meetthemostandselltotheleast?Andwhichones
youmeettheleastandselltothemost?Whenyou
do,you’llknowwheretofocusyoureffortsnext
month,nextquarterandnextyear.

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Actfast
“Wehadnoabilitytodive
intooursalesdata,Iwas
goingtoITtogetreports
thatwereoutdatedwithin
24hours.Weneededto
bemoreintunewithwhat
ourcustomersweredoing
withus.”
Restaurantsupply,designandfabrication
company,USA
Whetheryou’reliningupanewleadorclosingadeal,
speedcanbethedifferencebetweenagreatsale
andamissedopportunity.Foresighthelpsyouplan
strategicattacksthatshortentime-to-saleand
datagivesyouthatforesight.
Empoweryoursalesteamswithmobilesolutions
sotheycanactonnewinformationwhenever
itcomes,wherevertheyare,andclosedealsfaster.
Withtherightsystemsinplaceandanorganizational
culturethattreatsdataasaserioussellingtool,
youcanbeagileenoughtoturnreal-timeinsight
intosales.

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Spotthesalesgaps
“Ourareasalesmanagers
weren’talwaysuptodate
withinformationontheir
customersandwefound
itdifficulttokeepontop
ofwhowasorderingwhat
andwhen.”
Naturalstoneimporter,UK
Thisisallaboutbroadeningtherangethatyousell
andimprovingthequalityofthereturn:up-sellto
highermarginalternativesorcross-selltonewlines
notboughtbefore.
Todoitwell,youneedanintimateknowledgeof
yourcustomers’requirementsandbuyinghabits.
Here,whatyou’renotselling(butshouldbe)isas
importantaswhatyouareselling.Identifythegaps
anduseyourfamiliaritywithacustomer’sbehavior
tofillthatgapwithacomplementarysale.Thisis
thezonewheresalesmeetsserviceandcustomer
relationshipsstrengthen.

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Runsmartcampaigns
Soyou’vefoundacross-sellopportunityby
searchingyourdatatoseewhohasordereda
printerfromyoubutnotyetboughtinkorpaper.
Butidentifyinganewsalesopportunityisonlythe
beginning.Youneedtoruntailoredsalescampaigns,
poweredbyaggregateandcustomer-specificdata.
Eventhebest-plannedcampaignscanfailwithout
buy-in.Giveyourmostimportantinitiativesthebest
chanceofsuccessbyinvolvingyoursalesteams
fromthestartandcreatingsomeexcitement
aroundthecampaign.
“Havinginformationisnot
anissue,itistheeaseand
speedwithwhichyoucan
slice,diceandaccessthat
informationthatmakes
therealdifference.”
Informationmanagementcompanyand
contractstationer,USA

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Startwiththedata
Insalestoday,insightiscurrency.Withtheright
informationatyourfingertips,everymeetingwillbe
valuableandeverythingyoulearninthatmeetingis
recordedaspotentialinsightforfutureuse.With
thisinformationinaCRMsystem,andanalytics
softwarethatcanmanagelargevolumesofdata,
youcangeneratesimplereportsthatgiveclear
answersonwhattodonext.Record,manageand
actionyourdataandyou’llkickstartavirtuouscycle
ofinsightandreward.
Mashitup
Dataisnogoodinisolation.Tomakeitactionable,
createasingleviewofyourcustomerthatyoucan
manipulateandscrutinizefromdesktopandmobile
devices.BringtogetherinformationfromyourCRM,
ERP,billingsystem,customerdatafiles–wherever
it’sstored–andmashitallupintoactionablesales
insight.Makeitfindable,accessible,searchableand
usablebythepeoplewhoneedit,whentheyneed
it–intheofficeorontheroad.
Lookbacktomoveforward
Letpastexperienceguidefutureefforts.Findthe
patternsthatwillhelpyoupredictwhereyourteam
canreallyboostperformanceinfuture–theninvest
resourcesinthatdirection.
Withoutaneyeonyourcustomers’pastbehavior,
youwon’tbeabletospottheordersthatshrink
ordropoff,andyouwon’tbeabletointelligently
anticipatefuturegrowthopportunitiesorfillsales
gapsastheyemerge.
Automatethehardwork
Themoredatayougather,theharderitwillbecome
tokeepholdoftheball.No-onecankeeptrackof
everything,solettechnologydothehardworkforyou.
Makeyourlifeeasierwithtriggerednotifications
thattellyouwhenopportunitiesarisesoyoucan
actfasttocapitalizeonthem.Likewise,program
notificationswhenanyredflagsgoup.Forexample,
ifalong-standingcustomerfailstomakeoneof
itsregularordersthismonth,youcanreceivea
notificationstraighttoyourmobile.
Answersixkeyquestions
Evenwhentheyusesmartsalessoftware,too
manysalesteamshaveaone-sidedviewoftheir
customerrelationship.Theygetthecontactdata
(softdata)buttheycan’tseethehardmetricsthat
leadtodecisiveaction.Makesureyoucananswer
sixquestionseasily.
Notjust:
• WhendidIseeyoulast?
• Whatdidwetalkabout?
• WhenamIseeingyouagain?
Butalso:
• WhathaveIsoldtoyou?
• Whathaven’tIsoldtoyou?
• WhatshouldIbesellingtoyou?
Quick-firetips

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Butdataisonly
thebeginning

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Tokeeppace,sales
teamsneedtodeliver
amorepersonalized,
data-drivenservice.
Justhavingalltherightdataisn’tenoughtomake
yoursalesperformancesuckless.Yoursalesteam
needstoknowhowtoaccessit,manipulateitand
putthedatatowork.Iftheydon’tknow,they’llkeep
makingjunksalescallsandmissingtheirtargets.
Fortoolongthisvaluableassethasbeenneglected.
It’stimetoturndataintoinsightanduseittodrive
sales.Coulddatahelpyoursalesperformance
suckless?
Thewholesale
anddistribution
businessis
changing.

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Formoreonwhy
wholesalersanddistributors
needbusinessintelligence
tostayaheadofthe
competition,download
ourwhitepapersnow.
FurtherReading

22. Anhonestguideforwholesalers&distributors
sales-i.com
Aboutsales-i
Wearetheworldleader
insalesperformance
managementfor
distributorsand
wholesalers.
Oursalesperformancesoftwareintegrates
transactiondatainyourERPandbillingsystemswith
informationonyourcustomers,soyoucandiscover
newsalesopportunities,up-selltohighermargin
alternativesandcross-selltolinestheyhaven’t
boughtbefore.Andbecausewemakeitallavailable
onanymobileplatform,theinsightisusedwhereit
makesadecisivedifference–withyoursalesrepson
thephonesandontheroad.Theresult:insightful
sellingthat’spersonalized,profitableandalways
fuelledbydata.