Within a large company, an innovation project has just been launched. Within a start-up, the co-founders join forces to convert R&D results into a solution for the market. Should sales force be involved? The answer is ‘yes, of course’ in start-ups. It tends to be ‘no’ in big companies. This contrast raises questions about the […]
How can salesforce help innovation projects? Read Post »
Trucks, wind turbines, production machinery, boilers, software… these types of equipment require significant maintenance throughout their lifetime. For a company that designs and manufactures them, new equipment and maintenance activities are intertwined. But day-to-day operations are so different that they need to be managed separately.This can lead to lose sight of the strategic link between
Under the wake of geopolitical tensions, the globalisation of trade seems to be giving way to the fragmentation of markets and value chains. Calls for boycotts, increased customs duties, economic sovereignty, manufacturing reshoring and protective regulations are on the rise… and the political sphere is putting national preference on its agenda. Some manufacturers are mulling
Economic patriotism: Is it a good selling point? Read Post »
Richard Branson, Xavier Niel, Sam Walton, and Ingvar Kamprad founded iconic companies: Virgin Group, Iliad/Free, Walmart, and Ikea. They all started their careers as salespeople. Often, top sales reps also share the same strengths as those attributed to successful entrepreneurs: boldness, flair, grit, tenacity, interpersonal skills, autonomy, nimbleness, and decisiveness. Should your salespeople have an
Should your sales forces have an entrepreneurial mindset? Read Post »
Producers of basic goods upstream in a supply chain often generate by-products. Once considered waste, these by-products have generally found new uses. However, their economic value remains marginal. The triple necessity of decarbonisation, circular economy, and tackling the scarcity of some raw materials has led to a new generation of innovative industrial processes: pyrolysis, plasmalysis,
The cash shortage triggers a string of steps: factoring, delayed payment of suppliers, reduction of expenses, hiring freeze, additional approval level for expense requests, etc. Yet the crisis may linger or resurface. So, another round of financial belt-tightening? In the long run, the issue becomes a mental burden driving to a compulsive attention to certain
Cash-strapped? What about asking Sales & Marketing for a fix? Read Post »
In your industrial or tech company, many engineers work with customers. They are members of the engineering team, product developers, project managers or technical experts. They are not part of the sales team. What about asking them to get involved in the sales process? Under which conditions? To do what exactly? If properly designed, the
Can customer-facing engineers help with sales ? Read Post »
To innovative and ambitious teams, the quest for competitiveness paves the way for success. Really? The quest starts at the very beginning, when the first business plan is drawn up, by making sure that price assumptions are based on robust research. Setting the target selling price is an even trickier stage, as the project team
Innovators: Set as soon as possible your target selling price ! Read Post »
In industrial markets, sales representatives are usually in charge of a single product family. Yet several factors push towards a multi-product sales force: customers’ expectations for greater proximity, market demand for all-in-one, complex solutions, or competitive pressure. The company can also push in this direction, because it has expanded the product portfolio, or is eager
How to shift from a single-product to a multi-product sales forces? Read Post »
Your company has just made a complementary acquisition. It is extending its skills by buying either a supplier or a technology partner, and in all cases a company with a strong expertise. The two entities have different business models, because they have specific underlying skills, key assets, offerings and customers. So when you announce the
Who hasn’t heard sales colleagues boasting of having taken advantage of their customer’s poor organisation or limited skills? You’ve laughed heartily, and you may also have congratulated the sales person for their cunning move. And then, on reflection, a feeling of unease sets in: how does the customer feel about it? This situation actually takes
Making money off my customer’s weaknesses: rewarding, profitable,but not sustainable! Read Post »
The strategic plan describes the company’s ambitions over a period of 3 years or more, and allocates resources to the projects that will make the greatest contribution to achieving them. It is a dense, difficult and tedious exercise. In view of the rapid changes taking place in the company’s environment, we may well wonder whether
Is it still worth making a strategic plan? Read Post »
Collaboration between big companies and start-ups or innovative small or medium enterprises (SMEs) is notoriously difficult. Anyone working with both worlds has felt the differences in terms of organisation, decision-making methods and relationship to time.Yet the stakes of a value-creating exchange remain high for both parties. Start-ups and SMEs are looking for growth. Major groups
Startups and innovative SMEs: To sell to key accounts, don three costumes! Read Post »
The business model is a one-page description of the major aspects of a business: the target customers, the value proposition, the relationship with them, the critical activities, the key assets, the partners, the sources of revenue and the cost items. Reflecting on your business model is a great step when you’re looking for clarity and
How to manage several business models at the same time? Read Post »
It goes without saying that business intelligence improves the relevance of decisions and strengthens a company’s ability to ward off threats and seize opportunities. Yet implementing an effective business intelligence system means making an uncomfortable series of choices between imperfect alternatives: Infobesity, or selective coverage? Maximum digitalisation, or smart craftsmanship? A matter for the few,
Business intelligence: Should you rely on your sales force? Read Post »
With the acceleration of measures to decarbonise industry and strengthen the resilience of value chains in the face of supply, geopolitical and health shocks, buyer demand is increasingly focused on the way in which a product is manufactured. Compliance with product specifications and price are no longer enough: the origin and quality of components, manufacturing
Is the promotion of the process more important than the promotion of the product? Read Post »
A McKinsey paper estimates that companies that focus on satisfying their existing customers grow twice as fast as others. And yet, who among those of you who works in an industrial company has not heard the sales forces lamenting: “we are a product-oriented company anyway”, or harsher: “the engineers have here all the power”? To
Can a product-centric company become customer-centric? Read Post »