Sales a Goldmine for CI!!!
Collaborating with Sales
Ellen Naylor
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Understand Sales: WIIFM
Highly Goal-
Oriented
Like to Keep Score Money
Oriented
High Need for
Recognition
Drivers –
Impatient,
Sometimes
Aggressive What’s the
Benefit?
Strong Customer
Identification
Competitive
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

“…the sales force provides information to
the extent that they receive equal value in
return. If their information is not used, they
will quickly discontinue reporting.”
Jaworski, Wee. Competitive Intelligence: Creating Value for
the Organization. 1993 SCIP CI Review.
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Gaining Cooperation With Sales
– Low Cost - Part of Sales
– Needs Assessment
– Treat with Respect
– Incentives
– No Corporate Fire drills
– Easy Channels for Communication
– Mutually Beneficial Relationship
– Practice Cooperative Intelligence
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

What Can’t They Get Easily?
• Analyst Reports
• Industry Reports
• Presentations, White Papers
• Company Profiles
• Monitoring
– Top Account Personnel Changes
– Competitor Product Announcements
• Self Service
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

CI and the Sales Cycle
Sales Cycle
• Sales Planning
• Target Segmentation
• Prospect Identification
• Prospect Qualification
• Account Planning
• Account Interaction
• Proposal Preparation
• Win/Loss
CI Assistance
• Competitor Strategies
• Attractive industries?
• Attractive companies?
• Which are winnable?
• How do we win sales?
• Competitor knowledge to win
• Winning proposal that’s
profitable
• Lessons learned to be more
competitive
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

…Information from Sales…
• New Products & Services
• Changing Customer Needs
• Emerging Competitors
• Market Trends
• Product Direction
• Improved Technology
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

What Sources/Processes Already Exist?
Sales Force
Automation
Win-Loss Reports Customer Satisfaction
Rumor Mill
Competitor Materials
Social Media
Blogging
Customer Loyalty
Selling Guide
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Maximize Sales Intelligence!!!
Education/Planning
Organize the Process
Organize
Contacts
Collect
Data
Analyze Data
Disseminate
Communicate/
Recognize
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

• Engage others in the organization
– Find and engage SMEs
• Identify and pursue most critical competitors/issues
• Start with one district or sales person
• Document success...
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Who to Involve In Sales
Think Broadly!!!
• VP Sales
• Directors, Sales Managers
• Director of Distribution
• Manager of Sales Statistics/Analysis
• Account Executives
• Technical/Admin. Reps
• Director of Installation & Service
• Contracts Administrators
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Insert Yourself Into the Sales Process
The Right
Method & Frequency
E-Mail
Sales
Conferences
Teleconference/SKYPE
Audioconference Informal Meetings
Blog
Intranet
Voice Mail
Wiki
Cooperative Intelligence: Be Accessible
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Deliverables
Help Sales Win
Timely Info/Analysis
Early
Warning
New Product
Announcements
New Technology
Analysis
Sales
Newsletters
SWOT
Analysis
Customer
Intelligence
Competitor
Profiles
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Sales Deliverables: Be Creative
Switching Cost Analysis
My Company Company X
Product Price $$$ $$
Product Quality High ??
Company
Commitment
High New to market
Employee training None $100/employee (?)
Order system change None IT Programming, code
conversion
Total Cost $$$ $$$$$$$$…..
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Why Win-Loss?
• Highest Value Research for
Expended Effort
• Most Accurate Measurement of
Positioning
• Benefits Customer
• Exalts Vendor in Customer’s Eyes
• Huge Data/Insight Mining
Opportunity
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Win-Loss: Ideally…
• Systematic, Planned Effort
• Phone Interview
• Conducted by Third Party
(internal or external)
• With Sales or by Sales
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

- Sales Process
- Customer Relationship
- Positioning
- Distribution
- Company Image
- Financial Stability
- Reliability/Quality
- Product Capabilities
- Product Features
- Technology
- Price
- Delivery/Implementation
- Maintenance
- Support
- Training
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Trade Shows:
Concentrated Intelligence
• Competitors
• Customers / Prospects
• Suppliers (yours and your competitor’s)
• Subcontractors
• Vendors
• Media
• Industry/Financial analysts
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Sustaining the CI Process with Sales
-- How are we doing? ROI?
-- Newsflashes, Quarterly Reports
-- Product Announcements
-- CI software
-- Email, Intranet, Phone
-- Conferences
-- Sales Meetings
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

Integrating Sales Intelligence
• WIIFM, MMLG prevails
• 1st Deliverable is Key
• Keep feeding Sales
• Keep recognizing Sales
• Stay visible with Sales
• Continue to report success to management
• Annual recap on cost vs. benefit
• Set goals and give feedback
• Integrate into education and training
July 2016 ©The Business Intelligence Source

+1 720.480.9499
Ellen@EllenNaylor.com
http://EllenNaylor.com
http://EllenNaylor.com/blog
http://twitter.com/EllenNaylor
www.linkedin.com/in/ellennaylorcolorado
Win Loss books
Win/Loss Analysis: How to Capture and Keep the Business You Want by Ellen Naylor
Win/Loss Reviews: A New Knowledge Model for Competitive Intelligence by Rick Marcet
Articles from Competitive Intelligence Magazine
1. Win/Loss Analysis: The Cooperative Angle
2. Enable Sales to Elicit Market Intelligence
3. Increasing Sales Through Win/Loss Analysis
4. Capturing Competitive Intelligence Through Your Sales Force
Contact Ellen Naylor