When developing a sales strategy, it is possible to distinguish between several steps which are interrelated. For the question “Where are we strong?” “Who are our customers?” Cannot be answered independently of the question “what are our strengths?”, since otherwise convincing sales arguments cannot be built up.
What can our company do well?
Knowing the competencies of one’s own company is a prerequisite for the development of a sales strategy. Producers are usually primarily concerned with their technical competence in this analysis. They overlook the fact that their customers usually have a bundle of expectations for their suppliers, such as good service, global production facilities or even permanent availability. Therefore, such factors should also be investigated incompetence analysis. For the analysis of their potential market, companies first need facts: Read more
Which products sold well in the past few years? For which products and customer groups were the largest growth rates and profit margins achieved? They also need appropriate data on the overall market in order to recognize where there is still potential. Companies often analyze the market primarily for the current situation. They do not take into account the fact that a sales strategy must, first of all, clarify with which and with whom future money is to be earned. So the market analysis must also include questions such as:
Which new technical problem solutions are likely to be possible in three, five or even ten years due to the technical development? How is the market likely to develop – also due to changed legal requirements? How do customers need change, for example, due to rising energy costs?
Apart from that, as companies have done more frequently in the last few years, companies are running the risk of breaking markets and sales.
Who are our (future) competitors?
Market analysis also includes dealing with the question of who the competitors are. Here, too, it is important not only to look at current competitors but also to identify which companies even outside the industry could develop into competitors.
Companies often analyze their competencies while developing their sales strategy but they do not ask themselves enough about the strengths that result from the market. This is important, however, because not all of our competencies are directly attributable to the customer. Accordingly, there is little interest in potential customers for their respective competencies.
In addition, strengths usually result from the combination of several competencies that a company has. For example, it is not very useful to be very innovative on the one hand, but not to develop marketable products on the other. The same is the case when a company has marketable products but does not provide its customers with the desired service. Helpful in determining the strengths is often a look into the past: Read more
Why did certain competitors choose their competitors?
The responses are usually the most convincing indications of what the company’s real strengths are, which must be expanded; As well as the competencies that the company still needs to build up in order to drive attractive competitors to its competitors.