Case Studies » Understanding Customers
Company Challenge
Sales Managers felt that Representatives were not selling due to a lack
of product knowledge. Sales figures were slipping, although product knowledge testing scores
were high. A marketing analysis showed that the customer’s level of trust with the sales force
was steadily declining.
RightHands Resources™ Needs Assessment
An in-depth analysis showed that the learning need
was not product knowledge. Testing indicated that product knowledge was at an all-time-high.
Representatives lacked the ability to communicate effectively with the customer outside of
product presentations; they were “pushing” the product on the customer, and not engaging
in the dialogue that could lead help them better understand the customer’s needs. The learning
needed involved understanding the customer’s thought process when making a decision as well
as having the ability to speak effectively on all aspects of the customer challenge, not just the
aspects addressed by the product that the representative was selling.
RightHands Resources™ Industry Research
Resources within the industry varied from understanding
the customer to advanced selling skills. However, based on the needs assessment, many of
the resources did not focus on the specific learning need in this case. Representatives were not
having meaningful dialogue with the customers, could not engage the customers beyond a “sales pitch”, and had a tendency to rely too heavily on lunches, dinners, and other selling
techniques that did not garner customer respect.
RightHands Resources™ Solutions
Representatives needed to earn back the respect of their
customer base. The company wanted to be perceived in more of a consultative role and still
maintain profitability through sales. A learning opportunity was created through a series of
customized workshops focused on understanding the thought process of the customer when
making decisions related to the company’s product.
Customers were brought in to lead sections of the workshop through interactive case study
review. Other sections of the workshop integrated articulating this understanding of the customer
during sales calls and creating dialogue to better understand the individual customer’s
need. To regain the customer’s trust, representatives needed to understand all aspects of the
customer’s decision tree, not just the aspects addressed by the company’s product.
Outcome
Through the customized workshop, representatives gained a greater understanding
of all of the variables involved in the decision making process for the customer. Representatives
integrated this new information into sales calls. Representatives and customers reported that
sales calls were more dialogue driven and more successful as a result. Additionally, the company
formed key partnerships with customers tapped to help create and customize the workshop.
RightHands Resources™ RightTools™ MindStein™ was designed and customized as a sustainability
tool for this customer driven workshop.