5 Growth Digging Strategies to Work With 

Here is a summary of 5 strategies adapted from these sources (HBR Insight and the book on Sales Growth) to makes sales happen when selling seems almost impossible: 

• Increase Sales by modelling sales excellence to raise sales momentum 

One assured way to keep sales growing, is to model excellence across sales teams, as shown in the Novartis story. A phased learning path that provides for blended training interspersed with simple assessments and sharing of success practices can promote such modelling 

Action Steps: (i) Identify sales behaviours of outstanding performers that differentiate them (ii) Cascade those behaviours to others through training (iii) Coach Sales Managers to manage by support to keep sales ticking. This way, we can keep the sales growing by modelling excellence across sales teams 

• Look for ‘hidden’ micro-markets or growth geographies buried in aggregate numbers

As data science professionals like to point out “Aggregate hides insight.” To gain insight into unspotted micro growth drivers, the strategy can be to go granular with the data. To do this, we must disaggregate sales data and analyse by picking out micromarkets with potential. When analysed like this, what looks like a mature market with plateaued sales suddenly throws up hot spots of growth 

Action Steps: (i) Instead of sales by region, make sales by smaller geographies (or Micromarkets) the unit of measurement (ii) Define the right metrics and granularity for your micromarkets (iii) Determine growth potential of each micromarket (iii) Look for opportunities– In terms of prospects, new Customer segments or micro growth segments (iv) Determine your share in each micromarket and understand the root causes for variance in market share

• Grow additional sales from products within a portfolio using data

A simple 4-step process is suggested for this. The idea behind the process is to assess which of the products within a portfolio, bring the highest value of sales in return for the sales effort invested and make them the growth engines 

Action Steps: (i) Measure salesperson’s time invested per product for all products in a portfolio (A) (ii) Get the product wise sales numbers (B) (iii) Arrive at the Return on Sales Time Invested per product (C = B/A) (iv) Allocate more sales time for products with higher C quotient. This focus can be further refined through a comparison of profits generated by top products enjoying the biggest C quotient numbers 

• Support micromarket sales effort cross-functionally and intensify cross sell 

We need to ensure that adequate organisational resources are assigned to prioritised growth pockets 

Action Steps: (i) Strengthen cross functional support from Marketing, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Finance to identified micromarkets (ii) Sensitize all support functions to accord priority to growth pockets (iii) Challenge micromarkets salespeople to raise their bar (iv) Intensify cross sell to Customers from growth pocket geographies who approach with service or support requests

• Keep it simple for sales

Make data collection, reporting and use, simple for sales teams to work with 

Action Steps: (i) Minimise complexity. It is easy to be carried away by appetite for data, raising the workload for frontline sales (ii) Ensure insights and tools are simple to understand and use (iii) Implement an easy-to-understand dashboard presenting all micromarkets together (iv) Explore feasibility of differential, potential based pricing exclusively for micromarkets 

These strategies, essentially derive from piece of timeless wisdom known to all successful entrepreneurs. That opportunities multiply for those who look for them!