The Sales Data Hub

Underlying trends

The trends that have had an effect on the way we deploy and use IT can be grouped into three subsets.

1.     Business Trends

Businesses and their structures have become more and more complex, in terms of both hierarchical organization and in terms of infrastructure.  There are more and more different systems that need to be taken into account.

2.     People Trends

Two trends to note here.  Firstly there has been an explosion in the use of social networking sites and their corresponding notifications, comments, discussions, posts, updates, etc.  Secondly, the emergence of the BYOD (bring your own device) trend, has resulted in a displacement of access points away from the computer to the mobile screen (tablets, phones).

3.     Offer / Solution Trends

Over the last two years APIs have become more generalized and there has also been a move towards homogenizing authentification modules.  At the same time, social networking has moved from the personal sphere, into the business sphere.  And, the standard functions of social business software are now usually free to use.

Experiences and conclusions: “solution” is a problematic word

During our work with our clients we have often noted the same comments coming from them, the users.  The single CRM solution is often inadequate.

·         CRMs are usually not sufficiently able to deal with the relationship aspects of complex sales.

·         The single solution is unrealistic, often combining complicated to use add-ons or bespoke developments.

·         An unbalanced situation between the needs of the company to have a database of sales relevant information and the users’ needs to have information that sheds light on their daily business.

·         The single database is a myth.  Individual users usually supplement the company database with excel charts, outlook contact lists, iPhone entries, etc.

Enter the Sales Data Hub

The Sales Data Hub refers to the real-life and workable solutions that many companies are choosing to deploy.  

It has 6 fundamental characteristics.

1.     It works using pivots and facets.

2.     It is multi-polar.

3.     Information is accessed where it was first input, in its native system.

4.     It links semantic value and added value.

5.     Relationship management is possible.

6.     It is dynamic.

The Sales Data Hub is a virtual unified system that brings together several interoperable systems.  Each of the participative systems maintains its functionalities and relevance and continues to be used each time it makes sense to do so.  It is accessible with today’s technologies.  It will enable companies to move to the next stage of commercial efficiency, by equipping their sales force with the tools they really need to do their jobs well.

Antoine de Septenville.

Network Coverage in o2o selling

My network

I know my own professional network well and I have a good idea of:

·         Who I know

·         How well I know them and how well we get on

·         Where they work and what they do

·         And any other relevant information that’s going to help me win and drive business

If I am lucky, I work in a company that encourages me to share my network information with my coworkers, so we can use the combined power of our relationships to work more efficiently and quickly with outside contacts.

Client’s network

I may also have some idea about the network of my own professional contacts, especially those who make up my client list.  I have an understanding of:

·         Who my client knows

·         How well my client knows them and how well they get on

·         Where my client’s contacts work and what they do

·         And any other relevant information that’s going to help me win and drive business

Network coverage

It’s also good to know, and some of you may have the tool to help you visualize and share this information, how my network overlaps with my client’s network.  In other words, how many of the people in my client’s ecosystem are in contact with the people from my company.  When working in an o2o sales environment (see our post of March 9th2012) having this kind of insight is essential.

	A n d r e w	K a r e n	D e b o r a h	E s t h e r	V a l e r i e
John		X	X		X
Khalid	X	X	X
Annabel
Jamie		X
Phil	X	X			X
Steve			X

In the table here, the people in green are part of my company and the people in blue make up the client’s company.  I admit, it’s neither a big or complex ecosystem, but I think you’ll get the point.

The crosses show who knows who.  It’s as simple as that.

The ability to assess your network coverage as it evolves is important for two reasons.

1. Who knows who

I can see that Karen knows a lot of people in that account.  This makes sense as she’s the KAM.  Esther is new to the team, so she doesn’t yet have contacts here.

This kind of insight can help me to plan and organize my team to prepare for situations like maternity leave, retirements, people moving on to another job, etc.  If Karen informs me tomorrow that she is pregnant, I can I react quickly to work out how best to fill the holes in my network coverage in time for a smooth handover.  Using my chart it looks like Deborah is currently best placed, although she would need to build up relationships with Jamie and Phil.  Alternatively, I could chose to bring new blood and fresh eyes to the account, and decide to get Esther involved.  This all depends on the real business case and my motivations behind decisions.

And, when Karen comes back to work, I can look at my network coverage again to work out what to do for the best.  As the concept of a job for life is evaporating, being able to do this kind of analysis quickly and simply is becoming more and more important.

2. Who isn’t known

Looking at my simplified network coverage, I can see that Annabel isn’t in contact with anyone from my team.  Depending on who Annabel is, this may or may not be important.  Given that she is part of my client’s ecosystem, I should at the very least identify her and her role.  And then, depending on my business objectives and the role that Annabel plays, assign the job of getting in touch with her to someone in my team.

Adequate tool support?

While the sample table above could easily be presented in an excel sheet, the problem is to keep the information up to date with other aspects of my relationship intelligence.  And herein lies the challenges.  You should not be surprised if your CRM systems cannot provide you with this functionality.  Even plug ins that can augment CRM functionalities are rare to find.  I actually know of only one. Do not hesitate to conatact me if you want to know more.


Cate Farrall

The company, the job, the person: making sense of identity

Three key elements

Any CRM worth its salt will let you stock and consult three key pieces of information: your contact’s name, the job title he/she holds and which company he/she currently works for.  Having access to these three sets of information help you target, shape your strategy and tailor messages.

Inseparable?

The vast majority of CRMs have organized their data fields so that the person and their post are inseparable within the date record containing contact information, and the company or organization is a separate data record.  This is why (for anyone who uses a CRM without needing to know the software architecture behind it) I can have people that come and go from a company in my CRM but I can’t have a person that changes post or a post that changes occupant (without deleting one of these key elements and starting to rebuild any relationship information from scratch).

The organization

The company is then usually treated by CRMs as a separate entity.  This makes sense as there are certain aspects of companies that shape the relationships of its stakeholders.  For example:

·         Business objectives

·         Size

·         Corporate identity and reputation

·         Company ethics

·         Its own relationship network: suppliers, partners, clients, customers, competitors, shareholders, etc

I’m quite sure I have forgotten some things, please add comments below.

The post

The job in itself can alter relationships too:

·         There are hierarchical links and reporting lines which force me into contact with some people.

·         Geographical zones of intervention and action exist which limit or extend who I work with.

·         I am held to follow certain procedures, which may detail who I work with.

Again, I welcome comments on anything you think is missing.

The person

People change and alter the relationships they have much more than any other factor.  In the list below I have detailed only the aspects that come into play for professional relationships.

·         I have a memory unlike a post, which existed before me and will continue to exist if and when I move on.  If I get on with a person I will carry this with me for a long time, maybe forever.  I can also bear a grudge for a very long time.

·         I have a life outside of my work, so I can interact with and meet people who are not in my existing professional network.  This extends who I know beyond the limitations of my job’s network.

·         I like other people, or I dislike them.  As an example, in my role as, let’s say, Sales Director Southern Europe I should work closely with my Sales President EMEA.  However, for one reason or another we just don’t click, and although we are both professional enough to do the job well, there’s no warmth or mutual support.

·         I have a set of ethics and opinions that may or may not be close to the company’s position.  For example, I may put greater emphasize on ecological issues, or health and safety, or equal opportunities, or X, Y, Z.  This could well lead to changes in the way I consider other people and the work they do.

Additions welcome in the comments box below.

Divide and conquer

At some point in the future I will leave my post (either to retire, following a promotion, or moving to another company).  Likewise, I existed as a person long before I came into the post that I currently hold.

These professional movements are key moments in the life of a company because new people bring new networks.  Traditional suppliers can often see themselves ousted shortly after the arrival of a senior person, as he/she decides to use their own trusted suppliers or decides to go for a new approach.  There are companies out there that track nominations of C level people (www.nomination.fr does this in France) to help you identify these key moments.

What this means for information storage

Key things to look for in a CRM (get their techie team to answer the questions)

·         Company, post and person are three separate elements.

·         I can move a person from company to company without losing any information about that person.

·         I can move a person from post to post without losing any information.

·         Personal relationships with any given person can be transferred easily as the person’s career develops.

Cate Farrall