selectivity – Learning for Performance

How to be selective?

Selectivity has been the foundational element of trade since the very beginning. And in today’s current terms, it is the core of commercial effectiveness. Being selective about the geography where you want to sell, market segments, type of customers, offering, pricing…

Yet, it is not that easy to implement. Because selectivity is the product of deep thinking, analysis, and reflection…and sometimes intuition and feeling, it requires a certain level of clarity.

On the other hand, without being selective, getting lost in a commercial activity is very easy. So, how to become more selective?..

Commercial excellence simplified

Commercial excellence is a fancy vague term. It sounds like only big multinationals can afford to work on commercial excellence. Indeed its foundations lie in the basics of commerce. Over the centuries, merchants have primarily used the principles of commercial excellence to survive in the business….

How to improve sales effectiveness?

It is counterintuitive to refuse some large deals just because they are not profitable enough; it may sound strange to go back to market to prospect for new customers while you already have a historical customer database. It is a painful process to say no to your historical customers.To help make this shift, below are some tips I think can be helpful:

Who chooses your customers?

When salespeople lose a deal, most of the time, the reason is price, competition, lead times… in other words, losing a deal is primarily external. I have never met a salesperson telling me that it was his fault.

In fact, it is the fault of the salesperson. Not because they are not good at sales. It is because they choose the wrong customer. Let me give you an example…