Top customer experience professionals know how to get things done. In particular, they know how to work through others to drive results. In a series of blog posts I’m taking a look at several personas representing key users of customer intelligence – their role, their needs, and tips on working with them.
Today’s post looks at Dan – a sales professional. Customer insights can be an excellent source for cultivating strong relationships.
HIS ROLE:
Dan is focused on one thing: driving revenue. Dan is under a lot of pressure to close deals and continuously grow the top line. Once he closes a deal he generally puts it behind him and is focused on the next deal to be closed.
HIS NEEDS:
Dan needs timely customer insights that will help him focus on the issues that matter most to existing customers and new prospects. He also can benefit from intelligence that will help him know which accounts show the most potential so that he doesn’t waste his time focusing on accounts that aren’t going to buy.
WORKING WITH DAN:
Dan’s basic attitude is, “Help me sell or get out of the way.” You will have to prove customer intelligence can be another source of leads and that it provides talking points/dialogue that can be used in purchasing negotiations with customers.
Here’s how:
- Make it actionable – Your customer intelligence initiative has to thoughtfully and purposefully consider the needs of the sales force. Traditional methods typically do not gather insights in a way that will be actionable for your sales teams.
- Provide alerts – Build in triggers that can immediately notify Dan of issues to address or opportunities to pursue. This is a quick and easy way to deliver value. After a few quick wins, Dan will be hooked.
- Provide profiles – Help Dan be more efficient by profiling his target prospects to narrow in on the ones most likely to purchase. This will make him more effective and efficient.
Note: This is the fourth in a series of blogs looking at the key users of customer intelligence. The next blog will focus on product managers.
