{"id":816,"date":"2013-03-08T16:34:31","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T21:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markkirkwood.com\/?page_id=816"},"modified":"2020-04-15T12:19:32","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T16:19:32","slug":"tools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/?page_id=816","title":{"rendered":"Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #d61100;\"><strong>TOPSales<\/strong><\/span>, is based on the experience of the best demonstrated practices of sales organizations in many industries and regions:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tops_graphic.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-817\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tops_graphic-440x330.gif\" alt=\"tops_graphic\" width=\"440\" height=\"330\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #d61100;\">T<\/span>argeted offerings<\/strong>: Identify and focus on the highest priority customer segments with products and solutions that are bundled and priced for maximum revenue, retention and renewals.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #d61100;\">O<\/span>ptimized tools and procedures<\/strong>: Develop the right cadence for monitoring the results of customer-facing selling efforts in a timely way, and then reinforce it with effective forecasting, lead generation, back-office technology, support and service.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #d61100;\">P<\/span>erformance management<\/strong>: Recruit, train and retain high-potential sales teams; track key measures of their performance and motivate them with pay and incentives that reward success on companywide, as well as individual, metrics.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #d61100;\">S<\/span>ales resource deployment<\/strong>: Develop the right coverage model for each customer segment; assign responsibilities and design territories to make the best use of scarce resources.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #d61100;\"><strong>Business Unit Strategy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Business unit strategy involves making proprietary decisions on where to play and how to win. Our goal is to help our clients drive their businesses to full economic potential.<\/p>\n<p>Axis envisions the components of a good business unit strategy as a pyramid. Our strategy pyramid is built upon a solid fact base about the company&#8217;s current position and performance, as well as the identification of the &#8220;burning platform&#8221;\u2013or case for change. The ambition for the future tops the pyramid, under which lies a layered supporting structure firmly based on an organization that is mobilized and equipped to deliver results.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/pyramid_image_callout.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-823\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/pyramid_image_callout-440x257.jpg\" alt=\"pyramid_image_callout\" width=\"440\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/pyramid_image_callout-440x257.jpg 440w, https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/pyramid_image_callout.jpg 530w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just beneath the guiding ambition are the twin decisions of <span style=\"color: #d61200;\"><strong>where to play and how to win<\/strong><\/span>. How those questions are answered directs the actions necessary to drive the company to full potential. These building blocks support the creation of long-term value through leadership in specific markets and segments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ambition<\/strong>: A <strong>bold, inspiring full-potential ambition<\/strong> that targets sustained profitable growth<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to play<\/strong>: Clear choices on where to <strong>focus, expand<\/strong> and <strong>refine<\/strong> the core<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to win<\/strong>: Knowledge of ways to <strong>win the customer<\/strong> and <strong>beat the competition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Actions that drive full potential<\/strong>: Translation of <strong>strategy to action<\/strong>\u2014set priorities and allocate resources; define initiatives and individual missions; build capabilities needed for success<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roadmap to deliver results<\/strong>: A focus on <strong>repeatable results delivery<\/strong>\u2014build capacity to execute; mobilize front-line pull for change; drive repeatable models with fast feedback loops<\/p>\n<p>Research shows that sustained value creators turn in stronger performance before, during and after a downturn. They do this by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Building a strong core business<\/li>\n<li>Devising a path to achieve leadership economics<\/li>\n<li>Targeting a large and growing profit pool<\/li>\n<li>Focusing on the customer and developing &#8220;hidden&#8221; and untapped customer assets<\/li>\n<li>Building a repeatable formula, based on a company&#8217;s differentiated approach that can be replicated in closely adjacent markets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #d01100;\"><strong>The customer wheel: Six elements of the virtuous cycle<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Customers are the source of real growth, and \u201ccustomer-centric\u201d businesses build a virtuous cycle called the \u201ccustomer wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wheel_image_callout.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-973\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wheel_image_callout-440x258.jpg\" alt=\"wheel_image_callout\" width=\"440\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wheel_image_callout-440x258.jpg 440w, https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wheel_image_callout.jpg 530w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Insights and segmentation<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>Customer segmentation<\/li>\n<li>Customer insights<\/li>\n<li>Needs analysis<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em id=\"__mceDel\"><em id=\"__mceDel\"><\/em><\/em><strong>Value proposition<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>Product and category management<\/li>\n<li>Pricing<\/li>\n<li>Branding<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer acquisition<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>Sales and channel effectiveness<\/li>\n<li>Marketing and effectiveness<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer experience [Service Operations]<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>Customer service<\/li>\n<li>Call center management<\/li>\n<li>[Store\/branch\/channel experience management]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Share of wallet<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>Cross-sell<\/li>\n<li>Up-sell<\/li>\n<li>Usage marketing<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em id=\"__mceDel\"><em id=\"__mceDel\"><strong>Customer loyalty<\/strong><\/em><\/em>\n<ol>\n<li>Engagement<\/li>\n<li>Loyalty and retention<\/li>\n<li>Promoter system<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>At the hub of the sales wheel, a company looks to return: \u201dMore profit per customer; and then out-invests [maneuvers] competitors to grow\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TOPSales, is based on the experience of the best demonstrated practices of sales organizations in many industries and regions: Targeted offerings: Identify and focus on the highest priority customer segments with products and solutions that are bundled and priced for maximum revenue, retention and renewals. Optimized tools and procedures: Develop the right cadence for monitoring [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":77,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-816","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/816\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.markkirkwood.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}