Creating the Strategy

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Creating the Strategy is a practical guide that brings together the most important elements of business strategy, B2B marketing theory and sales management.

Aimed at those wanting to structure their organizations around the winning and keeping of customers in B2B markets, the book introduces a number of unique and powerful methodologies proven in workshops conducted with clients such as Mercedes-Benz and AXA Insurance. It is structured around the Sales & Business Performance Value Chain , a unique and integrated process that builds awareness and understanding of all factors impacting on sales and business performance, providing an important diagnostic tool.

Whether you are working for a large organisation or a small company, Creating the Strategy will help you recognise and implement the key elements responsible for creating outstanding sales and business performance in B2B markets.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 1)
• Part 1 Sales and Customer Strategy (p. 3)
• 01 Sales and customer strategy in B2B markets (p. 5)
• The importance of sales and customer strategy (p. 5)
• The Business Performance Value Chain (p. 7)
• The role of management (p. 8)
• Business performance (p. 8)
• Creating strategy (p. 9)
• Managing strategy (p. 9)
• Workshop tested (p. 10)
• Self-assessment questionnaire (p. 10)
• The sales and customer strategy self-assessment (p. 11)
• The self-assessment (p. 11)
• Part 2 Creating Strategy (p. 15)
• 02 Strategic direction (p. 17)
• The external environment (p. 19)
• SWOT analysis (p. 21)
• Vision (p. 25)
• Overall goals (p. 26)
• Core competencies (p. 26)
• Market definition (p. 27)
• Competitive positioning (p. 27)
• Strategic direction and business strategy (p. 29)
• Implications for management (p. 30)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 30)
• 03 Customer strategy (p. 36)
• Customer strategy and marketing theory (p. 37)
• Customer importance (p. 42)
• Customer understanding (p. 43)
• The Customer Relationship Matrix (p. 43)
• Customer importance mapping (p. 46)
• The customer journey (p. 49)
• Sources of customer information (p. 52)
• Customer profiling (p. 53)
• Previewing sales process (p. 55)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 56)
• 04 The value proposition (p. 63)
• Products and services (p. 64)
• The total proposition (p. 64)
• New product development (p. 68)
• Differentiation (p. 69)
• The Differentiator Matrix (p. 71)
• Creating customer value (p. 73)
• Aspects of value (p. 75)
• Value mapping (p. 78)
• Creating value propositions (p. 79)
• The Value Balance Sheet (p. 80)
• The value proposition creator (p. 81)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 82)
• 05 The sales process (p. 85)
• The sales process (p. 86)
• Stages in the sales process (p. 87)
• Developing the sales process (p. 96)
• Activity management and account management (p. 98)
• Business buyer behaviour (p. 102)
• Choice of development account (p. 104)
• Development account entry strategy (p. 106)
• Time and territory management (p. 107)
• Automating the sales process (p. 108)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 108)
• Part 3 Managing Strategy (p. 115)
• 06 Business purpose (p. 117)
• Strategy and business purpose (p. 120)
• Culture (p. 121)
• Beliefs and values (p. 122)
• Communicating business purpose (p. 123)
• Primary mechanisms of culture (p. 124)
• Secondary mechanisms of culture (p. 126)
• Leadership (p. 127)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 128)
• 07 People and performance (p. 131)
• People (p. 132)
• Structure (p. 133)
• The Organizational Blueprint (p. 137)
• Performance (p. 139)
• Controlling performance: The sales performance framework (p. 140)
• Key performance measures - the ends (p. 140)
• Intermediate performance measures - progress (p. 141)
• Competence - the means (p. 143)
• Knowledge, skills and behaviour (p. 147)
• Standards of performance (p. 149)
• Example competency profile: Account manager (p. 150)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 159)
• Appendix 1: Job specification (p. 166)
• Appendix 2: Field appraisal process (p. 168)
• 08 Development and motivation (p. 170)
• Development (p. 171)
• The personal development plan (p. 171)
• Training needs analysis (p. 172)
• Creating a philosophy of development (p. 172)
• Training v coaching (p. 173)
• Developing competencies (p. 173)
• Developing knowledge, skills and behaviours (p. 174)
• Coaching (p. 176)
• Team development (p. 179)
• Team life cycles (p. 180)
• Note on recruitment (p. 183)
• Motivation (p. 184)
• A motivation exercise (p. 184)
• Some traditional theories of motivation (p. 185)
• The motivational framework (p. 192)
• Some common sales motivation issues (p. 196)
• Workshops and case studies (p. 198)
• Part 4 Implementing Strategy (p. 205)
• 09 Implementing strategy (p. 207)
• Priorities for action (p. 207)
• Strategic v operational change (p. 208)
• Leading operational change (p. 209)
• Leading strategic change: Lessons from consultancy (p. 211)
• 10 The Art of War (p. 216)
• Glossary (p. 221)
• Index (p. 231)