Agile Sales

Agile Sales

by Brad Jeavons
Released April 2020
Publisher(s): Productivity Press
ISBN: 9781000056525

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Book description

If you ever wondered if Agile methodology can be applied to a sales environment, then this is the book for you. A step-by-step process explained from the point of view of someone who has walked the walk, not just talked the talk. A compelling read for anyone who wants to elevate their sales approach above the crowd.

–Ken Aitken

Managing Director, SmartFreight

The sales function, once believed to be exempt from the requirement to practice continuous improvement, is struggling. Now shaken by the age of e-commerce, sales teams are looking for answers. Agile Sales provides a path forward.

–Robert Hafey

Author, Lean Safety and Lean Safety Gemba Walks

The Agile philosophy has grown and achieved success initially through the technology design and development teams of some of the world’s largest, most successful organizations. Recently, it has been adopted by the marketing departments of these organizations and others, and new techniques are evolving for defining, engaging, and providing customers with amazing and unique experiences.

Sales teams are becoming disrupted by technology and the differentiated experiences marketing teams are providing for their customers online using Agile techniques. Sales organizations have been looking for a way to avoid disruption and get back into the game with value. Sales teams are now beginning to adopt Agile, which is enabling these teams to revolutionize the way they engage customers with value and delightful experiences that result in greater value for the customers and themselves.

This book outlines how Agile can help sales teams develop a culture of innovation focused on their customers. This book takes the reader through the customer’s buying journey (Agile technique), outlining tips and tricks that have come from Agile deployments within sales functions to help them get started.

The key benefit for the reader is the introduction of a proven philosophy and techniques that will help them avoid disruption, elevate themselves from the commodity trap, and achieve success again. This book provides the reader with insights into how to achieve sustainable change using real-life case examples. The reader will also experience enjoyment and delight from the stories told and case examples provided.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Commendation
  3. Half Title
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication Page
  7. Table of Contents
  8. List of Figures
  9. Foreword
  10. Preface
  11. Acknowledgments
  12. About the Author
  13. Introduction
  14. 1 Agile Sales Concept 1: Customer Understanding
    1. The Pareto Principle
      1. Living in Their Shoes
    2. Tools for Understanding Your Customer More Deeply
      1. The Persona Map
      2. The Contextual Interview
      3. The Empathy Map
      4. Service Safari
      5. Shadowing
    3. Suggested Actions for Customer Understanding
  15. 2 Agile Sales Concept 2: Hoshin Kanri
    1. Executive Level Plan
    2. Divisional Team Plans
    3. Department (Front-Line) Plans
    4. Individual Plans
    5. Lead and Lag Measures
    6. Suggested Actions for Hoshin Kanri
  16. 3 Agile Sales Concept 3: Scrum
    1. History of the Scrum
    2. In Sales
    3. Throughout the Entire Organization
    4. How to Establish an RVM
    5. Agenda for an RVM
    6. Culture Building in an RVM
    7. Strategy Execution in an RVM
      1. Trend-Line Chart
    8. Action Orientation in an RVM
    9. Suggested Actions for Scrum
  17. 4 Agile Sales Concept 4: Kanban
    1. Setting Up a Kanban Board for Sales Opportunities and Improvement Ideas
      1. Determining Kanban Capacity/Volume
    2. Suggested Actions for Kanban
  18. 5 Agile Sales Concept 5: Sprints
    1. Sprints in Sales
    2. Implementing Sprints
    3. Prioritizing Sprints
    4. Sprints for Challenging Opportunities and Out-of-Control Kanbans
    5. Suggested Actions for Sprints
  19. 6 Agile Sales Concept 6: Leader Standard Work
    1. Leading Change
    2. Sustaining Constant Focus on Important, Not Urgent
    3. Key Skills for Conducting Effective Leader Standard Work
      1. Embracing Early Adopters
      2. Defining Behaviors and Leading Them
      3. Creating the Right Environment
      4. Develop Your Coaching Skills
    4. Suggested Actions for Leader Standard Work
  20. 7 Agile Sales Concept 7: Sales Process Aligned to Your Customer’s Buying Journey
  21. 8 Discovery
    1. Step 1: Build Your Target Cohort
    2. Step 2: Build a Foundation of Trust with Your Customer
      1. The Importance of Empathy
      2. Understanding and Relating to Customers
    3. Step 3: Connecting with Abundance
      1. Relatedness When Connecting
      2. Multiple Touchpoints
      3. The “Hard to Get Meeting Process”
      4. Developing Your “Why You Want to Meet” Statement
    4. Suggested Actions for “Discovery”
  22. 9 Research
    1. What Answers Are Customers Looking For?
    2. Asking the Right Questions, the Right Way
      1. Question Planning
      2. Elevate Your Conversations
      3. Empathic Listening
      4. Deep Dive on Key Topics
      5. The 5 Whys or RCA
    3. Suggested Actions for “Research”
  23. 10 Purchase
    1. Simplify the “Purchase”
      1. Limit Barriers to “Purchase”
      2. Creating a Holistic, Agile Organization
      3. Understand Your Internal Customers
    2. Motivate the “Purchase”
      1. How to Calculate Payback
      2. How to Calculate ROI
      3. Build Buying Tension through Commercial Storytelling
      4. Quote Nashis, Not Apples
    3. Leading the Journey to “Purchase”
      1. The Sales Excellence Maturity Index
      2. Sales Process Aligned to the Customer’s Journey
      3. Selling Toilet Paper with Value
    4. Close with Abundance
      1. Check-In
      2. Handling Objections with Abundance
    5. Suggested Actions for “Purchase”
  24. 11 Delivery
    1. Collaborating to Achieve Excellence in “Delivery”
      1. Collaborating with Internal Customers
      2. Customer Collaboration – Co-creation
      3. Surprise and Delight – The $3 Umbrella
    2. Suggested Actions for “Delivery”
  25. 12 Devotion
    1. Cyclical Value-Adding Customer Engagement Approach
    2. Ongoing Surprise and Delight
    3. Suggested Actions for “Devotion”
  26. 13 Leveraging
    1. Leveraging Your Sales Process
    2. Leveraging Customers
    3. Leveraging People
    4. Suggested Actions for Leveraging
  27. Conclusion
  28. Bibliography
  29. Index

Product information

  • Title: Agile Sales
  • Author(s): Brad Jeavons
  • Release date: April 2020
  • Publisher(s): Productivity Press
  • ISBN: 9781000056525