Tools: Sales FOCUS+

ACTvantage Sales FOCUS+ Dashboard

NOT ALL CUSTOMERS ARE CREATED EQUAL. The problem is that most distributors have a difficult time convincing their sales force to act on this wisdom. The primary reason? Most customer profitability models are highly complex, making it difficult for the average salesperson to understand those models, let alone act upon them when working with customers. Our groundbreaking work turned this on its head by offering a systematic, easy-to-implement, customer profitability model that any salesperson can understand, embrace, and implement.

Since its inception, we have implemented the model across hundreds of distributors and manufacturers in the B2B industry, across verticals ranging from building materials, HVAC, industrial, plastics, foodservice, oil and gas, electrical, electronics, grocery chains, and chemical, to name a few.

The ACTvantage Approach

Our approach is rooted in developing sustainable analytics capability rather than a one-time short-term model. Are they two different things? We believe so, based on researching more than 250 implementations of analytics engagements. We have helped hundreds of distributors implement the model. Over the years, we studied those implementations and asked the critical question:

What determines if firms would sustain benefits (customer retention, profitability, share growth, etc.) of implementing analytics?

It’s not just the quality of the tool or technology or software, though it’s part of the mix. Firms that sustained the benefits of analytics have integrated three critical capitals – Process, Technology and Organization to PEOPLE by creatively developing analytics as a capability. Our platform is the result of this key learning.

Sales FOCUS+ Benefits

For Sales Leaders

Acts as a sales management platform
A bridge to devise sales person-specific goals
A common language to drive profitable growth
A tool to develop customer-focused culture

For the Salesforce

A growth playbook for territory growth
Acts as an advisor for analytics-based strategies
PREDICT at-risk CORE customers
PROVIDE customer-specific growth plans
PERSUADE non-core customers to CORE

For Top Management

Acts as a compass for Profitable Growth
Establish a common language for focused actions
Helps monitor sales force productivity and performance
Focus on leading indicators than lagging indicators

Clients Using our Tools

“Today’s competitive environment requires that management make better data-driven decisions. We can no longer afford to treat the sales process as an art; it requires a structured approach, and this publication will provide you with the tools to accomplish that in your organization.”

CEO
High Tech Distributor

“Customer Stratification provides us the power to transform our company from being product-driven to customer-driven. It has helped us understand our customers in greater detail, enabling us to optimize our selling resources, which will result in an improved ROI.”

President
Hardware Distributor

“This program is about more than just pricing—it makes you consider the cost-to-serve, which products to sell, and how to use your resources to build more Core customers, serve them better, and be more profitable doing it.”