1. Entrepreneurial Marketing: An Effectual Approach
Prof. Dr. E.J. Nijssen,
Eindhoven University of Technology
Available from Routledge at:
Session 8: The role of sales in customer development

2. Objectives Explain the principle of the sales learning curve
Understand sales knowledge brokering role
Specifically sales involvement in NPD
May help discover customer needs and better understand customer behavior
Discuss the development of a sales message to successfully hunt for prospects
Present the sales process and key questions for shaping the sales activities
Goal: Customer development

3. Sales goals
Actively build presence and awareness in market place for firm and product/service By
Bringing in initial sales with suboptimal product to ensure cash flow/survival
Allertness and assertiveness in approaching venturous customers
Excellent contact with R&D/NPD colleagues and ability to switch between technology and customer needs
Building marketing/sales information system
Developing plan to approach and convince subsequent customers

4. Sales’ involvement with R&D and customers
Salesperson involvement
Alternative mechanisms
Outcome
New product advantage +
Salesperson’s integration in start- up’s product development + +
Sales person’s new product adoption

5. Sales’ involvement with R&D and customers
Salesperson involvement
Alternative mechanisms
Outcome
New product advantage + +
Salesperson’s integration in start- up’s product development
New product success + + + +
Sales person’s new product adoption
Competitive intensity +
New product innovativeness

6. Sales’ involvement with R&D and customers
Salesperson involvement
Alternative mechanisms
Outcome
Timing
Quality of information -
New product advantage + + +
Salesperson’s integration in start- up’s product development
New product success + + + + +
Sales person’s new product adoption
Recognition
Competitive intensity + +
Feedback
New product innovativeness

7. Sales’ involvement with R&D and customers
Salesperson involvement
Alternative mechanisms
Outcome
Timing
New product advantage
Quality of information -
Sales plan + + +
Salesperson’s integration in start- up’s product development
Prototype
(experimentation)
Customer behavior
New product success +
Customer feedback/needs + + + +
Sales person’s new product adoption
Recognition
Competitive intensity + +
Feedback
New product innovativeness

8. Sales people benefit from design perspective
In contrast to hard selling there is:
Adaptive selling
Solution selling
Emphathy
Customer orientation, build needed knowledge
Integration ability

9. Sales people benefit from design perspective
Let’s watch the following video on design (Tom Hulme)
Imagine how sales person can use and contribute

10. Sales process and related elements
Prospecting
Interacting
Persuading
Maintaining
Prospect list
Pass gatekeepers
Initiate contact
Sales message (customer value, USPs)
Sales presentation/ demonstration
Educate
Present solution per stakeholder in DMU
Negotiate
Service
Feedback
Retention
Cross-selling

11. Basic sales message format
Our company _______________
offers a new solution ___________. (concept  problem)
to _______________. (target customers)
Our primary points of difference are____________.
Our main benefits include _____________.
This is what our customers say about our product and us______________. (references/testimonials)
With (our product), you (the customer) will be able to better achieve (customer’s goals)
Differentiate message for each member of the decision making unit

12. Best practices in sales encounters
Listen to understand customer frustrations/problems and thus latent needs
Show empathy
Deliver a short and targeted message
Get feedback on your product
Positive and negative (opportunities for improvement)
Educate customer if necessary; offer information about your product/technology

13. Sales learning curve
Early selling involves serious learning, which unfolds through the experimentation with different market segments and prototypes
Process takes time
Cannot be short-circuited
Needs entrepreneurial sales skills
The ability to deal with uncertainty of changing presentations, customers and products on a daily basis
The ability to listen to customer objections and understand whether they are issues about the product, the presentation, the pricing, or something else
Blank (2006); Leslie and Holloway (2006)

14. Lessons
Early sales requires entrepreneurial (design-oriented) and not regular sales skills
Involvement with R&D
Requires embracing uncertainy via experimentation
Adaptive/solution selling
In the process sales learning will result in improved product, sales message and targetting/positioning
The sales plan (road map) should evolve to plan for the segment and finally the market
Once the initial assumptions are validated can sales ramp-up take place based on the sales road map developed