Sales Force Feedback

In today's business landscape, companies that want to thrive must be able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of their customers. And what better way to understand these needs than by listening directly to their sales force, the front line of contact with customers? Salesforce feedback is a goldmine of valuable information that, when analysed correctly, can guide companies to success.

What is sales force feedback?

Through sales force feedback, it is possible to identify the unspoken needs of customers, those desires that are often not explicitly expressed but influence their purchasing decisions. By collecting feedback from salespeople, divided by the different essential roles in the decision-making process (decision maker, economic buyer, influencer, etc.), it is possible to obtain a complete view of market needs.

How to collect feedback

Gathering sales force feedback is a simple but effective process:

Identify the questions: Define the key questions to ask the sales force, focusing on how the product or service meets customer needs, solves their problems, and creates value.

Organise sessions: Schedule meetings with the sales force to discuss the questions and gather feedback.

Encourage participation: Create an open environment and encourage salespeople to share their experiences and observations gathered during customer interactions.

Gather evidence: Ask salespeople to provide evidence to support their feedback, such as sales data, customer comments, or emails.

Thank and motivate: Express gratitude to the sales force for their contribution and emphasise the importance of their feedback for the company's improvement.

Analysis and use of feedback

Once collected, sales force feedback should be analysed and used to guide business decisions:

Update the Value Proposition Canvas: Use the information obtained to update the Value Proposition Canvas, ensuring that the company's value proposition is perfectly aligned with customer needs and expectations.

Identify experiments: Based on the feedback, identify opportunities to experiment with new solutions, features, or strategies to improve the alignment between the company's offering and market needs.

The analysis of sales force feedback is a relatively inexpensive and time-consuming process. Most of the work focuses on collecting and organising feedback, which can be done internally without expensive software or consultants. Analysis time is short and depends on the amount of feedback collected.

Strength of evidence

Salesforce feedback offers different types of evidence with varying levels of strength:

Feedback on "near misses": Analyze cases of almost lost sales to identify the factors that risked derailing the deal. This type of feedback provides valuable information on improving the alignment between the offering and customer needs.

Customer feedback on near misses: Feedback from customers who almost gave up on the purchase but then finalised the transaction represents particularly significant evidence. These testimonials offer a unique perspective on the weaknesses of the company's offering.

Feature requests: Identify the features most requested by customers during the sales process. These requests may indicate unspoken needs or problems the company may need to address.

Skills and requirements

Practical analysis of sales force feedback requires basic research and data analysis skills. In addition, it is essential to understand how the sales department works and the market dynamics in which the company operates.