One of the most insightful questions we are continually asked is “How do I get my people to focus on the ‘right’ opportunities?”

Research shows us that sales and account managers spend a disproportionate amount of time on those opportunities that a). they were always going to win and b). they were never going to win AND not enough time on those difficult negotiations where their contribution could make the difference between success and disappointment.

Prior to the pandemic, research declared that salespeople needed to seek out more than 10 buyers/influencers in their customer organisations for any given single opportunity connected to a complex purchasing decision.

With so many more contacts to engage with, your salespeople are increasingly required to tailor the conversations with these varied ‘subject matter experts’ to ensure that their language, the metrics that they speak to, and the commercial consequences of their proposed changes resonate with each member of these customer buying group.

Increasingly, many of your salespeople are becoming the conductors of your organisational ‘orchestra’, connecting the talent in your own organisation with their counterparts in your customer’s world, ensuring that the timing and narrative are appropriate to the pursuit described in the sheet music of their sales strategy.

Grapevine Ventures recognises this challenge and has developed apps to support them through the sense-making of organisational structure and social networks.

Grapevine Ventures recognises this challenge…

…and has developed apps to support them through the sense-making of organisational structure and social networks.

The Grapevine software application provides your sales and marketing teams with a common, shared view of your customers’ internal relationship networks so that everyone in your organisation has a single point of truth about:

  • Who does what?
  • Who works with who?
  • Who knows who? and …
  • Who are the key decision makers and influencers?

By doing so, sales are in a better position from which to answer 3 critical, headline questions.

  • Am I selling to the all right customer contacts?
  • Have I tailored our proposition to be relevant to each contact? and …
  • Have I missed anyone in the customer buying centre for this opportunity?

The creation and development of a personal network has never been more valuable and the ability to understand the nature of the relationships in that network is an advantage to be exploited.

Multiply that insight to include an understanding of your colleagues’ network of contacts; multiply that again to include a view of your company’s entire relationship network and you are beginning to understand the scope and value of the Grapevine software application.