"Marketing has lost touch with sales"

Provocative theories in Elmshorner Sales Convention

"There is competition in many areas of our lives, including between universities. Since state universities are increasingly offering dual courses of study, we are in competition." With this statement, which was in tune with the conference, the President of the North Academy, Prof. Dr. Georg Plate, the 130 participants of the Sales Convention 2010 in the Audimax of the University of Economics in Elmshorn. Among them many marketing managers from the university's cooperation companies and also students interested in the conference topic "Selling After the Crisis".

The team of well-known speakers from research and practice was led by Prof. Dr. Christian Belz from the Institute for Marketing at the University of St. Gallen. Michael Otto, Director of the Hamburg-based Berenberg Bank, gave a lecture on the main topics automotive, financial services and health care; Sales professional Wolfgang F. Bussmann, senior partner at the management consultancy Mercuri International, Dr. Bernd Becker, Managing Director of the Wunderman agency; Dr. Wilfried Völsgen, Regional Manager Sales & Marketing Ford; Management consultant Hans-Georg Pompe, author of the book "Marktmacht 50plus" and Jürgen Heiko Borwieck, managing director of Dräger Medical and a graduate of the Nordakademie.

Marketing expert and initiator of the conference, Prof. Dr. Lars Binckebanck opened the conference with the question: "Marketing and sales - winners or losers of the crisis?" His answer to this question was clear: "Marketing is the winner of the crisis." For Prof. Binckebanck, marketing is a dual concept. On the one hand, marketing serves as a model for brand-oriented corporate management and, on the other hand, as an operative sales-related corporate function. Before going to the lecture by Prof. Dr. Christian Belz, he presented three somewhat provocative theses.

Thesis 1: It is not marketing that is in crisis, but those in management and marketing who have lost sight of the customer.

Thesis 2: Marketing has lost the connection to sales - and thus to practice.

Thesis 3: It's about trust - regardless of whether you call it leadership, branding or corporate social responsibility.

Prof. Dr. Christian Belz from the University of St. Gallen also began his remarks with a rather provocative thesis: "Anyone who doesn't improve now doesn't deserve the crisis." As a positive example of how companies have already coped well with the crisis, the scientist named the manufacturer of polymer materials EMS Chemie, based in Domat/Ems: "In the fourth quarter of 2009, this company achieved the best results in its company history!"

The Swiss marketing expert divided his presentation into eight sections: Target shots, sales logic, inbound marketing, sales complexity, interaction, differentiated customer management, interaction models and finally top salespeople. Regarding the subject of target shots, Prof. Belz said that many sales organizations had grown over the years, structures were deadlocked. In addition, the sale includes 'moments of truth' between customer and seller. With so-called target shots, a lot can be done even in complex companies, according to Prof. Belz. The scientist quoted the special glass manufacturer Schott as an example of target shots: "Our sales department should be on the road for more than 60 percent of its time. A central organizational unit deals with making sales more dynamic in the various business areas."

For Prof. Belz, sales logic is a powerful approach: "Especially in large companies, marketing is distributed among many specialists who seem to be fighting each other rather than pursuing a common task.

Inbound marketing means being prepared when customers contact your company on their own initiative. "Every action taken by the customer is an opportunity. According to the expert, inbound marketing is direct hit marketing. However, if you are only anxious about fulfilling customer requirements, you will not create a sustainable relationship with the customer.

On the subject of sales complexity, Prof. Belz stated that some companies delegate 300 percent to sales and are then amazed when only 60 percent of the tasks can be completed. "In such cases, real priorities are required," says the expert.

Prof. Belz sees a major problem in the interaction of numerous specialists in companies. The keywords here are: Orientation towards customer value as a strategy, process orientation, mobilization of internal strength for customers, cross-selling, key account management and customer organization. Prof. Belz named the telephone company Swisscom as a positive example of customer organisation. Structures there were completely reorganized. Internet, mobile communications and landlines were merged. The goal: every customer should only have one contact at Swisscom.

On the subject of "top salespeople", the marketing expert made it clear that the performance differences between the salespeople were very large. However, if a normal salesman allows himself to be led to the top, the success is enormous. In an analysis, eight top people were compared to 57 average salespeople. According to this, top sellers make better selections (172 instead of 216 customers) and make better use of their contacts: with 172 customers, they receive 21 orders. An average salesperson only manages 216 orders with 15 customers. Prof. Belz sees another plus in the fact that top salespeople are generally better supported by the back office.

Source: Elmshorn / Hamburg [ North Academy ]