Increase cross-sales by 5-10%
Why it matters
Cross-sales is an efficient way to increase sales, however, too few organizations are good at it. A social network analysis lets you analyze lead sharing and exchange of opportunities and customer experiences across groups.
Companies that do this well can increase sales through more cross-sales by 5-10%.
How social network analysis is used
Cross sales, and upsales, to existing customers are the easiest and most profitable sales that can be made. Unfortunately, such opportunities are not always exploited either due to organizational silos or lack of managerial focus. This study aims to show internal sharing of customer leads and stories: which connections occur and, more importantly, which connections do not.
Template for the study
The following three questions are the type of questions you would ask in survey and analyze the responses to in a social network analysis.
- How often do you share customer experiences with the following people?
- How often do you share leads with the following people?
- Would you be able to improve sales if you had more contact with the following people?
What to look for in the analysis
Shared customer experiences
Stories about customers oftentimes reveal business opportunities, in particular, when they are shared among people with complementary services. The social network for the first question reveals how such stories are shared today. At an individual level you can see who shares many stories, who shares them with other groups and who does not share any such stories. On a macro level you can identify clusters and missing links between them, which is the most interesting to assess. This can be done both by inspecting the graph, but also, if clusters and groups coincide, with the group matrix.
Lead sharing
In a similar manner as with the analysis of how customer stories are shared, you can study how leads are shared. This is a very direct way to assess how cross sales already is done (or not done) and it is interesting to contrast with the previous findings. One thing you might want to analyze in-depth is the distance between these sales people: studies show that physical distance between people has a great impact on their interaction.
Adjust contact, improve sales
Finally, you will want to assess which connections respondents specifically express they would like, if any, in order for them to increase sales. Connections that both parties long for, a mutual relationship, should not be difficult to establish.
If one group express that they would like to have more contact with another, but this wish is not returned, you will first have to assess if the organization as a whole would benefit from such a connection and then create incentives for the lead-providing group to share these leads. This can be a real challenge if your organization is broken up into organizational silos.
Next steps
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