Consulting services 

In the 1980s and 1990s most companies knew what they were trying to achieve with their sales, but were not sure how to get there.  This was often because the economy was good, but not great.  As a result, most of our work was in helping businesses work out how to achieve their goals.  This was typically involved a three stage process:

1.  Speak to the business and sales leaders to understand what they were selling,
      who was doing the selling and to whom they were selling
 
2.  Review the sales history and plans
 
3.  Review the current sales processes, skills and firm-wide engagement

We would then provide a report to the leadership team on our recommendations.

We have noticed in the late 1990s and 2000s that some companies are not quite sure what they want to achieve with their sales.  Again, this is partly because of the economy. 

On the one hand, nearly every organisation in most countries around the world is experiencing almost unheard of profits.  On the other hand, many high quality products and services are being commoditised, resulting in a higher focus on price.  This makes planning for sales and profits very hard.  Companies often don’t know whether they are doing well because of the economy or because they, or their offering, are very good.  They also don’t know if their offering is becoming, or will become, price sensitive. 

We are therefore finding that an additional component to our consulting work in recent years is comparing client organisations with peer organisations and helping them understand where they are in the commoditisation path.  This then allows the organisation to plan a strategy which is realistic and based on a sound understanding, not only of how they see their organisation and their offering, but also on what is happening outside their immediate world.

If you are interested in speaking to us about how we might be able to help your organisation please contact us at info@ioweu.com.