Holden Advisors Blog

Each year, customer experience (CX) consultants release studies highlighting how impactful CX can be. The Temkin Group (a CX consultancy now owned by Qualtrics) published a study stating that companies earning $1 billion annually can expect to earn, on average, an additional $700 million within 3 years of investing in CX. In addition, Daniel Newman, CEO of Broadsuite Media Group reported that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. These findings are on the heels of a 2013 global CX study from Oracle finding that 97% of executives believe that delivering a great customer experience is critical to their business advantage and results. 

In the world of sales, it’s easy to get caught up in the possibilities of an unsolicited RFP. But, if you find yourself dealing with procurement, you might want to save your energy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, not the least of which is the value of a reliable supply chain.

Is it possible to double your price and not lose any customers? Yep.

This is a scary time for suppliers and their sales teams. Customers concerned with the impact of COVID-19 are canceling or postponing projects and curtailing spending. As a result, suppliers are losing revenue and seriously considering pay cuts and/or layoffs to help them through this difficult time.

Each year, Holden Advisors hosts an Executive Customer Forum to discuss the most pressing topics facing commercial organizations. This year, I had the honor of facilitating a discussion on how to build organizational commitment as it relates to commercial transformation - the central theme for the meeting. Specifically, we discussed the mindset required for leaders to effectively propagate their visions across their organizations. The following is a recap of the presentation and, at the end, we discuss three key findings from the executive discussion.

One of the first things that first responders do when they start to treat a trauma victim is to find out where the victim is bleeding. Second, they determine which of those injuries is most life threatening. 

The business world is full of great ideas that don’t get adopted. Some require too many resources, some are too expensive, and others don’t fit within an organization’s strategy.  Then there are the millions and millions of ideas that fit within a budget, aren’t too hard to execute and perfectly align with an organization’s goals … and still aren’t adopted.  Why not?  People fear change.

At Holden Advisors, it’s fun to hear stories from our workshop participants about how they negotiated an extra $200K into their deal or took what appeared to be lost cause and turned it into a $5MM opportunity that’s on the cusp of closing.  (Both true stories.)

Imagine this: You’re selling your company’s best product. You’ve successfully navigated the gatekeeper to speak with your target buyer (the person who will actually use your product) and have shared enough of a compelling message that they’re willing to engage with you. You figured out that they have the budget to buy your product and have proposed a solution you know will help your buyer achieve their goals. Everything is progressing wonderfully and then your primary point of contact goes…silent.