Many leaders are led to act on sales growth by playing whatsapp data on their dual personality. A bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Most of the time, they are in operational mode, that is to say "in the business"; and only occasionally do they actually take the time to look "at the business". In this strategy, thinking about sales growth and the sales organization has a space to take on meaning and depth.
Operational issues that require being "in the business" require the ability to quickly and clearly analyze situations, as well as to make decisions and implement them. Leaders in operational mode must be able to act and react effectively in emergency situations.
"Business" questions are more about the content of the business and its prospects. The manager and his team must be able to identify growth levers and implement them, or even fundamentally transform the business model. The "business" mode implies a mindset oriented towards sales growth, or even disruption. The topics become more important than urgent. They require taking the time for team discussion, to escape from operational control and sometimes even to leave one's comfort zone.
But that’s where the quantum leaps in business growth come in. The “Power of 10” approach makes sales growth the number one issue for the management team. Consider Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of SalesForce. He decisively inspired discussions about growing his business model with questions like:
How are we going to grow turnover by a factor of 10 compared to today?
How will we implement and use our CRM (customer relationship management) tool 10 times faster?
Can we gain 10 times more customers each year?
How can we grow recurring sales (from existing customer portfolio) by a factor of 10?
How are we going to grow revenue per customer by a factor of 10?