top of page
Whybus.png
Writer's pictureAcumen Learning

The 5 Business Drivers of Sales: A Q&A with Ben Cook, President of Acumen Learning

Today while talking with Ben Cook, President of Acumen Learning, we dive into the critical

components that all companies think about – the 5 drivers! Ben gives us great insights into the drivers and why they’re important. Let's review the Q&A:



Question:

Hi Ben! We talk a lot about the ‘5 business drivers’. Can we start with what the 5 drivers are and why they’re important?


Yes! The 5 drivers are what all successful companies think about in order to

succeed! Those 5 drivers are: Cash, profit, assets, growth, and people. We believe you

can’t be successful without being extremely mindful of each one of these. You obviously

need customers and employees to run a business, you need to be balancing both the

growth of the business while also attending to its profitability, which then should

generate strong cash flows, you get the idea. Each one of the 5 Drivers are intertwined

with the others… too little focus on one can hurt the others. And Vice versa.



Question:

How do the five drivers - cash, profit, assets, growth, and people – present themselves within a business, particularly in terms of sales strategy and execution?


The five drivers are interdependent components that businesses, and

especially sales teams, need to balance effectively. For instance, sales teams are

typically intensely focused on driving growth of the top-line (sales). But without an

attention to disciplined pricing of the products or attention to the costs to sell and

distribute the product…then those sales won’t translate to profitability. And the less

profitable the sales are, the less cash flow the company then makes on each sale. And

that then impacts the available resources to invest in new assets such as products,

technologies, and other necessary resources to generate those sales. And without great

products or an ability to get the products effectively to the customer, then marketshare

(people) then gets compromised and your ability to invest in further demand generation

efforts or invest in your people internally gets further challenged.



Question:

Could you elaborate on how understanding the priorities of businesses in terms of the five drivers can inform a company’s sales strategies?


Certainly. Recognizing which driver holds the greatest importance for a

particular business should guide the sales professionals in tailoring their solutions to

what the customer most wants. For instance, if a company is most focused on its

growth, then your approach about be to link your products/services to how you can

help drive for your customer better products, more customers, better innovation,

clearer product differentiation, and more pricing power. However, if your customers are

most focused on profitability, your value statements should then focus on

demonstrating how your products can help your customers be more cost effective, have

better operating efficiencies, and a batter ROI to align with their top priority. If you

aren’t customizing your sales approach to the customer, you won’t get very far in closing deals. An easy way to find their top priorities is listening to their earnings calls

where you’ll quickly notice what they’re focusing on and what they care most about!

Knowing and understanding these 5 drivers will help you have better sales

conversations, connect with prospects and customers better in a language they most

care about, and drive more sales for your company. And just to reiterate, the best sales

professionals carefully align their offerings with the client's key drivers to maximize

relevance and value. Otherwise, it’s like selling baby items to somebody without a baby.

You don’t even know what they need!



Question:

In your experience, how do the five drivers manifest differently across various industries. And what implications does this have for the sales strategies of the company?


This is a great question because what is relevant for one industry could be

completely irrelevant for another. Different industries exhibit unique dynamics in terms

of the five drivers. For instance, retail firms need to prioritize asset utilization, cost

efficiencies, and operating scale due to their thinner than average margins. Now, a very

different industry like pharmaceutical companies have higher-profit margins driven by

patent protectedness, product differentiation, and innovation. Their success is

determined by their ability to translate R&D to new products than then drive

marketshare. Your sales strategies must adapt accordingly, tailoring value propositions

and solutions to meet industry-specific challenges and objectives. Back to the original

point of customizing solutions for every individual’s priorities, it’s important to

understand your clients before talking with them. Understand what their industry

focuses on, what their role deals with, and what their company is hyper-focused on.

Keeping the 5 drivers in mind will keep your research clear and concise.



Question:

For sales professionals engaging with publicly traded companies, how can they leverage publicly available financial information to better understand the client's priorities among the five drivers?


Oh, this is my favorite question. I briefly mentioned in question 3 how

important this is. Publicly available financial statements and investor relations materials

(such as their quarterly press releases, presentations they are giving to investors, etc.)

offer valuable insights into a company's emphasis on the five drivers. Analyzing trends in revenue growth, profitability, investment patterns in assets such as infrastructure or

acquisitions, and trends in cash flows provides sales professionals with a deeper

understanding of the client's strategic focus. They’re basically giving you a road map into their company – utilize it!!! This information enables more targeted sales pitches and

alignment of your solutions with the client's priorities.



Question:

Those are really great tips! If that information is so crucial to tailoring the sales process, what happens if a company isn’t public? What strategies can sales professionals employ to gain insight into their priorities?


This part is tough but definitely possible. While financial data may be limited

for privately held companies, sales professionals can gather information through

broader industry analysis or research of your customer’s competitor who might be

public. By understanding industry trends and benchmark companies, as well as studying

competitors positioning and messaging, sales professionals can infer the priorities and

challenges of their target clients. Each industry tends to have common themes and

pressures so where one company might have a specific profile, others in the same

industry will likely be thinking in similar ways. However, it is important to engage in

open dialogue with your customer and ask insightful questions during your client

interactions! As you demonstrate that you have put in the work to understand the

industry and its typical priorities and challenges, then your customer can provide

additional answers and insights that will play even more of a valuable role in your

positioning. This can uncover valuable insights into their business drivers and strategic

objectives. It will also help your clients to feel valued and show them that you genuinely

care about positively impacting their performance and to ensure you align with their

priorities.



Question:

Last question for you Ben, how can sales professionals continuously refine their business acumen to better understand and address the evolving needs of their clients in terms of the five drivers?


What a great question. Developing strong business acumen requires ongoing

learning and adaptation. Sales professionals can stay informed about industry trends,

economic indicators, and emerging technologies relevant to their clients' businesses.

Additionally, actively seeking feedback from clients, peers, and industry experts can

provide valuable perspectives to refine sales strategies and approaches. By continuously

honing their understanding of the five drivers and their priorities for their clients, sales

professionals can enhance their effectiveness as trusted advisors and partners to their

clients. Like I mentioned before, all companies think about the 5 drivers – cash, profit,

assets, growth, and people. So, determining which is most prevalent in the beginning is

key to relationship building in sales. When they realize you’re knowledgeable in their

field and role, they will more fully trust that what you offer is for the betterment of their

business.



ACTIVITY:

Now that you've explored the critical components of the five business drivers and their significance in sales strategies, let's engage in a learning activity for your next team meeting:


Exercise: Customer Priorities Mapping
  1. Divide participants into small groups and have them each represent a sales team for a hypothetical company. Focus on diverse industries like retail, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

  2. Each group will discuss and identify how the five business drivers (cash, profit, assets, growth, and people) manifest in their industry. Identify key challenges and priorities their company might face.

  3. Develop a customized sales strategy that aligns with the identified priorities of their industry and company. Consider how their products or services can address these priorities effectively.

  4. Have each group present their customer priorities map and sales strategy to the entire team. Have a discussion around what works and doesn't work for each strategy.



This exercise bridges theoretical knowledge with practical application, helping teams understand how to tailor sales strategies to different industries by focusing on the five business drivers. It fosters a deeper appreciation for the nuances of customer priorities and the role of business acumen in successful sales execution.


 
Continue your learning…



The Impact of Business Acumen

on the Sales Process






Benefits of Business Acumen for Sales






The Five Business Drivers of Sales





 
Next Steps…

Why Do We Teach the 5 Business Driver Model Article:



Get a demo of our business acumen training:



Attend a preview of our course from our Founder and CEO, Kevin Cope:




Test your Business Acumen with this assessment:




✅ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more Business Acumen videos!

✅ Follow us on LinkedIn @AcumenLearning to keep up with all company updates!

✅ For more on our business acumen training visit our website!


Comments


bottom of page