At an international IT-products provider, Corvendor supported both telemarketing campaign planning and sales plays. The work went beyond selecting companies for an offer that had already been defined. The data also helped sales identify which topic could provide a relevant starting point for each account conversation. Sales-play results were assessed and used in the next round.
Beyond a contact list
A sales play here means a repeatable approach to a particular sales situation. Its data-based preparation therefore connects two questions: which company is worth approaching, and what should the conversation address?
Selection drew on different information about companies, their existing business relationship, and their market context. An account could be considered in terms of acquisition, development of the relationship, or retention. That classification helped align outreach with the situation.
The aim was to give representatives more than a contact list: a reasoned direction for the conversation. Whether the suggested need actually existed and mattered at that time still had to be established with the customer.
The information brought together
Several kinds of data contributed to selection and preparation:
- Historical sales: Previous sales and derived classifications, including acquisition, development, and retention.
- Company characteristics: Demographic or structural information about accounts, partly purchased from external sources.
- Personas: Domain descriptions considered when shaping the approach.
- Competitive information: Data from different providers claiming information about existing installations. Such inputs need to be distinguished from confirmed facts about a particular account.
- Industry and reference data: Purchased or developed benchmarks, such as annual spending in a product category per employee in industries including insurance or automotive.
These sources answered different questions. Sales records showed the known business relationship. External information and industry figures broadened the picture, but did not turn an assessment into a confirmed customer situation.
Turn data into a conversation topic
Industry benchmarks could provide context for considering an account. Known purchases, company characteristics, and indications about the competitive environment added to that picture. The task was to derive relevant topics for sales rather than give every company the same conversation opener.
A spending-per-employee benchmark does not describe an individual company's actual expenditure. Low known purchases in a category do not, by themselves, establish unmet need. Existing solutions, other suppliers, or a different business situation may change the interpretation.
The value was therefore a better-prepared question for the customer. The data suggested a direction; the representative contributed knowledge and established whether the topic fit. Account selection and conversation preparation belonged together.
The implementation behind selection
Across the wider engagement, implementation included data cleaning, structured account profiles, analysis, and machine learning for campaign prediction and selection decisions. Consistent reports and dashboards were also established. This work made the different information usable for sales and marketing planning.
The sales-play work extended the perspective beyond telemarketing planning: alongside selecting suitable accounts came the question of which topic sales should address. Data alone was not enough. Domain classifications, sales objectives, and experience from the work also mattered.
Corvendor connected data preparation and analytical use with the participating teams' knowledge and implementation in the business workflow. The related campaign-planning article describes another aspect of the same engagement: the relationship between selection, budget, and expected pipeline.
Use results in the next round
The sales plays did not end with selection. Their success was assessed, and the results fed into the next round. Outreach was therefore part of a feedback loop connecting data, domain judgment, and actual sales work.
That feedback matters because an initially plausible selection meets the customer's situation during the work. What proves useful or unsuitable can inform further topics, a different selection, or a review of the assumptions used.
The contribution illustrated here is the connected workflow: bring information together, select accounts and topics, hold conversations, and use the results in subsequent work.
What can transfer to a new engagement
For an implementation today, we would start with a defined account group and sales objective. Together, we establish which information is reliable, which inputs provide only indications, and what feedback is needed from sales. Understandable rules can provide a starting point; models supplement them where the data and question support their use.
Evaluation should establish in advance what the work is intended to improve:
- Relevant topics: Does the conversation confirm that the suggested approach fits the customer situation?
- Useful business opportunities: Which qualified next steps or opportunities arise relative to the work involved?
- Learning from feedback: Which assumptions need correction, and how does that change the next selection?
The approach can transfer; the required data, rules, and success criteria must fit the organization concerned.
Good sales support answers two connected questions: whom should we approach, and what should we discuss? The results inform which accounts and topics we consider in the next round.
