Do your existing sales execution survey questions drive beverage alcohol sales and increase profits? If not, it’s likely because your survey is not designed to yield actionable answers. Survey projects need a proven methodology and tool to make the data actionable; otherwise, time is wasted, and little is accomplished.

You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Know

Surveying helps identify your definition of a “perfect account,” perhaps more importantly, it should uncover gaps and reveal Accounts that are not performing. Since you can’t fix what you don’t know, understanding where you could be better represented or underperforming is a powerful place to start.

Transform Surveying into Sales-Driving Activity

What does it take to transform surveying into a sales-driving activity that will help you cross the finish line with a win? Top wine and spirits category performers use digital survey tools to help plan, measure, share, and drive specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for on- and off-premise Accounts.

If securing menu placement is a KPI, here’s how surveying can help you reach your goal:

• Use Points or Gamification to drive priorities: Not all products or asks are equally important, use a tool that allows you to drive user behavior by associating more points or similar benefit to things that are more important, like a correctly positioned 3 case display or a menu placement.
• Set an Objective: Once you capture and identify failed sales execution points, like not being represented on the menu, you need a tool to create, track, and report on follow-up objectives to close the loop. One such tool is GreatVines’ Survey Management Solution. If the goal is to be on the menu, how do you get there? What next steps are needed to go from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’ the next time the Account is surveyed? Setting an objective in GreatVines ensures reps meet the next steps and improvements follow.
• Use Scorecards: Scorecards are an effective way to summarize a survey visit. Assigning points to each survey question to prioritize and weigh individual initiatives enables reps to analyze survey results quickly and visually. Start with simple questions to gather data points on core products and add additional questions over time to grow your data set.
• Let Data Tell the Story: Survey data combined with other data sets like depletion or sales data can tell a story and drive better decisions. If survey scores are up, sales should be up, right? The GreatVines solution provides a side-by-side comparison of Account level survey data and sales data on a single page so you can see gaps and opportunities to improve your fair share index.
• Collaborating and Share: Visibility into what is happening in the field enables management to support reps and find growth opportunities. To accomplish this, survey data must be visible, shareable, and easily accessible across the organization. Collaborating across the 3-tier system should be a priority to maximize your selling efforts.

Excel Versus Survey Management Solution:

If you’re using Excel spreadsheets to execute surveys, stop. Closing the gap between survey data collection and effective sales execution requires capabilities that Excel cannot deliver. Instead, opt for a survey tool that can effectively track, plan, measure, and share KPIs for Accounts and provide the tools and insight needed to drive sales activities and execute a KPI.

Not all survey management tools are created equal. To gain a competitive advantage, select a comprehensive survey solution that lets you:

• Create an objective within the survey tool as an execution driver to close the loop.
• Customize questions and the types of answers you want to capture, such as currency or Yes/No.
• Add competitors to survey questions to capture and compare pricing and number of facings.
• Target a specific type of survey to specific types of accounts, including on-premise or even chain specific.
• View survey and sales data on one page to find opportunities, set growth objectives, or move on.
• Develop unique surveys by segment, territory, national Account, or Account set.

To learn more about surveying best practices and see how to take your sales execution surveys to the next level, click here.