ConAgra Foods
Effectively Selling Value
Challenges
- Purchasing had become the sales organization’s primary contact; emphasis on fending off competitive pressure to reduce pricing
- Competition from global suppliers / low commodity pricing shortened and reduced the impact of premium pricing on new product innovations
- Leading Product R&D in the industry, though limited customer contact
Approach
- Completed a sales diagnostic including process, competency assessment, customer interviews, and competitor analysis
- Developed sales / marketing strategies to move behaviors from commodity based mind set and positioning to consultative high value sale leveraging product development resources with customers
- Created and delivered sales training to communicate new process and positioning in two day workshop for sales force and senior R&D staff
- Developed Value Proposition and launched new sales approach behind first significant innovation in the flour industry in years
Results
- Most successful penetration of key accounts for product launch in company’s history
- Premium pricing on new products had greater staying power and customer insights provided fuel for RFP’s innovation pipeline
- Focus on improving current customer’s business resulted in $75 million of higher margin sales
- Migration to new selling approach prepared company to capitalize on opportunities from concern with global supply