| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Request for Proposal (RFP) | A request for proposal (RFP) is a solicitation by a firm interested in a service issued to potential suppliers to submit business proposals. It is often issued early in the procurement cycle to narrow the list of firms considered for later steps, such as a formal presentation. Similar requests include a request for price quotation (RFQ) and a request for information (RFI), which is typically followed by an RFP or RFQ. |
| Presentation | A presentation is often the final step of the sales process and is meant to demonstrate the capabilities of one firm compared to the competition. Presentations can be given by a sole salesperson or, as is often the case in Anova’s work, involves a team approach which includes firm executives, sales personnel, and proposed client service and support team members. Understanding the effectiveness of a company’s sales presentation is crucial for future sales success. |
| Bids Won | At the conclusion of a sales process, Bids Won are successful outcomes of retaining a current client or gaining a new client. Win / Loss Analysis allows insight into why the client or prospect chose one firm over another. |
| Bids Lost | At the conclusion of a sales process, Bids Lost are unsuccessful outcomes of retaining a current client or gaining a new client. Win / Loss Analysis allows insight into why the client or prospect chose one firm over another. |
| Complex Sale | A complex sale is one that involves more than one decision maker. Oftentimes the salesperson must convince the majority (if not all) of the decision makers rather than just one person. |
| Team Selling | Team selling involves more than one salesperson or firm representative, often including a mixture of executives, sales and service / support personnel from different areas of a firm. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Win Loss Analysis (Win/Loss Analysis, Win-Loss Analysis) | Win / Loss Analysis is a market research practice that focuses on de-constructing how companies market and sell their products and services from the prospect’s perspective. A Win / Loss program usually entails conducting in-depth interviews with new clients or lost prospects. The objective is to gather useful and actionable information on the effectiveness of the sales process, to synthesize it quickly and accurately, and to use it to facilitate continuous improvement across an organization. |
| Onboarding Satisfaction Survey | Anova’s Onboarding Satisfaction studies identify strengths and weaknesses within the transition process of a prospect becoming a client. Understanding the effectiveness and experience of the onboarding process is key to learning about a new client, assessing the chemistry of the currently assigned team, and identifying at an early stage in the relationship any issues that may have arisen during the transition. |
| Client Satisfaction Study | Client Satisfaction studies are research projects that measure satisfaction, ascertain areas for improvement / areas of dissatisfaction, identify clients who are loyal and those who may be at risk for departure, and pinpoint clients’ perceptions of changes that have been made to the business or new product and services that have been added. Client satisfaction studies are often conducted with surveys, either paper, on-line or via telephone interviews, and Anova generally recommends Client Satisfaction surveys be conducted on an annual or bi-annual basis. In addition to client surveys, Anova also recommends conducting interviews with clients considered “at risk” based upon specific questions included in the survey. Identifying at-risk clients can reduce the risk of their departure as well as reveal potential areas for improvement within your business. |
| Departed Client Analysis | While the reasons behind some client departures may be out of a company’s direct control, most client departures stem from some level of dissatisfaction. Conducting Departed Client analysis allows companies to better understand why a client decided to leave, what caused their dissatisfaction, and whether there exists an opportunity in the future to reinstate them as a client. It demonstrates to a client that the company values the relationship and their business, and therefore may keep the door open for future business. |
| Post Merger / Acquisition Analysis | Mergers and acquisitions not only affect the organizations involved and their employees, but also impact the organizations’ customers / clients; therefore, it is critical that customer views are captured and addressed. Through direct conversations with affected clients, Post-Merger / Acquisition Analysis explores client perceptions of mergers / acquisitions (both positive and negative), and aids companies in identifying at-risk clients and areas where further client communication may be needed. |
| Advisor Perception Analysis | One common sales approach involves selling through intermediaries, channels or partners, whereby a third party develops a relationship with the prospect and then makes a sales presentation jointly with a product specialist or salesperson / wholesaler. For organizations who sell services through advisors or jointly service clients with advisors, it is critical to understand how these key influencers view the organization (from a product, sales, service, marketing, pricing and positioning perspective). As with other studies, Advisor Perception Analysis assists with identifying overall strengths and weaknesses and competitive positioning relative to other firms with whom an advisor partners. |
| Industry Benchmarking | Due to Anova Consulting Group’s extensive institutional market research experience, we are able to provide our clients with proprietary industry benchmarking in many key areas such as overall client impressions, sales, product, fees, and technology. Anova helps clients not only understand how they are performing on an absolute basis, but also how they score relative to key competitors in their markets. While no competitor’s results will be called out / shared individually, Anova is able to provide aggregate results from several key competitors to gauge where your company stands relative to others in your industry. |
| Competitive Edge | Understanding the services offered by similar firms and their approach for promoting such services can be key to winning a prospect’s business. By conducting Win / Loss Analysis, you will gain direct insight and metrics of your competitors through benchmarking and independent qualitative feedback. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Executive Interview | Anova’s Executive Interviewers conduct interviews with prospects and / or clients to help our clients gain knowledge on their performance from a product, sales and service prospective, as well as their competition. The executive interviews tend to last 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the length of the survey. Each interview is conducted professionally by the Executive Interviewers who are trained specifically for each client. |
| Strengths and Weaknesses | Sales process Strengths and weaknesses (or areas for improvement), are often seen as positive and negative differentiators from direct competitors and are identified through Anova’s surveys and interviews. What is considered a strength by one prospect or customer may be considered a weakness by another, so it is important to gain overall insight through a full program to truly understand if changes are necessary. |
| Net Promoter Score® | The Net Promoter Score®, or NPS®, is calculated based on the answer to the question, How likely is it that you would recommend [brand] to a friend or colleague? , using a 0-10 scale. The NPS® is a management tool used to gauge client loyalty. Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter ScoreSM and Net Promoter SystemSM are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. |
| ViewPoint | ViewPoint is Anova’s proprietary online tracking system that allows clients to monitor their Win/Loss and other research programs through real time updates on completed and scheduled interviews |
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