Who We Interviewed

The organizations participating in the study all have significant sales organizations that successfully win sales through the design and implementation of one or more of the seven strategies focused on in this book. These top-selling organizations are well known in their industry, and we hope the reader will be able to draw from many of the best practices and lessons learned to leverage in his or her own business. The following is an alphabetical list of organizations that participated in the study, along with a brief description of their business (additional information on each company can be found on their respective Web sites):

• BellSouth, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a Fortune 100 communication services company. The company and its partners serve more than 45 million local, long distance, Internet, and wireless customers throughout the United States and 13 other countries. The company’s small business services division, which targets businesses spending $3,000 or less per month on telecommunication services, offers local, long distance, wireless, high-speed Internet access, and multisite fiber connections to small businesses across a 9-state region in the Southeastern United States.

• Diebold, Inc., is a global leader providing integrated selfservice delivery systems and services. They develop, manufacture, sell, and service automated financial transaction systems, security equipment, and research and development. The company is one of the leading producers of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the United States. Founded in 1859, Diebold employs more than 13,000 associates with representation in more than 88 countries worldwide and headquarters in Canton, Ohio.

• Fuji-Xerox manufactures such products as digital printers, digital copiers, multi-function machines, projectors, engineering plotters, image processing systems, fax machines, and related software. A 50-50 joint venture when it was founded in 1962, Fuji-Xerox is owned by Fuji Photo Film and Xerox.

• Hewlett Packard (HP) is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses, and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span information technology (IT) infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging, and printing for consumers, enterprises, and small and midsized businesses. HP has a team of 142,000 employees with capabilities in 170 countries, and conducts business in more than 40 currencies and more than 10 languages.

• Honda Clio Shin develops, manufactures, distributes, and provides financing for the sale of its motorcycles, automobiles, power products, and related parts. A subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Honda Clio Shin is the largest dealer network in Tokyo, and considered to be one of the best in class Honda car dealers within the Honda Japanese network. Honda Clio Shin employs more than 750 people and concentrates on the luxury market.

• Infineon Technologies is a leading innovator in the international semiconductor industry. They design, develop, manufacture, and market a broad range of semiconductors and complete system solutions targeted at selected industries. Their products serve applications in the wireless and wire line communications, automotive, industrial, computer, security, and chip card markets.

• Infineum is a joint venture between ExxonMobil Chemical Company, a division of the Exxon Mobil Corporation, The Shell Petroleum Company, and Shell Oil Company. Infineum has more than 70 years of experience in formulating high-quality fuel, lubricant, and specialty additives. Infineum additive technology is underpinned by a worldwide research and development, manufacturing, and supply network.

• Ingersoll Rand is a global innovation and solutions provider and features a portfolio of worldwide businesses comprised of leading industrial and commercial brands, such as Bobcat compact equipment, Club Car golf cars, Dresser- Rand turbo machinery, Schlage locks, and Thermo King transport temperature controls, among many others. They employ approximately 45,000 employees worldwide, and operate more than 100 manufacturing facilities, half of which are located outside the United States.

• Intier Automotive Inc., a subsidiary of Magna International, is a Canadian supplier and integrator of automotive interior enclosure components, systems, and modules. Intier Automotive has more than 24,000 employees throughout North America, Brazil, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and 71 production facilities, 17 product development, engineering, and testing centers, and 16 sales offices.

• Marriott International is a worldwide operator and franchisor of hotels and related lodging facilities. In the lodging business, which includes the full-service, select-service, extended-stay, and timeshare segments, the company develops, operates, and franchises hotels and corporate housing properties under 14 separate brand names, which encompasses wholly owned direct mail, contract, retail, and Internet operations in 14 countries outside of North America.

• Office Depot, a worldwide supplier of office products and services, has three divisions: North American retail division, which markets office products and other business-related services; business services group division, which provides contract office supply; and an international division.

• Shell Korea, a part of Shell, Inc., is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies operating in over 145 countries and employing more than 119,000 people. Shell is best known to the public for service stations and for exploring and producing oil and gas on land and at sea, but they deliver a wider range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers.

• Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging, and forest products company producing publication and fine papers, packaging boards, and wood products—areas in which they are a global market leader. Stora Enso has close to 44,000 employees in more than 40 countries spanning 5 continents. Customers are large and small publishers, printing houses, and merchants, as well as the packaging, joinery, and construction industries worldwide.

• Taishin International Bank, since its establishment on March 23, 1992, has constantly expanded its scope of business and its operating network, performing the role of an intermediary in the supply and demand of funds for society and providing financial services to promote economic prosperity. The bank’s main business includes deposits, loans, bills discounting, remittances, guarantees, short- term bills brokerage and proprietary dealing, import and export negotiation, and foreign-currency deposits.

• TD Waterhouse, since 1979, has provided a mix of products, prices, and services that customers need to manage their own investments and personal finances. TD Waterhouse has more than 150 branch offices in major cities throughout the United States. They provide investors with a broad range of brokerage, mutual fund, banking, and consumer financial products and services on an integrated basis.

• Yellow Book USA, founded in 1930, is one of the nation’s largest publishers of yellow pages directories with more than 500 directories in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Yellow Book also publishes college directories, city and county directories, and a business-to-business directory serving Long Island, New York. The fast-growing company’s publications have a circulation of 71 million and an advertiser base of more than 400,000.

Chapter 1 reviews the significant market challenges faced by each of these organizations. Many of you will be quite familiar with these challenges and may be developing strategies of your own to counteract them and the impact they have on winning sales. These are by no means the only important trends or challenges out there, nor are they necessarily the most important ones for every company. They do, however, represent those mentioned most often because they continue to have a significant impact on the ability of the organizations in our study to remain competitive, and they are the key drivers of the strategies reviewed throughout this study.