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Strat-Exx Decision Brief

SALES GAP RECOVERY • CSO • SPRINT • FROM 6 WEEKS • RECOVERY AGENDA

The sales levers that can still close the gap to your annual target this fiscal year.

When “Sales Gap Recovery” is especially useful to you

Order intake and revenue are behind the sales target, and the fiscal year is running out. The reflex is more campaigns, more leads and more activity – yet in most B2B markets new demand only takes effect months later. The key decision is which existing customers, deals and pricing levers can still bring in orders this fiscal year. Specifically, this means deciding:

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Request the CSO BriefingPDF · three pages

Decide

  • Which part of the sales gap can still be closed with existing customers and open deals
  • Which customers, deals and pricing levers receive sales capacity now – and which activities are stopped
  • How order intake, owners and escalation are managed weekly in sales

Because

  • more leads and campaigns usually only generate revenue in the next fiscal year.
  • existing customers and advanced deals have the shortest path to an order.
  • a pipeline review without owners and consequences does not accelerate a single order.
01

VALUE LEVER 1 · DESIRED OUTCOME

Clarity on which order intake is still achievable this fiscal year – and where it comes from.

You receive a sales agenda for the remaining weeks – not another campaign plan:

  • The closable sales gap is quantified realistically. Sales target, forecast, pipeline, existing-customer potential and remaining time create a robust impact corridor.
  • Sales time goes only to levers that can work in time. Existing customers, deals, price and demand are prioritized by impact and time window.
02

VALUE LEVER 2 · HIGH DECISION CONFIDENCE

Your sales agenda holds up because every lever is measured by impact and time window.

The Sales Gap Review answers three outcome questions:

  • Determine the closable gap. Sales target, forecast, pipeline and existing-customer potential are connected in a Sales Gap Bridge. Result: a realistic corridor instead of blanket optimism.
  • Prioritize sales levers that can still work. Existing customers with demand, deals that can be accelerated, pricing and terms levers, and demand that can be activated quickly are assessed by impact and time window. Result: a small number of sales levers with an owner and an impact corridor.
  • Drive impact weekly. Owners, leading indicators, next customer steps and a stop list are transferred into a binding weekly sales rhythm. Result: manageable order intake instead of an activity list.
03

VALUE LEVER 3 · FAST IMPACT

After 6 weeks, sales works on the few levers that still pay off this year.

The approach starts Quick Wins and Stop decisions early and embeds weekly impact control during the six weeks.

  • Week 1: Make the sales gap realistic. The gap, forecast, pipeline, existing customers and ongoing sales measures are consolidated in a Sales Gap Bridge.
  • Weeks 2–3: Mobilize levers. Target customers, deal plans, pricing decisions, owners and the stop list are decided; first customer actions start.
  • Weeks 4–6: Manage impact. Weekly pipeline and deal reviews, leading indicators and escalations are firmly embedded.

The principle. First quantify the closable gap, then direct sales time to levers that work in time, then manage order intake weekly and stop what does not work.

04

VALUE LEVER 4 · LOW MANAGEMENT EFFORT

A decision-ready sales leadership team works with current pipeline and customer data.

Strat-Exx consolidates current plan, forecast, pipeline, price and customer data into a shared recovery logic – without a parallel transformation project. Only four inputs are required from your organization:

  • current plan, forecast, pipeline, price and customer data,
  • the complete list of ongoing recovery and sales measures,
  • a decision-ready team of the CSO, sales managers and key account owners,
  • consistent weekly steering and fast resource decisions.
05

VALUE LEVER 5 · LIMITED RESOURCE RISK

No resources for measures without impact, timing, ownership or a leading indicator.

The shorter the remaining fiscal year, the more costly unfocused sales activity becomes. New campaigns and leads tie up capacity even though their orders usually arrive only next year. The approach limits this risk:

  • Every lever has a quantified impact corridor and a time window.
  • Owner, leading indicator, milestone and escalation are binding.
  • Impact is reviewed weekly and resources are adjusted quickly.
  • What can no longer influence this year's order intake goes on the stop list.

Proven experience. At a building supplier, a coordinated sales push delivered +14% revenue in Q3/Q4 – without additional sales budget.

06

By project end, all decision-relevant evidence is on the table:

  1. a Sales Gap Bridge covering sales target, forecast, pipeline, existing-customer potential and remaining time,
  2. realistic impact corridors for the closable and no-longer-closable gap,
  3. prioritized target customers, deals and pricing levers by impact and time window,
  4. clear owners, milestones and leading indicators for each prioritized lever,
  5. a binding weekly sales cadence with pipeline reviews and escalations,
  6. a rigorous stop list for measures that can no longer work in time.

The benchmark. It is not the number of new leads that matters, but how much order intake is secured this fiscal year.

CSO Briefing

Concise, for your next leadership meeting.

When Sales Gap Recovery pays off for you, how we approach it and what you have on the table at the end: on three pages as PDF.

By submitting, we process your details to provide the briefing. Dr. Clemens Oertel or Bernd Hirschle may get in touch with you personally. Details in our privacy policy.

Which existing customers and deals can still close your gap this year – and which activities merely consume sales time?

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