From price pressure to active market development

Client Background & Initial Situation

A manufacturer of elevators and escalators specializing in service, sales, and after-sales support.

The construction industry was facing a challenging market situation. Competition was heavily price-driven, with competitors attempting to secure market share through price reductions. In the DACH region, there were four after-sales teams, each with about eight employees. Despite their technical expertise, key sales skills were lacking:

  • New customer acquisition was hardly pursued actively
  • Cross-selling potential remained untapped
  • High corporate targets led to motivation challenges
  • Internal communication was not very collaborative

Challenge

Together, we defined the following:

  • Build systematic sales acquisition skills
  • Make strategic use of cross-selling
  • Develop confidence in handling objections
  • Boost motivation through clarity and structure
  • Improve internal collaboration

1. Sales Training Program

A two-day in-person training session was conducted on-site for each of the four teams.

Content:

  • Structured new customer acquisition
  • Development of industry-specific sales guides
  • Handling objections during sales
  • Complaint management in a sales context
  • Intensive training with LUDOKI

At the start of the program, voice impact analyses were conducted with all participants to visualize their impact and communication behavior.

2. Transfer & Consolidation

Following the in-person training sessions, two online training sessions, each lasting approximately three hours, were held four weeks apart.

Ziel:

  • Application in practice
  • Reflection on real-life sales situations
  • Consolidation of newly learned methods

3. Long-term implementation

To ensure long-term success, a monthly sales consultation session has been established:

  • Once a month
  • 2 hours
  • Open format for all sales staff

Focus: Case discussions, sharing of experiences, and continuous professional development.

Results & Conclusion

The impact was clearly measurable:

  • A significant increase in new customers
  • Growth in business with existing customers
  • An increase in referrals
  • Noticeably more collaborative internal communication

Despite a challenging market situation, the company succeeded in shifting from reactive price competition to proactive market development.
The teams gained confidence in acquisition, leveraged existing cross-selling potential—and evolved into a collaborative sales unit with a clear structure.