When Lean Meets Sales Management: The SPEED Toolkit  to Drive Profitable Growth

According to Lean principles, customer-value-add (CVA) activities should receive greater attention than business-value-add (BVA) and non-value-add (NVA) activities. That’s if your company is truly aiming to apply Lean strategies to reduce waste and make better use of your resources.

CVA represents the excellent business you aspire to capture, stretch and nurture.

BVA represents necessary, though less profitable, business you aspire to understand and enhance.

NVA represents unprofitable business that cannot be improved.

In the pursuit of growth, you must address these and determine the right activities to optimize business based on value. SPEED is key. Distributors can apply these five tactics in sales to marry lean principles to their sales management program./

1. Stretch

Expand business with top customers through cross-selling, new locations, and service opportunities.

2. Protect

Maintain strong relationships with core profitable accounts using smart pricing, service, and loyalty programs.

3. Examine

Analyze unprofitable accounts and reduce operational inefficiencies, ordering costs, and low-margin activity.

4. Elevate

Move high-cost customers toward more efficient service models like e-commerce, inside sales, or adjusted pricing.

5. Develop

Identify underperforming accounts with growth potential and improve engagement through better follow-up and customer strategy.

Final Takeaway

Profitable growth comes from focusing resources on the right customers, improving efficiency, and creating long-term value.

What makes customer stratification such an effective strategy? See for yourself.