Future Sales Challenge 2023

Winning case in the “Global” category
ABENA

Division Director Jens Rønn, Digital Business Product Owner Janni Ravn
and Division Coordinator Charlotte Sofie Lillesøe received the award as
winners of the Future Sales Challenge 2023 in the “Global” category.

Improved scores on all 7 virtues over two years

Jens Rønn was on DI’s board when the researchers presented the idea and applied for sponsorship funding. He has therefore been involved from the very start of Future Sales but had no idea back then that four years later he would be one of the first winners of the Future Sales Challenge.

“What caught me was the way the customer journey was portrayed as a gameboard with contact points that highlighted the need for all employees in an organisation to work together. The question was: How did we perform on the 7 virtues from Future Sales, and what impact did it have on the gameboard?”

Good self-insight – but no customer insight

All employees participated in the sales diagnosis via the SalesScoreCard, which opened the growth journey at ABENA. The diagnosis didn’t look too bad. “Our self-image was good, we had a good grasp of many of the virtues, and the management scored high on taking the lead. It was a strong foundation to build on. Now we knew how we saw ourselves. But how did customers see us?”

Insights fuelled a new strategy

“Over the past two years, we have conducted three customer insight analyses. They have been followed up with making the results visible, targeted training, and workshops to define the role and responsibilities of each individual employee in connection with our customer journey.

We have just gathered the whole team to evaluate our development, and we have improved our score on all 7 sales virtues. It works!

Therefore, Future Sales is now a common denominator for all of ABENA, and an active part of our overall strategy up to 2027.”

The secret of success

“We have never experienced such an open approach to discussing these things. Everyone can speak their minds in an atmosphere of trust. That takes real courage,” Carsten Rothmann from Customer Agency said when giving ABENA its first feedback on the sales diagnosis. And Jens Rønn recognises the words.

“We have a unique feedback culture of openness and trust. That’s why Future Sales’ point about involving everyone transversely directly reflects our DNA, and that’s why our success rate is so high.

“We are using the award as an occasion to gather our employees – partly to celebrate, so we can enjoy our shared joy and pride. But also to give a pat on the back to every single one of our 100 employees in ABENA Private as they deserve.”

Based on the research project Future Sales prepared by:
DI Handel, Business Danmark, CBS and Customer Agency