We know from our projects that on average only one out of three Indian subsidiaries achieves the sales targets they have set for sales in India. And unfortunately these are generally missed year after year.

Consequences such as a change in strategy or changes in personnel are only rarely drawn from this. Other appropriate measures are also not being taken.

Typically, the German parent company and the Indian sales department end up agreeing on the two seemingly most obvious reasons:

• The Indian market is simply not ready for our products yet.
• We are too expensive and therefore cannot compete with our competitors on the market.

However, we are not satisfied with these excuses. As a rule, there are completely different reasons behind the dead-end “market” and “price” arguments. And interestingly, these reasons are almost always the same - and they are almost always homemade.

In order to precisely identify these reasons, we survey our clients' customers and employees, but also competitors and other stakeholders via informal channels. Through these lost order analyzes we usually quickly discover the real reasons for poor sales performance, namely:

Unfortunately, the main problem with sales in India, it has to be said, mostly lies with the Indian management itself. The actual market potential simply cannot be exploited if sales in India mainly use existing (!) personal networks, which are naturally limited.

Instead of focusing on the economically most attractive market segment, acquisitions are made in the personal environment in principle and in the long term. Of course, this means that the scope and effectiveness of sales activities depend directly on the personal contacts of the management and unfortunately do not go much beyond that. What is usually missing in India is the regular analysis of the different market segments, an appropriate prioritization of sales activities and, as a result, their consistent implementation. See also specialist articles The challenge of “systematic market cultivation”

The lack of methodology goes hand in hand with the waste of sales resources - an incredible amount of paid working time is wasted pursuing obviously hopeless leads and sales opportunities!

Very often the Indian sales representative starts selling without thinking carefully about which of his contacts actually has the potential to actually become a customer. Above all, he doesn't ask himself:

The lead did today a problem facing him enough pain caused so that he is ready for the solution too certain amount to spend? And is the company technologically, organizationally and financially ready for my product?

You have to know that in India only a small fraction of “customer” inquiries actually hide a serious purchase intention. However, normal Indian sales employees, who should actually know this, often find it difficult to prioritize. That's why every lead is tracked, regardless of whether it's relevant or not. However, such behavior ties up exactly those resources that are ultimately missing from the really important projects.

Often enough, a third person is needed who can carry out such prioritization and assess which projects are likely to be worth getting involved in. To do this, information about the market and potential customers would have to be systematically obtained in advance. Unfortunately, such activities are not a high priority in Indian companies.

If the sales team is constantly chasing the “wrong” leads, there is logically little time left for qualified customer support and thus for the important accounts. The advantages of your own products cannot really be conveyed to potential customers in this way.

However, the typical Indian customer demands an extremely high level of service quality. If this cannot be offered, a high price is often a popular excuse for an indirect rejection for the customer being courted. Neither the seller nor your Indian management and certainly not you yourself will find out the real reasons

Unfortunately, when it comes to premium providers, we often find that sales in India rely on the good reputation of their products. However, product quality alone rarely convinces Indian customers. It is – rightly – expected that the quality of the approach and advice is as high as the product itself.

However, the company's own understanding of service and the internal processes in Indian sales do not always correspond to the customers' expectations - and very often do not correspond to the international standards of the company itself.

We see that brand leaders in India have a much more difficult time when it comes to customer orientation, speed of response, flexibility and service quality than long-established Indian providers from the mass market who are used to very tough competition. Obviously, the hierarchy-conscious employee in the sales department of a premium provider does not see much reason to go above and beyond the normal level.

The four problem areas described here are responsible for a large part of the poor sales results in India.
However, these specific reasons can only be identified and eliminated if one deals intensively with the operational business in India. You have to actively shape it and definitely introduce effective controlling. If Indian society is largely left to its own devices, then the risk that exactly the grievances described above will develop increases; and the Indian business will ultimately just languish.

We therefore strongly advise you to have one active management and control of your Indian subsidiary. This is the only way to ensure adequate access to the relevant customers, sales intermediaries and partners in India. Build the “right” sales structures for India and regularly review your existing sales organization – and optimize if necessary!

At our Lost order analysis We identify the relevant starting points for increasing your sales performance in India. Where possible, the company provides us with information about lost sales opportunities. The real reasons for a “Lost Order” can be obtained through informal conversations at the same level in the hierarchy, from “Indian to Indian”. In over a hundred surveys about very different projects, not once was price the reason why a customer could not be won.

If you would like to find out more about the method and specific case studies of our lost order analyses, please contact Mike D. Batra, our Managing Director and Head of Department for WB Market Solutions Mike D Batra or visit our website.