From Selling More to Engineering Better Customers: The Evolving Role of the Sales Representative
Article #3 of the Whisper Stream Blog Series
By Mark McGready, Director of Data Analytics & Solutions, IDEA
A great sales representative wears many hats: trusted advisor, demand generator, problem-solver, and relationship builder. While many assume price is the primary driver of purchasing decisions, research consistently shows that ease of doing business—convenience—often wins. Customers prefer to work with companies that make business simple and seamless.
Yet, leadership expectations go beyond maintaining good relationships. Sales calls represent a significant investment, and leaders want to see measurable returns—not just “more sales,” but better customers.
What Does “Better” Mean?
Not all customers are created equal. While their dollars may be the same in the bank, each account tells its own story:
- Share of revenue you capture
- Profitability—both gross and net
- Cost to serve
- Level of required support
Modern CRM systems, reporting tools, and business scorecards can uncover these stories. Effective salespeople use these insights to create actionable account plans—identifying how to turn a good customer into a better one and a better one into a great one.
The Concept of Customer Engineering
In my early career as a Customer Sales Engineer in Scotland, the “engineering” aspect often took a back seat to the sales numbers. Everything was measured and rewarded by results, and “results” meant revenue.
But true customer engineering means:
- Running a diagnostic on the customer relationship
- Identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities
- Mapping improvement steps that make the customer the best version of themselves
This requires moving beyond “Can you buy more?” to “How can we work better together?”
Opportunities for Customer Improvement
Every account has a unique path to improvement. Examples include:
- Sales Consistency – smoothing peaks and valleys in buying patterns
- Product Diversity – expanding into new categories or accessories
- Operational Efficiency – improving order placement habits, returns, and demand forecasting
- Profitability – addressing accounts where aggressive pricing has eroded margins
- Business Adaptation – spotting shifts in customer needs before competitors do
Why This Matters Now
We’re entering an era where talent is harder to hire, experienced workers are retiring, and businesses are facing a knowledge drain.
To succeed, companies must adopt a customer engineering strategy—providing sales reps with the tools, data, and support to ensure every meeting delivers insights, action steps, and ROI.
The Bottom Line
If your customers are your greatest assets, the question isn’t just “Who buys the most?” but “Who could be better?”
By engineering better customers, we drive mutual growth, strengthen loyalty, and future-proof our businesses.
Want a tool that does the grunt work so your salespeople can build better relationships? To learn about Data Whispers, visit www.idea4industry.com/datawhispers or contact me directly at mmcgready@idea4industry.com.