Analytics Your Team Will Actually Use: Data Whispers

Article #1 of the Whisper Stream Blog Series

By Mark McGready, Director of Data Analytics & Solutions, IDEA

When companies use data analytics, they can power sales success. Today’s analytics model buying patterns, drive efficiencies, and provide a roadmap for account development. They offer clear direction for expanding customer relationships and targeting new opportunities. In an increasingly competitive market, analytics accelerate the development of skills that typically take salespeople decades to acquire, helping teams target efforts precisely and maximize customer potential.

The Problem with Traditional Analytics

It all sounds good on paper. But there’s one problem: Getting salespeople to look at tables, charts, and graphs. In every meeting where I’ve presented data analytics, someone always says, “Just tell me what this means.”

Our current approach is flawed. We give our workforce Excel spreadsheets or BI systems and expect them to find the story in the numbers. This is a difficult skill that consumes valuable time.

Many salespeople spend more time preparing for customer meetings than actually meeting with customers. That’s backward. We should be providing quick references and crib notes, not forcing study sessions.

Introducing IDEA Data Whispers

This is why IDEA created Data Whispers. It’s a simple idea with powerful consequences. Data Whispers analyzes all your customer metrics using dozens of analytic processes. It evaluates sales opportunities, operational concerns, pricing mismatches, and sales trends.

Instead of generating hundreds of measures for a business intelligence suite, Data Whispers reviews all the numbers for you. By uncovering points of interest and evaluating the dollar impact of each discovery, this new tool allows you to prioritize based on opportunity size and strategic goals.

The result? A unique playbook for each account. You can target exactly what to discuss with customers, ensuring relevance and significance.

Your salespeople get the crib notes they need, clearly laid out step-by-step. These “data whispers” are like a voice on your shoulder, directing your efforts precisely. No more wasted time interpreting reports.

Communicating Insights Effectively

We’ve also solved how to communicate these insights. Every finding becomes conversational text containing:

  • The discovery
  • The context
  • The difference
  • The opportunity size
  • The required action

For example: “Customer A only buys $1,000 of Product X, which is less than expected for their account type. They should be buying $30,000+ yearly. Discuss our Product X range and identify if it fits their future needs.”

Data Whispers performs hundreds of calculations to ensure each suggestion has the best chance of success. This is the “just tell me what it means” solution. These whispers can be pre-loaded into your CRM, accessed by email, or even sent by text. Imagine texting this service from a customer’s parking lot and receiving the five key talking points for your upcoming meeting.

Beyond Individual Accounts

There’s more. These whispers reveal larger opportunities for your business. Individual account roadmaps combine to show improvement paths for different markets, product segments, teams, and divisions. You’ll understand where your best business opportunities lie, and receive step-by-step guidance to turn these prospects to customers. This is the next era of data analytics—moving from spreadsheets to everyday conversations.

We can also track when whispers are read. This helps measure long-term impact and action follow-through. It’s the sales enablement process sales leaders have always wanted. Your team gets specific direction while you gain tools to measure success and engagement. Data Whispers starts measuring financial impacts from day one.

A Revolutionary Approach to Data Analytics

Data Whispers marks a new era in analytics that revolutionizes how you use data daily. It helps develop a data-driven culture in your sales workforce. The impact on top and bottom lines makes it a complete game changer.

To learn more, reach out to me at mmcgready@idea4industry.com and discover what the engine might whisper about your business.