4.5. Step 4: Sustain Relationships

The fourth and final step was to sustain the relationships developed as a result of this network analysis. This was also the time to collect feedback and measure activities and levels of engagement. This step, intended to be part of an ongoing approach to nurturing relationships, was developed in a full-day strategy session with senior TechFirm finance, sales, and marketing executives.

4.5.1. Develop and Track Performance Measures

During the morning, participants formed groups of two or three that were tasked with brainstorming how to measure the impact of the influence network approach on TechFirm's business. The following questions were provided to spark their thinking. Each group was to identify an approach to conducting the measurement, the key stakeholders who would need to be involved in conducting the measurement, potential barriers to proper measurement, and suggestions for how to deal with those barriers.

• How can we measure the impact of the influence network approach on our events?

  • Event attendance

  • Satisfaction scor.es

  • Qualified leads generated—is there an increase in the "right" attendees?

  • Revenue generated

  • Length of sales cycle for leads generated through network-based events

• How can we measure increases in purchasing/revenue/profitability?

  • Comparisons with other regions

  • Changes over time (weekly, monthly, etc.)

  • Comparisons with previous year over same period

  • Comparisons with other regions during same period

• How is the network approach affecting the ability of the sales force to get in front of decision makers?

• How can we measure the impact of a network approach on sales cycles?

• How can we measure the impact of a network approach on new-client acquisition and improvement in the quality of clients acquired?

During a working lunch, each group shared the ideas it had generated, and five key performance indicators were developed to track the impact of the influence network approach in the coming year. Representatives from TechFirm's finance department took responsibility for establishing the measurements, tracking them monthly, and reporting to the larger group.

4.5.2. Implement an Ongoing Feedback Loop

The final exercise was designed to develop a consistent means of interaction with the networks revealed through this work. The goal was to develop a model that could be replicated in other sales regions and would allow TechFirm to continue to capitalize on the relationships developed as a result of the influence network approach. The representatives from the finance department did not participate in the afternoon session, which included only senior sales and marketing executives. This group separated into smaller teams of two or three individuals, who were given one and a half hours to brainstorm responses to the following questions:

• How can TechFirm sustain and invigorate the Advisory Board beyond the coming year?

• How can TechFirm build on the activities developed and planned for the coming year in a way that allows us to innovate based on feedback from the network and key learnings?

• How do we maintain accountability among the various TechFirm stakeholders for continuing the network approach?

• How do we ensure there is oversight for the overall influence network strategy and not limit our focus to the details of each initiative?

• Who from TechFirm should be involved in developing this approach as an internal competency?

For the final hour of the strategy session, each team shared its ideas, and the group agreed on three recommendations to take back to executive management for approval.

In the year following this initial work with influence network data, TechFirm realized substantial business gains, as highlighted earlier in this chapter. As a result, the firm is working to develop an ongoing process in the three participating sales regions for gathering influence network intelligence and incorporating it in sales, marketing, and product development activities on a quarterly basis. Simultaneously, the capability is being introduced to the remaining sales regions. The value of viewing and relating to customers through this lens is greatest when it is not an isolated project but a holistic way of understanding and engaging a market.