Christoph Senn, an adjunct professor at INSEAD and co-director of their Marketing & Sales Excellence Initiative, discusses transformative sales strategies. He emphasizes the importance of aligning with customer strategies instead of just pitching products. Christoph introduces the 'Triple Fit Strategy,' advocating for long-term relationships and effective engagement. He also highlights how integrating short-term and long-term goals can drive sustainable success and the need for transparency in sales to build trust and enhance value.
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insights INSIGHT
Shifting Sales Focus
Traditional sales playbooks focus on product features and value propositions, often overlooking customer strategy.
Real growth comes from understanding and aligning with customer needs, treating them as partners.
insights INSIGHT
Triple Fit Strategy
The "Triple Fit Strategy" considers three levels: planning, execution, and resources.
This holistic approach ensures alignment between supplier and customer strategies, processes, and people.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Focus on Customer Success
Ask "What if we were one company?" to shift the sales conversation towards shared goals.
Focus on contributing to the customer's business success, not just selling products.
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Triple Fit Strategy
How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth
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Christoph Senn
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.
I have the honor and pleasure of welcoming Christoph Senn to the show today.
Christoph is an adjunct professor of marketing at INSEAD, one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools. He's joining us today from Switzerland - it’s always great to have the international flavor to the show. He is Codirector of INSEAD Marketing & Sales Excellence Initiative, amongst many other things, and an advisor to some of the largest companies in the world. He has a book out that joined the great ones that I enjoyed reading at the end of 2024 called Triple Fit Strategy.
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone looking to build stronger customer relationships and drive growth through a more strategic approach to sales.
TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… traditional sales approaches focus on pitching products, but real growth comes from understanding and aligning with your customer’s strategy. Christoph introduces the "Triple Fit Strategy," a framework that moves beyond transactional selling to create long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Building strong customer relationships requires aligning with their strategy, not just selling a product.
Shifting from transactional selling to strategic collaboration drives long-term business growth.
Understanding what truly matters to your customer creates more meaningful and effective engagements.
A broader perspective on value can make negotiations less about price and more about partnership.
Sales teams that focus on customer success are more likely to drive sustainable results.
WHAT I LOVE MOST… Christoph’s perspective on treating customers as if you were part of the same company. When you align with their priorities and think beyond your own product, you open the door to real partnership and long-term success.
What's Next! with Tiffani Bova 
