How Endress+Hauser Achieved a 15% Increase in Intake Orders
The Results
+15%Average increase in intake orders for accounts with PAS plans
600+Active users across 35 entities
2,400+Account plans created
About the Company
Endress+Hauser is a family-owned business and global leader in industrial process engineering solutions with over 16,500 employees, sales centers in more than 50 countries, and representatives in an additional 70 countries. Despite a strong reputation for innovation — with around 8,900 patents and recognition among the World’s Best Companies by Time and Statista — the company identified key opportunities to enhance sales team performance, elevate its customer-centric approach, and broaden market reach.
The Challenge
In 2024, Endress+Hauser set a goal to empower strategic account managers to foster deeper engagement with key accounts and generate an additional €15 million from 2.4% of existing customers. At the time, the company faced challenges due to the absence of a globally unified approach to account planning and management. With a CRM system lacking an integrated solution to standardise processes, facilitate collaboration across contributors, and provide visibility for reporting, establishing a structured and scalable framework for strategic account planning and management became critical.
The Solution
Endress+Hauser partnered with Richardson to implement the Prosperous Account Strategy (PAS) programme and account planning application, aimed to drive Tier A customer growth through cross-selling, upselling, and retention. This initiative included a structured, unified learning journey with customised sales skills training for various roles, enhancing the sales team’s account planning and management capabilities. The account planning application was seamlessly integrated into Endress+Hauser’s Salesforce CRM, streamlining the account strategy approach.
Within the first 10 months, the programme achieved remarkable adoption and proven impact across multiple teams and regions. The initiative was rolled out to 35 sales centers within the organisation and now has over 600 active users leveraging the account planning application within Salesforce. This high engagement has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 account plans, driving a structured and strategic approach to account management. Most notably, a 15%+ average increase in intake orders among teams utilising the Prosperous Account Strategy programme and Salesforce-integrated tool compared to those not.
To ensure sustained success, account plans are regularly reviewed and refined through ongoing feedback. Sales coaches systematically assess the plans within Salesforce, while sales managers conduct quarterly 60-minute spot checks. Early in the initiative, account plan challenges were introduced to provide clear examples of best practices and successful plans, further improving plan quality across the organisation.
Looking back, the team identified the following key factors that drove success:
- Extreme Ownership Mindset: Endress+Hauser adopted a culture of full accountability, empowering teams to proactively tackle challenges and eliminate excuses.
- Effortless Integration: The account planning application was seamlessly configured within Salesforce CRM, enabling rapid deployment and efficient use compared to standalone tools within Excel or PowerPoint.
- Clear Communication: Leveraging internal newsletters, meetings, promotional videos, and other communication channels kept everyone aligned.
- User-centric Design: Over 100 user stories shaped the tool’s functionality to meet real-world needs.
- Iterative Launch: The programme initially launched with an MVP and pilot group before rolling out globally.
- Collaborative Effort: Cross-functional teamwork and a lean decision-making process delivered MVP+ in just three months.
- Effective Training: Web-based lessons and live virtual sessions enabled the team to adopt the tool quickly.
- Consistent Reviews: Regular spot checks and coaching ensured high-quality sustained adoption across the team.
Leadership highlights that the account planning application delivers a 360-degree view of the customer by combining deep insights into customer needs, behaviours, and emerging opportunities. This holistic approach enables tailored and impactful engagement by the account teams, reinforcing the effectiveness of the initiative in driving growth and performance.
PAS helps us create transparency and understand the customer better. The assessment results guide us in deriving actions that enhance their processes, adding real value. Ultimately, this approach ensures we consistently deliver impactful solutions.
Solutions that Made this Possible
Prosperous Account Strategy Training
This programme teaches your team to apply a customer-centric approach to identifying priority accounts, analysing critical information, and developing a strategy to find the white space so your team and customers prosper.
Major Account Planning Tool
We support our clients’ training journey by offering tools that integrate into your CRM workflow to help sellers apply the skills they’ve learned, adapt to the needs of buyers, and close more deals.
Richardson Accelerate™ Sales Performance Platform
Accelerate provides a digital learning experience that uses assessments, video, gamification, and bite-sized modules to build sales competencies.
Customised Sales Training Programs: Elevate Your Team's Performance
Our industry-leading approach to customisation ensures your training programme is relevant to your seller's world. Making lessons learned in training immediately effective in the field.
Virtual Instructor-Led Workshops (VILT)
Sales organisations operating in an era of global instability are seeking solutions to continue salesforce development in light of travel restrictions. As leaders look to video and digital technology to supplement their performance initiatives, they are looking for assurance that they aren’t sacrificing quality. Richardson Sales Performance has pivoted to virtual training by creating our robust virtual workshops, conducting hundreds of virtual instructor-led training (VILT) workshops and enhancing the sales performance skills of thousands of participants to-date.