Design Thinking for Sales - Take a Customer-Centric Approach to Discovery

Salesforce Customer-Centric Discovery

• Salesforce adopted a customer-centric approach in working with customers, partnering with Somersault Innovation to design a discovery model based on design thinking principles.

Stages of Customer-Centric Discovery

• Know the Customer: Use existing tools like 10K advisors reports, LinkedIn profiles, and industry reports to understand the customer's business.
• Be the Customer: Walk in the customer's shoes by visiting physical or virtual stores, calling customer service lines, or interviewing businesses that buy from the customer.

Applying Customer-Centric Discovery

• This approach can be applied to both B2C and B2B organizations, focusing on understanding end customers and their needs.
• Identify multiple types of end customers and decide which ones to focus on based on practical and creative criteria.
• Use insights gained through customer-centric discovery to create a shared vision with the customer and co-create a path forward.

Real-World Examples

• An account executive used CCD to understand a retail greeting card company's goals and challenges, leading to a multimillion-dollar deal.
• Another client executive applied CCD to an insurance firm's B2B business, engaging with brokers to gain insights and introductions to new executives.

Focus and Iteration

• Focus on customer accounts that genuinely interest you, whether B2C or B2B.
• Practice customer-centric discovery with one or two customer accounts, and iterate until you find an approach that works for you and your customers.

Learning Objectives After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Explain the Salesforce customer-centric discovery model. Apply best practices to start a design thinking approach with customers.