I was brought into a company to assess its sales organization and help mentor the team. Senior management knew opportunities were being missed, but the reason was not obvious. The company had adopted Six Sigma and was disciplined about measuring performance. The reports were detailed, the processes were documented, and leadership had plenty of data. What they lacked was a clear view of the customer experience.
That became apparent as I began speaking with people across sales, engineering, operations, and management. The issue was not a lack of effort or intelligence. Each department was working from its own information and its own definition of success. Sales activity could be measured, quotes could be tracked, and product performance could be analyzed, but the customer’s full experience didn’t fit neatly into one spreadsheet.
A major opportunity with a big-box retailer brought the problem into focus. On paper, the opportunity looked strong. The customer had scale, demand, and a need the company appeared capable of meeting. The data helped us identify the account, but it did not explain why the existing offer was falling short or what would make the customer change direction.
The answer came from getting closer to the customer. Through direct conversations and careful listening, we learned that the concern extended beyond the physical product. Connectivity, software, and the user’s overall experience were creating limitations. We also heard negative feedback that had not made its way clearly through the company’s reporting structure. Those conversations changed how we understood the opportunity.
Instead of defending the original specifications, the team used that feedback to revise them. Engineering, sales, and operations worked together around what the customer needed, not what each department had already assumed. That alignment also gave senior management a clearer view of why the opportunity mattered and what resources it required. The revised solution was more differentiated, addressed the actual problem, and helped the company win ongoing business with the retailer.
The lesson was not that Six Sigma, analytics, or spreadsheets were ineffective. They were valuable. The mistake was treating them as a substitute for customer contact. Data can show where performance changed, where a process broke down, or where an opportunity may exist. It rarely explains the full reason on its own. For that, someone still has to ask good questions, listen without defending the current process, and see the situation from the customer’s side.
That principle matters even more as companies invest in CRM platforms, revenue operations, automation, and artificial intelligence. These tools should help sales teams prepare better questions, identify patterns, and spend more time with the right customers. They should increase customer proximity, not create another layer between the company and the market.
A spreadsheet can point you toward an opportunity. It cannot build the relationship, hear what is not being said, or recognize when the customer needs something different from what you planned to sell. Those decisions still require judgment, collaboration, and the willingness to go see for yourself.