Separating aftermarket sales motions by intent, customer maturity and commercial risk
A fictional deep dive from the global commercial operating model: the shorter commercial motions, where one generic sales process looked sufficient—and was not.
Independently created. Contains no employer or client implementation detail, internal names or figures.
The case in brief
Current reality
Aftermarket sales ran one short process, so a first order from an unknown distributor and a new range for a loyal customer carried the same qualification and the same review.
What must become true
Each aftermarket motion asks for the evidence its risk requires—no more—and gets the management attention its value and uncertainty justify.
Design question
When the goal is simply to sell more, which differences in intent, relationship and risk still require a different process?
01Reality
What the organization actually did.
A fictional manufacturer sells replacement products through distributors and workshops in several countries. Growth comes from four places: new distributors, existing customers entering a product range they do not yet buy, development of established accounts, and additional sales inside active accounts. All four were handled as the same opportunity.
- New distributors were quoted before their credit and market potential were known
- Range introductions were handled as ordinary orders, so sample results and listing decisions went unrecorded
- Account development was a string of small opportunities instead of a plan against potential
- Cross-sell deals carried the same checklist as a new customer
- Managers reviewed all four in one list and could not tell acquisition from growth
02One process?
What made one process insufficient?
The four motions looked alike because their cycles are short. The differences sit elsewhere:
- 01IntentAcquire, introduce, develop or expand?
- 02Existing relationshipIs there a trading history, a credit line, a contact base?
- 03Product familiarityDoes the customer already know and stock this range?
- 04Market potentialWhat is the realistic potential beyond the first order?
- 05Pricing contextA new price agreement, a range price list or existing conditions?
- 06Commercial riskCredit, listing cost, stock obsolescence, channel conflict?
- 07Data already knownWhat must be collected, and what is already in the account?
- 08Qualification burdenHow much proof is proportionate to the risk?
“Sell more” is not one process. Acquiring a new customer, introducing a new range and expanding an existing relationship require different evidence and different operating behaviour.
03Segmentation
How the reality was segmented
Intent separates the motions; relationship maturity and risk decide how heavy each one is.
“Sell more” in the aftermarket
- New CustomerA company that does not buy yet: identity, credit and potential first.
- New Product / RangeAn existing customer, a range it does not stock: samples, listing and sell-through.
- Account ManagementAn established account developed against its potential over a period.
- Cross / Up-SellA defined additional sale in an active account: light and fast.
Design decision
Separate the four motions by intent and relationship maturity, set qualification and evidence by commercial risk, and keep one shared frame so the motions stay comparable.
04Target model
Target operating model
A short shared spine; each motion decides what each step demands.
- 01Identify
- Owner
- Sales representative
- Exit criterion
- Motion chosen from intent and relationship
- 02Qualify
- Owner
- Sales representative
- Exit criterion
- The motion’s proportional evidence exists
- 03Propose
- Owner
- Sales representative
- Exit criterion
- Offer within the motion’s price basis
- 04Close
- Owner
- Sales representative
- Exit criterion
- Won by the motion’s definition, or lost with a reason
- 05Follow through
- Owner
- Account manager
- Exit criterion
- First order onboarded, range activated or plan updated
05What changes by path · Intent × maturity × risk
What changes by motion
The same short cycle on paper; different evidence, risk and attention in practice.
| Dimension | New Customer | New Range | Account Mgmt. | Cross / Up-Sell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intent | Acquire | Introduce a range | Develop against potential | Expand a sale |
| Relationship | None yet | Established | Established | Active |
| Evidence to qualify | Company, credit, need, decision-maker | Sample request, listing interest | Potential, plan, targets | Product and quantity |
| Pricing | New agreement | Range price list | Account conditions | Existing conditions |
| Main risk | Credit and fit | Listing cost, sell-through | Losing share | Low |
| Cycle | Months | Weeks to months | Rolling period | Weeks |
| Won means | First order | First order of the range | Plan targets met | Order placed |
| Management attention | Weekly pipeline | Monthly range review | Monthly account review | By exception |
New Customer
- Intent
- Acquire
- Relationship
- None yet
- Evidence to qualify
- Company, credit, need, decision-maker
- Pricing
- New agreement
- Main risk
- Credit and fit
- Cycle
- Months
- Won means
- First order
- Management attention
- Weekly pipeline
New Range
- Intent
- Introduce a range
- Relationship
- Established
- Evidence to qualify
- Sample request, listing interest
- Pricing
- Range price list
- Main risk
- Listing cost, sell-through
- Cycle
- Weeks to months
- Won means
- First order of the range
- Management attention
- Monthly range review
Account Mgmt.
- Intent
- Develop against potential
- Relationship
- Established
- Evidence to qualify
- Potential, plan, targets
- Pricing
- Account conditions
- Main risk
- Losing share
- Cycle
- Rolling period
- Won means
- Plan targets met
- Management attention
- Monthly account review
Cross / Up-Sell
- Intent
- Expand a sale
- Relationship
- Active
- Evidence to qualify
- Product and quantity
- Pricing
- Existing conditions
- Main risk
- Low
- Cycle
- Weeks
- Won means
- Order placed
- Management attention
- By exception
The lightest motion gets the lightest process. Cross-sell is fast because it is safe—not because the checklist was skipped.
06Exceptions and return paths
The happy path is never the whole process.
| When | Then | Owner | Returns to |
|---|---|---|---|
| A “new customer” turns out to be an existing account under another entity | Merged into the account; the motion becomes cross-sell or new range | Sales operations | Identify |
| Credit is not approved | Offer paused; prepayment or a smaller first order proposed | Finance with sales | Qualify |
| The sample fails or the listing is refused | Closed as lost with the reason; the introduction can be retried after a set period | Sales representative | Closed |
| A cross-sell needs a new price agreement | Moved into the account’s development plan with a pricing review | Account manager | Qualify |
07Supporting capabilities and system encoding
Only now, the technology.
CRMPricingERPData platform
Supporting capabilities
- CRMMotion types, proportional evidence and review lists per motion
- PricingThe price basis each motion allows
- ERPCredit status, first orders and sell-through by range
- Data platformPotential estimates and range activation
How the system encodes the model
Operating decision: Four motions with different evidence
System response: Motion types, each with its own required data
Operating decision: Proportional qualification
System response: Qualification fields shown only for the motion that needs them
Operating decision: Credit before an offer to a new customer
System response: Credit check as a stage exit condition
Operating decision: Won means different things
System response: Motion-specific close criteria, mapped to one shared outcome list
08Measurement
What is measured—and what it triggers.
| Metric | Why | Owner | Cadence | Triggers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion by motion | A blended rate hides weak acquisition behind easy cross-sell | Sales management | Monthly | Adjust targeting or qualification |
| Range activation | A first order is not a successful introduction | Product management with sales | Quarterly | Support sell-through, or withdraw |
| Time to first order | Acquisition effort must end in trading | Sales managers | Monthly | Remove blockers: credit, pricing, onboarding |
09The second layer
Questions that change the design.
Motion
- When does an additional sale become a range introduction?
- Who decides the motion when intent is mixed?
Proportion
- What is the minimum evidence each motion really needs?
- Which risk justifies slowing a sale down?
Outcome
- Is a range introduction successful at the first order, or at repeat orders?
- How is development measured against potential rather than last year?
10Decisions & outputs
What the work produces.
- 01Aftermarket motion definitions
- 02Proportional evidence rules
- 03Motion close criteria
- 04Review lists by motion
- 05Motion KPIs