The last episode was a deep dive into the data that should be feeding your pricing. It is an essential element of developing pricing that ensures profits and should inform sales plans and quotas. The discussion was based on the internal data available in the back office and derived through business analysis tools. Internal data is one part of the equation. To develop a well-rounded view of your sales opportunities, you can also look to external data.

Demographics, weather reports, sports calendars, holidays, even matching internal product sale data to events to generate new data points fall into the external data bucket. Leveraging external data can produce compelling results. Deloitte Insights tracks the use of external data. Their February 2019 blog post said that 92% of data analysts said they needed to increase their use of external data. They featured the Chief Data Officer from Flagstar Bank, who said that they are looking at industry benchmarks, regional trends, and other waves they can ride to develop new products and services.

How can external data influence your sales plans? Begin with your current planning template. What goes into it? Some companies use their internal business intelligence tools to develop models of what they want to be selling and how to price those products. They use that information to assign quotes to the sales team, sometimes colored by their assigned territories, accounts, and segments. Where external data can add value is by taking the first draft of the sales plan and laying it against known external influences that could help increase sales opportunities.