Increasing Sales. Sales professionals and organizations continually search for approaches to unlock greater sales potential, often focusing on strategies, techniques, and skills development. While these conventional approaches deliver value, they frequently overlook a critical dimension that influences sales success: the underlying systemic dynamics that either support or hinder the sales process. Systemic Constellations—an approach originally developed by Bert Hellinger for family systems and later adapted for organizational contexts— offers unique insights and intervention possibilities for transforming sales results by addressing these hidden systemic factors.
Understanding Sales Through a Systemic Lens
Before exploring specific applications of constellations to sales, it’s valuable to understand how sales processes operate as systems rather than merely as sequences of techniques or individual performances.
The Sales Ecosystem
From a systemic perspective, sales involves complex interactions between multiple interdependent elements:
The Extended Sales System for Increasing Sales
Effective sales operates within an ecosystem that includes: The salesperson with their skills, beliefs, and identity
The selling organization with its history, culture, and structures
The product/service with its development journey and intrinsic value
The potential customer with their needs, constraints, and decision processes The market context including competitors, trends, and external factors
The pre-existing relationships between all these elements
This web of relationships creates a field in which sales either flow naturally or encounter resistance.
Beyond Tactics to Alignment
While traditional sales approaches focus on optimizing individual interactions (the right words, effective objection handling, closing techniques), a systemic view reveals that sales success often depends more on the alignment or misalignment of the entire system:
When system elements are properly ordered and acknowledged, sales flow with relatively less effort When hidden conflicts, exclusions, or imbalances exist in the system, even excellent tactics meet persistent resistance
The most skilled salesperson will struggle if selling a product that lacks integrity in the market The best product will underperform if the selling organization has unresolved internal conflicts
The Role of Hidden Dynamics
Many sales challenges stem from invisible but influential factors:
Unacknowledged history (failed products, departed team members, past market missteps) Competing loyalties (to different stakeholders, values, or priorities)
Systemic entanglements (with competitors, market history, or other relationships) Incongruence between stated and actual priorities
These hidden factors often explain why logical, well-executed sales strategies fail to produce expected results despite appearing sound on paper.
How Constellations Reveal Sales Dynamics for Increasing Sales
Systemic Constellations provide a methodology for making these hidden dynamics visible and addressable:
The Constellation Process for Sales
While maintaining the core principles of constellation work, sales-focused constellations typically follow this process:
1. Issue Identification
The process begins by identifying a specific sales challenge:
A particular product struggling to gain traction despite apparent market fit Persistent resistance at specific points in the sales process
Difficulty penetrating certain market segments Promising opportunities that consistently fail to close
Sales team performance patterns that defy conventional explanation
2. System Mapping
Representatives are selected for the key elements of the sales system:
The salesperson or sales team The product or service
The target customer or segment The selling organization
Relevant contextual factors (competitors, market trends, regulations) Sometimes abstract elements like “the sales goal” or “the obstacle”
These representatives are then positioned in relation to each other according to the issue holder’s intuitive sense rather than logical planning.
3. Reading the Initial Configuration
Once positioned, representatives report their experiences: Physical sensations and impulses
Emotional responses Directional pulls or pushes
Awareness or lack of awareness of other elements General sense of their place in the system
These reports, combined with the spatial arrangement, reveal crucial information about the sales system:
Where energy flows or stagnates in the sales process Hidden barriers between elements that should be connected Misalignments between the seller’s and buyer’s perspectives Excluded or unacknowledged factors influencing the process Hierarchical disorders that disrupt effective sales dynamics
4. Experimental Movements
Based on the initial insights, the facilitator guides experimental movements: Repositioning elements to create better flow and alignment
Adding missing elements that emerge as significant
Testing different configurations to identify optimal relationships Introducing healing sentences or gestures that transform stuck patterns Allowing the system to reveal its path toward better functioning
5. Resolution and Integration
The constellation concludes when a more functional arrangement emerges: The issue holder may take their place in the resolved system
Specific insights are summarized and captured Practical implications and next steps are identified The shift in the field is acknowledged and integrated
What Constellations Reveal About Sales
Through this process, constellations frequently reveal several types of systemic dynamics affecting sales:
1. Order and Acknowledgment
Sales systems, like all systems, function best when proper order is respected. Constellations often reveal: Whether the product/service is appropriately valued within the selling organization
If founders or significant contributors have been forgotten or minimized
Whether the customer’s place as the ultimate determinant of value is properly acknowledged If the hierarchical relationship between sales management and sales team is functional Whether market realities are being appropriately recognized and respected
When these ordering principles are violated, sales resistance often emerges regardless of tactical excellence.
2. Inclusion and Exclusion
Constellations frequently show that sales challenges stem from excluded elements:
Departed sales innovators whose contributions remain unacknowledged Failed products or services whose lessons haven’t been integrated Customer segments that were previously served but later abandoned Competitive factors being ignored or minimized in sales approaches Aspects of market reality that the organization prefers not to see
These exclusions create energetic “gaps” in the system that hinder sales flow until properly addressed.
3. Balance of Exchange
Sales ultimately represents an exchange of value, and constellations reveal whether this exchange is balanced:
If the price appropriately reflects the value delivered
Whether salespeople feel worthy of the compensation they receive If customers are respected or subtly devalued in the sales approach
Whether the organization takes appropriate responsibility for product limitations If there’s congruence between what’s promised and what’s delivered
Imbalances in these exchanges create resistance that constellations make visible and addressable.
Common Sales Constellation Applications
Several specific sales challenges particularly benefit from constellation approaches:
1. Breaking Through Sales Plateaus
When sales performance reaches a consistent ceiling despite increased effort, constellations often reveal:
Case Example: Technology Company Sales Plateau
A software company had maintained steady sales for three years despite doubling marketing spend and sales team size. Conventional analysis revealed no obvious barriers to growth.
A constellation revealed:
The company founder, who had departed after conflict with investors, remained an unacknowledged but powerful influence
The sales team was unconsciously loyal to the founder’s original vision, which differed from the current direction
The product had evolved away from its core strengths without acknowledging this shift Customers were positioned as recipients of expertise rather than partners in solution development
Resolution interventions included:
Formal acknowledgment of the founder’s contribution while embracing evolution Realignment of sales messaging with the product’s authentic strengths Repositioning the customer relationship as collaborative rather than prescriptive Creation of clear “permission” for sales growth beyond the founder’s original scale
Within two quarters following these interventions, sales increased by 30% with no additional spending or staffing.
2. Resolving Sales Team Dysfunction
When sales teams underperform despite seemingly having the right people and resources:
Case Example: Pharmaceutical Sales Division Conflict
A pharmaceutical division experienced persistent conflict between veteran and newer sales representatives, with territoriality and information hoarding creating significant performance issues.
The constellation revealed:
A prior sales leader who had been abruptly terminated remained a powerful loyalty point for veterans New sales approaches were being implemented without honoring previously successful methods
The relationship between sales and product development was fundamentally misaligned The customer (physicians) were positioned peripherally rather than centrally in the system
Resolution interventions included:
Acknowledging the contributions of both previous and current sales approaches Repositioning the terminated leader’s legacy appropriately rather than erasing it Creating clear structural relationship between sales and product development Recentering all sales activities around physician and patient outcomes
Four months after implementing these changes, cross-team collaboration improved significantly, with veterans now mentoring newer representatives and overall sales increasing by 18%.
3. Optimizing New Product Launches
When new products struggle to gain traction despite apparent market fit:
Case Example: Consumer Product Launch Failure
A consumer goods company’s new product line was underperforming dramatically despite excellent market research, strong initial interest, and significant promotional investment.
The constellation revealed:
The new product line was positioned as superior to the company’s heritage products, creating systemic resistance
Key developers of the original product line felt disrespected by marketing messaging
The new product hadn’t been properly “introduced” to the existing customer base The sales team had divided loyalty between established and new product lines
Resolution interventions included:
Repositioning the new line as an evolution of rather than replacement for heritage products Acknowledging the contribution of original product developers to the new line’s foundation Creating marketing that built bridges between existing customers’ loyalty and new offerings Aligning sales incentives to support whole-portfolio rather than competitive selling
After these adjustments, the new product line reached 85% of original sales projections within the next quarter, compared to 32% previously.
4. Improving Customer Relationship Management
When customer relationships remain transactional rather than developing into partnerships:
Case Example: Financial Services Client Retention Issues
A financial services firm was acquiring clients effectively but experiencing high churn rates and difficulty deepening relationships beyond initial services.
The constellation revealed:
Account managers were positioned between the client and the firm rather than alongside clients The firm’s expertise was elevated above client knowledge about their own needs
A significant organizational restructuring had created confusion in client relationship ownership The sales process made promises that implementation couldn’t fully deliver
Resolution interventions included:
Repositioning account managers as client advocates within the firm Creating rituals for transferring client relationships during staff changes
Developing better alignment between sales promises and delivery capabilities
Acknowledging the client’s expertise in their own business as equal to the firm’s financial expertise
After implementing these changes, client retention improved 40% within six months, and cross-selling of additional services increased by 25%.
5. Enhancing Competitive Positioning in Increasing Sales
When sales consistently lose to specific competitors despite apparent product advantages:
Case Example: Manufacturing Equipment Market Share Decline
A manufacturing equipment company was losing market share to a newer competitor despite having superior product specifications and established market presence.
The constellation revealed:
The organization harbored disrespect for the competitor, viewing them as inferior The company was focusing on historical strengths rather than current market needs Sales presentations emphasized technical specifications over customer outcomes The actual decision-makers in client organizations weren’t being properly identified
Resolution interventions included:
Acknowledging the competitor’s legitimate innovations and market contributions
Realigning sales approach with contemporary customer priorities rather than historical advantages Mapping and addressing all stakeholders in customer decision processes
Creating clearer outcome-based rather than specification-based value propositions
These changes resulted in winning 35% more competitive bids in the following year, reversing the market share decline.
Three Constellation Exercises for Sales Improvement
While full constellations benefit from professional facilitation, these adapted exercises can be implemented independently to improve sales effectiveness:
Exercise 1: Value Exchange Mapping
This exercise reveals the flow and balance of value in the sales relationship.
Materials Needed:
Large floor space
Paper for labels and notes Markers
Small objects to mark positions (optional)
Process:
1. Identify System Elements
Create labels for: Your Organization, Your Product/Service, The Customer, The Customer’s Need, The Price/Cost, The Value Delivered
If selling complex solutions, add labels for each major component of your offering
2. Initial Mapping
Place these elements in relationship to each other based on intuitive sense rather than logical analysis
Position them on the floor with appropriate distance and orientation between elements Stand back and observe the pattern that emerges
3. Perspective Taking
Stand at the position of each element in turn From each position, notice and record:
Which other elements are visible/invisible from here?
What feels too close or too distant?
What feels appropriately valued or undervalued? What seems to be missing or overlooked?
4. Balance Assessment
Focusing specifically on the relationship between Value Delivered, Customer’s Need, and Price/Cost:
Is the exchange balanced from all perspectives?
Does the value appropriately address the actual need?
Is the price aligned with the value from both perspectives? What adjustments would create better balance?
5. Flow Optimization
Experiment with repositioning elements to create better flow
Test whether adding new elements (e.g., Support Services, Implementation Assistance) improves the system
Notice which arrangements create more coherence and alignment Document the optimal configuration
6. Action Planning
Based on insights from this exercise, identify specific adjustments to: Value proposition articulation
Pricing structure or presentation
Elements to emphasize or deemphasize in sales conversations Additional offerings that might create better system balance
This exercise frequently reveals misalignments between what sellers think customers value and what customers actually seek, as well as imbalances in the perceived exchange that create sales resistance.
Exercise 2: Sales Obstacle Constellation
This exercise uncovers hidden barriers in challenging sales situations.
Materials Needed:
Open floor space Labels or sticky notes
Notebook for observations
Process:
1. Situation Selection
Identify a specific sales situation that has encountered persistent obstacles Clarify the current status and point where progress seems to stall
2. System Element Identification
Create labels for key elements: You/Your Sales Team
Your Product/Service The Prospect/Customer
The Stated Obstacle (e.g., “budget constraints,” “timing,” “needs assessment”) The Desired Outcome
Add a label for “The Hidden Factor” (without defining it yet)
3. Intuitive Configuration
Position these elements in relationship to each other based on the current situation Place yourself first, then the prospect, then other elements
Position “The Hidden Factor” last, allowing intuition to guide its placement Stand back and observe the configuration without immediate interpretation
4. Exploration Through Positioning
Stand in each position sequentially, spending 1-2 minutes in each
From each perspective, notice:
What can you see from here that wasn’t apparent before? What feels supportive or obstructive?
What seems to be missing or misunderstood? What would need to change for progress to occur?
Pay particular attention to insights from “The Hidden Factor” position
5. Experimental Movements
Based on the insights gained, experiment with repositioning elements Test what happens when you:
Change distances between elements
Reorient who faces whom
Add any missing elements that became apparent Remove or reposition obstacles
6. Hidden Factor Revelation
From the exploration, define what “The Hidden Factor” actually represents in this specific situation
Often this reveals unacknowledged concerns, unstated priorities, excluded decision makers, or competitive factors
7. Strategy Refinement
Develop a revised approach that: Addresses the hidden factor directly
Creates better alignment between elements Removes or transforms obstacles
Establishes clearer paths to the desired outcome
This exercise frequently reveals that the stated obstacles in sales situations often mask deeper systemic issues that, once addressed, can unlock previously stalled opportunities.
Exercise 3: Product-Organization-Market Alignment
This exercise reveals how well your offering’s position aligns with organizational identity and market realities.
Materials Needed:
Large table or floor space Paper for labels
Small objects to represent system elements (optional)
Process:
1. Core Element Identification
Create representations for:
Your organization’s founding purpose or core identity The product/service you’re selling
Your target market segment Your primary competitors
Your organization’s future vision/direction
2. Historical Mapping
Arrange these elements to show the historical relationship between them How did your organization’s purpose initially connect to market needs? Where was the product positioned in relation to both?
How have these relationships evolved over time?
Where were competitors positioned in this historical view?
3. Current Reality Configuration
Now rearrange elements to show the current reality Notice what has changed from the historical arrangement
Pay particular attention to:
Has the product moved closer to or further from organizational purpose? Has the market shifted position relative to both?
How has competitor positioning changed?
Is the future vision aligned with or divergent from current product positioning?
4. Alignment Assessment
Stand behind each element and assess from that perspective: What looks aligned or misaligned from here?
What history needs to be acknowledged?
What adjustments would create better system coherence? What elements are being overlooked or undervalued?
5. Integration Mapping
Create a new arrangement that better integrates: Honored organizational history
Current product/service reality
Actual (not wished for) market position Authentic future direction
Appropriate competitive acknowledgment
6. Sales Approach Refinement
Based on this integration, develop sales approaches that:
Tell an authentic story connecting organizational purpose to product benefits Position offerings in genuine relationship to market needs
Acknowledge competitors appropriately rather than diminishing them Connect current offerings to authentic future direction
This exercise often reveals that sales challenges stem from incongruence between organizational narrative, product reality, and market perception. When these elements align authentically, sales resistance frequently diminishes.
Practical Implementation
Successfully implementing constellation insights in sales contexts requires thoughtful translation and integration:
From Insight to Action
Constellation work produces insights that must be converted to practical applications:
1. Concrete Practice Changes
Identify specific, observable changes to sales practices based on constellation insights: Adjustments to sales conversation structure and content
Revisions to proposal formats and emphasis Changes to customer approach sequences Modifications to team collaboration patterns Updates to prospect qualification criteria
2. Narrative and Positioning Shifts
Develop revised narratives that reflect the constellation’s systemic understanding:
More authentic product origin stories
Customer relationship framing that honors proper order Competitor positioning that shows appropriate respect Value propositions that reflect genuine exchanges Internal narratives that acknowledge all contributors
3. Structural Adjustments
Implement organizational changes that support healthier systemic functioning: Realigning reporting relationships that showed dysfunction
Adjusting compensation structures to encourage proper exchange Modifying meeting formats to include previously excluded voices Creating rituals for acknowledging history and transitions Establishing feedback mechanisms that maintain system awareness
Measuring Impact
Evaluate the effectiveness of constellation-derived interventions through both quantitative and qualitative measures:
Quantitative Indicators:
Conversion rate changes at specific sales process stages Average sales cycle duration
Deal size and margin trends
Customer retention and expansion metrics Win rate against specific competitors
Qualitative Indicators:
Reduction in consistent objection patterns Improved energy and clarity in sales conversations Enhanced team collaboration quality
More authentic customer engagement Decreased sales team turnover or burnout
Integration with Conventional Sales Methods
Constellations complement rather than replace traditional sales approaches:
Enhancing Existing Methodologies
Use constellation insights to identify where conventional methodologies need adaptation Apply systemic understanding to personalize standard sales processes
Supplement skills training with systemic awareness development Identify which sales techniques align with authentic system dynamics
Create better integration between marketing positioning and sales execution
Addressing Resistant Cases
Apply constellation approaches to opportunities that resist conventional methods Use systemic perspective for accounts with complex stakeholder landscapes Implement constellation-derived insights for stuck long-term sales cycles Address team conflicts that standard management approaches haven’t resolved Transform persistent patterns that training alone hasn’t impacted
Conclusion: The Systemic Sales Advantage
Systemic Constellations offer a unique dimension to sales improvement—one that addresses the often- overlooked relational and energetic aspects of the sales process. By revealing hidden dynamics, honoring appropriate order, and creating authentic alignment, this approach unlocks sales potential that remains inaccessible to purely tactical or skills-based methods.
The most powerful sales transformations typically combine the best of conventional approaches with systemic wisdom:
Excellence in sales techniques and skills Strategic clarity and market positioning AND authentic systemic alignment and flow
This integrated approach recognizes that sales success ultimately depends not just on what salespeople do but on the invisible field of relationships within which those actions occur. When this field is characterized by proper order, acknowledgment, balance, and inclusion, sales efforts encounter significantly less resistance and generate more sustainable results.
For sales leaders seeking breakthrough performance, constellations offer a powerful complement to traditional methods—revealing new dimensions of possibility beyond the reach of conventional approaches alone.
Keywords: Increasing Sales, psychotherapy, parents, parental trauma, somatic experiencing
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