For large organizations with multiple sales teams, or a distribution channel that handles sales, who gets the most time and attention?
There must be a balance between providing autonomy to the leaders throughout the organization while also providing support resources. Swing one way, and it leads to command and control. Swing the other way, and it can leave leaders on their own, or going their own way.
Sales folks are always clear on territory boundaries. Sure there can be ways to get around it, but everyone knows what is in and out.
Territory lines provide rails for salespeople to run on. But it is a management construct to give some separation and bring a sense of order. It also makes sense from a customer standpoint, as no one wants multiple people from the same organization competing for their business.
Competition is good when it drives performance. Without guidelines, it soon becomes toxic. And inefficient. Two people are calling on one company when two people could be calling on four companies.
Territory boundaries define the playing field. They are a constraint that facilitates beneficial outcomes.
Is there other mutually agreed upon constraints that can be beneficial?
Revenue is the easiest to measure. Tracking growth rate, along with forecast to actual variance, can provide additional detail.
Only tracking revenue fosters a culture of competition. Outside of competition, are must be other cultural qualities to cultivate.
A large study at Google found that the most successful teams were the ones that had the most psychological safety. It makes sense that the best teams are the ones where people feel like they can say anything to each other. Team members are trying to help one another, not trying to outdo each other.
How do you gauge which sales teams are the most successful in your organization?
Sales numbers alone can be deceiving. Are they selling the most because of the territory they are in, or because of the outstanding customer experience they are providing?
It is not how much a customer has bought, but how good the experience was that determines future revenue.
Brand recognition and the quality of your products and services won’t ensure customer loyalty. How you engage the customer, the solutions you provide, and the problems you help them solve are what brings customers back again and again.
The most tight-knit teams are the ones that provide the best customer experience. The teams that collaborate and support each other to rise to a higher level are the ones that do the best job for their customers.
When allocating resources or looking for ways to develop your people, find out who is providing the best customer experience. Celebrate what they are doing and give them a platform to spread their best practices. Provide an environment for the leaders throughout the organization to connect and collaborate, instead of prescribing how they should operate.
Encouraging your leaders to grow the psychological safety on their teams doesn’t cost anything to implement or establish. But it is exceedingly costly when it is not present.
Everyone is focused on growing sales. Taking care of sales teams to take care of customers is where we can have the most impact.