A large percentage of top-producing salespeople are free spirits by nature.
They're entrepreneurial with high drive, ambition and self-reliance. They work —
often by choice — individually as they know they can produce results. They
possess the most important skill any employee can have: the ability to produce
results. They're rainmakers and most companies need them.
By their very entrepreneurial nature, however, they often alienate themselves
from the support staff in a company — sometimes by choice, other times by
company structure.
Regardless, companies must realize the value, and necessity,
of team communication throughout the entire organization.
Why is this so important?
Let me share an example that clearly makes the
case.
A longtime business colleague of mine has been performing a good deal of
consulting with a client in the health-care industry during the past year. The
company is in an aggressive growth stage and required its payroll and tax
processes to be outsourced to a payroll company with the ability to scale its
offering as the company grew. It also needed a payroll company with the ability
to add such key services as human resource and employee benefits services in the
near future.
The company contacted one of the nation's leading payroll companies in terms
of reputation and fees charged. They did their due diligence and checked with
clients in similar industries and all signs were go.
The salesperson for the payroll company was highly experienced, very
knowledgeable, engaging and extremely competent.
The company signed on and provided the salesperson with all the required
information and documentation to proceed. Again, he handled it seamlessly.
Only smooth sailing ahead, right?
Unfortunately, with the structure of the payroll company, salespeople receive
commissions on their accounts for the term of the relationship. However, their
involvement with the client ends upon the contract being signed. From that
point, the account specialist handles all interaction.
When my colleague's client worked with the account specialist during the
transition, it was a nightmare. Funds weren't directly deposited into the
employee's accounts on the designated dates. Some employees were overpaid or
underpaid. Still others weren't paid at all, creating a huge trust void among
the employees in their employer. Moreover, incorrect taxes were withheld and the
payroll company filed incorrect extensions with the Internal Revenue Service
creating a significant, unexpected tax bill for my colleague's client.
It wasn't until my colleague personally called the president of the payroll
company that the salesperson was ever alerted to the problem. Too little. Too
late. The damage was irreparable. And the irony is that the salesperson worked
from the same location that processed the transition and knew the specialist
handling the transition.
I understand that often, depending on the size of the company and/or the
industry, salespeople aren't also servicing the account. They're focused on
securing new business. And I'm certainly not arguing that all salespeople should
now become customer-service reps, too. Very few people can sell, let alone sell
effectively. Selling is a very difficult, very skilled profession, which is why
top producers are compensated so well.
Additionally, having employees with specialized focuses and responsibilities
can better serve a client. For example, in several industries such as
advertising and public relations, it's common for agencies to have "win" teams
comprised of skilled, experience professionals whose sole purpose is to win
business. They present themselves as such and tell potential clients that they
won't be the people staffing the account. And the clients typically roll with
this because it's stated — and known — upfront.
However, when the salesperson isn't also servicing the account, he or she
must remain in the loop, especially if commissions are possible.
It's account
suicide not to be.
Why is this so important?
In addition to protecting his or her hard-earned potential commissions, the
following are key:
- Rapport and trust.
Presumably the salesperson has established good
communication with the customer. And more importantly, the customer likely
trusts the salesperson as they decided to become a customer. This positions the
salesperson as an invaluable resource for, and link to, maintaining the
relationship.
- United front.
When all departments are communicating, each employee can
promote the same position. It eliminates the "he said, she said" game.
- Team atmosphere.
Additionally, the interaction and communication between all
departments promotes a team atmosphere. This is both positive and attractive to
customers.
- Organization.
The communication and team atmosphere also demonstrates the
company's organization to customers. This can prove invaluable, as one of the
most common customer laments is the disorganization and unreliability of
vendors.
- Improved servicing.
The communication and team improvement will also yield
better service to the customer. Pooling all individual talents and abilities can
revolve issues more quickly and effectively. It's also more likely that
up-selling of additional products and services will occur as the needs of the
customer will be an ongoing process rather than an event.
- Preservation.
Most importantly, anyone that's been in sales for even the
shortest time knows this basic truth of selling: It's exponentially easier to
lose a customer than gain a customer. If for no other reason than selfish desire
for preservation, companies must have their people from all involved departments
communicate.
So, what's the solution?
The following six-step process will work effectively
to build team unity, maintain clear internal communications and effectively
serve the customer.
- Gain buy-in.
Meet with your people and let them know what you're thinking
and the reason why this transition is so important. Then gain their buy-in to
move forward. If you receive push-back, or some people don't want to be team
players, you can candidly say, "Especially during today's uncertain economy,
this could preserve all of our positions."
- Set clear goals.
Set goals for frequency and types of communication among
teams. Set goals for increased customer satisfaction levels. Whatever is
relevant to your company, set goals so that your people know the end they're
working toward.
- Set expectations.
Let every employee know what role they play in the
process, the value of their activities, and what's expected of each.
- Establish processes.
Once the goals are set, you must discuss and track
them regularly. At minimum, all necessary employees should briefly touch base
weekly. Additionally, monthly meetings where all involved attend are beneficial
in updating status and tracking towards the established goals.
- Maintain accountabilities.
Employees can only be held accountable when
they have clear goals to achieve and set expectations to meet. However, once
these are in place, you not only have the right, but the responsibility to hold
them accountable. Only when all employees are accountable for their results will
the vision be realized.
- Set rewards.
Set milestones and reward your people along the way. Such
team communication is, unfortunately, the exception rather than the rule in
business today. Your people need to be acknowledged and rewarded for a job well
done.
Roy Chitwood is an author, trainer and consultant in sales and sales management and is president of Max Sacks International, Seattle.
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