In many businesses and professional service organizations today, sales team members are asked to wear two hats–the “sales promotion” hat and the “customer or client service” hat. In some organizations this dual responsibility for the sales staff can not be avoided, but in those organizations where this sales and service function is not set in stone, you would be wise to off-load the service responsibilities from your sales professionals to members of a service team.
Sales managers don’t need built in structural excuses for poor sales performance. However, by asking your sales team members to service accounts, you give poor performers a perfect way to excuse their lack of sales by simply telling you they were working on problems for their clients or customers and had less time to make sales or prospecting calls. For the 80 percent of sales professionals that sell 20 percent of the goods and services in the United States and Canada, the two hats role is an ideal situation. If they have a choice in the matter they will always gravitate to servicing accounts and taking orders over generating new business from their selling activities.
It’s difficult at best to reprimand a staff member for poor sales performance, but almost impossible to do it when the reason for a lack of sales is that the representative was saving a large account. If wearing two hats is not critical to your organization’s success, why set up an impossible management situation.
It is vital that you take away every structural activity performed by sales team members that gives them an excuse for not being in front of decision-makers selling your products or services. In the long run, setting up an order desk and support staff are far more cost effective than taking sales professionals away from their primary responsibility of bringing in new business for your company or professional organization.
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VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. an Ohio consulting firm specializing in sales and sales management training, personal coaching, advisory services and publishing. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Service Linen Supply, Bank One, Jefferson Wells International, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of the “best selling” Building & Closing the Sale, Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching, telemarketing, and personal productivity manuals. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden’s latest books, 101 Sales Myths or Organizing For Sales Success, go to: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/ |
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