A company is a machine. It starts relatively small with a few moving parts and, if all goes well, it grows into a complex grouping of assemblies and sub-assemblies that all contribute to its execution and success. Narrowing the discussion to the sales machine (versus the company or GTM machines), I’ve been lucky enough to participate in organizations that have successfully scaled B2B sales organizations well into the $100s of millions by leveraging a number of different selling methods, from direct enterprise sales to channel to high velocity inside selling. Sometimes the company has been laser focused on one route to market (PTC) and in other cases the company was able to use multiple routes working in concert with each other (Sophos, Veracode). I’ve been asked a number of times to speak on the topic of scale and have developed a series of talking points that, in retrospect, were the keys to success (when we got them right) or to periods of failure (until we made corrections). Recently a single principle came to me that holds the whole discussion together: The machine is more important than the deal or the person.
At the highest level the sales machine is made up of people, deals and the structure that governs their interaction. Sales people are people. Contrary to popular belief, they are smart, driven and interested in doing what is best for their customers, their company and themselves. They want to understand the rules of the game and play by them…except occasionally when a rule “bend” will benefit them. An example is when a former customer, who is currently working for a company that is not included in their territory, calls them to express interest in their products and that they, personally, should manage the deal. Simple right? We want the deal, so we should shift the territory to create the best chance that the deal closes in a timely way. Nope! What does this tell the machine? ==> There are structure and rules but they can be overridden at any time. Others see this and think “an account that is a key component in my territory plan may be taken at the optimal moment”. Or “an account that is outside of my territory is still worthy of some prospecting effort because I may be able to lobby to move it over if I get something going”… Organizational trust in the machine is lost and the dissonance this causes results in lower productivity and loss of capacity due to higher turnover and many management and sales-ops cycles spent adjudicating disputes. The machine is more important than the deal or the person.
What should happen? As a strong team member that has confidence the machine works in their favor, the rep in question should enthusiastically introduce their colleague to the customer contact and offer to help at any time during the sales process. What goes around, comes around. The machine is more important than the deal or the person.
Next up:
- Capacity
- Productivity
- Individual Execution
- Deal Execution
Please comment. It would be great to have a conversation about selling and to hear a story or two. If I don’t reply instantly, feel free to talk amongst yourselves until I get back ;-).Good luck and good selling!
Image by Vince Vassallo via http://vincevassallo.blogspot.ca/