How can executives ensure that sales goals are aligned with company goals?
They need to understand the needs and challenges of the customer. Then, work with other senior level people across the organization to identify and prioritize those objectives.
Continually work with peers and senior management to ensure the lines of communication are open to clients via the sales force. Your sales force is your face to the client. Those people should be communicating effectively with management on the customers’ needs. Then the senior management team should sift through those objectives to make sure the products and services they are offering are still relevant and cutting edge, and that they meet and satisfy their clients’ needs.
That is the external means to keeping your company goals in line with what matters. Internally, it’s important to be an advocate for the customer. Work to break down any internal silos or barriers to communication with your marketing department, client services and all the other support functions within the organization.
Make sure that you are engaging with the leadership in those groups, as well, in order to make sure the company is aligned. That helps ensure those walls and internal barriers are broken down and that there is clear communication across the different functional groups within the company. It doesn’t help to have sales working toward one set of goals or objectives and have your marketing, client services, legal and contracting groups working in silos in different directions.
Leaders of groups need their goals and incentives aligned as well with the overall company goals, which are derived from the voice of the customer.
What hasn’t changed about the nature of sales?
What is always going to be the case with sales is that people buy from people. No matter what industry you’re in, what company you work for, or what products you sell, it’s relationships that matter most. That is a trait within sales that will always be there.
All other things change in terms of magnitude and prioritization, but relationships are what matter. If you can build effective relationships, that helps drive everything.
Chris Hayes is an adjunct professor with Delaware Valley College. Reach him at (484) 716-9121 or [email protected].