While most people won’t agree with us on this one, the performance of your sales departments reflects your organization’s overall performance. No matter how good your product, innovation, or marketing department may be, if your sales department is not closing enough deals, it will reflect badly on your organization. When it comes to sales, it’s not just the sales department that needs to be on its toes. Over the years, sales has evolved into a multi-departmental job and one that needs attention from all the departments. So, when did sales evolve into this multi-departmental field?
The 21st century has left us with data. Tons and tons of data about how consumers act, behave, and more importantly, what they buy, why they buy, and when they buy it. This data has allowed organizations to see the customer journey and how it changes with time. It has also allowed organizations to target their marketing efforts and close more deals efficiently. But, all this data means nothing if you don’t have the right sales strategy.
And that’s where other departments come in. For your sales department to be effective, it must collaborate with other departments within your organization. Marketing, product development, customer service, accounting, and even HR play a role in developing an effective sales strategy. Each department brings its unique perspective and skillset to the table, which helps create a more holistic picture of what needs to be done for your organization to succeed.
So, what are some things other departments can do to help your sales department?
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Marketing: Develop a lead generation strategy that works. This means understanding your target audience and what they’re looking for. It also means creating relevant content and getting it in front of them at the right time.
Product Development: Create products that are easy to sell. This means products that solve a problem or fill a need for your target audience. It also means ensuring that your product is priced correctly and has features that appeal to your target market.
Customer Service: Help turn customers into advocates. This means providing stellar customer service throughout the entire customer journey. It also means going above and beyond to resolve any issues.
Accounting: Make sure your pricing is profitable. This means understanding the cost of goods sold and ensuring that your prices reflect that. It also means looking for ways to increase your margins to reinvest in your business.
HR: Attract and retain top talent. This means creating a company culture that attracts top sales talent. It also means investing in training and development programs that help keep them engaged and motivated.
Collaborating with other departments can develop killer sales strategies to help your organization succeed. But this is easier said than done. Simply asking departments to cooperate is easy enough, but implementing it to a degree where you start getting benefits is a challenge. So, what can you do to improve cooperation?
Spreading perks and bonuses across both teams: One of the easiest and probably ones that are used most often is spreading the perks and bonuses across both teams. This way, whenever a sale is closed, everyone in the organization feels like they are part of the victory.
Integrating systems and tools: Another way to improve cooperation is by integrating systems and tools. This way, everyone can access the same information and work together more effectively.
Prioritizing strong data collection and sharing between departments: Say what you will about data; without data, we are all apes sitting in the dark. Departments need to be able to collect data and share it in order. And we don’t mean thousands of terabytes of raw data. Ask each department to collect and analyze raw data and convert it into meaningful tidbits of information. Encourage information sharing between departments, and soon you will have a well-oiled machine.
Set common KPIs: Most employees fear when they hear KPIs. Remember, your KPIs don’t always have to be the number of sales an employee can close. While these are a great way to motivate employees to close more sales, they will put more emphasis on quantity selling rather than quality selling. A better way to set KPIs is by looking at the entire customer journey. This way, you can identify areas where your team needs to improve and work on those together.
Get personal: One of the best ways to improve cooperation is by getting personal. This means building relationships with people in other departments. Get to know them personally and let them get to know you. The better the relationship, the more likely they want to help you succeed.
Develop an aligned working model: In a study done by Bain & Company, they found that the most successful companies are those that have an aligned working model. This means that all departments are working towards the same goal. When everyone is rowing in the same direction, it’s much easier to reach your destination.
Communicating regularly: The final way to improve cooperation is by communicating regularly. This means setting up regular meetings where you can discuss progress, challenges, and new ideas. It also means being open to feedback to improve your sales strategies continuously.
The key to developing killer sales strategies is collaboration. Working with other departments can create a well-rounded strategy to help your organization succeed. And while not all of these tips will work for you, you are sure to find the ones that do as long as you keep trying to find the balance.
