Is your Sales Team Aligned for Success?

Why do some companies and their sales teams continue to experience success despite the downturn in the economy these past few years? Think:  Southwest Airlines, Target, and Apple. These companies have exemplary product and service offerings and continue to successfully beat their competitors in the market.

From my perspective, they have built their brands to embrace the overall customer experience and cater to the ultimate satisfaction of their clientele. These companies also have sales approaches and strategies, from top to bottom, that are equally aligned to their markets, making it easy for customers to buy what they offer. There are other wonderful companies out there, yet the bottom line is this: A strategy—regardless of how brilliant it may be—won't work if the entire sales team doesn't understand it or execute against it.

We move in the direction of our focus. Consequently, organizations must align salespeople with that focus; that is, the company's overarching business and customer strategy. Here are six basic questions to ask yourself and your sales team to ensure that everyone's focus is on the company's collective strategy.

1. Are we all in agreement on where we want to go? As Stephen Covey has famously said, "Plan with the end in mind." Be specific. Be visual. If we don't know the destination, we will never know when (or if) we get there. Visioning is a powerful technique and one that has proved successful time and time again. Do it—individually and collectively—as a sales team.

2. How will we know we are all executing in the same, consistent manner? Think about it: If one sales executive is "rowing" out of pace or rhythm with the others, the boat simply won't move forward in the most streamlined way. This is where it's important to put checkpoints and incentives in place, as well as track customer feedback, to measure progress and ensure there is alignment from top to bottom.

3. How will we know we are all in agreement with the approach needed to achieve our goals? Specifically, we must agree on the hard decisions that need to be made, such as the alignment of sales executivess with specific customers and prospective clients, or how we are actually selling our product and services to prospective buyers. We should ask ourselves: Are we selling the way our clients want to buy?  Is it truly "all about customers," or are we making it easy on ourselves?

4. How do we reward the behaviors that will support the overall strategic direction? Typically, sales teams equate this to money through elevated commission percentages or stock options, as well as public recognition for achieving sales quotas. Yet, how do we reward risk taking and out-of-the-box thinking if we pursue this approach? If we want to increase new business in new accounts (e.g., from the hunters in the sales community), what additional incentives are in place to reward this? I am amazed at how many sales organizations still only offer a standard commission-based compensation plan. How sales reps are paid and recognized dictates their behavior, above and beyond just selling.

5. What are the absolute critical success factors for us to be successful? This is our "can't fail" list of things that absolutely must go right. In my experience, this is where the rubber meets the road, but also can be a source of disagreement. Before we can move forward, these have to be ironed out. Not only the "what" needs to happen, but the "how to achieve" needs to be addressed. Difficult conversations, hard choices, and trade-offs must be made—and honored.

6. What benchmarks do we put in place to track and ensure ongoing execution against these goals and reward progress? What gets measured gets managed—and if we don't have our fingers continually on the pulse, we won't know how we are doing. We have to keep our eyes open for possible internal dissention, client feedback, lack of resources, etc. This is not a static process. We have to continually tweak and adjust and continue moving forward. Often sales teams draw up an annual or quarterly plan, launch it, communicate to all the constituents, and then "wait" for traction throughout the organization. This is terribly short-sighted. In the absence of focus and attention, most people will revert to the familiar.

Strategies are imperative. Strategies provide the overall map and vision.  Remember, however, maps are not the actual terrain; instead they help us understand and navigate the terrain. Maps (or strategies) don't ensure success. Execution does. Without action, all great ideas and strategies are useless. Let's face it – there is no shortage of great ideas and great strategies. The difference resides in those who take action through alignment around a common aspirational sales strategy, pulled together and jointly delivered, so that it becomes actionable, measurable, and a powerful compass to the sales teams' ultimate destination.

written by Kristin Kaufman

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