About five years ago I was speaking with the VP of Sales and Marketing of a security manufacturer. She was very gracious to me, but seemed to want to share how they had it figured out and didn’t need any help from a consultant. She shared her elaborate sales strategy, which was well thought out, creative, and wisely configured. About nine months later I casually met with one of their regional sales managers at ISC West and he told me how unorganized they were and how they were losing credibility with their channel. Over the next year or so, I heard a similar message from their channel partners. What happened? Did they abandon their plan? Was their VP lying to me?
No and no. They still had the plan, but no one was implementing it. (This is about the time when I created Vector Firm’s tag line “Connecting Strategy to Action”.) Regardless of how strong a sales strategy is, influencing the sales people to implement the strategy in the field is very difficult. The chasm between strategy created in a board room and action taken by a sales person in the field is enormous.
When we engage with a customer, I’m very transparent that our programs are more tactical than strategic. My goal is to take the strategy that’s been developed and make sure the sales people actually implement it. We start in the street and work up to the board room. We identify the gaps in the tools, communication, routine, etc. We then build the tools for fill those gaps. Finally, I stick around for four to six months to make sure the implementations becomes habit.
If you’re interested in learning how we can help your sales team implement the strategy you’ve put together, click here.
