In complex accounts, there are a number of different strategic situations where a team sale is preferred. The salesperson might want to bring along someone from top management, either because of the purpose of the meeting or because of who is attending from the customer’s side.
Another common situation is when the salesperson is engaged in a long sales cycle, and given the call’s agenda, brings a person with expertise in a specific area, such as technical support, manufacturing or customer service.
Do these situations sound familiar? They are becoming increasingly more common because the customers are looking for their suppliers to provide the expertise needed to creatively address their challenges.
The growth in team selling comes not only from customer demands but also from the increased complexity of the sale, as well as customers using teams. Customer teams often take the form of buying committees or purchasing teams.
The classic trap in situations like these is not acting as a team in the meeting. Instead, it’s like there are two people who happen to be selling in the same room at the same time. To avoid this trap, we’ve found these eight best practices to be helpful:
Successful teams have a compelling, clear vision of their purpose, which is shared by everyone on the team.
Everyone must believe there is a benefit to the company – and to them personally – for working as a team.
All of the roles to succeed are represented on the sales team, and each team member is clear about their role on the team and what’s expected of them.
The sales team members recognize that talent alone does not guarantee team success. Attitude is critical. Positive attitudes can lead to a sales team performing at its peak; bad attitudes can rip a team apart.
There is a team leader. Without a leader, any team can lose their way.
Sales teams often struggle, making poor decisions, no decisions, or decisions by edict – led by the loudest voice – because they have no processes in place. Successful sales teams adopt or create their own team processes that guide how they operate.
Successful sales teams adjust, adapt and keep track. They make effective, strategic adjustments as the sales team’s collective knowledge grows and insights are gained from the customer.
Last, without trust, the team members don’t believe they can count on each other. Sales teams like these cannot possibly achieve their shared purpose. Trust is not something that happens automatically.