The Sales Kickoff jump started the year. Now it’s time to execute on the Sales Strategy.
The problem is that you can’t do it alone. Your sales team will need the support of the marketing and product teams to yield results.
Executing the sales plan with cross-departmental resource is a tough task for any organization. The good news is that careful planning, communication, and follow-up can get the cooperation you need to succeed.
In this post, we’ll offer several practical suggestions for getting the help you need.
Seize the initiative
You’re not alone. The Marketing, Product and HR teams are wrestling with the same executional issues. They need your support as much you need theirs.
Seize the initiative by setting up time to walk through fellow team leader’s action plans. During the discussion, find ways to support their objectives with your resources. Ask your fellow team leaders to outline their risks to achieving their plans. Listen. Offer your suggestions. Be an ally.
You will need this goodwill for the next step.
Generate Momentum
Look for opportunities to generate momentum with simple requests from other team leaders.
For example, ask the CMO to set aside time to explain the new lead scoring system. The presentation could boost your sales team’s faith in the sales-ready leads generated by the marketing team.
Follow-up successful collaborations with larger initiatives. Your goal is to show fellow team members that you can deliver results and share the credit.
Silo Busting
It’s easy for the CEO, CMO, and Product Leader to slip into a silo mindset. However, silo thinking cripples the entire organization. Failure at one level cascades throughout the organization. In our experience, silos are created when team leaders don’t understand how the business works as a team.
As we mentioned, take the initiative and invite marketing, product, and even the HR team to work with your team. You can:
- Invite the marketing team to join top sales producers in the field
- Ask the marketing operations team leader to sit in on sales manager meetings. It’s amazing how marketing ops can help if they understand how their data is being used by the sales team.
- Include the product team lead on early-stage sales calls. Help the product team understands how the prospect is evaluating your product.
Of course, this is a two-way street. Make an effort to be available to other team members. Tough and Prompt Feedback
Honest and Prompt Feedback
Ultimately you are responsible for making your number. You have to get the job done. Do yourself a favor and use honest and prompt feedback to keep everyone on the same page.
Tackle and resolve communication breakdowns immediately. Show the team lead exactly how their performance is jeopardizing your plan. Don’t wait until the 4th Quarter to raise issues.
Your Situation Isn’t Unique
We’ve seen many sales team leaders struggle cross-departmental execution issues. We’ve also had the opportunity to fix the problem.
You can see how other top sales and marketing leaders attack this problem in our quarterly SBI Magazine. You can get a digital copy of Q1 2015 issue of The SBI Magazine by clicking here.
