In the business world today the concept of team selling is growing in popularity. The benefits of team selling include:
- Better able to listen to the customer…all ears on deck!
- Achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction
- More true consultative selling
- Better time management
- Focus more on sales effort…leave support functions to other team members
- Higher penetration of accounts
- Better positioning with clients from the very first contact
There are some pitfalls to team selling and they include:
- No clear point-of-contact (POC)
- Team members think someone else will do something
- Attitudes of some salespeople…want to do it all themselves
- Non-sales people may create confusion with the customer
- Multiple agendas from various departments
- Conflicting corporate objectives
- Can be very time intensive
So what are some best practices for team selling? I suggest:
- Select the right team members
- Make sure all roles are clearly defined (Who’s going to do what, when?)
- Have a compelling and clear vision of team selling
- Success needs to be clearly defined
- Trust is a must!
- There needs to be a standardized sales process
- Focus on the customer
- Proactive, consistent communication is very important
- Professional and timely follow-up is critical
Lastly, I’d like to point out potential roles and responsibilities for team members. Everyone has to play their role if team selling is to be successful!
Potential Roles
- Corporate Executive
- Subject Matter Expert (SME)
- Industry/Market Expert
- Day-to-Day Point-of-Contact
- Networker/Connector
Responsibilities
- Master of Ceremonies/Orchestrator
- Presenter/Facilitator
- Scribe/Note-taker
- Observer
The bottom line is this…team selling could be a game changer for your organization… but only if it’s done correctly!
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