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!