You can’t have reoccuring Sales Effectiveness . . .

Unless you first have Marketing, Sales Management, Sales Training and Product Management effectiveness!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, when we think of Sales Effectiveness, we tend to think that Sales is the singular focus, but in reality, sales effectiveness can only come about if Marketing, Sales Management, Sales Training and Product Management have their ducks in a row and are also effective.

For example, if Marketing is ineffective, then the messaging, content and collateral they create will not help the sales person to be as effective as they should be. We see that a lot of sales people spend much of their time rewriting a lot of the content and collateral they get from Marketing. This has a negative effect on sales effectiveness, for a lot of reasons.

If Sales Management is ineffective, then they will not provide the proper leadership, coaching and guidance that sales people desperately need to be effective. Sales people need proper guidance and feedback from all stages of their sales management team, to help keep them on track and help them become more effective.

Let’s face it; if Sales Training is ineffective, then that directly impacts how effective the people they train will be. If they provide poorly thought out training programs, with ineffective content, or present material that sales people can’t quickly grasp or connect with, then sales people will not be as prepared or effective as they need to be.

If Product Management is ineffective and continues to introduce products that the marketplace isn’t asking for or needs, then this will negatively affect sales effectiveness. In this tough competitive world, Product Management needs to be on top of what the market needs and wants, and provide solutions that makes it easier for sales to differentiate their products or solutions from the competition.

All of these groups need to collaborate and work together in harmony with their sales people to make sure that they are being as effective as they should be. We often put all of the pressure on our sales people to perform when, in truth, we need to step up and make sure that our other sales supportive departments are as prepared and effective as they should be, so they can lead by example.

At least that’s the way I see it, what say you?