Team Selling

PeakDS Blog

Who Needs Team Selling?

  • Selling complex products
    • Bankers partnering with investment specialists; contractors teaming with architects and suppliers, etc.
  • Multiple product lines to a single customer
    • Accounting firm – tax advisors, auditors, corporate financing, etc.
  • Selling to multiple buyers in a company
    • Decisions made by committees
  • Sales that require rapid product implementation
    • Have key team members at all stages of product launch available at one time to coordinate project

Matching the Team to the Customer

  • Knowledge of product, customer and team
  • Relationships with customer and team
  • Geography – close to action (especially important in rapid product launch)
  • Availability – free from other commitments
  • Credibility – recognized expert
  • Motivation – a desire to help
  • Match Up – have the right players on the team

Avoid creating a gang

  • Conduct a pre-call planning meeting preferably face to face
    • Strategize the roles on the call
    • Upfront agreement reached among the team
    • Roles and responsibilities defined
    • Address issues of status and rank and how they may affect the sale
    • List of problems / issues of prospect
    • Define communications and accountability expectations during sales cycle
  • At the first call…
    • Sales person who has the strongest relationship with prospect opens the meeting
    • Define rules of engagement
    •  “Relationship” and “trust” exist between people—not in the titles/positions of the team members, introduce team and explain purpose of their presence along with expertise/title
    • Review the issues that have been recognized
    • Ask prospect/customer what they would like to accomplish today
    • Let them establish the priority of issues/problems to be discussed
  •  Roles of Team Members during the Call
    • Keep antennae up
    • Take notes and observe when “discovery” is being done by other team member(s)
    • Listen for underlying meanings – what they say/don’t say
    • Observe body language/interactions
    • You’re on Stage – the Audience Is Your Customer / Prospect
    • If there is any negativity between team members displayed either verbally or non-verbally, prospect will pick up on these signals and potentially this could impact sale and/or customer retention
    • Conversely, if positive and “team” is truly displayed – this will denote professionalism – this is a slight edge that other banks do not display consistently, if at all
  • After Meeting:
    • 15 minutes to discuss team call – intellectually! The emotional post-mortem is done on a personal level alone with each team member
    • Did we follow the plan?
    • Did we stay in our roles?
    • What did we do well that we want to repeat in future?
    • What did we not do well and do not want to repeat?
    • What did we learn about the customer and their needs?
    • What promises were made?
    • What are the next steps?
    • Who is responsible for each next step?
    • Next steps and homework agreed upon within team to move prospect / customer along in the sale
    • Measuring Results
  • Reasons why team selling fails
    • Lack of Planning
    • Blind Faith
    • Lack of Management Support / Recognition
    • Conflict – not properly dealt with – lack of protocol
    • Lack of Training
    • Low Trust Levels
    • Salespeople who don’t share power
    • Lack of Cooperation
    • Lack of Accountability
    • Changing Authority and/or Direction
    • Lack of Understanding of How to Use Their Combined Talents
    • Not having Members be Vested in Team Goals
    • Lack of Understanding of How Teams Work
    • Unclear Goals
    • Rigid Approach
    • Lack of Role Definition
    • Members “dropping the Ball”
    • “Failure to Communicate” as in “Cool Hand Luke”
    • Micromanagement

Team Selling is a skill-set that with an investment of time, commitment, and resources can tap into the power of the sales force and the organization exponentially.

 

Mary Erlain