Whether you make products or deliver services, you are at the mercy of how well you get your message through to your potential customers. That is why you need an adept sales force.
By that I do not mean a well structured sales organization comprised of a sales manager, regional directors, and the foot soldiers we have all been at some point in our careers. Look at any successful organization, from the brick-and-mortar, traditional Fortune 500, to the nouveau riche companies like Google and Amazon. The organizational lines that define departmental functions are not as clearly defined.
This is to say that everyone in the organization, from CEO to admin, from IT to deployment, are all sales people. They all share the same vision, the same mission, and speak the same tongue. They have consumed the proverbial kool-aid. If this sort of culture is not what you are accustomed to seeing in your company, be assured you most likely do not work for a top notch organization.
What is at play here is the unmistakable belief that these folks may not make a commission on the sales, but they all get rewarded equally when a sale gets finalized and the check clears the bank. Continue reading
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