Why Sales And Operations Don’t See Eye To Eye
I’ve had the good
fortune to work both on the “selling” side as well as the “Customer Service” or
“Operations” side of different organisations.
One organisation even combined the two roles into a “relationship
manager” role, although many of the incumbents usually saw themselves as sales
people first.
Sales is about getting business - preferably new or
increased business. Sales people are
“numbers-oriented”. They literally live
and die by how much they bring in.
Operations is the “delivery” or “Customer Service” end. They’re the ones who have to fulfil whatever
promises the sales force has made on the organisation’s behalf. Unfortunately, I’ve seen plenty of cases (and
heard of even more) where sales people have either knowingly or recklessly
promised the moon, knowing that it’ll be up to someone else to make good on it
whilst they collect their commission.
Sales and operations involve different mentalities and
approaches. Sales people tend to be
charmers and (as one of my bosses put it) not above using flowery language (he
used a more “earthy” word) to persuade customers to buy their product or
service.
Operations people like to see themselves as “grounded in
reality”. Unlike their counterparts in sales,
they know what can and can’t be done,
when it can be delivered and what quality standards it will meet. They’re the ones who have to field the
customer comments and complaints when the product or service doesn't meet the
customer’s expectations (all built up by those uninformed sales people!).
After working in both roles, I’ve realised several things:
- It’s not in my nature to make promises that I can’t keep;
- I’m honest with customers because I believe that if they trust me, they’ll come back for more;
- I like to know how things work to explain to customers why things happen the way they do;
- Due to the above, I wouldn’t enjoy a sales role on a permanent basis.
“Operations” and “Relationship Management” tend to view
customer satisfaction as paramount.
Sales views getting the business in as their raison d’etre.
One of my former employers used to move its executive
trainees around all functions so that they could see how the business fitted
together. This meant that, even if you
ended up as a “pure sales person”, you at least knew what went on to deliver
the ultimate product or service. You
were less likely to make promises on behalf of others, (although it still
happened).
In the end, who loses out from the “disconnect” between
“Sales” and “Customer Service/Operations”?
Answer: first the customer, and second the organisation. The customer loses because they may not have
bought what they thought was the product/service that they needed. The organisation loses in terms of reputation
(poor customer experience) and possibly lost future earnings.
The solution? “Sales”
needs to understand “Customer Service” and vice-versa. Sales, after all, do bring in the new and
expanded sales that keep the business alive and growing, whilst “Service” are
the ones who look after the customers who pay everyone’s salary. Neither can work without the other. “Service” need to understand the pressures on
“Sales” and support with suggestions, information, etc so that “Sales” can
perform more effectively.
Equally, “commission”-based incentives for sales people are
dangerous as they may result in the sales force cutting corners or failing to
reveal vital information to secure the sale.
A prime example of this was the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance
(PPI) by UK banks in the first decade of the new millennium. Staff had goals to meet, so they sold to
everyone, whether the product was appropriate or not. Whatever profits the banks made from such
sales were wiped out by fines and loss of reputation.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Selling, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:50
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