Sales training backed by organizational alignment gets better results!
My bold statement of the day is Sales training not backed by organizational alignment is a wasted investment!
I am at a point where I might start refuse to source new sales training and development tools without my client’s commitment to also align other organizational strategy, communications, processes, roles and systems. Any good OD service provider knows that training cannot fix all organization ills. It is like putting a cheap band-aid on a gushing amputation.
As you can imagine, the challenge with this new vow is the push-back from leaders. I consistently hear “keep it simple, don’t make this harder than it needs to be”. Sales and Marketing leaders struggle to face the complexity of the challenges which might exist within their organization. They figure it will take too much money or time to remedy issues, if it is at all possible to steer the ship differently. Unfortunately, that means leaders proceed in layering good people training investments on top of misaligned foundations but still expect stronger business outcomes.
Organizations are complex entities of people, processes, capabilities, technology, legal compliance, communications webs, and decision makers. By the way I haven’t even mentioned customers, branding, servicing platforms, suppliers and partners, etc. Assessing what dysfunction may exist within the sales, marketing and product delivery structures is important to optimize investments and drive customer efficiencies. That means conducting an ‘organizational fitness review’ of sorts, which highlights areas for improvement. Some solutions may be easy, like taking vitamins, and others more complex involving time and money, like a physical fitness regime.
Sales and Marketing leader’s approach to this need not be difficult:
- The first step is to assign an independent internal resource or 3rd party to cross over department lines and review trends at the McKinsey 7 S level (strategy, structure, systems, skills, style and staff).
- The second step is to honestly face what is presented in the report and be ready to do something. As you get older one’s reading vision gets weaker and it gets harder to see things in the mirror. Same goes for organizational vision!
- The third step is to be ready to tackle multiple fronts, like strategy alignment/roles/process hand-offs/ and skills at the same time, but do it in phases. Use your standard “Impact vs Cost” analysis matrix, establish owners for driving change and keep things progressing!
Although I suggested that an internal employee could take on this fitness review, the hazard is that person brings a myopic organizational view and will likely feel intimidated in describing any vast challenges to senior leaders. Consider using a 3rd party to bring a non-partisan viewpoint and extra organizational efficiency expertise! Beating the 75% failure odds of change initiatives is not easy. However, the up front investment of fully aligning an organizational behind new change will pay in dividends of efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability.