Recently I read an HBR blog that was putting forth the point that the sales rep should not have exclusive ownership to the customer.\u00a0 While fundamentally I agree with the statement, I believe the blog missed a more important point to consider.\u00a0 For reference, here is the article: http:\/\/bit.ly\/sOczpL.<\/p>\n
I know that small businesses and, for that matter, many medium size businesses find that determining ownership can be a problem.\u00a0 I feel that the question should not be about ownership, but rather, once you have a customer relationship, how should you best service that customer?\u00a0 To begin to answer this question, you need to look at what you sell, how it is sold, how it is delivered, and who will support the customer and how.\u00a0 Looking at it from the customer\u2019s perspective you need to ask, what is their<\/em><\/strong> perception of the value you provide to their business?\u00a0 When you sell your offerings to your customers, what is the highest level involved in the buying process?\u00a0 This will help you determine how to best service that customer.<\/p>\n Let’s say that you sell a rather complex solution.\u00a0 Your usual sales cycle time is 5 – 10 months.\u00a0 There are multiple people and steps in the buying process.\u00a0 The visibility of the impact of your solution is at the executive level.\u00a0 Most likely the sales rep has been leading this sales initiative and has meet with the target customer’s senior leadership throughout the sales initiative.\u00a0 A relationship has developed.\u00a0 The sales rep has been the conduit between the customer and you.\u00a0 When questions arise regarding future needs, capabilities, or offerings, then the person that is in the best position to respond to the customer is the sales rep.\u00a0 This does not mean that they OWN<\/em><\/strong> the account.\u00a0 It does mean that they have a responsibility to keep their company appraised on developments within the customer and to ensure that the proper customer support is provided and maintained.\u00a0 The sales rep is the primary conduit to the customer, but not the only conduit.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s look at a situation on the other end of the scale.\u00a0 Your offering is a simple product.\u00a0 The sales rep is positioning your product as the product of choice.\u00a0 There is a simple evaluation of the competitive offerings and your product is selected.\u00a0 The selection process is made by procurement.\u00a0 While the sales rep is important, the customer is going to want an easy acquisition process and quick access to order fulfillment and customer support. \u00a0 When the order is won, the sales rep will want to keep their finger on the pulse of the customer but, unless they have additional offerings, they will move onto the next customer.\u00a0 Their role is different than the example above. Again, it is not an ownership issue as much as it is a service issue.\u00a0 This customer is in the sales rep\u2019s territory, therefore they have an account management responsibility but not an account ownership responsibility.<\/p>\n These are only two examples of the many variations that can be discussed.\u00a0 The issue needs to be about how you can best service the customer. How you sell AND support the customer will help you determine the compensation that you pay to the staff that is involved with the sale and service of that customer.\u00a0 Here are key points that you should discuss internally to define the role of sales and other support functions that support the customer and the compensation they receive.<\/p>\n 1. Ask “At what level of the customer is our value recognized?”\u00a0 If it is at the higher levels of the organization or the executive level, then the sales rep is going to play a bigger role in the relationship.\u00a0 Compensate accordingly.<\/p>\n 2. Ask “What happens when the sale is complete?\u00a0 How will we support the customer?\u00a0 What is the role of the sales rep after the sale?”\u00a0 The less the sales rep is involved, the more other organizational units are involved.\u00a0 There may be the need to compensate customer support for customer retention and revenue growth.<\/p>\n Take a moment to assess how you sell, service, and support your customers.\u00a0 Use your analysis to establish the responsibilities and compensation for building and maintaining your customer relationships.\u00a0 The company owns the customer relationship, not any one individual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently I read an HBR blog that was putting forth the point that the sales rep should not have exclusive ownership to the customer.\u00a0 While fundamentally I agree with the statement, I believe the blog missed a more important point … Continue reading