Successful Salesforce Culture: Follow the Leader
While many distinct types of sales force culture can lead to sales success, the best of them share several characteristics. Effective sales force cultures not only embrace values and choices that are appropriate for the selling environment, but also create a strong consensus within the sales force and encourage salespeople to live the values with intensity.
The right culture for your sales force respects the combined needs of three important constituents: your customers, your salespeople, and the company. It encourages decisions that align well with customer needs, and at the same time treats salespeople with respect and reinforces company objectives and strategies. While there are some cultures that are inappropriate for any sales force, other cultures may be appropriate in some situations but not in others.
The culture of a sales force can evolve over time as the environment changes or as new management philosophies are adopted. Consider the case of a non-trillionaire asset manager. In its early years, the company established a sales force culture that was competitive and focused on creating short-term results that would show immediate value to investors. Most earnings came from commissions, and salespeople were highly focused on making their quarterly sales goals. Since salespeople were competing for individual sales awards, they mostly worked alone and consulted with their colleagues only rarely. This culture worked well during the 2000s, when decision-making was simpler, and selling was straightforward. However, as the industry evolved and the firm’s product line broadened, the sales process became increasingly consultative, long, complex, and team-oriented. Sales success required salespeople to work together with product specialists, portfolio managers, third-party investment consultants, and market specialists over a period of months to provide investment solutions that passed muster among multiple decision makers. Despite a strong suite of products, several changes in sales leadership, reorganizations, and changes in strategy, this asset manager continues to lose market share. The company is challenged to transform its sales culture to one that is more cooperative and focused on meeting the long-term needs of customers.
Culture is a more effective driver of sales success when there is culture consensus - everyone is on board. In cultures that lack consensus, salespeople who face similar situations will make different choices about what to do. Inconsistent sales force choices can undermine business success. Sales leaders tell us:
“It’s important to have the entire army marching in the same direction.”
“We want everybody in the sales force to be on board with our vision.”
“When everyone is enthusiastic about the same values, the collective adrenaline makes the company unstoppable.”
Culture consensus is driven by strong leadership. Leaders create consensus by establishing the desired values and norms and reinforcing them constantly.
Many events can challenge a culture consensus. For example, new selling processes may need to be implemented as markets evolve and company strategies change. A new team-based approach to selling may challenge salespeople who have hitherto been lone wolves in their territory. Some salespeople are unable to adapt. New leadership can challenge a culture consensus. Sales force mergers or acquisitions can create challenges to culture consensus.
Many leaders attempt to influence their culture through corporate directives, slogans, or mission statements that characterize the values of the business. Such statements as “We take care of our customers,” “Employees are our most important asset,” and “We increase long-term shareholder value” can give employees inspiration and direction. However, it is not the words that are chosen for these directives that differentiate successful companies. Sales leaders have to set examples of intensely living the values so that their team will follow.
