Dear ToddCohen.com Sales Community,
As many of you know, my work and passion is very much about helping companies build successful sales culture. I have been doing some formal and informal research the last few months and have been asking the question “What does sales culture mean to you?” Here are some more answers:
“Sales culture is the sum total of all the informal behavioral interaction between people, within the organization and between the staff and customers. It starts at the top and pervades all levels of the organization. These behaviors will tend to fall into one of these behavioral categories: rigid, coherent, or diffuse. Coherent behaviors are the ones that engage people – staff as well as customers – and result, in the end, in growth in the bottom line, so those are the ones you want to identify and encourage if you want a great sales culture. To date, the only tool for measuring coherence is Role-Based Assessment™.” – CEO
“Sales culture is a company environment that drives all thinking and efforts towards customer success. This should permeate all levels of the organization from the executive suite to the clerk entering bills. Everyone in the company is in sales, and a great sales culture reinforces that continually.” – CEO
“When I think of sales culture, I think about the “presence,” culture, and attitude of my salespeople. Are they IBM blue-suit types, very conservative? Are they jovial, witty, make it fun to engage with my company? A great question I was once asked by a coach was “How do I occur to you?” Ask a client that question about your salespeople, and you’ll learn a lot about your salespeople’s culture.” – CEO
“I did a little thinking about this, and I would have to say that the first thing that comes to my mind is environment – that mix of people (the most important) and processes that create an ecosystem where the culture of the organization is sales and customer satisfaction. I think about the environments I have been in and the ones I admire – Xerox and IBM bubble to the top. The organization – technical support, systems engineers, trainers, management, and sales – all work to listen to and meet the needs of the customer.” – Director of Product Development
“To me, a sales culture is defined by how well the organization is aligned behind the sales front line. Do sales people have to spend a lot of their valuable time running around trying to get answers or service inside their own company? If so, that’s not an effective sales culture.” – Leadership “Guru”
“When I think of sales culture, it starts at the top. If a company is a sales-driven organization…doing everything possible for the customer and seeing the salespeople as partners…this is a positive sales culture. You also need a leader of the sales department who can best motivate the sales group and marshal the appropriate resources of the company to best utilize the sales culture of the organization for the betterment of the client. – Sales Recruiter
“Sales culture is about bringing a relationship mindset to the forefront of the entire organization, which in turn means understanding what the customers need, having their best interests at heart, making them feel good about their buying decision, and ultimately helping them succeed. When the sales culture is dedicated to doing what is in the best interests of clients, then it becomes a trust relationship and sales will grow. This is certainly critical to the investment management and pharmaceutical industries that I have been passionate about and holds true for any industry and company. – Treasurer, Large Pharma
So, what do you think?
Good Selling!
-Todd