Many times I have felt a disconnection between the people that design and decide a strategy and the sales persons, who are the latest link in the execution chain of that strategy and, typically, are the also the ones that are closer to the market, getting first hand feedback from what has been decided and executed.
The latest HBR article on "Putting Sales at the Center of Strategy" highlights it, stating that only 10% of companies' strategies are effectively deployed and that there is a huge gap on delivery versus objectives. The lack of awareness of the company-customer interface, of what is usually referred to "what needs to get done to sell" is one of the most compelling reasons for this.
The Sales function is one without excuses, as a former sales person (and current marketing director of Swatch) once told me - "Whether you make or you don't, there aren't excuses". It is also the face company to their direct customers, the ones who are closer to the market and that get more direct, many times first-hand feedback. It is, thus, key to ensure a strategy works out and to fine tune it quickly when needed (and believe me, there is no strategy that resists wholly to contact with the market reality).
That means a strategy will only work if it is properly communicated to Sales - and not only at top level, but also to the sales persons that engage directly with customers. It was one of the great lessons I took from my first years as a brand manager - make sure that the people that will be selling your products know what these products are and mean, and what is your overall strategy for your portfolio. Repeat, repeat, repeat - engage when you are talking at sales conferences, but also individually, with a coffee in your hand. And remember that you are talking with experience people - Sales will typically listen, suggest, challenge based on their experience, and it is a wise move to listen and to make the adjustments that then you think are needed.
Also, remember how you are intending to generate profitable growth, and operationalize the sales factors that affect it. This means that you need to provide clarity on areas like which customers should the company be focusing on, how to maximize profits (revenues but also cost of engagement) with them, what behaviours you want to drive when the company is contacting the market, which products of the portfolio and how and when do you what to drive (some products are create to create volume to a customer, but then others might follow suit to generate profitability), payment terms... You also need to ensure you have a number of tools that support and direct the Sales teams on effectively deploying your strategy - reward systems, feedbacking and communication tools, portfolio knowledge, visibility of competition, insights and strategy of customers,...
The HBR article ends up with a curious quote from Sam Walton "There ain't many customers at headquarters". So, remember to put yourself on the Sales teams' shoes to understand them, communicate and support them on your strategy and listen to them - they will often carry the whispers of customers to the headquarters... but also your whispers to the market.
