Sales Service Cooperation - I Don’t get it!

As a young sales guy, starting out in the printing industry selling small 300,000 Euro - 2 million Euro presses, I relied on the brilliant service techs in the company. I relied on them to help me, to teach me, to explain to me, in simple terms, the technical and process details of the machines.

For many years I spent Saturdays on the installations to see what was new from one series compared to the next series.

The Service techs were mission critical to my success. Before every press installation I took the service team out for a burger and coke so that we could talk over the situation and the politics of the sale. After the installation, I took them out for steak and an ale or two (in Australia and South Africa; lamb and raki in Turkey).

Today, a key message is our global programs for sales and service teams is: Sales and Service Cooperation. For some of our clients in certain markets (yes, culture is a big factor) the issue of sales and service cooperation is critical. We have seen a case that was toxic and too many situations that have been simply bad.

As an Australian, I never understood how it could be an issue. Without a great service team, I can't sell. Without a good salesperson, the service team has nothing to install or maintain. In a COVID and hopefully, soon to be post-COVID world, getting face-to-face meetings and getting into the production area will be even more difficult for the salesperson. Service Technicians are eyes and ears for salespeople. We need to have a cohesive, collaborative relationship because today more than ever, we need perfect sales and service cooperation.

In the end, it all goes down to respect. If I understand and respect the role and the challenge that the service team faces in their day-to-day work, then I will do my job in such a way as to make their job a little easier. The simplest way to do this is by giving the team a better “heads-up” on the situation so they know what they’re walking into.

Conversely, if the service team understands and respects the challenge of the sales role, they too will do their job in such way to make the sales job a little easier. They do this by not sharing the challenges of the installation or their frustrations with the equipment, etc., with the customer. When the service team gives valuable feedback to the sales person on how the installation went and how well the operators and production management have accepted the new equipment and technology, the sales person has an advantage when engaging with the customer.

Sales and Service cooperation is an absolute MUST in organizations today. It’s not just a want to or a should be. After 32 years in the capital equipment business, I still don't get why it is an issue for so many people, when for most of us it comes so naturally.

How is your Sales and Service cooperation? If it is less than exceptional, what can you do about it? And at catalystglobal.net we obviously have a few ideas about that.

Tony Kenney