The field of sales is a competitive one, even among salespeople who are on the same team, or work for the same company. However, that does not mean that teamwork does not come into play at times. It’s important to remember that the primary goal must be to satisfy the customer, even if it takes working with another salesperson. The following example illustrates the point perfectly.

It is vital that when multiple salespeople are working together that they are communicating with one another. If they are not on the same page, then how is the customer going to understand what is going on? I have been trying to conduct some personal business over the phone in recent weeks, and for the most part the level of customer service I have received has been excellent. The one problem that I have noticed is communication between the representatives leaves a lot to be desired. The issue was not a lack of customer service. The problem was that one day the situation would be solved, and the next day the problem wasn’t solved. I had to go through the process over and over again because no one at the company was communicating with one another. There’s nothing wrong with more than one person helping one customer, but communication is key in those situations.

If you are a salesperson and you are about to close a deal, but are headed on vacation the next day, it is vital that you hand that customer off. In doing so, it is up to you to make sure that the salesperson taking over knows exactly what has been done and what still needs to be completed. In other words, the only difference the customer should notice is a different salesperson.

When the original salesperson returns they should be able to pick up the account without missing a beat. In my personal story, I eventually got what I needed, but it took about three weeks longer than it should have, and it was all due to a lack of communication among the people that I was working with.

There’s nothing wrong with multiple people being used to satisfy a customer, just make sure the communication lines are open. Everyone will benefit, especially the customer.

FINAO - Brad Huisken