CEO as a sales driver

The Situation

For most executives, maintaining customer relationships is an important job that allows them to stay current in the marketplace. The interaction of CEOs and other top executives of B2B vendor companies with strategic clients affects revenue, profits, growth, shareholder returns and the company’s ability to survive. The firm’s executives often act as a kind of overseer of key-customer relationships, much like IT initiatives and other internal projects. But as the examples above show, and as we’ve seen in our research and consulting work with global sales teams, the results of their involvement in these relationships are not always positive.

Sales

The slogan “It’s up to the salesperson to sell” sounds reasonable. Of course, the contribution of human resources, which attracts the best sales management minds to the company, cannot be overstated. It’s equally important that sales leaders are confident that their subordinates have the right skills and tools to achieve their goals. If results are below expectations, it’s also clear what to do: sort out the processes and skills of the sales staff. “If COOs and marketing directors don’t handle finances, for example, why would the CEO get involved in sales?” – self-effacing executives often ask us. When they say that, people assume that all functions are equally important to the business. But the experience of consulting companies around the world tells us otherwise: the sales department is more important than others. Salespeople are the face of the firm: they are the ones who connect the supplier to the customer.

Goal

At Tisel Technics we believe that strategic customer relationship management, which enables trained managers to take control of important customers; clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and a process for initiating managers into all the details before meetings; a training program for employees working with key accounts. Executives should not go to clients alone (except on special occasions) but should consult with account managers as they prepare for meetings and discuss the results with them. Firms should also implement a centralized tracking system – every such visit requires assessing options for developing relationships with the client’s senior management and recording the results of visits for the future.