Leading Growth

13Protecting the Sales Force

THERE ARE CASES and cultures where you'll need to create a protective bubble around your sales force—a sort of force field to keep them from being dragged into work that isn't sales-related. I'm not saying here that sales is more important than the rest of the organization. Departments should be interdependent, needing each other like a steering wheel needs an engine. Neither am I saying that your salespeople should not be team players. But part of your job as a sales leader is to shield them from tasks and projects that might prevent net new revenue.

Let me be direct: there are forces inside the four walls of your company that would blur the line between sales roles and, well, everything else. It's important to maintain role clarity if you are going to lead growth. But before we talk about role clarity, let's explore why some otherwise nice, friendly, well-adjusted professionals have no problem stealing talented salespeople for tasks well outside their role.

Non-Sales Tasks and Unclear Roles

Non-sales problems tend to find their way to two different kinds of salespeople. The first category comprises the skilled problem-solvers, the ones who have the competency to solve the problem better and faster than another person. Who has the greatest competency when it comes to addressing a client issue? If you answered “operations,” “accounting,” or “legal,” please stop teasing me. The salesperson who won the client is always going to be the first choice. ...