If there’s friction within your company over who should manage current accounts – sales, operations, or service delivery – this post is for you.
The success of customer-facing organizations depends on their ability to manage the customer experience effectively, from initial contact to delivery and beyond. While sales teams traditionally lead relationship management efforts, operations also play an essential role in customer growth and retention.
For B2B Sales and Operations leaders, striking the delicate balance between these two functions can be challenging – so who should ultimately take responsibility for managing each account?
When the operations and service delivery teams push back on an account manager from the sales team, some of the arguments go something like this:
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I work with the customer daily and have a good relationship. Why would I need a salesperson to get involved?
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I’ve seen what the assigned salesperson can do and am not impressed.
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I can manage the account, and we can save on commission.
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I don’t need the salesperson’s help to renew or maintain the business; I need them to sell more. Why don’t they find some new logos for us?
When sales want to manage the account, some of the arguments to push back on operations and service delivery go something like this:
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The operations team does not have time to grow the account; they are too busy dealing with day-to-day activities.
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Operations are overly worried about their P&L and bonus and are under pressure to increase the margin percentage. They are reluctant to pursue significant or strategic deals due to the risk they can present.
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We have multiple product lines in which operations or service delivery teams are uncomfortable selling. They want to sell “more of the same,” but sales want to sell different solutions to existing and new customers.
The dilemma of assigning account management accountability between sales and operations starts by asking “What, How, When, & Who.”
What are the account goals? Growth? Retention? Margin Improvement? Do we need to expand or strengthen the account relationship?
How are we going to achieve our goals? Different goals may require a different approach. In some cases, more than one method may apply.
When do we need to achieve our goals? Are they short-term or long-term?
Who is the best resource to go after to charge with the What, How, and When?
For example, an early career or transactional salesperson might not be ideal for building relationships with senior leaders. Conversely, an operating leader may be a whiz managing front-line workers and a healthy P&L but not skilled at account planning, executive relationship building, or selling new services outside their expertise.
Working collaboratively to determine the best account manager requires a pragmatic approach. It would be best to start with questions like this:
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Which roles bring the most value above and beyond what we do with the account right now?
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Do we need to sell into different divisions or business units?
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Are deeper relationships required to keep competitors out and reduce risk to what we have?
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Do we have a mix of short-term and long-term/strategic goals to address?
If account revenue growth is a priority:
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You must assign growth goals (targets, quotas) to the sales or operations team by account.
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Evaluate the account share of wallet and white space to assess and prioritize the opportunity.
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Accountability is a must.
Sales, operations, and service delivery always need to work as a team and establish precise lines and cadence for communication, as success depends on the performance of the other.