It’s common for leaders of sales teams to focus almost exclusively on short-term tactics and current operations while failing to think and act in a way that supports the longer-term needs of their businesses — and it’s hard to fault them. Sales teams must meet the immediate needs of their customers, respond issue by issue and account by account, and meet quarterly goals. As one sales manager noted, “In this job, if you don’t survive the short term, you don’t need to worry about the long term.”
How a Fast-Growing Startup Built Its Sales Team for Long-Term Success
There are no shortcuts.
December 04, 2017
Summary.
It’s common for leaders of sales teams to focus almost exclusively on short-term tactics and current operations while failing to think and act in a way that supports the longer-term needs of their businesses — and it’s hard to fault them. The biggest problem with a short-term approach is that managers develop blind spots around crucial processes such as recruiting, hiring, and training and development. This is a problem because it can stall a company’s scaling efforts. To prevent this from happening, companies must make core processes like recruiting, interviewing, and development a real priority in daily practice. As Aristotle emphasized a long time ago, “Excellence is a habit.”