Use Team Selling to Fend Off the Competition | Sales Strategies

Years ago, I had a client based in Northern Europe and they were a ships services company. Their sales VP told me, “Colleen, we have a long and proud history of losing all the RFPs where we have the incumbent relationship.” I had to think twice for a second and did not know what he was talking about.

He then clarified and said, “Here’s what happens: when the client goes out to RFP, the three or four major ships services companies all get the tender. Three of them would send all their key executives over. These executives come from Finland, Sweden, Norway, China, Japan, Singapore, or Korea to meet the executives of our buyers. And our buyers are grateful because it shows they care enough about them that they are investing in all these executives—this big team—to come over to win the business. Although our leadership team has confidence in our capabilities to win potential business, we don’t have the same team selling culture and environment. Thus, the clients don’t feel as good about us.” I know this to be true in all markets and parts of the world.

What Does Team Selling Show Your Customer?

When we team sell with our biggest and most important customers, they feel like we care about them and that we’ve invested in them. Furthermore, the biggest reason for not deploying a potent team selling strategy is because the sellers hold back. They don’t want their leadership involved. They think they can handle it on their own. Their ego and mind get in the way. They don’t want anyone else to interfere with such opportunities. That has to stop.

When sellers open up the opportunity and allow for their managers, leaders, or experts in the organization to come with them to sales calls, it sends a signal that the entire company is supportive of the opportunity. It also shows that the entire company is willing to ensure the success of the buyer and their team. When you accomplish that, you increase the likelihood of closing the sale.

We need to do everything we can in our marketplace to move our closing percentages up and to sell more deals in less time. Indeed, the number one way to achieve that is to team sell.