“It is through cooperation, rather than conflict, that your greatest successes will be derived.” – Ralph Charell – Business Book Author
We just completed a series of blogs on sales and marketing plans. A well thought out and executed sales and marketing plan is essential for any business to be profitable. But even the best sales and marketing plan is worthless without a delivery system to back it up. You can sell millions of units of a product, but if you can’t get it to the customer, you are playing a losing game.
How do you develop a delivery system that will appropriately support your sales efforts and seamlessly complete a positive customer experience? Here are a few things to consider when you create your delivery system:
An effective Delivery System requires coordination between Production and Sales to fulfill the customer’s expectation. – This is the essence of the delivery system conversation. Both Production and Sales must be aligned on their commitment to represent the company in the marketplace. They are interdependent players on the same team. Each has a specific role to fill, and they must communicate and work together to make sure the customer is getting what he wants, and when he wants it.
Production must be clear on what is and isn’t possible and communicate that to Sales. – The Production team has a responsibility to the Sales staff to be clear about what is possible. How many units can they produce? How quickly? How much flexibility do they have for special orders? If Sales doesn’t have a grasp of what they can sell, the result will be unhappy customers.
Sales must understand production capabilities and communicate those to the customer. - The follow up to the previous point is that the Sales staff must be able to articulate to the customer what’s possible. Sales should only promise things they are positive that production can deliver.
Both sales and production must be willing to explore creative solutions to customer concerns. – A good delivery system depends on Sales and Production being allies in the effort to produce products and services that customers want and that satisfy customer concerns. Depending on your business, there will always be times when sales and production need to think outside the box. Maybe production can create the product in a special color. Maybe Sales can work with the customer to agree on a delivery schedule that insures a successful and well-made product. Creativity and a willingness to partner together go a long way toward fostering happy client relationships and driving the company to profit.
Have you reviewed your company’s delivery system lately? Are there times when your sales and production teams see themselves as adversaries instead of allies? What can you do to design a delivery system that will insure that the customer is satisfied? If you would like guidance on how to create an effective delivery system, give us a call. We’ll help you find the win-win solution that works best for your company and your customers.
Are you ready to win?
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