Sales Is the Engine

Nothing moves until somebody sells something. Without us, no one would have a job, right? The sales department is clearly the engine.

Once that a sale has been made, who does the yeoman’s work making sure that was promised is delivered? Who does the heavy lifting when it comes to all of the work that helps the client to get the outcome that they need? The operations department does the real work, and the operations department is the engine.

Without the financial planning necessary to ensure that the investments in the resources that are needed to operate the business are available, the business would come screeching to a halt. Without the finance department the business would cease to exist. The finance department is the engine.

Speaking of money, who sends the bills and collects the client’s payment? Nobody here has money for anything without accounting, right? The accounting department is the engine.

What about research and development? Who comes up with the ideas that produce the outcomes that the client needs? Without the ideas, you’d have nothing to sell and nothing to deliver. Research and development is the engine.

Ideas? You think that people have any idea what to do with the products research and development come up with on their own? Without marketing there wouldn’t be any demand and no one would understand the differentiation. Sales would have no message. Marketing is the engine?

Without the proper supply chain management and acquisition of resources, we would have none of what we need to create or do anything else. Procurement and supply chain management is the engine.

The Engine

The business itself is the engine. Without all of the parts functioning as they should and in sync, the business does not perform as well as it might—if it performs at all. The secret to explosive growth is the whole engine working properly.

We that sell should be proud of the work that we do in acquiring clients, because without us, there would be no clients. But, the same is true of the rest of the team that serves our clients; without them, we also would fail.

The sales department is not the engine. We are the spark plugs. We light the fire that makes the rest of the engine go.

Questions

How much of the real work is done by the rest of your company after you make a sale?

How do you recognize the essential role that they play in your success?

How do you say thank you and acknowledge your appreciation for making you successful and for making you look good?

How would the recognition of your team’s contribution change the way you approach them? How would it change the way you approach your role in sales?