Engagement is one of those words that has many subtleties in meaning, and is often viewed with varying levels of skepticism by different organizations. Of course, outside of the corporate environment, engagement has a number of definitions and applications. But there are two basic elements that are at the heart of engagement and that cut across nearly all interpretations of the word.
The first is commitment – the idea that engagement involves an obligation of some sort between parties. Whether in the context of marriage, an appointment, or even referring to sales communications, for engagement to take place a commitment must be made. When creating an environment of engaged sales associates, management must demonstrate their commitment to the sales process – clearly defining roles and expectations, properly educating and training the field, and equipping them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
But commitment goes further than that. To reach true engagement with your field, management must commit to delivering an environment that supports the way sales thinks and works. Address the WIIFY, incentivize positive behavior, reward good results – and commit to putting the customer first. And the rep must do their part, fully committing to all the products they represent, and to the messaging and sales process they have been given.
The other key element of engagement is belief. There has to be trust and confidence in each other for all the parties involved, otherwise a successful level of engagement cannot be reached.
But why is belief so important? Because without it, there can be no conviction in the commitment made between the parties. Management needs to have complete faith in the sales organization, or they will circumvent and undermine the sales process unwittingly. And sales must completely believe in the products they represent, and the ability of the company they work for to deliver for them and their customers. Without that belief, even the most experienced sales person cannot be as effective as they should be. With it, they can sell garlic to a vampire.
Remember, there’s no faking commitment or belief – and without both you can’t successfully have either. An organization that delivers on these critical areas will benefit from true engagement with their sales channel, and the results will be happier people and better sales performance.
