There are several business relationships that are important to fully understanding and appreciating the sales profession. Every business discipline and profession in an organization is related to the discipline of sales in some form or fashion. No matter how an organization is structured, all the business units will interact with the sales organization or sales professional at some point directly or indirectly to support the sale.

Often an organization will create a revenue generation model that includes the sales force and outlines how this sales force will interact with the other departments inside the organization. This revenue generation model will often strongly influence the revenue and the percentage of growth attained in any given year. It is important that the selling organization recognizes that the following disciplines are important to the sales function and aligns them:

• Marketing
• Customer Service
• Information Technology
• Project Management
• Production and/or Fulfillment
• Training
• Administration
• Accounting/Finance
• Executive Management
• Human Resource Management

Some disciplines are more closely aligned to selling than others. They are highlighted in the following sections:

Marketing : Marketing is the most obvious choice for close alignment to the sales function. In fact, most of the marketing courses, textbooks, and training include a small sales component. The profession of sales is not a “subset” of marketing. Both occupations are separate but equal in driving revenue for an organization. When both work together, an organization will achieve greater profits and drive more revenue. Marketing professionals should read and understand the CoPS in an effort to tailor their marketing material and support the revenue creation process in their organizations.

Customer Service : Customer service organizations work alongside sales professionals to create a positive buying atmosphere. Customer service is a value-added service that is often integral to the success of the sale.

Information Technology : Information Technology and the deployment and support of that technology will often make or break the effectiveness of a sales professional. Information Technology employees will enable the sales process and will often help troubleshoot field sales calls.

Project Management : Many solution-selling organizations and those organizations selling services rely on project managers to define the requirements, determine the scope, manage communication, and create the service offering. Project Managers work with sales professionals to create the right service or product for the customer.

Production Organizations : In order to produce any product some of “production organization” is required. A production organization is defined as the crucial business unit that produces what the sales professional is selling. This could be the actual production facility (for products), the organization that codes software, the custom database programmer, or the customization team to name but a few.

Training Organizations : Training organizations provide a crucial link in the continued advancement of the sales professional. Training should encompass the key areas outlined in the CoPS. Training sales professionals is imperative in order to help the sales professional attain the highest possible levels of achievement.

Administration : The administration of the internal forms, documentation, and other paperwork are crucial to properly selling the product and or service. Often times an organization will provide some sort of administration support for the sales professional or the sales professional may outsource this function to someone else. Obviously, the more administration requirements, the less time is available for selling.

Accounting/Finance : Accounting and finance organizations play a crucial role in helping the sales professional price their product accordingly, build a return on investment strategy that resonates with the buying organization, as well as maintain competitive advantage in the marketplace. The proper billing, collection, and finance functions alleviate unnecessary activity by the sales professional.

Executive Management : Obviously the proper executive level sponsorship and leadership is crucial to the overall alignment of the organization to support the sales professional. It is often said that the CEO is the most important sales person in the organization. It is imperative that an organization that seeks to become a high-powered sales organization aligns the organization to support sales activity. By understanding the CoPS (specifically Chapter Five —Sales Cycle Management), senior level executives can gain further understanding of how to support the sales organization. UPSA also defines the levels of Sales Cycle Management Maturity in Chapter Five.

Human Resource Management: Human Resource functions are critical to the success of the sale organization. HR compensation, hiring, and development practices for sales professionals must encompass the entire continuum of the sales experience. The right talent must be hired into the best sales positions that fit individual strengths and weaknesses. The proper assessment, compensation, and training practices support the revenue generation efforts of the company.

Business success requires revenue generation. The sales operation is responsible for generating this revenue. No other profession or business area is held more accountable for bringing in revenue and closing business in order for the business to survive than is professional selling. An analogy that UPSA uses to define this concept is related to an arrow shown in figure below. If you look at the figure 1.8, the focus arrow, you will notice that the sales profession is located at the “point of the arrow.” The other functions are extremely important to the success of the spear in flying correctly. Without the shaft, fletching, and balance of the arrow it would not be able to fly correctly to the target of understanding buyer needs and wants. Since sales professionals are the focal point for driving the organization's revenue, proper support (or alignment) of the business functions inside the selling organization is crucial to achieving a competitive position in the marketplace.

The Focus Arrow

The challenge for any organization is to align itself to its sales force, from the CEO to the newest employee in the back offices. Each person in that organization, who believes in the mission of the organization, should understand his or her role and the impact he or she has on the overall sales effort.

UPSA defines Sales Cycle Management and the measures of maturity in selling that exist in organizations. To attain the highest levels of Sales Cycle Management maturity, organizations require the alignment mentioned above.