Balancing Procurement with a Sales Maverick Mindset
The business landscape may be ever-evolving but some things never change: customer satisfaction remains central to commercial success.
Sales and procurement professionals play pivotal roles in delivering that satisfaction. Sales at the front end bringing in the business and liaising directly with customers; while procurement professionals help to deliver on those promises, ensure operational efficiency and mitigate risk.
Good sales professionals listen to prospective customers, understand their needs and adapt to offer them what they want while keeping commercial success in mind. Good procurement professionals work to keep three key stakeholder’s content: internal customers (ie. the business); external end-customers; and the suppliers their organisation depends upon to help it achieve its aims.
Ideally sales and procurement professionals would work alongside each other. Each plays a vital role in fulfilling customer orders and ensuring their business succeeds. They would benefit from collaborating to understand the needs of their customers and by aligning their efforts with joint account planning.
Ideally, also, they would respect the crucial role that each plays and the skill they demonstrate in doing so. Yet there is typically tension between the two, caused in part by a stark contrast in their approach to their work. Sales professionals are more likely to embrace a maverick spirit; while procurement professionals are more often accused of simply focusing on the rules.
While there is a divide, there is a place for both, and lessons that each can learn from the other.
Here we explore some of the attributes typically credited to sales that procurement can use to its advantage. Doing so could help them to satisfy internal and external customers, as well as to become a customer of choice for key suppliers.
Maverick Spirit
Sales professionals are often viewed as a company’s frontline warriors. They pull in money and operate in a dynamic environment where the customer is king. Their willingness to deviate from the rules, or flex according to the wishes of a customer, may be infuriating at times for those who have to fulfil their promises, but there are three key explanations for this behaviour:
1. Customer-centric focus: Sales people thrive on making customers happy. Their readiness to bend the rules is driven by the understanding that rigid adherence to them may hinder the ability to provide tailored solutions that resonate with individual client needs.
2. Competitive edge: In fiercely competitive markets, sales teams are constantly seeking ways to outshine their rivals. The desire to achieve a competitive edge often pushes sales professionals to go beyond established norms, even if it means bending the rules slightly, to secure deals and to leave a lasting and positive impression on clients.
3. Relationship building: Sales is not merely transactional, it's about fostering enduring relationships. Going above and beyond, even if it means breaking a few rules, can lay the foundation for a strong and long-lasting partnership, contributing to sustained customer satisfaction.
Sales skills for procurement to apply
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Customer-centric mindset: Procurement should adopt a more customer-centric approach, viewing internal stakeholders as customers and actively seeking to understand and address their needs. Embracing this mindset will enhance procurement’s ability to deliver solutions that align with its business’s broader objectives.
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Agile adaptability: While maintaining regulatory compliance and risk management, one of procurement’s responsibilities is to ensure its organisation maintains regulatory compliance and manages risk. It is, however, possible, to introduce some flexibility within these established frameworks. Being adaptable ensures that procurement remains responsive to the evolving needs of internal customers and a dynamic business environment.
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Proactive problem-solving: Anticipating challenges and actively collaborating with internal customers to find solutions to problem-solve means procurement can address issues promptly, and foster a culture of agility and responsiveness.
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Relationship-driven strategy: Sales teaches the significance of relationship-building in business success. Procurement can apply this principle by strengthening supplier relationship management (SRM) strategies, emphasising trust, collaboration, and shared goals with key suppliers. A strong network of supplier relationships contributes to a reliable and responsive supply chain.
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Innovation and technology integration: Sales professionals are always looking for the edge. Embracing innovation and leveraging technology is one way to achieve a competitive advantage. Procurement too can adopt this approach by exploring and integrating technology that enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and provides valuable insights into supplier performance.
As well as adopting some of the behaviours more typically credited to sales professionals, procurement and sales would benefit from working more closely together.
Joint planning for key accounts that facilitate collaboration between the two functions is an excellent way for them to align their efforts. Aligned goals should encourage a unified approach to meeting customer needs, driving revenue, and optimising the supply chain.
Customer of Choice
Research by State of Flux consistently finds it's essential for procurement to focus on becoming a ‘customer of choice’ for its most important suppliers. This involves consistently delivering value, building strong relationships, and fostering a reputation for fair and transparent dealings.
The benefits of achieving this status are many. Customers of choice might, for instance, hope to get first refusal on innovations; greater investment in the business relationship; access to and retention of the best people; superior account management; prioritised supply during periods of shortage; and a level of commitment that sees suppliers going the extra mile.
Essentially it equates to new opportunities for growth, and reduced risk and cost. It’s not about backscratching or cronyism, rather it’s about treating people and their businesses the way you would like to be treated and ensuring each side reaps the benefits. There should be an element of reciprocity, with the buyer-supplier relationship aiming to deliver on the requirements of both parties.
Becoming a customer of choice enhances collaboration, innovation, and overall supply chain efficiency.
As organisations strive to strike a balance between the maverick spirit of sales and the hard line more often taken by procurement, the key lies in collaboration and transformation.
Procurement would benefit from embracing the sales mindset that focuses its efforts on pleasing customers and flexing according to requirements.
By embracing this approach procurement can become a more strategic partner in meeting customer needs, while upholding operational integrity, and contributing to sustainable success in today's competitive business landscape.