3 key insights on the importance of cross-functional collaboration in effective sales planning
The Sales Management Association (SMA) recently released a new research report on sales planning practices, underwritten by Anaplan. The SMA surveyed 112 global organizations and analyzed a variety of elements within the sales planning process. One of the most interesting areas of emphasis in this research was the importance of cross-functional collaboration.
By examining the collaboration betweensalesand other business units, the SMA research brings to light which inter-organizational collaborations are most important, which are most effective, and what high-performing organizations do differently in their collaborative planning efforts.
Importance of cross functional collaboration
The survey asked respondents to rate which cross-departmental collaborations are the most important for the sales planning process. The top-rated functions that need to collaborate with sales were, unsurprisingly, executive leadership, marketing, and operations.
Second, although HR and IT were rated lowest in importance to collaborate with sales, the survey did show that higher-performing organizations rated collaboration with HR and IT as more important than lower-performing organizations. This is evidence that collaboration across the enterprise is important to thesales planning process,为了成为一个高性能的或industry-leading organization, all silos must be broken down and every functional area of the organization has to play a unique role in sales collaboration.
Overcoming the cross-functional effectiveness gap
该调查还要求受访者评估其跨职能合作的有效性。某些功能在协作的重要性和该协作的有效性之间存在明显的差距。在那些排名最重要的（市场，执行领导力和运营）的功能中发现了重要性和协作有效性之间最大的差距。市场营销被评为改善销售计划合作的总体优先级功能，尽管它的重要性很高，但其有效性也相对较低。由于销售和营销之间的古老紧张关系，毫不奇怪的是，这种结盟的重要性和协作的有效性是错过的。Forrester recently addressed this topicby discussing marketing’s need to be more accountable for sales revenue.
High-performing organizations set different priorities
The research survey also found that higher-performing sales organizations differ on what they consider themost importantcollaborative relationships. For example, high-performing organizations rated IT and HR collaboration 18 percent higher than lower-performing organizations. Considering the increasing importance of efficient and streamlined technology within the sales organization, it is no surprise that an alignment with IT results in higher-performing sales organizations.
High-performing organizations also havemore effectivesales planning collaborations. Their collaborative relationships with IT, executive leadership, and marketing are 23, 20, and 17 percent more effective, respectively, than those of lower-performing organizations—leading to enhanced sales performance.
High-performing organizations place more importance on collaborative relationships with non-executive functions and are more effective, in comparison to lower-performing organizations
Improving your company’s sales planning is crucial to improvingsales performanceand overall business performance—and this starts with more effective cross-functional collaboration. By better understanding which functional relationships are the most important based on the business priorities, you can set aligned goals, achieve buy-in across the business, and establish an accuratesales forecast.
Learn more about the sales planning insights and best practices of high-performing organizations byreading the full reportfrom theSales Management Association.