Director of Business Development at Equans invested in stakeholder consensus, EQ and outcomes-driven decision making.
getty
Have you ever wondered what that special reason is which causes two individuals newly introduced at a social or informal gathering to instantly hit it off? I'm sure most of us have experienced this.
Perhaps you've introduced two people from your circle and observed an instantaneous connection. I don't mean to indicate an attraction or compatibility of a romantic nature—but a simple, genuine affinity and appreciation bonded in commonly held interests.
This is the sort of rapport we want to see in our business dealings. Across departments and teams as well as in our interactions with partners and customers, the quality we seek is one of alignment.
As both individuals and members of a sales team, whenever we are dealing with customers or prospects, we must try our best to nurture a deep and wide alignment at the organizational level—resulting in a beneficial deal between both parties.
So why is it that such rapport so often is reduced to a box that must be checked? Why does such alignment between parties not seem to occur as frequently in the business world as it so often does in meeting people one-on-one?
The answer to this problem that many of us face regularly lies in the issue of biased focus. When our thoughts are on selling, we try to justify a sale.
When our thoughts are on an alignment not only within our company but also between ourselves and prospective partners or customers, we can focus on providing a mutually beneficial solution for both parties.
I'm sure your teams are well-trained and zeroed in on what the customers and markets demand. Your balance sheet is no doubt looking solid, with parameters like profitability, revenue and margin trending upwards.
With so many indications that you know how to run your business—and as a reader of thought leadership—you probably have an idea of how you're wanting to take your business to the next level in your industry.
So why all this talk of alignment? What realignment is there to be achieved? Does alignment not occur automatically from day one?
In a world of agile methodologies and short go-to-market cycles, we are used to developing a product offering and taking it to the market. Then we try to fit that product to our prospects' needs.
We do all sorts of pre-market assessments, modeling, surveying; you name it—all to demonstrate this gap in the marketplace and the necessity of our solution or product.
So why this necessity for alignment, continuous alignment and realignment before we finally see that purchase order from the customer? And the expectation that you'll go through this process all over again with future deals?
I am going to share a personal example here. At a business event, I met a senior executive from a very well-renowned organization who had, during the course of his career, worked on five different continents.
I was in such awe of his background that I asked a ton of questions. I felt such an instant admiration for this person that within two weeks of our meeting, his executive assistant reach out to me asking about my interest in a meeting and a possibility of a potential role with his company.
Consider how this application process would have played out in the typical scenario: Had I applied to the role in his team either online or through my network. I would have had to work hard, smart and strategically for who knows how long before trying to build an alignment between myself and my new employer during our eventual meeting in a one-on-one.
How can you build this alignment that comes so easily in one-on-ones so that interactions between your organization and partners are able to go beyond the transactional level?
The reason alignment is so difficult to achieve is that we too often find ourselves trying to fit our customer into a product or solution box of our own creation rather than tailoring our solution to what the customer needs.
Once a strategy of alignment is achieved at the organizational level as well as between your team and customers, your company has best set itself up to serve your customer's needs.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
