In a competitive environment, owning an opportunity can prove to be a pivotal factor for success. Ownership is not only about responsibility — it’s fundamental to aligning efforts and pulling deals through the pipe.
The owner of a sales opportunity is like the captain of the ship. That provides incentives for people to take responsibility, allocate resources accurately, and communicate effectively. With one owner, you can more easily monitor progress, make wise decisions, target strategy specifically to each customer. This also avoids re-work and confusions within sales team and also saves time to be invested elsewhere.
It’s a strategic decision to choose the right owner for a sales opportunity. For best effects, the owner ought to be a person with substantial knowledge in regards to the item or administration and what the client is searching for. Also, they must be expertise in creating bonds and possess the right to take key decisions. More often than not this position falls on the salesperson who first engaged with the prospect.
But there exist cases where the multi-factorial approach is needed. If a deal is difficult or complicated the deal lead will need the support of a group of experts with certain competencies who can contribute to this. However, when the owner is unclear or there are multiple owners and roles are not explicitly defined, ownership should be divided between members of the team. One could assign, for example, one person to the tech side, the other to negotiations and then someone else to the customer relations. In this way, there is no stone left unturned and the possibility of successful outcome is amplified.
As soon as one owns, the exclusive obligation of the proprietor does not stop at mere accountability. They need to work together and intentionally focus resources on closing the gap. This involves several key actions.
Clear Strategy: The owner must develop a plan with specific tactics to take the business from one step ahead of the other to achieve a milestone progress. It should match what customers need and align with our goals as a business.
Communication: Effective communication is paramount. All team members must be kept in the loop; the business owner needs to guarantee all parties remain ‘in sync’. Constant updating, meetings & progress reporting is important.
Resource Allocation: The owner needs to be very wise with allocating resources. It involves setting tasks, delegating budgets, and setting deadlines for some actions.
Problem-Solving: Challenges are inevitable in sales. It’s the manager’s job to find problems and come up with answers. This entails working with other teams and acquiring senior level signoffs.
Customer Relationship Management: It’s important to build and continue to strengthen the relationship throughout the sales process. It’s critical to have one individual take the lead, responding quickly to questions and being open on what steps need to be taken in case some problems arise. The person responsible for managing the project should also be a familiar face acting as a point of contact that users or stakeholders.
Decision-Making: Within defined limits, the owner should be able to decide the terms of negotiation, discounts, and even concessions.
The bottom line is to be an owner of a sales asset is a key pillar of success in sales. It ensures accountability, simplifies the effort and increases the chance of deal close. Typically, an individual though complex transactions may involve multi-person teams with defined functions and authorities.