When I ran DHL in the US, I often visited the courier stations as the couriers were loading the vans to start their delivery and pickup routes.

I soon came to realize that one of the traits of the super salespeople is that they would visit the stations, bring donuts and coffee, or the like, and get to know the drivers that were supporting their sales territories with their routes.

When Sales Delivers Donuts and Coffee

Because they knew that these drivers are the face of the organization to the customer, the touchpoint. No matter how well they sold, the deliver of the product was another’s job.

Recognizing that, building that relationship with the joint ownership of the customer made all the difference (and the couriers saw opportunities for the sales reps too!)

And I was amazed how many sales representatives did not build relationships with the operators that delivered the product.

When I work with organizations, I see the same dynamic.

When sales understands that they are a valuable piece in company growth, but not the only piece; when sales reaches across and cross-functionally works to the best advantage of the customer, that is when growth accelerates.

And the customer loves it! When the sales representative introduces the person accountable to deliver the product to the customer, they show the customer that this is a team; that sales is not over-promising and is in tune with what makes the product work.

It is simple. It is more than logical, but yet often overlooked. I have always tried to inculcate this into the culture of my organizations. It is not teamwork for the sake of teamwork.

If we are to position ourselves to our customers as a company that is well-wired to execute, that harnesses the power of its teams to deliver a seamless product or service, then sales and operations must play well together.

It is the performance and execution imperative!

So bring donuts and coffee. Talk to each other. You have a lot in common – the customer!