Aligning Strategic Vision With Tactical Sales

 

There is a saying that marketing wants the right sale, and sales want a sale right now. As a start-up grows that contradiction often leads to problems. The key is to align strategy with sales development through a bottoms-up approach to developing a strategic focus. Articulate the strategy clearly. Then the strategic planning process begins engaging every person and group in the company. This not only builds a sense of involvement and ownership but creates a positive corporate culture. As an example, Intel is famous for its strategic long-range plan (SLRP) that worked this way. However, this is not to suggest that there are no exceptions to the rule to be considered.