The Problem With Aligning Sales Behaviors With Sales Tasks

Getting your sales team on board with your strategy shouldn’t be an afterthought, Harvard Business School professor Frank Cespedes argues. After all, the engine of many businesses is a strong sales core.

But aligning your strategy with sales isn’t just about communicating your ideas effectively. You have to hire carefully and use smart incentives to guide selling behavior.

“The issue is aligning actual selling behaviors. And it is about behaviors. Business is a performance art. It’s not about good ideas,” Cespedes tells IdeaCast host Sarah Green Carmichael.

Key topics include: sales, hiring, compensation, communication, performance management, strategic planning, innovation, and leadership development.

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• Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Does Your Sales Team Know Your Strategy? (October 2014)
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