The standard process for selling software to customers involves sales driving the sales process then handing over to services for implementation and ongoing support. Sales people are incentivized to sell more, but services is ultimately responsible for delivering. Even in scenarios where services is involved in some portions of the sales process, more often than not the contract that is ultimately signed contains an element of surprise for services.

The Technology Services Industry Association felt this was an important enough issue to address as a theme at their 2018 conference. Bo Di Muccio, Ph.D., distinguished vice president of research, Professional Services, for TSIA, expressed the problem simply as a disconnect between supplier and consumer objects.

“This is because a rigid separation of sales and service motions is a way to guarantee (even exacerbate) a disconnect between supplier and consumer objectives. This is something TSIA has been documenting for some time. The traditional CapEx tech sales model is a “make, sell, ship” concept that is, quite frankly, more or less completely focused on the need of the supplier to sell boxes, software, speeds and feeds, etc., and almost not concerned at all with the customers’ use of the solution or their business value in adopting it. The role of Services in that model is to implement what’s sold by Sales, offer some training on how to use it, and fix it when it breaks. But because the customer, in this model, pays up front for the solution, now owns it, and is more or less required to keep renewing the insurance policy (maintenance contract) on the solution, the supplier is whole whether the customer is getting value or not.”

https://www.tsia.com/blog/professional-services-and-sales-working-together-to-deliver-customer-outcomes

This blog post goes on to challenge us that this issue becomes exacerbated in our new reality, where everything is a software as a service. In this age, customers are expecting faster implementations and subsequently, faster time to derived value. Any disconnect between sales and services results in delays and negative impact to the customer.

What causes these disconnects? And how do we solve them?

• Sales training – There are several parts of the sales training process to be considered. First, there is the basics of solution selling and understanding customer problems. Second, there is a fundamental understanding of what the software solution can do. Ideally, there is also someone in the sales process who understands where the lines of delineation exist between what is not possible and what is possible but requires custom implementations. Lastly, it’s also important that the sales team is taught how to sell your particular products in the most effective way to ease the onboarding and ongoing support (or at a minimum set expectations with the customer on more complex implementations).
• Lack of Services voice – Often times, services is engaged in the sales process in very limited ways. It might just be to draft the statement of work based on the little bit of information provided by sales. Hopefully, services also has a place in reviewing the contract as is it evolves to ensure it aligns to costs, and services. Services should also make sure their voice is heard in sales training/enablement processes. Is the services organization promoting the value their customers are deriving? Has the services organization developed the sales tools required to get the information necessary to properly scope projects; or to educate the sales teams? If not, the services team isn’t doing themselves any favors.
• Changing market landscape – we hear it constantly that the pace of business is changing so rapidly, and companies need to adjust to the changing winds of the customers. Services is typically engaging with end users, while sales is engaged at higher levels in organizations. It’s a very real possibility that the market has changed, and that information hasn’t been communicated to services.

The biggest step to be taken to re-align sales and services is better communication. As a sales organization, it’s imperative to keep services up to date on the changing market landscape as well as the customer conversations that occur that impact services (and most of them do). As a services organization, it’s imperative to have a discussion with sales as soon as you see the disconnects. While you may not be able to do anything for this specific contract, you might be able to prevent the same issues with the next one. The lines of communication and respect need to stay open.