Why teamwork works

People working together can accomplish more than two people working alone. But most companies establish sales groups to be competitive. Often sales meetings are held telling who is the best for the last week while whispering muffled threats to get production up or you’re out.

Many career life insurance agencies have long taken the view that they must train each other to survive not only enormous rejection but often hostile competition from other agents, financial planners, stock brokers and even banks.

Because of all these threats to their livelihood, many have taken on the challenge to work together, splitting commissions on sales they both worked to close. One often will make the approaching call, then involve a colleague who has a greater level of experience in an area of need. It works so well that top producers often report over 50 percent of their sales volume in a single year came from joint appointments.

You can gain the same level of success by utilizing other experts within your own FMO or marketing group. Often a company selling technical products is glad to involve their experts to help you make the sale. Unfortunately, experienced salespeople have too much gray hair to “lower” themselves to use outside help. They think they have seen it all and can handle anything. They rarely involve the experts who can make things so much easier for them.

In the 1980s, when I sold computer systems for a large hardware manufacturer, I was so green that I panicked at the mere thought of going out on an appointment without the office systems engineer. Most of the newer salespeople virtually fought over who would be able to use him as a resource that day. Yet we often found ourselves using the more experienced salespeople as technical resources for us and them. We both made more sales together than alone. After a few months together we started referring business to one another depending on the industry of the prospect and the expertise of the salesperson.