Cross Selling or Cross Purposes?

The article describes the case of TopTek, a mid level software company that has recently acquired another company, Rossburg Lee.  The case offers a unique perspective, following the conversations of the vice president of human resources, Anna Tucker, as she inquires about recent problems following the acquisition.  After acquiring Rossberg Lee, Top Tek hoped for increased sales and revenue; however, this was not the case.  Anna found that there were differences regarding the commission of a sale to the sales team and the consultants that follow-up on the sale.  Anna talked to consultants and sales reps left from both TopTek and Rossburg Lee only to find that there was a difference of opinion between the sales representatives and the consultants. While the sales representatives would make the initial sale to a client, the consultants would push the smaller sales necessary to maintain a relationship with the client.  Consultants would not received compensation for the sales they made after the initial sales, leaving the rewards to the sales representative that made the initial sale.  The consultants that Anna talked to did not understand why they were not compensated for their sales, but the sales representatives believed that their work focused on the big picture, leading them to believe that their work should be rewarded even after the sale has been made.  Anna also discovered that because the sales team was more focused on the big picture, they were neglecting the smaller sales to maintain relations with the client.
While these problems were apparent, Anna realized that the sales representatives and consultants had a very dynamic relationship that was necessary to make sales and maintain client relationships.  However, the system of compensation for the sales was not conducive to increased sales, meaning that the program needed to be reworked.  Anna suggested that the workforce needed to be reworked in addition to the compensation system, but these changes would need to allow for an increase in sales, making it a difficult task.
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• Sales compensation needs to be more balanced to account for the efforts of both the sales representatives and the consultants
• John brought up the issue of priorities dictated by the compensation.  Sales can decrease because the sales representatives or the consultants may prioritize other tasks before dealing with the larger issues if they are not rewarded for the work they would do.
• Sales representatives focus on the big-picture, while consultants have a more personal relationship with individual customers
• While Anna did find that the consultants believed the sales representatives were missing the small sales opportunities following the initial sale, it really is the sales representatives job to focus on the big picture of finding new customers and winning more sales.  
• Many of the problems TopTek faced after the acquisition stemmed from a lack of communication and understanding between the sales representatives and consultants  
• Anna suggests recruiting a new workforce because she realized that the integration of employees from TopTek and Rossberg Lee would take more than just training because they were so rooted in the old companies business customs.  It was the lack of communication and a lack of understanding that set the two sets of employees apart, so a new workforce would be needed to start on a clean slate.
• Consultants are not suited to make sales
• As seen by the conversation between Tricia, Charlie and Anna, an account representative made a wrong move that could have made problems with TopTek and the client.
• A comprehensive solution to incentivize the sales representatives and the consultants would be to allow partial compensation to both the sales representative who made the initial sale, but also the consultants that may make additional sales afterward. 

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Seller's Viewpoint

The sales representatives view their efforts to win a client the most important sale, while the consultants that follow-up the sale view their efforts to satisfy the client's needs and provide them with the best service as the most important aspect of the sale.  Both aspects of a sale are equally important, therefore, it is necessary to reward both groups with compensation.  The sales representatives, as Ron stated, have a hand in every sale following the initial sale because of their involvement in winning the client.  However, the consultants that make additional sales are responsible for those individual sales, more so than the sales representatives.  A percentage system for compensation may be a useful tool when determining what group is rewarded for each sale.