How can we convince sales and marketing about the advantages of lean in their processes?

How can we convince sales and marketing about the advantages of lean in their processes?:

from SalesPerformance.com by Michael Webb


A reader recently asked:

• How can we convince sales and marketing about the advantages of leanA business management philosophy with two inter-related goals: continuously improving the company’s ability to eliminate waste, and practicing respect for people. in their processes?

This is a great question, and I get it a lot. The primary issue is that salespeople and marketers do not see how Lean will help them sell or do marketing.  This is aggravated by the fact that Lean is usually presented using manufacturing examples, not sales and marketing examples. And the truth is, most lean practitioners have never carried a sales quota or been involved in the essentials of marketing.
You have to remember that salespeople live in a world full of brochures and websites no one reads, so-called “leads” that wasteThat which the customerThe person who pays for and/or uses your products and services. Also known as the "end user" (as opposed to channel partner). does not want. Also, that which our own company does not want. their time, quotes and proposals that don’t close, and service departments that are marching to a different drummer. They are expected to find a way to succeed in this world, not to change the way this world works. And THAT is the problem. Telling them about 5S, Kanban, and other lean manufacturing tools is nearly useless and likely increases resistance.

VP of Sales: “Tell the Lean ProcessA set of activities, through which work flows, aimed at a common result. Excellence Leader I’m busy.”

Once salespeople realize that the whole point is to make it easier for customers to buy and sellers to sell, that if they can discover evidence of bottlenecks and prove the effectiveness of countermeasures the resources of the whole company will be brought to bear to apply those countermeasures, you will have sales and marketing departments stand at attention for Lean, because they will understand how it will help them sell.
Easy things to say, of course, and it helps immensely to convince them if you have lived the life of a sales and marketing person. But nonetheless, you have to get people to remember that sales and marketing is a production system, it produces immense valueThat which one (i.e., the customer) acts to gain and/or keep. Also, that which our own company acts to gain and/or keep.. Lean is simply the means of applying the scientific method to define your terms, make the qualityThe science of defining what the customer wants, and enabling your organization to provide it to them. and quantity of flow visible, and engage your people to continuously find ways to make the system more productive (increase value, reduce waste).
Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts about this. Have you seen the same kinds of things?
Michael Webb,
Author of Sales and Marketing the Six SigmaA widely used problem-solving method that incorporates a five-step process - DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) - and often relies heavily on statistical analysis. Way
www.salesperformance.com