Let's face it - the days of lone-wolf selling are over. Today's complex B2B deals require a coordinated team effort, and the numbers don't lie.
According to Gartner, by 2026, sales organizations leveraging effective team selling will outperform their competition by more than 50%. But here's the thing - while everyone talks about team selling, few organizations actually get it right.
Let’s dive into team selling and explore the new playbook for modern sales success.
What is Team Selling?
Team selling is a collaborative way of handling sales where multiple people from an organization work together to connect with prospects, tackle their needs, and close deals. Instead of depending on just one salesperson, team selling brings in the combined expertise and skills of different team members—like technical experts, account managers, or customer success pros.
This approach not only improves the buyer's experience but also helps pipeline generation, deal size, and win rates.
Team Selling Strategy in a Nutshell
Here are some tips to make sure your team-selling efforts hit the mark:
Make Roles Crystal Clear
Everyone on the team needs to know exactly what they’re in charge of. Whether it’s sales leading the negotiation, marketing sharing insights, or product experts tackling technical questions, clear roles help avoid stepping on each other’s toes.
Play to Everyone’s Strengths
Every team member has something unique to offer. Use those strengths wisely—like marketing’s storytelling, engineers’ deep product knowledge, or sales reps’ knack for building relationships.
Keep Communication Flowing
Good teamwork depends on solid communication. Tools like Slack, CRMs, or project management software can help everyone stay on the same page and in the loop.
Always Think About the Customer
Team selling works best when the customer feels like their needs are front and center. Focus on solving their problems and showing them how your solution makes their life easier.
Debrief and Tweak Regularly
After each deal or interaction, take some time to chat as a team about what went well and what didn’t. Use those lessons to keep improving your approach for the next time.
When Should You Use a Team Selling Strategy?
Team selling isn’t something you slap onto every sales process—it’s a strategy meant for those trickier, high-stakes scenarios. Think big decisions, long timelines, and lots of moving parts. Here’s where it really shines:
Enterprise Sales
Selling to big companies means dealing with layers of decision-makers. You’re not just convincing one person; you’ve got an entire team of stakeholders to win over. Bringing in your own crew—like product experts or customer success managers—helps address all the questions and concerns that pop up. Plus, it’s great for pipeline generation in sales since you’re creating connections across multiple levels.
Highly Technical Products/Services
If your product takes more than two minutes to explain, or customers need to be walked through demos and trials, team selling is a lifesaver. Having experts on hand—like sales engineers—makes it way easier to tackle tough questions, show off features, and prove value.
Long Sales Cycles
When deals stretch over months (or even years), it’s tough for one person to handle everything without burning out. Team selling divides the workload, keeping prospects engaged and building trust over time, while ensuring you keep growing that all-important sales pipeline.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Team Selling Approach
Advantages
- Taps into diverse expertise: Team selling brings together a wider range of skills and knowledge, giving you the chance to offer customers a more thorough and tailored solution.
- Builds stronger relationships: Having multiple team members involved in the sales process helps create deeper connections and trust with the customer.
- Gets to the heart of customer needs: Involving people from different departments lets you uncover the customer's pain points more effectively and craft a solution that really fits.
Drawbacks
- Higher costs: More people in the sales process can mean extra expenses, like travel or additional compensation for the team.
- Communication hiccups: When more people are involved, there’s always a chance of miscommunication or sending mixed messages to the customer.
- Harder to stay aligned: Keeping everyone on the same page can be tricky, and it takes solid communication and coordination within the team to avoid confusion.
The Two Basic Forms of Team Selling
- Parallel selling: In this approach, each team member has their own role and works directly with the customer. They collaborate behind the scenes to plan and coordinate, but each person handles their own part of the sales process.
- Sequential selling: In this case, one team member guides the customer through the whole sales process, calling in others as needed for their expertise or support. It takes good communication and teamwork to make sure everything runs smoothly and there’s no overlap in responsibilities.
Team Selling Examples
Real estate
Selling a property usually involves a bunch of people working together—like the real estate agent, mortgage broker, home inspector, and lawyer. Each one has an important role in getting the sale done and making sure the customer gets the best advice.
Technology Sales
Team selling makes perfect sense for tech sales, especially when dealing with complex products or solutions that need expertise in different areas. For example, a sales engineer might handle the technical demos, while the account manager focuses on building relationships and understanding the customer’s challenges.
Consulting services
In consulting, teams are often put together to handle tricky projects for clients. This brings in different perspectives and specialized skills, making sure the client gets the best results possible.
Team Selling vs Individual Selling
Team selling and individual selling each come with their own strengths and challenges, depending on the sales strategy and customer needs.
Aspect
Team Selling
Individual Selling
Collaboration
Relies on multiple team members working together
Handled by a single salesperson
Expertise
Leverages diverse skills and knowledge
Depending on the individual’s experience
Customer Focus
Provides a comprehensive solution for complex needs
Offers a more personalized, one-on-one approach
Communication
Requires strong coordination and planning
Simplifies communication with fewer parties
Efficiency
Can handle larger or multi-faceted deals
More suited for simpler, straightforward deals
Yess: Streamlining Team Selling Strategy Implementation
This is where technology becomes crucial. Yess revolutionizes team selling by:
- Automatically identifying the best internal sponsors for each opportunity
- Streamlining executive involvement with one-click approvals
- Coordinating multi-person, multi-channel outreach
- Making collaboration frictionless for all team members
FAQs
Why are more companies using team selling?
More and more companies are turning to team selling to tackle complex customer needs. It’s a great way to bring together different skills and expertise within the company, which often leads to better results.
What is the value of team selling?
Team selling has a lot of perks, like:
- Getting a clearer picture of what customers need and how to meet those needs
- Boosting communication and teamwork across the company
- Tapping into different expertise to create better solutions
How can Yess help with team selling?
Yess makes team selling easier by automating key tasks, improving collaboration, and simplifying communication. It helps teams play to their strengths while working smoothly together to get the best results for customers.
Wrapping Up
Team selling is a great way to tackle complex customer needs and boost your sales results. With the right tools, like Yess, it’s easier than ever to make team selling work for your business. So why wait? Start exploring how team selling can help your company today! Whether you want to improve communication, work more efficiently, or make the most of your team’s diverse skills, Yess has you covered.
