In a previous blog entry, The Next Step, we spoke about broadening Diversity and Inclusion development to include a client focus. From a holistic point of view, this makes a lot of sense. You may ask, “Where are the specific areas D&I development can promote stronger client engagement?”

We believe there are three main areas where D&I skills will provide your sales team an extra edge.

1. Relationship Management: Existing clients keep your revenue gears running while you seek out new business. It costs twice as much to secure a new client so the loss of an existing customer can really impact the bottom line. For companies that move new business from “hunter” reps to a “farmer” team, the break in the initial relationship can be extremely disruptive if the client manager does not have the ability to truly engage and build this new relationship. Typically one client company is representative of many individual users and future buyers. Building D&I skill sets with your client management team will allow them foundational levels of inclusion to work with the entire group of decision makers within one client.

2. New Client Engagement: Have you seen rep after rep try to establish a foothold in a particular company or with a specific decision maker to no avail? You switch reps and all of a sudden they are setting up appointments without any apparent change of tactics. It is a familiar scenario in the sales environment. We have often found the success lies in the initial connection with the prospective client. Some reps have built up their ability to connect on many dimensions of difference (e.g. age, ethnicity, experience, ableness, sexual orientation, gender etc. etc. ). These are skill sets that can be honed through D&I development so your entire team can approach clients with an inclusive mindset. Without developing your entire team at this level of inclusive awareness, you risk future revenue.

3. Penetration: Okay, you secured a client and have been managing a healthy relationship with one decision maker. However, you know there are many more areas of the company to penetrate with new business. The decision maker you are working with is a baby boomer heterosexual white male (think Steve Jobs), but see a huge opportunity with a different decision maker that is a baby boomer gay white male (think Tim Cook). This is a true scenario of the succession of the highest valued corporation in the world, Apple. Does your team have the ability to interact at the same level with all dimensions of difference? Most employees are not aware of their unconscious biases and thus find it much more difficult to manage beyond their “comfortable” set of decision makers. The appropriate D&I development can provide this foundational skill set.

Corporations spend billions on developing and implementing sales methodology training. The best sales methodology will not work if the rep does not have the ability to maintain a relationship, acquire new clients or penetrate beyond the initial sale. In our increasing diverse and global environment, companies who do not invest in developing inclusion skills sets within their sales team will be at a disadvantage to competitors who do.

*The Dagoba Group offers inclusive client relationship workshops for sales teams.