It’s frustrating. It’s maddening. It’s disheartening and discouraging. And frankly, it can even make you dread going to work or looking at your inbox.
You probably know what I’m talking about…
The lack of respect. The disregard and low expectations. The internal perception that Sales Ops is just an admin or “sales support” function. And treating it like it’s the junk drawer or catchall for anything and everything the sales group just can’t be bothered with.
I get it. Been there. Experienced that. But here’s the thing…
Sales Ops will never be given the respect it deserves. You have to take it. You have to earn it. You have to prove them all wrong.
Should it be this way? No. But I should have hair. Sadly, the word “should” is just not in Reality’s vocabulary.
As you know, we spend a lot of time researching leading teams, gleaning best practices, and so on. And I know of very few…if any…Sales Ops leaders or groups who’ve just been handed the high status and deference they currently enjoy.
They had to earn it. They had to work at it.
They didn’t wait to be told exactly what to do or how to do it. And they didn’t always ask for permission, either.
They focused on some really important problems that weren’t being addressed and figured out how to solve them. They implemented innovative technologies to take their “sales machines” to new heights of efficiency and effectiveness. And they championed valuable strategic initiatives and brought them to fruition…sometimes kicking and screaming.
Along the way, they made some mistakes. They hit some dead-ends. They had to regroup and adjust their approach. But they kept at it and ultimately produced results…significant, demonstrable results that no one could deny.
The point is that they didn’t let other people’s perceptions and opinions get in their way or hold them back. Instead of accepting their reality…or whining about their reality…they created a new reality!
And guess what? You can, too.
Consider this…
At one point in time, these leading teams were all in that same frustrating, maddening, and demoralizing place. And they all suffered those same opinions, misperceptions, low expectations, and undercurrents of disrespect and disregard. Yet, they ultimately succeeded in cutting a path through that morass and blazing a trail to a much better place.
But while they had to figure it all out for themselves, you can learn from their experiences. And while they had to hit some dead-ends and step on some landmines along the way, you can learn from their mistakes and avoid a lot of the pain and hassle.
So when you really think about it, the journey ahead of you has already been made a whole lot easier than theirs was.
Now…what was that excuse again? 🙂
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