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Courtesy of Matt Price over at Capsearch, a little perspective on roles and making your small business work:
What this has taught me is that if I were to build a company, I would look past the current constructs of position titles to understanding the true functions:
CEO – final decision maker; vision builder (”What do we want to be?”)
Operations – operationally focused; makes the business run (”How can we make that a reality?”)
BD – Lives outside reality, thinks about what is possible. (”What is possible?”)
Product – Lives in feasibility; thinks about how to make things reality (”What is feasible?”)
Engineering – Focused on making. They are the builders. (”Can we do it?”)
(Yes, I dont talk about sales. Sales is a very mechanical function, even though it is very necessary).
Can a small company share these responsibilities? Yes.
Though this is going to come out sounding harsher than its meant, but if someone were starting a company and had to define roles like that above, they shouldn’t be. Sales not being talked about but that its a mechanical function? Sales is the life blood and is anything but a mechanical function for those that actual compete vs. just hang a shingle out.
There are so many complexities to sales that I feel this is one of the main things that companies just don’t “get” when they are looking at a business plan and business model. This is especially true of those that come from the product development or invention side of things. This could be software, hardware, widgets, etc. You must understand the sales lifecycle as well as the buying behavoirs of your potential customers. There are so many different directions to go here that it would be impossible to cover enough ground to do it justice. However, you could have the best new software system going, but if the cost is high, even though there are more efficiencies, if there is a cost to down time…..the sales cycle is going to be longer, maybe even impossible to sustain the organization. This would be especially true in any economic downturn. If functional is getting us by, then we can do without optimal.
What is “compelling” about your product or service that distinguishes it from your competitors. How is your sales delivery model either the same or different? What kind of distribution channels can you consider and what are the pros and cons of such? Cost vs. control of distributor model vs. your own sales force.
I think you get the idea….sales is ANYTHING but mechanical. Also, when you are looking at the above job descriptions, the CEO is the chief sales officer first, coupled with vision, leadership, etc.
I would agree with the premise that HR oriented job descriptions, beyond the legal side, are virtually useless. Start with a job analysis and a role description. Identify the personal and experiential competencies you are going to need for each role. Only then can you effectively recruit these people.
An understanding of and execution of a strategic recruitment and selection plan is something that is overlooked by most organizations. Too often recruiting is a step-child type of function and department vs. the backbone of the human system of your organization. To realize this alone creates for you a competitive advantage.
Please, for the sake of your own success and that of your organization and the lives of employees you affect, get this part right the first time. Your human system, when approached strategically, deliberately, is your greatest competitive advantage, exponentially so in a service oriented organization.