The sales function as a resource integrator

My view of the role of the sales force is transitioning! My perception of the role of the sales forces is no longer ‘a means of communicating value to the market’ but has come to include the role of being a resource integrator! This wonderful transition has exposed an interesting relationship between Knowledge management and marketing activities which serves to explain how the sales function acts as a resource integrator.

Before I get into explaining the relationship between knowledge management and marketing activities, I think a quick recap on what Knowledge management is, is necessary. Knowledge management is the process of capturing, developing, sharing and effectively using the organization’s knowledge in achieving the objectives set out by the organization.

Now, the best way to understand the relationship between knowledge management and marketing activities, in my opinion, is to understand what the four stages in the Knowledge management value chain entails. They are:

1. Knowledge creation

Information from the marketplace is conveyed to the organization and lateral connections are created among the functional units in the organization. The sales force serves as a means of obtaining this information which is then transformed into organizational knowledge.

2. Knowledge storage

When I first learned about this stage, my first thought was that it referred to the organization retaining information, on the contrary, it refers to the knowledge stored in the proposed offerings of the organization. Previously, the proposed offerings were sold as ‘value bearing vessels’ but consultative selling activities has allowed for the sales force to educate customers as to how they can create value for themselves by utilizing the value offerings proposed by the organization. Thus, the proposed offerings of the organization have now become ‘knowledge storage,’ exclaiming ‘let our goods/services offer you the platform to produce value for yourself…in any way that you choose!’

3. Knowledge distribution

This refers to knowledge that may be shared between the organization and the market that can be integrated into new marketing knowledge which the organization may choose to implement later. Surprise! The sales force, once again, serves as a means of receiving this knowledge.

4. Knowledge application

The last stage involves the communication of knowledge between the sales force and the organization at large. The sales force channels the relevant information to the appropriate functional area and the role of information dissemination actively shifts towards supporting creativity and problem solving as all the functional units in the organization are integrated to apply the newly acquired knowledge.

Through the stages of the knowledge management value chain, one cannot deny the existence of its relationship with the marketing activities, and that the sales force acts as an active ingredient. It also clearly outlines how the sales force integrates the resources of the organization within and beyond the organization.

From having learnt this, I not only changed my perception of the sales function but I have realized a change in its primary role which now entails differentiated services and consultative selling through relational selling and value co-creation. I have also discovered a newfound importance for the sales function which was brought about by the fact that the knowledge that we can retrieve from them, can take the organization to new strategic heights. The organization cannot lean on its own understanding of the marketplace in an attempt to do so and should stimulate a sense of importance in this regard. After all, knowledge is power!

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