Who is on your sales team? Often, success in the field is far from an individual effort. There is frequently an inside customer service group, service coordinators, a product expediter, a dependable shipping department and quality vendor technical support operating behind the scenes ensuring that the customer's experience is a good one. The salesperson is the facilitator of these collective efforts and the representative of their company when dealing with customers.



This past weekend, the rapidly changing political landscape was introduced to the live version of a new phenomenon. Although Hollywood-types have often backed political candidates and causes, the world has been holding their breath in anticipation of the impact of Oprah's endorsement of Barack Obama. Oprah lends her star-power to her friend, Obama, "a new kind of leader who possesses a tongue dipped in the unvarnished truth," Winfrey said.

The Oprah and Obama traveling tour brings new meaning to the phrase dynamic-duo! Obama had the pleasure of addressing almost 30,000 registered voters at Williams-Brice stadium here in Columbia, SC thanks in great part to Winfrey's celebrity. I do not believe that anyone will ever be able to remove the pleasure-filled smile from his face.

"In what may be the largest phone-banking effort in the nation's history, each attendee was handed a sheet that listed four registered S.C. voters and a phone script. Attendees were asked to call the voters on their sheet, right then and there, and ask them to support Obama in the Democratic primary." Regardless of your political persuasion, this sales effort is impressive. The news coverage and number of articles are amazing.

Talk about sales teams! This pairing may be just what the doctor ordered to propel Obama to the lead in the run for the Democratic nomination. What then... VP Oprah Winfrey!

The point of all this is to remember that our success in selling our ideas and products is indeed a team effort. Even if you are a self-employed company of one who handles everything from sales to accounting, you too rely on vendors, FedEx, US Mail and reliable technology to ensure your sales success. You are indeed part of a team effort, albeit the focal member.

None of us operates in a vacuum. It is necessary and proper to respect and care about your sales team. When appropriate, introduce these people to your customers. Make it more personal. Put faces on each department and function.

Remember, the bottom line is that people interact with people to make things happen. Humanize your selling efforts and warm up your sales success.