From the earliest days of SAIC, I felt one of the best ways to build the business was to have our technical staff deeply involved in selling their contracts. I think this helped us get follow-on business. Other companies handle sales and marketing differently — they split them. The people who would see the customers would be sales and marketing, not the people doing the work. Most customers want to see the people who are going to do the work.
Click on the comments link to share your thoughts.
– Bob
Here are comments on some of your recent responses:
Lloyd Burdge (Week 7): I’m glad to read your comment. This is the way it is supposed to work. Not everyone experienced the same thing you did. Of course, the idea was to attract, retain, and reward employees for their contributions to the company.
Donna Cunningham (Week 7): I appreciate your comment.
Gael Tarleton (Week 7): I hoped people would think about what was best for the organization and not just themselves. If they think only about their own self-interests, the organization becomes #2 in their minds — or worse.
Bill Wright (Week 7): I think you’ve hit the nail squarely on the head. Employee-owners treat a company’s finances much more seriously than do non-owners.
Bob Wertheim (Week 9): Thank you, Bob, for your comments. We’ll be including examples of this sort in the book. Getting the customer’s advice on procurements if you can do it is certainly a valuable approach.