Article published previously on Wapice's Summium -product's blog.
It is often said that experienced salespeople are invaluable and irreplaceable professionals. They show up on the scene when the most complex products are being sold. They leave the scene as invisibly as they came in. They are almost mysterious hero figures. -How is it possible that a small group of salespeople make the most profits?
Tacit Knowledge, What Is It?
There’s a lot of information involved in sales event, including tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is subjective, depends on context it is utilized in, and is also difficult to share. A person cannot always describe his or her tacit knowledge to another person. A traditional example of the tacit knowledge is riding a bicycle. Each of us sees cycling differently. Someone considers it as a swinging of legs, another as a keeping of your balance, and a third one thinks it’s all about making it safely to your destination. Then how can you teach someone else any of these three things?
Why Tacit Knowledge Is Not Tangibilized?
Tacit knowledge is always one’s possession, and thus sharing it will cause pain and test one’s authority. When tacit knowledge is documented in a commonly understandable form, it is available to everyone. This is positive as far as company management is concerned even though individuals may not necessarily feel accordingly. So, how is it possible to motivate employees to share and concretize tangibilize tacit knowledge? From the individual’s point of view this matter has a huge potential. The tangibilization process releases time from trivial tasks to more demanding and motivating objectives. Then it is possible to serve the customer more and better.
What It Is All About?
There is an unredeemed potential in tacit knowledge because the amount of it reveals product related details. For example, if a lot of tacit knowledge is needed during the sales process, the product is not easy to sell. Then also the training of a new salesperson is too difficult and time consuming. Additionally, the great amount of tacit knowledge reflects the amount of unutilized potential because a great deal of efficiency is drained in hassling. The product itself may not be as far-developed as it at best could be since customers’ direct feedback is not guiding product development. Efficient quote-to-order process doesn’t include the complexity and inertia related to tacit knowledge.
Shall We Roll Up the Sleeves and Start?
Now it’s time to promote your salespeople to super sellers because today’s tools enables tangibilization of tacit knowledge for a common good better than ever before. The sooner you’ll start, the smaller barriers you’ll face. With proper tools it is possible to boost your operations, reduce risks, and increase the correctness of quotes and the professionalism of your personnel. I bet you don’t want to experience what happens when one of your super sellers takes all the tacit knowledge with him to the competitors’ use.