Consider the following Shifting the Burden structure with a sales environment where it is perceived that interaction with the customer and closing the sale is very contingent on pre-sales support personnel that are very familiar with the product being sold.
The problem being perceived as sales requires pre-sales support then offers two approaches for a solution.
One approach is to hire pre-sales support personnel which can be trained to perform the pre-sales support function. This approach most definitely resolves the perceived problem.
The alternative approach is to develop sales product expertise so sales is able to perform their own pre-sales support. This approach would also solve the problem.
What actually makes the hire pre-sales support more expedient than develop sales product expertise is pretty much wrapped up in a reinforcing Belief and Choice structure. As sales believes its responsibility is sales, as it has been for years, then it looks very unfavorably on the idea that sales should do pre-sales support. pre-sales support is the responsibility of an underling techno weenie, or so the thought goes. As such, the great resistance from sales to the develop sales product expertise idea promotes the hire pre-sales support approach.
Once steps are taken to hire pre-sales support personnel it supports the no problem perception, which only servers to make the develop sales product expertise less likely.
The real question is can the organization really afford to
pay two people to do the job that one person should be doing?