A salesperson rarely does it all on his or her own. While one individual tends to be the singular face to the customer, there's often a lot of collaboration going on behind the scenes. Whether working with the finance department on pricing, marketing on leads, pre-sales engineers on designing solutions, or legal on negotiating a contract - essentially it takes a village to close a deal.

As an SC, you have the ability to coach the sales rep and ensure the sales process is followed. Plan together an ask the right questions that follow the sales process. Protect your time and don’t engage too early. Why?

Two main reasons: You’ll either waste time on an unqualified deal (the rep will tell you this is all they have in their pipeline! We have to at least try!) or could potentially push the Oppty to a close-lost (you present the wrong solution, but really, lack of proper discovery left you without priority client needs and now you have egg on your face).

Be there to help your sales rep build up a relationship with the client and their resources. Strategize together how to get an active Champion, an Exec Sponsor, and key stakeholders. Help them plan pre-questions that will identify the pain and ideal solution of the client. Either from your playbook or as a team, ask deeper follow-up questions that will assist you in designing the solution.