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How to create Inclusivity within your sale and customer success teams
Tech Nation 
2 min read
The sales and customer success teams are the face of any company. They set the tone for what people can expect when working with your company, and this is why it is crucial to have a strong Diversity & Inclusion framework within these externally facing departments.
Hubspot has been vocal about sales having a “bro” culture, and it’s a commonly held assumption that there is a certain type of person who succeeds in a sales or business development role at a tech company. Challenging these stereotypes is important from a commercial perspective as it opens up new ways of selling, and therefore new customers.
“People want to see themselves represented at companies they buy from, and a diverse sales force can more directly relate to the needs and wants of the people they are selling to,” says Stan Kimer, President of Total Engagement Consulting on Nutshell.
To help create a more inclusive sales team, you can follow the steps outlined in the HR & People section of this toolkit. The process always starts with creating an inclusive company-wide culture; creating an environment where anyone feels like they can thrive, and working with your sales and customer success leads to nurture inclusivity within their part of the organisation.
There are also practical resources like Erin Meyer’s Culture Map that helps teams to decode people and cultures.
D&I sales and customer success checklist
- Acknowledge the benefit of having different people with different characteristics in your sales and customer success teams: ‘16 personalities’ is one free tool you can use to profile your team.
- Develop your own internal case studies: This will help you to outline where a better cultural understanding of a customer has led to greater success in your business.
- Create an inclusive company-wide culture that translates into these teams: Then, continually work on ensuring it is inclusive and can be applied into different teams (see HR & People section).