WHEN organisations announce a record quarter or a successful year, it is common to see the sales team applauded first. The logic is simple: sales bring in revenue; and, revenue drives growth. In many ways, this is justified. Sales teams work on the front lines, facing rejection, building relationships and, ultimately, securing the contracts that keep the business alive.
Yet, the notion that sales alone ensure growth is incomplete and, even, misleading. Sustainable growth is never the result of one function working in isolation. It emerges from a web of collaboration of all organisational functions. Growth today is teamwork.
Sales create opportunities, but the ability to seize and sustain the opportunities depends on the rest of the organisation. Marketing creates the pipeline. It positions the brand, nurtures leads and builds the emotional connection that makes a prospect receptive to a sales pitch in the first place. Operations and the supply chain ensure that products and services are delivered consistently and on time. A sales promise means nothing if customers experience delays, defects or disruptions.
Finance provides discipline. It safeguards margins, sets pricing strategies and ensures that growth is about not only 鈥榮elling more鈥� but selling profitably. Human Resources build culture. An inspired and capable work force often makes the difference between one-time transactions and long-term client partnerships. Customer service sustains the relationship after the deal. In many industries, the most profitable growth comes not from fresh customers but from repeat business.
Research and development keeps the organisation relevant, ensuring that offerings evolve with market trends and customer expectations. The world鈥檚 most admired companies show that growth never comes from sales alone. Apple鈥檚 retail teams may sell millions of iPhones, but its growth engine is the product design, research and development and ecosystem integration. Without the seamless experience between hardware, software and services, Apple鈥檚 sales team would have little more than a commodity to sell. Customers line up not because of sales tactics, but because of innovation and brand experience.
Toyota, known for its production system, proves that operations can be as powerful a driver of growth as sales. By focusing on lean manufacturing, quality and supply chain efficiency, Toyota built a reputation that helps sales teams to succeed worldwide. Customers buy Toyotas not because of persuasive sales pitches but the reliability engineered into the car.
The growth story of Unilever, with brands in nearly every household, is tied closely to marketing, innovation and sustainability. Campaigns that connect emotionally with consumers, combined with strong research and development and commitment to environmental responsibility have allowed the company to build loyalty across generations. Sales close the deals, but the heavy lifting is done by brand building and purposeful innovation.
The most successful organisations do not treat sales as the sole guardian of growth. They foster a culture where every function recognises its role in value creation. This requires leadership to shift the narrative. Instead of saying 鈥榮ales drive growth鈥�, the message is 鈥榞rowth is everyone鈥檚 responsibility.鈥�
The practical steps include cross-functional KPIs that encourage shared accountability by linking performance metrics of different functions to overall growth outcomes. Integrated planning ensures that sales forecasts are aligned with operational capacity, financial prudence and talent availability. When milestones are achieved, contributions from across the organisation, not just the sales team, should be recognised. Customer-centric alignment should focus on strategies where every function views its role through the lens of customers and values delivery.
Such practices build resilience and reduce dependency on any single function, ensuring that growth is broad-based and sustainable. The most important shift that organisations must make is to redefine 鈥榞rowth,鈥� which is not merely a rise in revenue. It is about strengthening the organisation鈥檚 market position, profitability, brand equity and adaptability. A profitable but small revenue base can be healthier than high revenue with eroded margins. Finance must reinforce this reality to balance aggressive sales targets. Retaining customers can be more valuable than acquiring new ones. Here, service and operations play a role larger than that of sales. Innovation and product relevance can open up markets. This often originates from research and development and strategy, not sales.
Growth is a shared mission, where every function has a voice and a responsibility. An organisation that views sales as the lone driver risks building a fragile foundation that may be vulnerable to market shocks, operational failure or customer dissatisfaction.
Growth is not about who 鈥榙elivers,鈥� but about how everyone contributes to it. Sales may score the winning goal, but the victory belongs to the whole team.
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Rajib Kumar Saha is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh.
