How Manager can Prevent a Style Conflict Between Customer Service and Sales?

Proper information and communication is the key for Sales and Customer Service to be in a mutual relationship.

I have been with customer service for a long time and we have been in battle with sales ever since. Our customers will call us and tell us that sales agents have promised them something in order them to buy or subscribe to our service, then later on finds out that the charges were not what they were told and the service is different from what they were promised. Of course, our job as customer service reps will be to resolve the issue and carry the consequences of the other department's fault. After we solve the issue, everything will be fine but this usually creates a conflict between sales and customer service.

In order to avoid these, sales and customer service should have a good communication and must be aware of each other's limitations and scope of support. They must have proper documentation and direct contact for the responsible sales person who sold the service or product. They must also be joined together as a big team instead of separating those two departments in different rooms, which only fosters conflicts and misunderstandings.

Although conflict is essentially inevitable, there are steps you can take to make sure your employees know you are looking out for rifts and taking steps to remedy conflicts and prevent future situations.

The following steps will help in preventing the style conflict:

Providing forums for such highly dependent groups to share goals, process improvements, problems and concerns• Assess the situation, listening to all sides of the conflict, do not postpone or avoid the issues• Encourage employees to approach the situation with a constructive attitude• Use neutral language and be impartial as you address conflict• Listen actively and do not interrupt employees as they describe the issues at hand• Avoid judgmental remarks or sweeping generalizations

To prevent a style mismatch you have to treat your clients in the same way whether they are being serviced by salesmen or by the customer service department.

@ Mika You are Right, well i want to see customer services and sales department must work together, if they all want to achieve their best goals. 

Conflict is one of the most difficult things for any manager or entrepreneur to handle.

Dealing with conflict means directly addressing the difference in opinion or belief. You and the other party have only two productive options: accept the other person’s position or find a compromise. Mutual rejection is not a productive option. You must keep dealing with the conflict until there is a mutual resolution: acceptance or compromise. As you go through this process, always take the high road. Take the time to understand the other person’s position, feelings and beliefs.