Rules of Engagement

Every effective sales operation has rules, whether explicit or implicit, that govern how the team engages with prospects. These rules of engagement define appropriate behavior, set boundaries, and ensure coordination when multiple people interact with the same prospects. Making these rules explicit and systematic prevents the confusion and conflicts that plague disorganized operations.

Why Rules Matter

Without clear rules, well-intentioned team members work at cross purposes. Multiple people might contact the same prospect without knowing about each other. Follow-up timing might vary wildly depending on who handles a lead. Prospects might receive contradictory messages from different parts of your organization.

These problems create poor experiences for prospects and inefficiency for your team. Prospects get annoyed when they receive duplicate outreach or conflicting information. Team members waste effort duplicating work others have done. Opportunities fall through cracks when ownership is unclear.

Rules of engagement solve these problems by establishing shared expectations. Everyone knows who owns which prospects, how long to wait before following up, and what happens when someone does not respond. This clarity enables coordination without constant communication.

Ownership and Territory

Defining who owns which prospects prevents duplication and ensures accountability. Ownership rules specify how leads get assigned and how long assignments last.

Territory definitions might be geographic, dividing prospects by region. They might be based on company size, with different teams handling enterprise versus small business. They might follow industry lines or any other segmentation that makes sense for your operation.

Assignment rules determine how new leads entering your system get routed to owners. Automatic assignment based on defined criteria ensures immediate ownership. Manual assignment allows for judgment but requires prompt attention.

Duration rules address how long ownership lasts. Perpetual ownership creates clear accountability but can leave leads languishing with overloaded reps. Time-limited ownership allows redistribution but requires tracking expiration.

Communication Cadence

Rules about when and how often to contact prospects prevent both neglect and harassment. Cadence rules set expectations for follow-up timing, channel usage, and total touches.

Follow-up timing rules specify how long to wait between touches. Too aggressive annoys prospects. Too passive lets opportunities cool. Your rules should reflect what testing has shown works for your audience.

Channel rules define when to use email versus phone versus LinkedIn versus other channels. Multi-channel approaches work well but need coordination to avoid overwhelming prospects with simultaneous contact across channels.

Total touch limits prevent endless pursuit of unresponsive prospects. At some point, continued outreach wastes effort and risks reputation. Rules should define when to stop and move on.

Handoffs and Transitions

When leads move between stages or owners, handoffs need to happen cleanly. Transition rules ensure information transfers and the new owner has what they need to succeed.

Stage transitions often involve handoffs between roles. SDRs hand off to AEs when meetings are booked. AEs hand off to customer success when deals close. Each transition should include defined information transfer.

Owner changes within roles also need protocols. When someone leaves, goes on vacation, or gets overloaded, their leads need reassignment. Rules should specify how this happens and what information accompanies the transfer.

Documentation requirements support clean handoffs. If certain information must be captured before a transition, rules should specify what and enforce compliance. The new owner should never start without necessary context.

Escalation and Exceptions

Not every situation fits standard rules. Escalation procedures define how to handle exceptions appropriately.

Urgency escalation addresses time-sensitive situations. A hot lead who needs immediate response should not wait for standard cadence. Rules should define what triggers urgency and who handles it.

Complexity escalation routes difficult situations to people equipped to handle them. Unusual prospect requests, sensitive topics, or high-stakes deals might need special handling beyond standard processes.

Conflict resolution addresses situations where rules themselves create problems. What happens when two reps have legitimate claims to the same prospect? Who decides when rules seem wrong for a specific case? Having defined resolution processes prevents arguments and delays.

Living Rules

Rules of engagement should evolve with your operation. What works for a small team may not scale. What made sense for one market may not fit another.

Regular review ensures rules stay relevant. Schedule periodic examination of whether rules are working and where they create friction. Update rules based on what you learn from operating under them.

Communication about rules changes keeps everyone aligned. When rules update, make sure the team knows. Training on new rules prevents accidental violations and frustration.

Treat rules as tools that serve your goals, not constraints that exist for their own sake. The purpose is enabling effective engagement, not bureaucratic compliance.