Problem Definition It appears that Avaya’s most immediate problem is a noticeable operational “gap” between the marketing and sales departments. Throughout the sales process, the departments are not working together in a cooperative fashion – they’re working separately, and sequentially. This gap not only affects the ways in which the departments interact and communicate, but is also likely affecting sales and demand generation. If there was a new model put in place for sales and marketing to work together, not only would sales and demand generation improve, but efficiency would undoubtedly increase. Due to the current operational model in place with these departments, each has their own systems and processes (funnels) …show more content…

This option is less-sustainable and would do little for increasing overall efficiency. The organization would also have to realize that there is a possibility that sales promotion might affect their current customers’ view of Avaya as a company that only cares about getting new customers.

Evaluative Criteria I feel that and effective alternative for Avaya must align with organizational objectives established by management. They’re looking for measurable results through a sustainable, integrated, and flexible model. To me, this indicates that they hope to implement changes that not only increase revenue, but also operational efficiency. The importance of increasing the flow of future good leads is addressed as a large concern, as executives feel that short-sightedness has become embedded in the culture of the current model and is identified as “quarter-to-quarter” thinking. Obviously, if an effective alternative model can increase the “flow” of leads to the marketing and sales departments, then I would also expect it to increase new business, so that the organization can continue to tap into growing markets such as the non-US segment. I selected these performance indicators don’t allow for any “quick-fixes” or “gimmicks.” If Avaya can find a way to meet all of these criteria through a model that gets the marketing and sales departments to work together,