The history of mergers and acquisitions is filled with the best laid plans that — oops — left out one tiny detail: the sales force.  A new article in the McKinsey Quarterly online newsletter tackles the issue of sales force integration, a topic that SAMA has addressed often in the strategic account management context. The McKinsey article begins:

Make no mistake: mergers are challenging. Even so, they can provide organizations with transformative possibilities. One of the biggest—the integration of sales forces—is central to ensuring revenue growth and driving the value that mergers promise but often fail to realize.

Read the full article here (membership required).

Johnson Controls, a SAMA Corporate Member, shared its story of successful sale integration after its merger with York Internation. Link to order article here