What are Rules of Engagement (ROE) and Sales Policies?

Rules of Engagement or Sales Policies (ROE ) are a set of internal company rules, principles, and workflows that define and govern the sales process. Just like opening the box to a new board game, these are the rules. And just like when you’re playing a board game (for money in this case), things can get heated. So sales organizations need clear ROE to inform all the players in the sales process how it is meant to run.

The ROE should be a living, breathing hub of information that sellers go to when they have questions or to settle disputes. ROE should contain go-to-market principles such as Sales Territories, Account Definitions, Compensation Information, Opportunity Holdover Rules, a Planning Calendar…and on and on and on. It is the source of truth. It is the law. It is a major deliverable that can be tedious to compile.  But the act of compiling your ROE should help you to spot gaps in your sales process. BoogieBoard is here to help or Use the Notion Template below or click here for a ROE Template (Google Doc).

How to Format Rules of Engagement

Because your ROE is meant to be a piece of reference material, it should be dynamic.  Regardless of whether its an intranet site, slideshow, or document, make sure it has:

1. Versioning and audit log
   1. Your audience will need to know when something changes. You will need to track changes. Make this clear and simple.
2. Links, links, links, and more links to any necessary internal references (ie. Link to where to find your Comp Plan)
3. References to Sources of Truth

Sections to Include

Introduction

• Include the contributors and owners of this ROE
  • Showcase your collaboration efforts here
  • Each section should have one clear owner
• Version history & audit log
  • Keep things dynamic and track changes
• Glossary for acronyms
• Link to other major resources (ie Comp, Playbooks)

Annual or Quarterly Planning Calendar

Let people know what’s happening behind the scenes to make your go-to-market (GTM) machine work.  Give yourself, your team, and your collaborators credit for all of your efforts.  And let players in the game know what to expect.  That means setting timing for: