Developing strategic priorities focused on the customer, an organization should encourage its sales people to work in a collaborative style to leverage business potential within the marketplace. Jeanne M. Liedtka suggests, in her research on how collaborating across lines of business gain competitive advantage, that by establishing a collaborative approach, a focus on internal organizational strengths and on the needs of the customer, there is then potential for gaining (or pulling) a larger segment of market share. Customers have to deal with external influences, their own preferences and multiple competitive choices in order to make informed decisions. Organizations that can take a holistic, collaborative approach to identifying and satisfying customer needs will more likely obtain a greater share of the market. The sales manager