The game of sales can be a challenging one, and some people are just not meant to be in the field. However, some people are born with the natural ability to sell. Now, we aren't saying women are better salespeople than men, but the ladies do have a few natural qualities that make them great at sales.
According to Luke LeSaffre, a Senior Sales Representative at Fusion Worldwide, there are three important factors for success in sales:
Building a good relationship with the customer
Being able to handle any type of conversation effectively
Being trusted by the customer
After evaluating these qualities, we found that women excel in these areas. Why? Because they are great at nurturing relationships—a crucial part of working (and succeeding) in the sales industry.
“Relationships are a huge part of the job and business," says LeSaffre. Here are three reasons why women make great salespeople:
1. Women Have Good People Skills
Building strong relationships with your customers is a huge part of the sales industry. You have to have the natural ability to talk with anyone at any time, and make those conversations valuable.
According to Women Make the Best Salesmen: Isn't it Time You Started Using their Secrets? by Marion Luna Brem, women have natural social skills and acute emotional antennae, which make them ideal candidates for sales success.
Having the ability to listen to the needs of a customer is a crucial part of building a lasting relationship.
3. Women Are Empathizers
A recent study showed that middle-aged women were extremely empathetic—more so than most people (male or female).
In sales, empathy is a great quality to have because it helps the seller relate to the buyer, which helps the seller provide the buyer with exactly what he or she wants. This quality is important because it not only builds trust and encourages loyalty, but it also builds credibility.
So, do you think you have what it takes to be a great salesperson? If so, Fusion Worldwide is looking to expand its sales team!
Fusion Worldwide is hiring for positions in six locations: Boston, Amsterdam, Munich, Seoul, Shenzhen, and Singapore. Plenty of promotions have been offered to high-performers within the company in the past, so a crack at being a sales leader by title could be in your near future.
Need help finding a job in sales? We're here for you!
Or, join our career growth club today and get access to one-on-one career coaching, resume and cover letter reviews, online tutorials, and unlimited networking opportunities—all in your back pocket!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. It was written and approved by our editorial staff to ensure it meets Work It Daily's editorial standards. This post was originally published at an earlier date.
There are people out there who always knew they would build a career in sales. But I feel this does not match most salespeople's experience.
Most of us did not dream of becoming successful salespeople when we were young. Just like other folks, we were going to become athletes, astronauts, doctors, perhaps engineers, but "sales"?
Do you mean that guy?No way!
In fact, sales is often something that happens a bit by accident. Perhaps in part because of the stained image too many salespeople give to the profession. Maybe because you never thought you could—until you learned otherwise.
Perhaps because you had no choice. Someone needs to do it!
Maybe in this economy, this is happening to you right now. And you doubt yourself. Can I make it?
Look, I won't lie to you. It can be challenging at times. But here's the secret: it is not that tough.
And forget about the stereotypical salesperson. You don't need to be him to be successful. In fact, the best of us are nothing like that image.
We know what we sell. We are passionate about what we do. We take care of customers—we do not swindle them. And we take care of our company as if it were our own.
Welcome to the brotherhood and sisterhood of sales! We are glad to have you around.
You Know Your "Stuff"? You Can Be A Good Salesperson!
Those who find their way by happenstance to sales are often people with industry expertise that companies believe will give them a leg up in the market.
It is not complicated to understand why either. Just put yourself in the shoes of a prospective customer. Who would you prefer to deal with?
The salesperson that seems to come straight out of that used sales car dealership (no offense), ready to take advantage of you through "mythical" negotiation skills and tactics;
Or the person with whom you can discuss your problem at length and who will give you valid advice?
The best salespeople are there to create trust. Without it, selling becomes much more arduous, if not downright impossible. What better way to do this than to be able to "talk shop" with someone that could be a colleague of yours?
That is what enables you to go from "just another salesperson" to a trusted advisor.
Does it mean you absolutely need to know, say, your software solution as if you programmed it yourself? No, of course not. But the more you know, the more credible you become in the eyes of your audience, and the more successful you are likely to be discussing a viable solution to the client's problem.
That is when a client stops seeing your product or service as an expense (who wants to pay for anything?) and starts seeing it as an investment and a way forward. As something that will genuinely help the mission.
Again, try to see it from your prospect's perspective. What are they trying to do? What are the problems along the way? Can the offering you are repping be of service to them? If so, then there is likely a deal to be had.
And you won't have to rely on quasi-magical negotiation powers. These are overrated anyway.
Speaking From The Heart Earns The Trust Of Prospective Clients
Now, imagine this scene. You enter a specialized store and need the help of a vendor. Someone shows up and speaks in a monotonous tone, shows neither interest nor knowledge about his or her products, and just leaves you there wondering what to take from the shelf.
Yes, I know, we see this a lot in big box stores. The question is, are you happy with this? If you know exactly what you need, perhaps—but then why even have salespeople?
In B2B and often B2C, this is not what clients want or expect. Clients need knowledgeable people that believe in what they are selling.
Interest is good, but true passion is downright contagious. Clients will sense it and react to it. It builds trust. "Whoa, if he or she feels like this, it must be good!"
Now, obviously, I am not suggesting you should fake it. Faked passion is easy to spot and a real turn-off. But you should not hesitate to identify with what you are selling as a point of pride.
What if you cannot? What if you just signed up for that job to get the paycheck and you do not believe in the company's mission or products?
Well, I understand. You have to do what you have to do. But ultimately, would you buy from someone that does not believe in his or her wares? Probably not. And that should be all the signs you need to conclude that you should be hunting...for another job.
Please note here that I am talking about passion, not perfection. No one's product or service is perfect. If perfection is your litmus test, you will never be able to find the right fit. But still, you want to represent a company you appreciate of selling products or services of which you can be proud.
Clients Are Why Salespeople Exist—And Their Success Matters!
People often hesitate before accepting a position with sales responsibilities because of the reputation of selfishness that sticks to the profession.
Where there is fire, there's smoke. Yes, there are mercenaries in sales that only see their paychecks and nothing else. But, no, you don't have to be this way to be successful. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Again, place yourself in the shoes of a client. We have all been one, one day or another. Can't you tell when someone is thinking in purely selfish terms? Of course, you can! There is some alarm going crazy in your mind, a sort of Spidey sense.
Here's a not-so-dirty secret. The best salespeople are genuinely interested in the success of their clients. And they do so for two reasons.
First, they want to be able to look at their faces in the morning. They are no different from most of the people on the planet. When they sense they are helping out, they feel happy, otherwise not.
In my position, I had the chance to contribute to some amazing projects. A nation's first probe to Mars. Advanced autonomous driving systems. Innovative communication systems aboard airlines. I even had the chance to purchase a car in which the OEM used our unit testing tool to verify the software at the heart of the hybrid drive. Cool, huh?
The second reason is what should rightly be called "enlightened self-interest." Finding new customers is often difficult. You need to identify them, then engage them somehow, and above all, earn their trust. The first time, it is always a bit tricky.
Which is why repeat sales are so important. They tend to be easier. And as trust grows, so often does the size of the deals.
Now, how do you get there? By caring about client success and acting accordingly, that's how! Sales are the voice of clients inside the company. It is both a pleasure and an amazing responsibility.
Excellent Salespeople Treat Their Organizations As Owners
The best salespeople are driven. Do they like to earn money? Absolutely!
But there is more. They are builders at heart. Whether they are hunters, farmers, or anything in between, they pride themselves on making it happen.
One thing they don't do? Put their number one client, their employers, in trouble.
The beta salespeople will do this in spades. Any deal goes! Impossible to deliver? Not profitable? That is their COMPANY'S problem, not theirs! These folks usually end up causing significant damage before moving on and causing the same damage elsewhere.
On the contrary, the gems of salespeople treat their organization as if they were the owner. They take pride in what they do and achieve win-win deals—for their clients, the company, and themselves in the process.
That prompts them to go out of their way to become the best salesperson they can be by learning a lot about their products.
They also know—or learn—when a deal is better left unmade. When inking a contract will lead the organization into trouble. They pride themselves on their ability to say no, even when it comes at a short-term loss for them personally, because they know where this leads.
Of course, some organizations value the short-term profit above anything else. Again, it becomes a matter of choice. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn in which world of pain this will eventually land the company. The message here needs to be clear and limpid: don't join these organizations. But this is a matter for another article.
So you are a director of sales. A VP. Perhaps even a CRO.
You have people working for you. They ensure the day-to-day operations, as they should.
Your time should therefore be 100% dedicated to sales management, right? Put in place the proper procedures and let the organization grow?
Well, not exactly.
Don't get me wrong. Sales management is an art of its own. Procedures and policies are important. But they only exist to help you grow sales. And these aren't growing without the active involvement of your most crucial elements: your employees.
The best-written procedures and policies are mute in the absence of competent—and well-motivated—team players. Your goal needs to be that humans working for you do so at peak efficiency. That will only happen if they feel a stake in the success of your company or unit.
Get them to identify intimately with your goals, and they will put both their hearts and minds in the mission. This will multiply their effectiveness—and your organization's too!
To do this, you must spend enough time, shoulder to shoulder, with them in the field. See the hurdles they face and help them overcome challenges. That is not under your pay grade; in fact, it is the most critical part of your job!
Here are the three reasons why.
Generals Leading The Charge Earn The Trust Of Their Troops
#trust is required for #credibility, which is required for #leadership - #fyp #edutok #inspiration #leaders @crystalartz66
Sun Ze said it best in The Art of War: "Look upon (your soldiers) as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."
Not that you would dream to work your employees to death! But Master Sun's point remains relevant here.
Employees, just as soldiers, see right through their leaders. If they think someone is untrustworthy, most will not give their 100% to the cause. They will think in individual terms and seek to protect themselves first and foremost. Their loyalty will be minimal. All of this will have profound impacts on the performance of the organization.
So, gaining the trust of employees is paramount for any leader worth his or her salt. One of the best ways to earn that trust is to roll your sleeves and get in the trenches with your troops.
Of course, showing up is not enough to generate goodwill. If you are the type of manager whose employees fear because he or she seeks to assign blame and rule through terror, then your presence will not help—quite the opposite, as explained in this video.
I recruited and managed teams of salespeople, sales engineers, and application engineers in four countries. Before the pandemic, I visited them regularly with a simple message: I got their back. Whatever I could do to help, I would.
That included being their fail-safe. One of the advantages of having a business and technology background is that you can switch hats depending on the needs. Of course, that required me to learn what we were selling and write the book about how to sell it with my crew, but who said leadership was easy?
In hindsight, this was the right strategy. My crew and I built the territory from scratch into a powerhouse. We surmounted long odds and delivered incredible value to the organization because they trusted me, and I trusted them.
Of course, as the team grows and specializes, it is not always possible—and generally not desirable—for the leader to be able to do every job as expertly as the team members. But knowing a minimum and being willing to pitch in is, in my estimation, enough to earn you the trust of your crew.
Knowing The Way Of The Land Requires You To Travel The Land
Visit clients with your team and gain valuable intel.
Sales and tech sales crews appreciate visits from leaders that show up to help them complete their tasks. It also gives these leaders a perfect opportunity to learn firsthand about the challenges their troops are facing in the field and how the organization can adapt to an ever-changing world.
Of course, your team can write reports. And you may gain insights from them. But then, nothing quite compares to seeing things for yourself.
That is because your crew is mightily busy with the day-to-day operations. Albeit you are there for them, your role is also more strategic. You have to be aware of what is going on the ground to detect new needs and trends in the market and translate that back to the rest of the organization.
That is not to say that your team cannot help you with that task. As I mentioned in a previous article, employees are first and foremost a collection of brains. When you engage with them as equals while providing them with your guidance, your troops may come with ideas that never occurred to you.
I am pretty proud of what we accomplished together. We figured out how to deploy our solutions into new environments and even new industries. We did what the organization previously thought was impossible for the tool.
We did it together, based on our smarts—and because lessons from the field translated into specific actions in R&D. This would have been a lot less likely if I did not visit clients with my team regularly.
Sales Leaders Visit Their Troops To Build Market Momentum
Besides building trust within your team and gaining market intelligence, sales leaders that visit the field with their teams can generate revenue momentum.
How?
Say my team sometimes had problems landing enough interesting appointments. I would let them know in advance that I would be visiting on specific days, with an instruction to prioritize external meetings. Some internal discussions were fine, of course, but the priority was the clients.
Besides, team meetings are always done best around meals at lunch and dinner.
That gave them a very potent tool. Salespeople would call up clients and explain that a senior leader (and one who could speak tech, too) would be visiting the area. They would also suggest that this person expressed an interest in their organization.
All true. Besides being flattering, it also meant more value for clients. Which meant salespeople could more easily land meetings.
I call this strategy "showing the flag." In my view, it is essential when you are working with remote sales teams spread all over the planet.
Now, as my friend Dave Carrington astutely mentioned, salespeople are sometimes wary of bringing other people, even their bosses, to clients because they sometimes act rashly. He has a point—if you want to know what he meant, just watch my YouTube video above.
This is why it is critical you be a good team player. You are there to help, not to replace. You don't steal your employees' thunder; you multiply it.
You have a complex technical product. You recruit salespeople that specialize in hunting, farming, and closing deals.
Since this is complex tech, you also recruit a number of application engineers, sales engineers, or consultants to back them up. They are running pre-sales, sometimes deliveries and after-sales too.
And then you find out that both groups mistrust each other.
Engineers may find their sales colleagues bossy that do not truly understand what they are selling. That they are willing to sell vaporware. That they only care about one thing: closing—and the paycheck that comes with it. And that they, the engineers, are being called upon to mop the messes they leave in their wake.
Salespeople may find their engineer colleagues over-cautious and tedious. Prompt to say that things are "impossible" or "too difficult" to do. Only too happy to speak in tongues ("techno-babble") and not be sufficiently motivated by results. Some may even genuinely believe engineers need a salesperson's "strong hand" to get any "real" job done.
I can understand this from both ends. I have been doing my own sales and my own sales engineering for years. I also recruited and managed great people in both categories. And here are the lessons I learned along the way that helped me promote peace and efficiency.
Wanted: Tech-Curious Salespeople
Forget about the myth of the all-powerful salesperson that can sell anything to anyone. The best salespeople are solution-oriented. They have a real passion for what they are selling and learn everything they can about it.
They also care about their clients' success because of enlightened self-interest; not only is it the right thing to do, but it is also profitable. They know satisfied clients will buy again. And they know selling vaporware is the surest way to ensure this doesn't happen.
So, if you want harmony and efficiency in your sales organization, you want to recruit accordingly. Not all salespeople will play nicely with engineers. First, avoid the Lone Wolves, the arrogant and selfish ones, at any cost, as any true collaboration is above their level of ability.
Likewise, anyone that sees himself or herself as a unidimensional expert of sales should raise suspicion. Specialty is one thing, but a lack of interest in what one sells is quite another. Would you ever buy professional services (say, car repair services or home improvement) from someone that did not minimally understand them?
Personally, I go for the challengers. The ones that specialize in business development but want to really engage with clients. People that do not fear to learn continuously.
I have one example in mind. That particular gentleman may not have been an engineer, but he volunteered to learn how to demo the tool. He saw, rightfully, that the way to build trust with clients was to talk the talk and walk the walk. The team became more effective and a lot more agile because of what he did, but he earned the trust and respect of the engineers on the team.
Just as not all salespeople are a good fit for technology selling, not all engineers can adapt to the rigors of life in a sales team.
Are you most comfortable in crystal-clear settings, known environments with plenty of time to complete your work? Unfortunately, in the field, it rarely works like this. You are much more likely to face ambiguous situations with unstable environments—and clients that wanted a solution to their woes yesterday.
Sound horrible? It may be. But it is also exhilarating. You gain exposure to some amazingly cutting-edge projects. You get to learn—and learn a lot. Monotonous, it is certainly not.
So, it all depends on personality. Are you an adventurer, a cowboy that gets a kick out of that type of challenge, or do you prefer a more traditional engineering environment?
There is not a right or wrong answer here. The great thing about human beings is that we have lots of diversity, and we need that diversity of skill to build complex civilizations.
So, it is all about ensuring you put the right folks into the right chairs.
In my case, I found that recruiting my engineers primarily based on their personalities, such as their resilience and flexibility, was key to success.
Gaps in skills, I could teach—as long as the person was coachable and willing to learn. But the folks that succeeded as sales and application engineers are the ones that refused to quit when they faced issues at customer sites. They tried and tried again.
Personality traits matter. And without disclosing too much about how I went around to gauge this before they got hired (Hey, you don't expect my future hires to know all my bag of tricks, do you?), there are ways to test for these before you make a choice.
But for this to happen, you have to modulate your expectations. In other words, pick first for personality, then for skills. Otherwise, you will be hunting a purple squirrel.
Not exactly what they taught us in "leadership school," but it works.
Leaders, Here's How To Bind Salespeople And Sales Engineers Together
#leading #teammate s is like growing plants! #fyp #foryou #leadership #mentoring #mentor #growth #edutok @melodieturk1 @j.t.odonnell @cynthiamccarthy
Recruiting is, of course, only part of the battle. The right team members can still treat each other as foreigners if placed in the wrong environment.
That is when effective leadership comes in.
Instill a sense of shared mission: Both salespeople and engineers are on your team to achieve the same objectives. They do so in their respective specialty, sure, but ultimately everyone on the team is there for the same purpose: increasing profitable revenues by ensuring clients are successful. That is something that must be ingrained at the heart of the team. And I know no better way than communicating it clearly and often. The unmistakable message must be that we succeed or fail together—salespeople and engineers.
Some things cannot be tolerated: Here is something that you never want to hear from a team member: "My job is to sell (or write code), whatever else is someone else's problem." Sorry pal, this is incorrect. Sales success is everyone's responsibility. And because sales success requires closing—and many more things—you cannot wash your hands clean by stipulating you have an expertise and your responsibility ends there. In other words, the expectation must be that you act as if you were the company's owners. You do not land the company in hot water by signing rotten contracts and then walking away, letting others fix it. Signing deals is an amazing responsibility that shall not be entrusted to irresponsible folks.
Encourage cross-specialty training: In my experience, nothing is quite as effective to secure harmony in a sales team as providing opportunities for learning skills on the other side of the fence. At times, I entrusted business development missions to application engineers and taught them to manage customer expectations. Conversely, I also taught salespeople how to conduct simple demos and explained complex technical realities in layman's terms. And I mentored both in the art of writing white papers. That does not only allow team members to better relate to one another on a personal basis, but it also enables them to grow and become more efficient. Salespeople become true solution folks and are more adept at securing client trust, the currency of choice for closing deals. Engineers get the tools they need to handle client objections and expectations more efficiently. They all become more valuable players in the process.
Rituals build camaraderie: The role of a leader is to be a cheerleader, not the one that systematically decides everything. Just the one that ensures team members are all rowing in the same direction. That is perhaps the most tricky thing of all. I found that a few team rituals help achieve that goal. Personally, each time I visit my remote sales teams, I make sure that I bring them all to share a meal. It doesn't need to be the fanciest or most expensive place—I actively avoid these (I like the local vibe and don't want to antagonize finance). Here is what it does: it brings all of us together. You may find other rituals as well.
Are You Saying One Thing And Your Incentives Another?
The Posting Gets TOO Personal
To ensure harmony between salespeople on one hand and sales engineers on the other, we need to discuss the effect of the incentive plans on behavior.
This is the big elephant in the room. And it is a very complex topic that is worthy of many articles—and quite a few debates! Since this article is already long enough, I won't go into too much detail.
(Well, perhaps one day, in a future article!)
But I will ask a simple question. If you, as the leader, assign a salesperson a sky-high quota and compensate that individual solely on his ability to close, can you guess what will happen at the end of the quarter or year when they come up short?
That's right: they will close anything, even rotten deals. Who cares if the project fails in the end?
He or she will also try to unleash presales after any prospect, even those where the engineers tell him or her there is nothing they can do, in order to save his or her own skin.
That quickly becomes an organizational problem. Not only will it create discontent within the team, but that behavior will end up sullying the brand. Talk about a lose-lose situation!
But again, this is a controversial and complex topic that is well-deserving of his own paper—or two or three.
Many have a specific image of a salesperson. It is usually not a flattering one.
Manipulative. Dishonest. Shifty. And above all, greedy!
Such is the stereotypical image. It explains why a company like Vroom is busy advertising on TV that buying a car from them never involves a trip to the car dealership. Salespeople are depicted as nothing less than evil clowns.
Yes, there are clowns out there—both in B2C and B2B. But in my experience, the most efficient salespeople are nothing like this.
The best salespeople are inherently passionate. They have a keen interest in what they sell. They are on a mission to improve the world, one sale at a time.
However, I am not naive. I know there are some salespeople that choose not to learn too much about what they sell or their industry. They may be put off by their product's sheer technicality and concerned about misspeaking about its benefits. Others don't want to deal with anything technical and concentrate on being an "expert at selling" - whatever that means.
In my industry, these folks are quickly spotted. Clients know who they are and what they do. And it is not solving their problem. So, not too surprisingly, they prefer to speak with other people in the team—for example, the application or sales engineer, or perhaps the executive, that is sometimes tagging along with the salesperson.
They want to speak with someone who will elevate the discussion to strategize on solutions instead of dishing out bromides on nifty PowerPoint documents.
Some of these colleagues may stick around for a few months or years. But they ultimately move to something else. They just don't have a passion for what they sell. And that eventually leads to fewer sales.
Forget about salespeople being able to sell anything to anyone. The best of us convey excitement about what they are representing. They may not all be engineers or experts about it, but they want to know more about what they sell, about their client, and how both relate.
In Sales, Solutions And Imagination Go Hand-In-Hand
Many authors rhapsodized for years about solution selling, and rightly so. No one I know of wants to be "sold to," but everyone has problems they need resolved, and most will appreciate genuine help to do so.
Besides pointing to the need for salespeople to know about their industry and their solutions, it also highlights the importance of one other factor that too often gets ignored: imagination.
Yes, imagination.
Think about it. All of your clients may share similarities, but none of them are totally the same. They all have their quirks, nooks, and crannies. Needs may be similar, but the way to meet them differ, sometimes wildly.
For the Trekkies among us, the client universe is "infinite diversity in infinite combinations."
Granted, this is especially the case of B2B solutions that can (or should) be customized per customer specs. But imagination goes way beyond a purely technical discussion.
Ever had to come up with inventive payment terms that were acceptable to both a client and your organization? Or negotiate internally with your operations manager as to how to ensure timely delivery?
Effective salespeople are plastic and fluid. They think outside the box. If there is a way to attain a win-win deal, they find it, negotiate it, and help implement it.
And they just LOVE the challenge of it all! When they meet, like when I talk to my friend David Carrington, they end up trading "field stories" about inventive ways they created value for their clients and organizations.
They exchange gleefully about experiences fitting square pegs in round holes.
Does it apply to B2C? I am not an expert. But I feel something similar is going on. Perhaps someone can comment.
Effective Salespeople Are Resilient Warriors AND Caring Diplomats
"Sales is easy," said no one. EVER.
It is exciting, but it is often difficult. Besides trying to make a solution fit specific needs, life happens and throws you curveballs. The deal you spent months on goes poof because the client has a change in command, and you need to start again. Projects get delayed.
Without resilience, no one survives in sales very long. It is grueling at times.
Understanding this, some sales leaders conclude they should hire a special breed of salesperson known as the Lone Wolf. In short, greedy people with limited morals willing to do whatever it takes to get to the deal, no matter who gets hurt along the way.
Think Anakin Skywalker channeling the power of the dark side.
But nothing could be further from the truth. The most effective salespeople are not only resilient warriors that enjoy a challenge. They are also very much aware that people like to do business with likable people.
They also know the power of relationships on their quota. The best clients are the ones you first secure and keep on buying from you. That generally doesn't happen when you fleece them or when these clients just don't like you.
Effective salespeople are not naive. They know that clients won't purchase solely based on their likable personality. But they understand the human psyche. They know trust and credibility are their most valuable assets as they engage in business.
They apply these lessons within their own organizations as well. They know that their effectiveness will be multiplied if other salespeople and other employees play ball with them.
Ambitious and resilient, they are. But Lone Wolves they are not.
Need a bit more convincing? I published a series of videos (with a touch of humor) on the topic of Lone Wolves, episode 3 being displayed above. Feel free to watch it and leave your comments.
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The Posting Gets TOO Personal
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