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Are sales people becoming too soft?
Has the recession and automation take the EDGE out of the way sales people execute their craft?
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7 Answers
Having been both a Sales Leader, Executive, Business Consultant and Board Member I think there are a couple of factors at play here.
First, most Executives and Companies would rate their sales teams as slightly above average and many do not believe it is a key differentiator in their business.
I believe that organizations that led true sales focused organizations like IBM and Xerox, who led the way in creating excellent sales cultures starting are in many respects a thing of the past. They understood that strong hiring practices, new hire orientation programs and ongoing sales management and performance management were keys to the development of top sales people. Few emulate that culture and model of success any more.
Too many companies are hiring good people and sending them to a gun fight with a knife, their own knife. They have messaging that is commodity based and not solutions oriented. They do not actively participate in the development of that message and or the people.
I believe that many companies are at fault. In some cases they have taken Sales for granted and have not invested the time, energy and collabration needed to really excel in sales, marketing and delivering good messaging.
Sales is about asking good questions, listening, understanding and solving real business issues. There is a saying "if you want a better wife be a better husband" and to that point "if you want a better sales person be a better manage and leader".
Finally, inspect what you expect. Get in the field where positive things are happening and reinforce that behaviour, lead by example, teach, coach and lead. It's amazing how much rubs off when you take an interest in the various aspects of your business.
You will be surprised how great sales people emerge in the right culture and when armed with the right tools.
I don't know of a way to gather empirical data to support a yes or no answer on this question. However, the legendary sales career (1940's - 1980's) of one salesman, Ben Feldman, has always inspired me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Feldman_(insurance_salesman).
Sadly, I never had the opportunity to meet Ben Feldman, but the stories of his success in selling prodigious amounts of life insurance (estimated $1.8 billion) from small town Ohio are chronicled in articles, books, sales training curricula, etc. Of all that has been said and written about Ben, one anecdote stood out:
Ben would practice his sales pitch tirelessly into a tape recorder with the goal of creating the tightest, most profound, stunning sales statement. After years of refinement, he finally hit on, "When you walk out - your money walks in." Pretty effective closing statement if you have ever had nervous moments about how your loved ones would be provided for in the wake of your demise - it's calming - yet compelling.
So, do today's sales professionals work tirelessly on continuous improvement like Ben Feldman? I don't know, but I am sure that the best performers do. Yet, Ben Feldman and his contemporaries had an "unfair advantage" in the post Great Depression and World War II era, which helped to "concentrate the mind" [1] of many.
[1] Samuel Johnson - "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."
No, I don't think sales people are becoming "soft enough." Soft meaning soft skills. Ask any customer why they bought from a sales person and the answer is friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, helpful all which revolve around the #1 reason, "likability."
Sales people should get "softer," and focus more on empathy, building rapport and genuine relationships.
Grind for Greatness!
I think that you need to break this question down by industry.
If you look at the conferencing/collaboration market then a notable trend here is the change from telephone based selling to solution based selling.
Sales people need to build relationships and truly understand the organization they are trying to penetrate in order to sell effectively.
Gone are the days of the 'hard sell', it is now the 'solution sell' - find the pain points within an organization, consult with the decision makers and sell them a solution which resolves these pain points.
Cold Calling or Agressive Selling is not appreciated and suitable in today's business climate.
Recent survey amongst CIO's, IT directors and managers showed that if they have a problem/issue they shall look for a solution. It is now all about delivering excellent content, not just good or average, social media ecosystem (which channels or distubution points are you going to use), business communities, webinars.
A big shift is happening now in how companies are marketing themselves, more a shift towards pull strategy than push strategy. Using online communities is very powerful tool get the right audience attention to your product or services. It is more about consultative selling, recent survey amongs C level are pointing out that they want sales people who are asking about what they really need and not offering a standard sales pitch. Understand their business needs and participate/engage in getting the right solution which is sustainable.
@ Kevin
Amen! Great observations.
I've been in sales since I was 10 years old, collecting lizards outside my Boy Scout jamboree and selling them to people walking by my Scout troop's booth. I've sold everything from light bulbs to men's clothing to furniture to cars to real estate, and now sell HyperGold's web design and development services.
I look at it this way: If I believe in my product or service, and if I've objectively considered the needs of the customer, and honestly determined that what I have to offer will improve his/her business or life - or even more importantly, solve a critical problem in a way that is the best possible solution, and with an attractive ROI, then if I really care about that person, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get that product or service into the customer's hands - even if it means getting "pushy" at some point in the negotiations.
Not every transaction can be "soft" - some people have hard heads, and will walk away without the very thing they need from you in order to succeed at whatever it is they want to do. And if you let them walk away because you don't want to be a hard nose, you are in the wrong business.
The trick is to accurately read the customer - not project your own needs into the negotiations. That's the hardest challenge anyone in sales ever has to overcome. And I also believe that if you don't absolutely believe your customer needs, wants and can afford your product or service, walk away and figure it out.
Rob
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