It’s time to change the way the world looks at sales and by doing that we have to create a movement to transform ourselves into more proactive and brave salespeople.
Where do you do your most creative thinking? As I write this, I’m sitting by the lake because I think differently when I’m near water – and I’ve realized it’s time to change up how we think about sales.
When I was starting out in life, the last career I wanted was to go into sales or stay on the farm – but I’ve been selling for over 25 years and I love what I do. Working in partnership with different businesses – learning about their challenges, their teams, and their dreams while helping them craft solutions that lift their KPIs is deeply satisfying. But what nearly kept me out of this field hasn’t changed in 25 years – the stigma attached to being in sales, and the public’s negative perception of salespeople.
How bad is it? Even my own daughters have made it very clear they’d never consider a life in my field, and that’s regrettable. How many other bright and capable young people turn away from a sales career because they see it as a less-than-reputable profession? We know the economy needs strong, profitable businesses, and that sales and salespeople are what drives business success. So why is it that we get no respect?
Maybe it’s because we don’t earn it.
According to research from OMG – Objective Management Group, the number one sales assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of salespeople – 50% of salespeople are subpar, based on the competencies and sales standards of today. Only 57% of salespeople will achieve their sales targets this year. That’s an ugly statistic you can’t put lipstick on.
YES- we need to do better.
It’s time for us to plant the flag and transform not only the sales world but also the rest of the world’s perception of us. Let’s commit to being smarter and bolder at our jobs; to becoming more strategic, proactive, and brave! Yes, it takes guts and effort to change how you do what you do, but the success and satisfaction it brings are so worth it and you don’t have to do it alone.
Let’s work together to grow our profession and our professionalism in sales. Share on XMy team and I have committed to changing not just the perception of sales but the profession of sales from the inside out. Are you in?
Here are three action steps you can take right now to raise the bar and to be more successful at what you do:
1. Hold your team to a higher standard of sales expertise and excellence. Lead by example and coach your people to meet those expectations. Nobody learns in a vacuum.
2. Let’s rally together in the sales community. If you know a salesperson, sales leader or sales team who’s struggling to get better sales – let’s reach out to lead, coach and mentor them to get them there.
3. Join us on Friday, September 21st, at the Evolve Sales Leaders Think Tank Breakfast. We’ll tackle the challenges in sales, strategize solutions and share best practices to raise our sales teams to next-level performance and stronger results.
Let’s work together to grow our profession and our professionalism. Let’s be bold. Let’s be brave. It’s time.
Teneo Challenge: Join us at our Evolve Sales Leaders Breakfast event on Friday, September 21 to network with other sales leaders and get coached on your biggest sales team challenges. For more information, click here.
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.