The "S” Word
Slimy, sleazy, sneaky, self-serving, these are just a few of the associations that can come to mind when someone says the word “sales.” Let’s be honest, while these adjectives are inflammatory and frustrating to those of us who profess to be “sales professionals” it is not wholly unearned. Unfortunately, this is a common public perception resulting from a litany of bad sales interactions.
We've all experienced the aggressive, inauthentic, "gun for hire" salesperson. At best, this type of sales approach is off-putting, and at worse, predatory. Because of sales methods like this, we are rightly wary of becoming the next nieve victim, so we put our guard up anytime we hear the “s” word.
I have always been a gregarious person who naturally seeks out relationships with others. In college, I was unsure of what that meant for me professionally, but I knew I wanted to work with people. I majored in advertising because, at the time, that just seemed to be what people with my personality type were supposed to do. During my senior year, I did a practicum course at a well known, worldwide advertising firm in Tysons Corner, VA. I will never forget the day I overheard the salespeople assigned to the big fast-food account. They were eagerly brainstorming (scheming) on how they could entice lower-income, inner-city, patrons to buy more cheeseburgers. They had no respect for this consumer base; they saw them as nothing more than a bunch of mouths that needed a cheeseburger shoved in them. There were clear socioeconomic, and racists undertones to their campaign strategies and no one objected to that. On the contrary, the whole team was excited, and they were going to wow their client and get a big commission. On the ride home, I had time to process this (thanks to the typical Northern Virginia 75 minute commute), and I vowed to myself that I would never be like them.
Discouraged and confused about my future career path, I got my first job as an admin for an independent financial planner. It was a good opportunity; my boss was self-employed, so I got to wear a lot of hats. I built up a foundation of practical business acumen in an entrepreneurial environment. But after a year or so it was time to move on to my next challenge.
I decided to take a job with a large, technical recruiting firm, again located in Tysons Corner, VA. Excited, I imagined talking to people all day, helping clients fill roles and, ultimately helping people get jobs. As is often the case, the rosy picture the recruiter pitched to me, and the reality on the ground was quite different. While we did get to talk to people and help our clients fill roles, we also made our commission off the worker's back. The sales team was measured and paid on "spread." Spread is an industry term used to define the difference between what is billed out to the end client and what is paid to the worker. This model incented us to negotiate the lowest rate possible with the consultant. Persuading people to take less than I knew they deserved so I could come out on top felt wrong to me. That, combined with a toxic sales culture, made me miserable and anxious. It got so bad, I left within a month (without having another job lined up). When I met with my boss to turn in my resignation, he was shocked. He looked at me dumbfounded, and said: "but you are so good at this, you could make so much money here, I do not understand." And I knew he didn't, so I thanked him for the opportunity and walked out.
After these experiences, I wanted to move as far away from sales as I could, but I knew I still wanted to work with customers. So, I started as a front line customer service rep, at my current employer, MBO Partners. That was almost 12 years ago.
Through MBO, I had the opportunity to work with customers and wait for it, actually help them. Before I knew it, I was advising consultants on constructing and negotiating their bill rates effectively. In other words, the exact opposite of what I had been told to do at my last job. Throughout the years, I rose through the ranks, tried out many different roles throughout the organization and finally landed in consultative sales and have never looked back.
My journey helped me to define the difference between a salesperson and a sales professional. Throughout this blog series, I will help share insights into how you can be sure you are received and perceived as the latter, not the former. Are you ready to feel the rush of closing combined with the satisfaction that comes with knowing you are truly providing value to your prospects? Let’ go!