Why Salespeople Aren't Professionals
Why Salespeople Aren't Professionals
Most salespeople I know bemoan that fact they are often treated with less respect than other business people. Ask any salesperson and they will tell you countless stories about their calls not being returned, prospects that didn’t show up for appointments, lies they’ve been told and other horrible tales. Why is it that salespeople aren’t treated as professionals?
The simple answer is because they often haven’t behaved as professionals. Think about other business people who are seen as professionals, who have professions, not jobs or careers; doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, plumbers, the list goes on and on. You’d be hard-pressed, though, to find anyone who would put salespeople in general on the list of professionals. Let’s face it- it’s not something many kids aspire to become and it’s not something many parents would wish for their children. The question becomes, how do salespeople change that? How do we make sales an honorable profession?
So what’s the difference between accountants and salespeople (other than the obvious)? Most salespeople treat their jobs as just that - jobs. They find someone willing to hire them with no experience and no training and they set off on their path. They might get a few weeks of training at their new job, but most of it is focused on learning the specs of their product or a canned pitch or how to use a presentation book. After that, it’s the school of hard knocks that teaches them how to survive. And that’s all they learn - how to survive. They don’t take the time or the money to learn how to thrive, how to be extraordinary salespeople, how to help others get the things they want in life while earning a terrific living themselves. Professionals go to school, often for long periods of time. They apprentice with other skilled practitioners. They read countless books on their profession and even after they’ve earned their degrees and have practiced for years, they educate themselves continuously, remaining current in their field. How many salespeople do you know who do that? How many have invested the time and money to become experts, to learn their craft from the ground up, to have sound fundamentals that they practice every day with every client?
Let’s make it more personal. How many books on selling did you read last year? How many classes did you attend (other than what you were required to do for your company) that improved your selling skills or made you a more knowledgeable businessperson? How much different was 2003 from 2002 for you? What did you learn during 2003 that made you better at your profession? Do you know that thing well enough that you use it every single day?
Just to belabor the point, think about if other professionals saw their world the same way most salespeople do. Would you want a surgeon operating on you who looked at his profession from a survival or a “good enough” mode? Would you want to work with a surgeon who said, “Well, I’ve had a course or two in biology, I guess I know enough to operate now.”
I think it’s time we demanded more from ourselves and our profession. It’s time we started investing in ourselves and in our clients’ futures. We can’t continue to do just enough to get by and expect that things will improve for us. Yes, the economy is improving and that simple fact will put more money in our pockets. But it’s still a good-enough way of doing business. If we don’t change the way we approach things now we are just going to get us more of the same; poor treatment and a lack of respect that we’ve earned through our own unwillingness to change our behavior and become professionals. It’s time to make a decision - become true professionals and reap the rewards or continue as we have been and live with the consequences.
Why Salespeople Arent Professionals - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
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For the last few months I’ve discussed some of the things that keep salespeople from becoming really successful. We’ve talked about why salespeople fail, why they don’t achieve their goals and why the traditional sales process is fundamentally flawed. But the problem goes deeper than that. The problem is that most salespeople aren’t professionals.
Most salespeople I know bemoan that fact they are often treated with less respect than other business people. Ask any salesperson and they will tell you countless stories about their calls not being returned, prospects that didn’t show up for appointments, lies they’ve been told and other horrible tales. Why is it that salespeople aren’t treated as professionals?
The simple answer is because they often haven’t behaved as professionals. Think about other business people who are seen as professionals, who have professions, not jobs or careers; doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, plumbers, the list goes on and on. You’d be hard-pressed, though, to find anyone who would put salespeople in general on the list of professionals. Let’s face it- it’s not something many kids aspire to become and it’s not something many parents would wish for their children. The question becomes, how do salespeople change that? How do we make sales an honorable profession?
So what’s the difference between accountants and salespeople (other than the obvious)? Most salespeople treat their jobs as just that - jobs. They find someone willing to hire them with no experience and no training and they set off on their path. They might get a few weeks of training at their new job, but most of it is focused on learning the specs of their product or a canned pitch or how to use a presentation book. After that, it’s the school of hard knocks that teaches them how to survive. And that’s all they learn - how to survive. They don’t take the time or the money to learn how to thrive, how to be extraordinary salespeople, how to help others get the things they want in life while earning a terrific living themselves. Professionals go to school, often for long periods of time. They apprentice with other skilled practitioners. They read countless books on their profession and even after they’ve earned their degrees and have practiced for years, they educate themselves continuously, remaining current in their field. How many salespeople do you know who do that? How many have invested the time and money to become experts, to learn their craft from the ground up, to have sound fundamentals that they practice every day with every client?
Let’s make it more personal. How many books on selling did you read last year? How many classes did you attend (other than what you were required to do for your company) that improved your selling skills or made you a more knowledgeable businessperson? How much different was 2003 from 2002 for you? What did you learn during 2003 that made you better at your profession? Do you know that thing well enough that you use it every single day?
Just to belabor the point, think about if other professionals saw their world the same way most salespeople do. Would you want a surgeon operating on you who looked at his profession from a survival or a “good enough” mode? Would you want to work with a surgeon who said, “Well, I’ve had a course or two in biology, I guess I know enough to operate now.”
I think it’s time we demanded more from ourselves and our profession. It’s time we started investing in ourselves and in our clients’ futures. We can’t continue to do just enough to get by and expect that things will improve for us. Yes, the economy is improving and that simple fact will put more money in our pockets. But it’s still a good-enough way of doing business. If we don’t change the way we approach things now we are just going to get us more of the same; poor treatment and a lack of respect that we’ve earned through our own unwillingness to change our behavior and become professionals. It’s time to make a decision - become true professionals and reap the rewards or continue as we have been and live with the consequences.
Why Salespeople Arent Professionals - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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Michel NerayMichel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dr. John OdaJohn Oda Ph.D NLP is a business peak performance expert, an author, and speaker frequently called upon to provide corporate training, workshops and seminars for many companies in the United States. He is an expert in coaching sales and business professionals in overcoming the behaviors and obstacles that may impede their sales results and affect their bottom line. Since 1995, John has created a speaking bureau such topics, which include: time management, sales training, human diversity, leadership programs and etc. He provides companies with a strategic plan to increase their bottom line by over 25 percent yearly. - Visit Dr. John Oda's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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 Laura Posey (Visit Laura's Website) Laura Posey (l aura@dancingelephants.net) brings much passion to her work as Vice President and Co-Founder of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group. She is a "firecracker" who likes to create and get things done. Over the years, she has received numerous awards and recognition for her sales and management contributions to different organizations. Laura's expertise in sales led her to start two successful businesses. She now translates that sales know-how into a language entrepreneurs can understand and implement. She helps them sell more themselves as well as build sales teams that work. Laura is the co-author of Six Secrets of Sales Magnets. In this book, she discloses the differences between average, good, and great salespeople and shows readers how to become part of the top 5% in their field. Laura is hard at work on her second and third books and can't wait to see which one comes out first. When not writing, you can find her teaching classes, doing speeches and seminars, and observing entreprenuers to see what makes them tick. Her driving mission is for each of her clients to earn a healthy six-figure income in less than 40 hours per week.
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