Not long ago, I was asked to give a talk to a group of mid- to senior-level job seekers. They were from different functional backgrounds, not just sales. Since they were all job seekers, however, they were technically all in sales, their product being themselves. Moreover, they, more than any other sales rep, were emotionally tied to that product.
I asked the group to introduce themselves one by one, and asked them to not give a 30-second commercial, but rather one examples of how they brought value to their last employer. Only about half the room could give an example, the other half went right back to an elevator speech about themselves.
Then I asked each of them to imagine themselves without any roles at all – professional and personal. They were forced to separate their roles as HR professionals, IT professionals, sales professionals, mom, dad, husband, wife, etc. On a scale of 1 to 10 — with 1 being no self belief and 10 being “on top of the world and busting with confidence” — a little less than half the room rated themselves a 5 or below.
Now, the big “so what!”
When you ask your salespeople to call on the decision-makers for your product or service, do they feel worthy to be in the presence of the guy in the corner office?
Do your salespeople work exclusively with the lower level influencers at your prospects and expect them to take your message to the decision-makers? If your salesperson has a low self-image, how likely are they to confidently engage a person they see as better than themselves? Heart of hearts, it is not very likely. And, it is also not very likely that your salesperson will pick up a phone and make a cold call to someone they consider superior to them.
What is a sales manager to do?
If you are in the hiring mode, use behavioral assessments to screen out candidates who have a high need for approval, low positive outlook and a fear of rejection. A salesperson that is constantly trying to please someone (like a prospect) so they will like him or her, is not in a good situation — cutting price, free consulting, long sales cycles, call reluctance, etc.
If you already have them on your sales team, get them into a training program with the goal to improve their sales skill sets and increase awareness of their strengths. A salesperson that is purposeful in a selling process and has a clear sense of direction has a much better outlook on their day-to-day activities. They will lead the selling events rather than be a participant in the event.
Dave Harman is an associate with Sandler Training. He has over 30 years’ experience in sales and sales management with Fortune 500 companies as well as small, family-owned organizations. He has held positions from sales to senior management with companies such as Conoco/Vista, Amresco and Ohio Awning, and owns his own business. He earned his MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. You can reach him at [email protected] or (888) 448-2030.
