Sales takes a lot of work and effort advises Steve Hasenmueller…
I had a flashback recently from when I started my sales career in pools and spas in the early 80’s, and how far the industry has evolved. Back then, people would walk up to a hot tub and ask “what is it?” That certainly doesn’t happen these days. As the industry has grown and flourished with increased demand, so has manufacturing and accessories.
One incredibly important aspect that hasn’t evolved is the sales role. Sales: “the exchange of a product for money” Role: “part played by a person in a particular situation” Sales as a career (as it is for any other) takes a lot of work and effort. For anyone to think there is some easy “hack” or slogan that can correct the deficiency facing all, is delusional.
Over the last 30 years I have seen formalised Service, Installation, Marketing, and Design Training programs that have been developed (In varying degrees of effectiveness), training new generations in the latest and most professional aspects of these categories.
Conversely, there is seemingly little to no resource for Industry wide sales development. There are far more resources applied to water testing than the selling of Pools and Spas that sell for £5k-£100K+ and are the lifeblood of current and future business opportunities.
Sales development is skill development. Sales needs a higher level of expectation and opportunity As a trainer, my efforts were never (NEVER!) as successful or as impactful as I would have hoped or even expected them to be. There were three questions that always perplexed and dogged me as a result:
#1 Why do so many seem to struggle to be effective selling Pools and Spas, resulting in constant turnover, lower sales, higher costs, and poor customer experience?
#2 Why do some achieve basic sales skills and never develop further, either Flatlining or Flaming out?
#3 What can companies do to attract, develop, and retain top talent in a £23B Global Industry?
One of the most important changes we can make in our lives and careers, is changing our belief about what is possible, and the Sales Role is no exception. Different results are going to need different thinking to influence our beliefs and actions. So, let’s take theses question one at a time, and rethink the Sales Role to consider the possibilities of a better way.
#1 WHY DO SO MANY SEEM TO STRUGGLE TO BE EFFECTIVE SELLING POOLS AND SPAS?
We get off to a bad start (even with ourselves) with simply the word “Salesperson.” In Daniel Pink’s book “To Sell is Human” he quotes data from research asking what people thought of when they thought of “Salespeople” and the answer was a word cloud of “Pushy/Slimy/Difficult/ Hard/Annoying/Dishonest/Sleazy.” Ouch! Not only do prospects have this underlying bias, I’m pretty confident many Salespeople possess it also!
We think that being a “salesperson” is some stand- alone role that has us employing learned, uncomfortable tactics that create these types of feelings. We somehow leave home and put on our Salesperson persona, and then wonder about our lack of effectiveness. We are all very different and unique human beings choosing to perform this role, incorrectly and ineffectively adopting whatever external force tactics you believe might help you.
(i.e. old school) So here it is – one of the biggest stumbling blocks to question #1 – our effectiveness is this (underline it!): We think of ourselves as a “salesperson” instead of a “person” developing sales skills. You (personally and professionally) are a work in process, and until you embrace that completely, you will struggle. Critically, the “Person” you bring to work every day is going to be very important (healthy/happy/stable).
Then the Sales Skills we need to develop to do the work are: Product Knowledge/Listening Skills/ Goals/Strategy/Energy/Positive Attitude/ Values/Principles/Trust/Work Ethic/ Punctuality/Caring/Effort. If ANY of these are weak or missing, our chance at effectiveness plummets. It’s common to hear we need to “Close more Sales,” while this is always true, it is just a slogan if it’s not addressing ANY of the reasons we aren’t closing sales!
All of the above attributes are Skills that can be learned and applied, but the absence of a couple of them pretty much ensures we will struggle and fail. In 30+ years of training I can tell you this, no one can train you to care. If this is missing, nothing else will matter.
I googled the top 20 films depicting salespeople. I watched them, actually wondering if any of them presented us in a favourable light. Some did, most didn’t, but what became apparent to me very quickly was that the favourable characters all shared this in common, they exhibited personal Values.
It was the absence of Values in the others that made them the unwelcome cliché of the negative word cloud. Values have to be the base of everything we do in our Sales Career (and Personal Life) to develop appropriately. I’m sure almost everyone would say they have values; I’m talking about articulated and exhibited Values that are at the forefront of every decision and action.
Values are personal, and here are five that I consider for everything I do personally or professionally and have served me well: Perseverance – a continued Effort to achieve something (skills) Accountability – a willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions Diligence – a persistent Effort Discipline – a system of rules of conduct Integrity – the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Now think about the negative word cloud mentioned above, what Values were apparent or acknowledged? Exactly.
RETHINK
You are not a Salesperson, you are a “Person” developing Sales Skills. A better word than Salesperson that I try to use exclusively now is sales delegate. A delegate is someone who is authorised and entrusted to represent. (A designation to be Earned!) Is changing a word going to change the bias?
No, but it’s a start, and the words we use are important and hopefully it can help us reset our perspective regarding our role. A values-based non-negotiable aspect of our Personal and Professional lives is a critical piece to effectiveness in a Sales Career.
So, a values-based person developing sales delegate skills is the beginning for any sustainable sales role, and brings us to Question #2…………explore more in our next issue!
STEVE HASENMUELLER
Keynote Speaker, Sales Trainer & Author has spoken to companies worldwide on all topics regarding effective selling, motivation and leadership.
Effort Today Enterprises
www.effort-today.com
steve@effort-today.com
