A SALES WOMAN

                                         

                                   

“When I grow up, I want to be a saleswoman!” … said no kid, ever.

When you were a kid, if you are female, did you think, “When I grow up I want to be a salesperson?” Probably not. You might have thought about going into business, but not into sales.

Sales wasn’t sexy, it was skeezy and it certainly didn’t speak to me as a teenage girl.

The problem is, it should have.

We were always driven by success in numbers — points scored, dollars earned, miles travelled.

Unfortunately, the sales profession is treated with disdain, and salespeople are often dehumanized, in media and popular culture.

This widespread portrayal is not just inaccurate and unfair – it discourages fantastic would-be salespeople, male and female alike. 

Assumptions we normally see in a sales team and the misconception created is "Female applicants see a team of men – and they don’t want to join." though it is just a mere excuse we generally hear from the hiring team as well as the woman who don't want to join sales.

Selling is all about …Guiding the prospect or client to understand and see beyond their initial perceived value of what you offer so that they will instead realize that you what you have is the answer to what they are experiencing and need to tackle.  Position your value in terms of where they want to take their business, and also in terms of profit and loss. Qualifying the prospect or opportunity  through a strong value statement since it will help to sort out those people who just aren’t interested, have no need or no ability to buy. Creating a sense of urgency within the client’s mind and connecting them to that emotionally so they seek help now rather than later.Owning your own authentic voice  yet creating and presenting it using the language of your customer and also, if applicable, your company. Discovering the needs of your prospect or client, and aligning your value statement with what the client must resolve. Presenting benefits that shift negatives, e.g. pain points, the client faces to positive outcomes. If possible, include value-added services that are not as apparent in what they first see or hear about what you offer. Understanding the culture of both the company that you represent and the company or person that you are selling to. Awareness of what is important or critical to each should be clear in how you position the value you bring to the sale, both in terms of yourself and your product or service. Establishing a trusted partnership with the prospect or client and doing so through consistent and relevant engagement, both online and in person (if possible). Telling your story with your entire self, i.e. mind and body. Genuine regard for and interest in the prospect or client is shown through your words, your body movements, and your voice. Having a process for obtaining feedback. It is good to create a value statement and then ask someone else to listen to it and verify if you are authentically and clearly stating what you do and why, how you do it and for whom. It is best to do this type of verification with someone not in your industry or company. Also, ask your clients for feedback! and REPEAT!!

Sales departments are especially prone to inadvertently alienate female job-seekers just by failing to vet a job description for words like “killer,” “crushing it,” “rock star,” “he,” “his,” or even phrases like, “long working hours" adding this statement discourages woman and their concerned families to take it as profession.

Though, on the other side present generation to get over old trend are more enthusiastic to take up new challenges. 

A woman in sales at times take a whole new view of getting the sales done.

Woman have a strong socializing skills and can engage themselves with others particularly clients, managers and other senior women in customer firms. This helps to build a broader base through relationships outside of the office.

Most sales woman have complained of pushed down in company so it is suggested to build healthy relationships with advocates, create a strong personal brand, establish guidelines before each project, position themselves as experts in their field, and communicate with confidence.

Basically to image themselves so strong that people will think twice to compete or look down as a woman.

A common myth that a male colleague will always tell is woman are good "entertainers" to male clients and mostly when a woman is standing at the door people generally don’t say no. At times woman are really in dilemma how to deal with these type of situations where a client misbehaves or communicates with a woman in a very sneaky way, offering meetings only at night and many more. Though, these stuffs is bit awkward to be shared off, but yes it totally depends how we deal with the situations or how trick fully you can extract your business. Most importantly a woman in an organization should be free to discuss this with and take opinions on it.

On the other hand, woman is good at keeping people engaged which is very important for sales. 

A sales woman is known for more "hysterical" rather to be told of "passionate" but again there is punch in their behaviour they are mostly calm and soft spoken with a punch in their words.

Although, young girls, we were taught not to brag. It was a behaviour perceived as boastful and improper. This behaviour is most noticeable in networking and professional development. Women believe their accomplishments should speak for themselves, and many are hesitant to discuss things such as their education and reputation, erring on the side of modesty. Therefore, when a more senior position opens up, they assume they will be considered based on their accomplishments and credentials, despite having been reluctant to voice them.

While modestly is an admirable trait outside of the workplace, it is foolish in the professional world. 

Konrath compares it to the tree falling in the forest: “If no one knows about your accomplishments, they don’t exist.” 

An organization's work doesn't end after hiring a woman in sales. 

When a woman joins a sales team there are different questions that arises in mind:

1. How to build my credibility in my company and in the industry?
2. How do I know if I’m being paid properly?
3. How do I determine what to spend my time on?
4. How do I optimize my career path?
5. Should I move into management or grow as an individual sales professional?
6. How can I become a better sales manager and grow people?
7. How to engage at events?
8. How to best communicate upwards?
9. How do I get to the next level and stay there?
10. How do I brand myself?
11. How much responsibility should I take?
12. How to get better at negotiation skills because if you don’t ask, you don’t get?
13. How to build confidence that I can ask for things and not be afraid?
14. How to work with men or women that are older than me?
15. How much should I socialize at work?

All the answers to the question lies on the environment that is set by the company by the image since the time of her interview to the date she joined and whom they are joining with.

By creating and nurturing a work environment conducive to open communication, fairness, and the reduction of implicit bias is one of the most difficult changes to implement, especially for companies lagging behind the diversity movement. To begin developing connections unhampered by gender stereotypes throughout departments, start by completely opening the line of communication between managers and employees.

Your employees should always feel as if they have a safe space where they can talk about things that negatively impact their ability to meet or exceed their performance expectations without feeling uncomfortable or intimidated.

Winning the fight for female sales talent requires more than an attractive initiative. It takes deep insight and recognition of workplace diversity as the new symbol of 21st-century business success, along with a willingness to adapt to a rapidly-evolving sense of the global community.

Major challenge a woman faces is overcoming their perfectionism and at times ending up into tremendous nervousness. Women tend to be perfectionists. We don’t want to let anyone down—including ourselves. Above all, we don’t want to look foolish. As a result, many women in sales tend to play it safe. They pitch the safe pitch. They use the same tried and true ideas because they know that they work.

Another, amazing quality a woman possesses being in a sales team is when all your guy colleagues are discussing sports which you have no idea off. To fit in the group either speak something of their interest or just simply change the discussion and the whole group will mould to it without the second thought and you fit in.

Concluding, Are women better at sales? Is there any substantial evidence that points to this conclusion? As with success in any industry, it comes down to the individual. If it is true that women are more attentive, better listeners, more inclined to prospect, and have more opportunities for advancement that do men, then women should have an advantage over men in the sales industry.

But like any advantage, if the advantage is not used, then it ceases being an advantage at all.

                    “SELL YOURSELF BEFORE SELLING YOUR PRODUCT”