I believe that there are many people that would both enjoy and excel at a career in sales, and yet have never explored or even considered a sales role because of some misconceptions and myths around what it takes to “sell”.
The opposite is also true. People today continue to get into sales roles thinking it’s something it is not, and soon find that they are indeed not very good at it at all (to the dismay of anyone on the buying end of the conversation).
What am I referring to? I think Dan Pink outlined it best in his book “To Sell is Human” when he described the results of a survey he had done for thousands of respondents across North America. He asked them what adjectives they would use to describe someone in sales. Let’s just say… they were not positive. Pushy, aggressive, sleazy… you get the drift.
Media outlets haven’t helped either, with movies such as Glengarry Glen Ross and Wolf of Wall Street depicting the type of character most certainly described above, who only wins through lies and manipulation. Salesmen in nice suits who earn a killing off the misfortune of others and drive off in their flashy cars to their beautiful homes with a smug grin.
If that was what sales actually was, I would run the other way too! Thankfully, it’s nothing like that. Not today, and not for people who actually succeed in sales as a long-term career.
I’ve been in software sales for over 11 years, and during this time have found great success in my role and made some amazing connections with both clients and colleagues. I’ve never missed a sales quota on a fully ramped sales year and have a track record of doubling, even tripling that sales quota all while generating value and a positive buying experience for every one of my clients.
So, what are some myths we can bust about sales?
Myth #1: There Exists a Single Sales “Persona”
In Dan Pink’s study, “car salesman” was the most recorded answer along with “salesman” and “man in suit”. Salesperson or saleswoman was not mentioned at all.
Sure, 20 years – even 10 years ago this was overwhelmingly true, most salespeople were men. I remember when I first got into sales, I joked that one of my favorite things about a sales conference were the lack of bathroom lineups (alluding to the very few women in attendance).
This isn’t the case today. On my current sales team, over half the salespeople are women. There also exists a very large diversity in backgrounds and experiences that did not previously exist. It must! Our buyers are a very diverse group of people today and sales teams should reflect that diversity as well.
Another common misconception is that to be in sales you have to be an extravert; an outgoing person with a flashy smile, overtly expressive personality and desire to talk to anyone who will listen.
Another myth. In today’s sales world listening trumps talking, because your clients want to be heard and not talked at. Therefore, the most successful salespeople are typically ambiverts, and there are even many talented and successful introverted salespeople.
Myth #2: Sales is Convincing People to Buy Things
I hear this one all the time. Often when I tell people I’m in sales, they respond with something along the lines of “oh I could never be in sales, I couldn’t convince anyone to buy anything!”
This again, probably stems from seeing this kind of behavior in movies like Wolf of Wallstreet, where Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), convinces some poor sap to invest all his life savings into penny stocks against his better judgement. Unfortunately, there are also salespeople today who still try to sell this way – where they consider “no” just a door opener, for example.
However, this isn’t just annoying it’s inefficient and ineffective. I can assure you it is much easier to find the people that can benefit from and are interested in your product, and to give them the most exceptional buying experience, than it is to find people who don’t want or need your product and try to convince them otherwise. It’s simply a matter of where you focus your time and energy.
Myth #3: Sales is Complicated
Sales has a reputation for being highly process driven and jargon heavy. “Discovery call”, “top of funnel”, “close rate”, “warm lead”, “cold call” – you’ve probably heard some of these before. Organizations will often implement standard, rigid sales processes for the sales team to follow from lead to close to ensure sales can be accurately forecasted and tracked. So, it’s not entirely untrue that sales can be complicated.
That doesn’t mean it should be. Sales is about people, not processes – so it’s important to navigate your company’s KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and process/administrative requirements, while keeping in mind what is most important: the customer.
I was fortunate that I entered a sales role without any formal sales training. Instead, I had a Criminology Degree which was heavily based on psychology and writing. A business degree which gave me insight into business and marketing. Years of restaurant serving experience throughout university, combined with a short stint as a travel agent as well as experience in IT Technical Support. What this combination of work experience taught me was how to serve the customer.
When I fell into sales that’s exactly what I did. I wasn’t selling to customers; I was helping them buy. Perhaps a slight nuance but one that made all the difference in their experience and in my success.
I never intended to pursue a career in sales. You could say I “fell into it”. I too had the outdated perceptions of what sales was, and I am so glad I was wrong.
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