1.4 Sales Roles and Careers
According to Grant Cardone in his best-selling book Sell or Be Sold: How to Get Your Way in Business and in Life, every time you successfully sell someone, you receive a commission. Cardone reminds us that not all commissions are monetary and that commissions include other valuable nonmonetary benefits, such as love, happiness, health, security, confidence, safety, your faith, family, and friends—these are all commissions for someone’s diligence and hard work in selling others.1
Over the years, many students have said that they don’t want to sell for a career and would rather have a salaried position that guarantees payment for their service and time spent on the job. They forget to recognize that no salary is guaranteed unless the employee performs his or her duties. Everything in life is a commission.
According to Cardone, “Three-quarters of the world’s population have no clue that the successes they will experience in their life and career depend solely on selling.”2 The fact that you are participating in this course and learning the art and science of selling puts you in a select minority who understand that everything begins with a sell. The question then becomes, what kind of seller will you be? Will you be a professional seller or an amateur seller?
What Is a Professional?
What do professionals do to make them the top of their art or game? Dictionary definitions of the word professional indicate someone who has a lot of experience or skill in a particular job or activity, or someone who engages in learning a craft or skill. As these definitions suggest, just because you may have a selling role, you are not by default a sales professional.
It is our experience that most salespeople with a formal title and role do not understand their profession in the way that a physician or an attorney understands their profession. For example, if you were a surgeon and were asked to perform surgery on a beloved family member, how prepared would you need to be? How competent would you need to be? How would you conduct that surgery? What level of training would you need to receive to have the skills and confidence to perform a successful surgery? Let’s make a parallel to selling. Would you approach selling differently if the life of your beloved family member depended on you being a sales professional? I would suspect that by approaching professional sales from this perspective, most would want the training and the experience to have the competence and confidence to perform in their selling role.
What Is an Amateur?
Contrast sales professionals with sales amateurs. Dictionary definitions of an amateur state that such a person is an individual who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession. An amateur is an individual who lacks experience and competence.
We have found in our experience teaching, consulting, and training salespeople that there are too many sales amateurs who are unskilled and untrained in their profession. Sales amateurs struggle to perform. When sales amateurs struggle, organizations struggle and founder because they do not have a sufficient number of sales professionals.
Sales Career Roles
Because sales are the economic engine of business and society, there are opportunities to sell in all industries. We have worked with sales professionals in a variety of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. We have seen students find success as sales professionals in diverse industries, including high technology, consumer products, business and industrial products, medical, banking and finance, insurance, sports, and entertainment. Other students have found success working in government or in not-for-profit church and civic roles. The reality is that once you become a sales professional, the doors of opportunity will be open to you.
Sales Specialist Map
According to the Chally Group, the most successful companies tend to have sales organizations that are extremely complex and include a large number of sales roles. Based on over 300 validation studies, the Chally group has identified 14 specific sets of sales and service skills that are required to succeed in specialized sales roles. The Chally Group has proposed a sales role map (see below) to describe the unique profiles of the different sales roles.
As shown in this diagram, there are some clear differences based on the characteristics of the sales role.
“Business-to-Business” (B2B) versus “Business-to-Consumer” (B2C) Sales: Are buyers buying to consume the product to create value for their customers (B2B), or are they consuming your product for their own benefit (B2C)? An example of B2B sales is Dow Chemicals selling product to manufacturers who then use Dow’s product to produce value for their customers. An example of B2C sales is a Nordstrom retail salesclerk helping customers find stylish clothing.
“Outside” versus “Inside” Sales: Are sales interactions with buyers achieved in person or using technology? An example of an outside sales (field sales) role is a pharmaceutical representative who visits physicians to describe the benefits of pharmaceutical products. An example of an inside sales (telesales) role is a cloud-software sales representative who uses the internet and other technology to demo the software product to potential buyers.
“Hunter” versus “Farmer” Sales: Is the sales role more focused on acquiring new accounts (hunter) or maintaining and growing existing accounts (farmer)?
“Proactive” versus “Reactive” Sales and Service Support: Is the position proactive (outbound telesales or direct sales contact), reactive (inbound telesales or indirect field sales through a distributor), or primarily customer service?
“Full line” or “Specialized” Sales: Is the position primarily responsible for a full line or a specialized product or service?
“Major Account” or “Territory” Sales: Is the sales effort account based (strategic or major accounts) or geographically based (territory sales)?
Specialized Selling Roles
Based on these dimensions of sales roles, the Chally Group has identified the following 14 specialized selling roles with their associated requirements:
Indirect Sales: (via distributors or resellers): Requires skill in training customers (on sales and programs), making joint sales calls, and using sales motivational and presentation techniques; product knowledge; and the ability to maintain repeat sales.
Strategic Account Manager: Requires building strategic relationships with major customers through initiative, a willingness to work long hours, proactive assistance and support, a willingness to further develop technical competence, and an emphasis on sharing information that is pertinent and will have a lasting educational impact.
New Business Development (Hunter): Demands individuals who can develop leads, find opportunities, penetrate prospects and customers, and put in long hours as well as solve problems and close sales.
Account Management (Farmer): Requires excellent customer relations skills focused on working internal systems on the customer’s behalf and effectiveness at explaining and clarifying issues to the customer; this is driven by the desire to increase business.
Territory Consultative Product Sales: Focuses on establishing a credible image, developing new business through effective qualifying, and utilizing presentation skills driven by the motivation to be an effective consultant.
Territory Relationship Product Sales: Requires a disciplined and systematic approach to goal achievement and a focused response to customer needs in a service capacity, as well as effective communication skills and the ability to work a sales plan in account penetration; a person in this position removes objections and gives permission to buy.
Territory Consultative System Sales: Demands the skill to develop business through effective lead generation, qualification of profitable prospects, and tailored presentations; a person in this position is willing to work long hours to meet objectives, sets ambitious goals and achieves them through effective selling, and understands sales strategies and tactics.
Territory Relationship System Sales: Adapts to accommodate customers, gives personal attention, and takes hands-on responsibility for assuring continued customer satisfaction; a person in this position is knowledgeable about sales strategies and pushes to set personal records in sales and is comfortable with the recognition of a high-profile role.
System Specialist: Focuses on assuming the leadership to learn customer needs and goals, stays continuously aware of the market, and spends the long hours it takes to influence and train others.
Product/Service Specialist: Customers look to these individuals to provide reliable information about their business and market and to communicate effectively while remaining dedicated to their own sales results.
Product/Transactional Specialist: Demands initiative and perseverance to develop leads, qualify, and close on an ongoing basis.
Outbound Telesales: Takes the initiative to present benefits and answer objections in order to grow the business; willing to learn the products and services; can persevere for as long as necessary to succeed.
Inbound Telesales: Requires an image-conscious vocal demeanor in a service-oriented individual who is interested in learning the customer’s needs, solving problems, and making appropriate (and profitable) recommendations.
Customer Service Representative: Calls for a focused commitment to take personal responsibility for satisfying all customers, regardless of their attitude or style; solutions must be intelligently thought out, often quickly, and presented with a positive attitude.