Sales Image

As I mentioned in my last blog, over the next few months we’re going to introduce you into the world of professional selling. For objectivity, we’re going to take the gloves off so we can clearly see the positive and negative perspectives that exist in the selling profession.

 I found amongst sales professionals that there is a stigma in the way we view one another. In most cases, sales people do not see themselves in the negative perspective. Instead, they view themselves as the exception. The old 80/20 rule comes into play as we separate those that represent our profession in a positive or negative way. I found over the years that 80% of sales professionals have their perspective clients’ best interest in mind. We call it a win-win for all involved. The negative 20% have always been around and always will be.

In doing sales workshops and seminars over the years, it has always amazed me how sales people are viewed by their contemporaries. In my workshops, I introduce a short version of a game show called Password. The premise is to use one adjective to describe a noun. For example, if the noun is salesperson, generally the adjectives will start on a positive note and quickly regress into a negative tone in very short order. The other day in listening to a sports host during signing day for college recruits, they referred to some of the coaches as having a better sales pitch and relentless in their pursuit. It is these kinds of connotations that create a negative image of the sales profession.

The 20% of those in the sales profession that choose to represent our profession in a negative way will always be there with the negative connotations that go with it. As sales professionals, it is our responsibility to take the 80% of those of us that take pride in our great profession and to educate buyers and fellow sales people as to how we continue to stimulate the economy, create company growth and productivity in the entrepreneurial world we live in.