Let me start off with a disclaimer. Good sales teams are vitally important to an organization’s success. I get it. This post is intended to poke fun at some of the various titles and behaviors that pass off as “sales”.
In my experience, a true Professional Sales Representative exhibits the following behaviors;
The drive and discipline to prospect regularly.
A focus on net new customers.
The tenacity and persistence to get a meeting with key decision makers.
Impeccable follow-up and customer service skills.
The ability to close the deal.
The willingness to take a deal off the table if it isn’t a good fit.
Because a true professional sales person recognizes the importance of prospecting, their sales “funnel” is always full of opportunities. A byproduct of this is that they are not afraid to get to a “No”. Meaning, they stop wasting time on an opportunity that is not going to close and move on to other prospects.
In my 20+ years in info tech, there’s been only one person I’ve had the pleasure of working with that was a true professional sales person. She exhibited all of the above traits and is still extremely successful to this day.
I Don’t Care What Your Title Is
The title of Sales Representative is seldom used anymore. More sophisticated titles like Account Manager, Senior Account Manager, Account Executive, Territory Manager or Business Development Manager are commonplace. The more sophisticated the title, the less they produce.
Account Managers
Account Managers are order takers. If they find out a customer is interested in purchasing a product they will quickly contact them. Otherwise they wait for existing customers to call and then fill out the paperwork. They either can’t or won’t prospect for new business unless it falls in their lap. If your sales team consists of only account managers, you’re going out of business as soon as you lose your one big customer.
Account Executives
These are experienced sales people who usually have a track record of success. Because of their experience they have earned the more sophisticated title. The problem is they don’t like to prospect and they demand very high base salaries. They will follow-up on leads and mine their existing contacts for business. They will often view prospecting as beneath their skill set. These are good people to have on the team as long as they keep producing enough new business to justify their high salaries. Sadly, they often morph into highly paid Account Managers.
Territory Manager
What usually happens to a successful Sale Representative? They get promoted to a Territory Manager. Most junior reps have a goal of being promoted to a manager because of the perks. (company car, trips, incentives) The problem is that they are often poor people managers and don’t know how to recruit new talent. Instead, they will entice their friends to jump ship and come to work with them, which is never a good thing. Experienced reps realize that being a manager isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Besides, they can usually make more money just being a consistent top performing sales rep.
Business Development Manager
This position is somewhat of a mystery but appears to be a hybrid between sales and marketing with an emphasis on neither. Often this is one of those positions created for an underperforming rep who probably should have been fired. They don’t prospect or take orders and seldom have direct contact with the customer. It’s difficult to measure their contribution because they produce nothing tangible. For the most part they coordinate one or two customer events per year and attend WebEx sessions put on by manufacturers. Fortunately, it’s also one of the first positions to be eliminated when a new CFO takes over.
By The Way, Engineers Are Not Sales People
Sorry guys, but recommending a client purchase additional storage or an upgraded core switch is not sales. The customer likely considers you a trusted advisor. That trust, built over the course of the relationship with the customer, is based on delivering what you promise and providing a service the customer values. It’s also based on the fact that the customer doesn’t view you as always having one hand in their pocket.
The Bottom Line
If you are considering going to work for a VAR or reseller, take a close look at the sales team and the account base. Certain combinations should raise red flags. For example, one or two large customers that comprise 80% of the revenue combined with a sales team consisting of strictly order takers. Think carefully about going to work there because if you lose that one big customer, you can quickly find yourself on the street looking for a new gig.
Net new customers and a reliable recurring revenue stream is what grows a company and makes it a stable place to work. That requires vision, planning, experienced management and support teams and experienced Professional Sales Representatives to make it happen.
