“Just A Sales Rep”

When I hear someone described as “Just a Sales Rep”, it always bothers me. More so, when a person introduces themselves that way. Of course, I recognize that there are times when the intent in using this phrase is humility. Regardless, I think its counterproductive for anyone who sees Sales as their profession.


With that said, I have to admit to my own guilt in this. Take a look at the “About Gary Wiram” page on this blog. I describe myself as a “Senior-Level Sales and Sales Management Professional”, not “Just a Sales Rep”. Why not? When you look at other professions, you don’t see this so much. As an example, if you’re looking to consult with someone on a legal matter, do you look for someone who introduces themselves as a Legal Professional? Not usually. Typically, you look for an Attorney. Granted, you may look for an Attorney with experience in specific aspects of the law but the title “Attorney” already implies “Professional”. So, why don’t I introduce myself as “Just a Sales Rep”? Actually, in many social settings I do introduce myself as “A Sales Guy”. However, I don’t on this blog and it does make some obvious sense. SOL&D is my business management consultancy and I want prospective Clients to know I have experience beyond working an individual Sales assignment as “Just a Sales Rep”. Though the logic of this is understandable, I regret the implication, as you get with other uses of the phrase “Just a Sales Rep”, that there’s something inferior in having that title.

Underlying my concern about the derogatory use of the phrase “Just a Sales Rep”, is my belief that a deep understanding of what it means to be a Sales Representative and being passionate about it is foundational to being successful in any Sales role. For me, the key to unlocking this passionate understanding comes from exploring the meaning of the title “Representative”.

I was reminded of this, during the past week, when I met a local business Owner who is looking for someone to drive the Sales effort for his company. As he expressed what he’s looking for, in a Sales Person, he said that the most important thing to him was that this person be a good “Ambassador” for his company. His company was founded nearly 20 years ago and he sees their value proposition and its level of quality as being matchless. The “Ambassador” he has in mind will embody this, as he does. In case you don’t know it, a synonym for the word “Ambassador” is “Representative”.

My most significant experience in this regard comes from the years when I partnered in a start-up venture of an existing business with an “old buddy”. This “old buddy” and I met when we were 15 years old, playing side-by-side on our high school football team. He founded his company, (now) over 30 years ago, based on curriculum developed by himself and his true Partner, his Wife. To give you some sense of the passion they have for their business, they commonly refer to their curriculum as their “baby”. I’m thankful to say that we all look back on this time as a success. That’s not to say that everything turned out the way we had hoped, going in. There were significant business successes, though, including developing a strategic relationship with a nationally-known political figure and securing the business of Fortune 500 companies. But, there were, also, times of disagreement and disappointment. For me, the greatest success was getting to live out the sort of pipe dream that can change an “old buddy” relationship into one of being “old enemies” and instead, our friendship became much deeper than ever before. However, in the context of this writing, the most significant factor is what my “old buddy” has to say about the role I played, as the “Senior-Level Sales and Sales Management Professional” in his company. At the heart of his Recommendation for me, he says, “… we couldn’t have been more pleased than we were with Gary’s thoroughly professional and accurate representation of our company …” “Representation”, my being ”Just a Sales Rep”, was the most important thing to him. I’m thankful for that achievement.

Hopefully, my anecdotes provide validation for the use of “Sales Representative” as a title to be proud of versus the deprecating use of the phrase “Just a Sales Rep”. But there’s importance well beyond this. In previous posts – e.g. “The Pride and Prejudice of Sales” and “Managing My Not-So-Hidden Agenda For Sales”, I’ve addressed ”grasping the legitimacy of the Sales function in Business” as being a critical path to success, regardless of your role in a Sales organization. My experience has been that gaining a deep understanding of what it means to be a Sales Representative and being passionate about it is just as essential.

Sincerely,

Gary Wiram, Sales Representative

P.S. What is your experience along these lines? Do you have related anecdotes to share? Please let us hear from you!

Win-Win Selling … Another Perspective

“Win-Win Selling Is For Losers”. That’s the title of a current post by one of my favorite Sales bloggers, Scott R. Sheaffer. I have a high regard for this fellow Sales Professional’s views. In fact, Scott’s blog, Sales Vitamins, is on my Blogroll. With that set up, you may be expecting me to now say something like, “However, in this case, I think Scott’s all wet.” But I don’t. Actually, I’m in agreement with the views he expressed on this and if you haven’t read this article, I recommend that you do. Still, I think there’s another important perspective to consider.

At the risk of oversimplifying Scott’s message, I’ll say that the essence of my agreement is that it isn’t helpful and can be harmful for a Sales person to use the “We just want to make this a win-win situation” cliche. Scott is completely right that this is a trite expression that takes the focus off of the WIIFM and ignores that the “Me” component of the WIIFM is the Customer. With that said, though the cliched “win-win” expression may be unwise, I believe that the determination to achieve “win-win”, even if unspoken, is quite important. Here’s why:

The smart Customer recognizes that, in most cases, ”win-win” is in their best interest – i.e., it is part of their WIIFM. Regardless of the product or service the Customer needs they do “need” it. In other words, the Vendor is meeting a need that the Customer can’t satisfy on their own. The Vendor/Customer relationship isn’t a one-way street. It is, in fact, a mutually beneficial business partnership. With this in mind, the Customer understands the legitimacy of the “win-win” called “profit motive”. In most cases, their company will have a “profit motive” in mind for their products and services. Beyond this, the Customer understands that its the “profit motive” that makes it possible for their Vendor to keep fulfilling their needs and to get better at doing it. So, even if its only implicit, a Vendor that is determined to achieve “win-win” may be offering just the set-apart that the Customer knows they must have.

It may seem more obvious, on the Vendor’s side, why the “win-win” called “profit motive” is important. Nevertheless, my experience has been that finding this lacking in Sales Cultures is nearly as common as the use of hackneyed Sales cliches. Perhaps, in some cases, the effort to avoid the latter may end up causing the former. I’ve found that this can be avoided fairly simply. I start with pointing out that, though it isn’t always appropriate to bring it up in a Sales presentation, its completely appropriate to want your company to remain healthy. Then, it can be used to help the Sales person mature … when a Sales person is sort of “comfortable in their own skin” – i.e, at peace with the legitimacy of their function within a business process, they tend to become more and more self-assured. And, finally, they learn that there are circumstances where it is appropriate to bring this into the conversation with a Customer. A good example might be in a price versus value selling situation, where the Customer needs to understand that the value provided by “win-win” can be their sacrifice for a competitor’s lower price.

So what do you think? Do you agree that both my perspective on “win-win” and Scott’s are important? Is one more important than the other? Let us know your views so others can benefit from your experience too!