A lot of people don't like salesmen.
What comes to mind when you read that word?
Salesman.
Maybe you have the image of the archetypal sleazy used car salesman rising up in your mind.
Or, from a business perspective, perhaps you get a feeling of harassment and annoyance at being cold called at the wrong time.
Either way it's my contention that salespeople have gotten a bad rap & are actually leading the way helping us all to future proof our businesses.
Think about it. A new product hits the market, be it anything from a cutting edge customer behavioral analytics suite to a touch-less Dyson blade hand dryer.
Now in the enterprise and business space we're not going to see any sexy, persuasive commercials sandwiched in between an episode of Emmerdale and the Bill are we?
So how do these new, innovative products filter down into our businesses?
 |
| Don't dismiss that salesman until you've at least heard their pitch! Do so at your own detriment. |
That's right, you guessed it, the Salesmen and women of the world!
Sales, as a role, and it's very structure within businesses has changed, it's evolved.
These entrepreneurial go getters no longer wish to sell you something you don't really need or some dodgy piece of equipment that is destined to fall apart almost as soon as the sales agent has left.
No. The modern sales person has evolved into a customer focused product, solution or service advocate.
A business specialist so to speak.
They actively seek out gap areas within businesses with a view to offering their wares in order to aid the business by plugging said gaps.
They are typically well informed as to the requirements, be it role, company or vertically specific and look to initiate mutually beneficial opportunities.
Ones where they, of course, make a sale; but in turn that sale will greatly benefit the business it's being sold into.
We can take this a step further and say that without sales men and women doing the rounds and ushering in these new products and services that have been previously unavailable, they, in fact, are the heralds of the future.
Keeping your business or company up to date with the ever faster rate of technological progress is a full time job that most companies just don't have the bandwidth for and so, more often than not, we rely on any innovations or industry relevant product breakthroughs to come our way via the salesman, but for some outdated, archaic stigmatic reason we keep them at arms length.
Think of the salesmen as an outsourced business adviser; as your tech or process consultant; as your friend!
They come a calling when there is something new you should be made aware of that has a direct impact on your business weather you buy it or not.
Remember when the buzz word was Wifi?
At first the take up in pubs and restaurants was slow going.
Sales teams around the country fought to show the added value Wifi could bring to peoples businesses.
We all know now that an establishment without Wifi is no establishment at all and so I wonder; who benefited the most at the start, the places that signed up to Wifi or the ones who didn't?
 |
| Wifi = Cash? Go figure! |
Not much of a question really! We know that those businesses that integrated Wifi early saw dramatic increases in their sales over the business that did not!
However I bet those ones that got the Wifi in from the start never thanked their salesman for the advice or the subsequent sales or the extra revenue generated!
So, in conclusion, the moral of the story is be nice to the sales people in your life, don't dismiss them without first finding out if what they have on offer could revolutionize your business.
If you don't, you may be turning away a cash cow.
Keep an open mind and remember who your real friends are in this new customer centric world; the salesmen.
