5 skills for a “Sales guy To be or Not to be”

Over the past few years, I have met a lot of friends, acquaintances, peers who have asked me “What is it that you actually do?”, “What does it mean to chase a quota?”, “What is all this thing about managing relationships?”. Some of these discussions ended with an enigmatic awe, some were quite informative for me, and well some ended making me feel if I made a really dumb mistake by taking this up….

In this blog, I want to give a quick run down of quintessential check list that will give you a snap shot of what this job demands. This is by no means comprehensive or a classical list that a career counselor will give you. However, this will definitely give you a taste of the real thing, and in some ways might also turn you off.

However, before taking a crack at a sales job it might be a good idea to run through this list, talk to a couple of guys already doing the deed (buy them a drink, you will get better information) and then listen to your heart.

Quality #1: Do you believe in the fact that work and life need to be kept in two water tight containers?
Well if you answered “ Yes” to this one, then kudos to you! You should definitely try and become a Project Manager, or even better an accountant. I think the best would be become a primary school teacher. Don’t even think of sales.

I don’t want to be critical here, but let me share an incident with you. I was in the Marriot Marquios of New York city. Jack Welsh was doing a book reading of “Winning”.

He was asked a question “Jack, don’t you think we are getting too short term focused by focusing on qtr to qtr growth”

The answer was classical Jack “ Any stupid can work on managing the long term or the short term. The key is to eat and drink at the same time”.

Same thing applies to sales. You will be managing a territory with about 50-60 accounts and chasing a target of millions of dollars that will be tracked on a weekly basis. You will win some, lose some all the time while competitors are at your heels.

Are you telling me that you will have a great year, spend long vacations and drive a BMW by compartmentalizing your mind?

I don’t mean to say mix things up. I am pretty good at work life balance my self. I meditate everyday, spend quality time with my wife, give time for hobbies and still mix things up….

So be clear, it’s a 24X7 mindset in this job of sales.

• Quality #2: You plan to go for a movie, then your friend says lets golf first, and you wife comes along to say that you need to do groceries as well, and at the end of the day, you end up cleaning and watching a DVD as some unexpected friends came by. Did this turn you off?

Long question short: Does ambiguity threaten you?

In case it does, then one thing is clear “Steer way clear of sales”. Ambiguity is the sales guys shadow. That’s the whole reason why a sales job is like hunting. A “pre-meditated” sport. In a deal the number of unknowns directly affect the outcome.

Let me give you some intangible real-life unknowns that have affected my deals:

• “The client doesn’t want to try us because we haven’t been tried before” – well then how will we ever start!!
• “I like their office and would like to spend time there”
• “Their technical engineer smelt as if he came from a football game and didn’t shower for two days” (The client told me this over a drink)
• “Funding was diverted to another strategic project”
• “Our delivery team sent a document that had references of work we do for a competitor!!”
• “I thought the client was a tactical buyer, but he just came back from a strategy workshop”

If you like your day to be something where you plan on a checklist, execute serially and end of the day assess progress, become an analyst or even better a landscape manager. Don’t bother with a sales job where for better or worse, ambiguity reigns supreme.

• Quality #3: Are you brutal with yourself?

There is nothing like “trying hard and putting in a lot of effort” but missing the quota. Sales is a digital approach. Either you meet the quota or we will get some one else who will…Its that simple.

Leading companies in the US let go of sales guys who miss the quota for 3 qtrs in a row. The highs are high and the lows are low.

After all your performance is what will ensure that the thousands of developers and technologists in your company get a project to work on.

• Quality #4: No means yes. Always

After losing 3 deals in a row to a client will you bid the fourth with more zeal and value than ever before? Lets take something closer to life.

You had a really bad argument with your neighbor, but right now you need the toolset he has to fix some of your stuff in the garage.

Will you give him a call?

Broader question “ Can you put your ego aside and use it for better stuff?”

Remember a client who says “NO” is saying so because he said “YES” to someone else.

• Quality #4: You are at a crowded bookstore on human anatomy and psychiatry. Can you small talk with the people around you and engage them for just enough to leave a memory behind? Even better, can you pick up a phone and make a credit card sales call to someone you don’t know?

If people intimidate you and you need time, a lot of time to break free, please become a researcher or an analyst or something else. In Sales you need to be able to reach out to other human beings as a genial person with an affable demeanor. If that gives you the wriggles, may be you should wriggle out!

• Quality #5: You are leading a team on a hike. It’s a team of 8 people. The team needs to cook on the way, make camp in time, plan for next days resources and also have fun.

Can you get all this done with least air time?

If it takes you more than 1 sentence to describe the goal to your team, you should be in marketing or corporate communications. A sales guy’s time is real money. You might have great English, excellent speaking skills, but if your audience doesn’t get the clarity it needs to execute then you will run the risk of losing the sale.

“Communication is the art of speaking just enough and knowing when to keep your mouth shut!”

I hope you liked this list. I hope it gives you the fire to don the sales hat. In case you think this doesn’t make any sense, well you wouldn’t be the first….