Salespeople are more necessary than ever: selling is the only activity that generates income.
- José Maria Vich
- Jul 24
- 4 min read
The title says it all. Some people may not like it, but it's the absolute truth.
Sales are the only activity that generates income, and today they are more necessary than ever. A good salesperson is a treasure, and as such, must be cared for.
There are CEOs who take the easy way out, firing a salesperson when they don't generate sales (revenue), and they really don't know what they're doing.
Today, more than ever, you have to pamper your salespeople, especially the good ones! If we want our company to recover, it's not enough to just have plans to improve products and services, to move into a digital world, no.
If we don't sell, what good is all the strategic planning? Besides, why do we have this crazy habit of not including salespeople in that planning? Aren't they the ones who are going to sell the products, the ones who are going to meet our CUSTOMERS?
It all starts with karma: it's the salesperson's fault for not selling! And I want us to ask ourselves a series of questions internally:
1.- The most important one: does the word CUSTOMER appear prominently in our purpose as a company?
2.- Does our product or service meet the needs of that CUSTOMER?
3.- Is our service ready to be multi-channel? In other words, to serve the CUSTOMER from various angles without compromising service quality.
4.- Are we prepared to deliver on the brand promise in a timely manner?
5.- Do we have after-sales protocols in place to ensure that everything we promise is delivered?
6.- Is our operations and CUSTOMER service team prepared to answer questions and solve potential problems with a clear and concise protocol?
If the answer to any of these questions (or several, which is worse) is NO, we are sending our salespeople out into the field as if they were going to war without helmets, boots, or rifles.
And what's worse, we blame them for the product not meeting the CUSTOMER's expectations.
A few more questions:
1.- Does marketing or communications listen to sales before promoting a product or service, or do they simply do what they think is best without listening to the customer's voice?
2.- In our budget, do we allocate a certain amount to training salespeople and improving their skills, or do we simply limit ourselves to travel and entertainment expenses?
3.- Are the budgets we give to marketing a cost or an investment? Do we really measure ROI?
4.- Do we have a budget item allocated to activities with CUSTOMERS, to understand what they need and want? Note that I am not talking about representation expenses.
Normally, salespeople end up in a “war” without resources, because they do not have a budget. This is a reality. In the few places where this is clear, they also know that expanding the capabilities of salespeople improves the health of the company.
There are CEOs who still don't understand that they have to be the first salespeople in a company, because if there are no sales... many things start to make no sense.
EVERYONE in a company MUST be focused on SALES, from the person at reception (a smile also sells), to the operations staff providing quality service, and the engineers who develop products and services who must visit CUSTOMERS with the salespeople to fully understand their needs.
This includes customer service, where we put untrained people with few resources, no decision-making ability (and sometimes a lack of attitude, which is a generational issue) who don't care about the customer.
The digital world can help us, yes, but you have to have a strategy that matches customer needs with brand promise and delivers on it. Make sure that customer service after getting a customer (and note that I say a customer and not an order because there is a difference) is flawless and spectacular.
That way, after training them, you will send your salespeople out into the field well equipped, with high morale, and ready to take on the world.
Sales are indeed the only business activity that generates income; the rest of the company is important, each in its own role, but without sales, it will be difficult for us to survive.
CEO Take care of your salespeople! They are your company's greatest asset.
Selling is about persuading, winning people over, helping others achieve their goals so that they can help you achieve yours; it is an art that not everyone is cut out for.
There is a #different #way of doing #things
Chema Vich wants to CONNECT with every person (or device with embedded technology) he encounters. He has trained with the best: Ronald C. Stern and Jorge Zuazola, to whom he is and will always be eternally grateful.
You can connect with him on LinkedIn or @Chema Vich if you need help with the digital transformation of your company's sales and marketing.
Chema Vich is a global executive based in Bogotá. He has worked in four multinational companies (three of them Fortune 500) in more than ten countries and three continents, always in management positions. He is now dedicated to helping companies in Latin America sell more and do marketing with greater reach, lower costs, and measurable results.
Comments