With all the convenience of life provided to us by stereotypes, their bad reputation is not groundless. Firstly, when there are too many stereotypes or they are too rigid (not corrected when signals from outside come in that contradict the stereotype), a person gradually loses the ability to perceive the new, becomes a kind of “zombie”. Secondly, stereotypes nurtured on incorrect, inadequate attitudes really harm professional activity, since they set unproductive patterns of professional behavior. It is precisely these stereotypes of sales managers that we will talk about today.
Based on our experience surveys or requests for advice interacting with salespeople, we have identified eleven main negative stereotypes of sales managers:
- The main thing is the price (or the size of the discount)
- The product is not for sale!
- A large organization is the best client.
- “No means no.”
- If you don’t cheat, you won’t sell.
- “If the client is always right, then all his objections are fair.”
- “The only people who make money in the company are the sales people.”
- “There is no need to prepare for a sale – experience and improvisation decide everything.”
- “I’m such a nice guy that he just has to buy my product”
- “The client is a fool, he doesn’t know what he wants!”
- Stereotypes about the product
Let’s talk about each of these stereotypes in more detail.
The main thing is the price
Another reason for the sault data attitude “the main thing is the price/size of the discount” is the seller’s lack of faith in the product. He may know everything about competitive advantages, but not see the value in them, not believe that the product is good, that customers really need it. Such a seller often focuses his attention (and the client’s attention!) on the shortcomings of the product, and devalues its advantages. If things have gone this far, then it is unlikely that you will be able to correct the seller’s worldview.
The product is not for sale!
When a salesperson answers the question “Why is the sales level so low?” with “It’s not selling!”, this is a sure sign that he is lazy and has decided to shift all responsibility for sales to the marketing and advertising departments, and has assigned himself the role of “order taker”. This “disease” is difficult to “cure”. First, it is necessary to tie employee bonuses to sales results, and second, to ensure that the contribution of the bonus to the employee’s salary is at least 50%. And again – conduct ongoing training for employees.
A large organization is the best client
The bearer of this stereotype does not understand who the target client of the organization is, and does not understand that a large company does not necessarily mean a large order. If the target client for a company is a medium-sized business, then the product offered to this category of clients is “tailored” to their needs and expectations and may be completely unnecessary or not meet the requirements of large organizations. In addition, large companies often impose on their suppliers conditions of cooperation that are not the most favorable for the latter, so a large organization is not always the best client for any company.