Lauren Carlson, the CRM Analyst from Software Advice, recently posted a blog entry that really got my attention. Her March 5th post is entitled “5 Ways Women in Sales Sabotage Their Success.”
Lauren tackles the topic of sexual equality in the marketplace and interviews three women: Jill Konrath, an author, trainer and sales strategist; Kim Duke, a former sales executive and current owner of Sales Divas; and Kristine Scotto, an executive with more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing. They give five pieces of sage advice (and I have added a 6th item for consideration). For the full text of each point go to the original blog entry.
1. Being Afraid of Self-Promotion
As young girls, we were taught not to brag. It was a behavior perceived as boastful and improper. However, Duke points out that there is a difference between bragging and self-promotion: “Bragging is when you’re saying something that’s untrue and has absolutely no relevance to the audience that’s hearing it. With self-promotion, you’re sharing things that are true, and can build credibility.”
2. Undervaluing Themselves and Their Services
When pitching a prospective customer, many women make the mistake of trying to mind-read their buyer. They make an assumption that their prospect will reject them if their price is too high. By making this assumption, they leave money on the table.
Men aren’t the only ones who are bad about this. Many women, in a male-dominated business like Sales, make every effort not to appear weak. Therefore, they fail to ask for help when it’s needed, particularly when they are new to Sales. “There’s a way of asking for help that can be done such that it’s not a sign of weakness, but a sign of great strength,” says Konrath. “It’s about sitting down with someone and just saying, ‘Here’s the fact—I’m struggling with this right now.’
4. Making Relationships the Priority
Developing relationships is important when selling. But when the relationship gets in the way of the transaction, you have a problem. As Scotto explains, women tend to be more sensitive, placing a higher importance on creating a positive relationship than on chasing the desired business result.
Jim Obermayer said: I have to disagree somewhat with this point. I think female sales reps working for me have been superior at building deeper, longer-lasting relationships with buyers. They ‘connect’ quicker and don’t jump too quickly into business discussions, but they always get around to it.
5. Being Afraid of Making a Mistake
Women tend to be perfectionists. We don’t want to let anyone down—including ourselves. Above all, we don’t want to look foolish. As a result, many women in Sales tend to play it safe. They pitch the safe pitch. They use the same tried-and-true ideas because they know that they work. But while you are playing it safe, your male counterpart is throwing the Hail Mary and scoring big.
6. They worry too much about what others think.
From Obermayer @ the SLMA: The most successful women I know in Sales (and I know many, some making over $2MM in sales a year) don’t waste time worrying about what others think. They trust their instincts, and they are the most straight- talking, honest, tell-it-like-it-is salespeople. People can’t buy enough of what they sell. People believe them and buy.
I think Lauren Carlson, along with Jill Konrath, Kim Duke and Kristine Scotto, have tackled a good subject here. While they approach this from a women-in-sales viewpoint, the same ideas pertain to women in marketing and sales lead management. Many more women now work in the field of sales lead management and are in leadership positions to generate inquiries, manage sales leads and prove the ROI for their lead gen programs. And women in marketing create great and lasting wealth in their leadership roles for their companies.
Thank you, Lauren.
If you know a deserving woman executive, nominate her to be one of the “20 Women to Watch in Sales Lead Management in 2012.”
