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The Salesperson's One-Word Job Description
Featured Author:
Lee Salz
Lee B. Salz s a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them effectively, and focus their sales activity using his sales architecture® methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects , the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager .
Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.
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Lee Salz
When I present to sales organizations searching for the Holy Grail to sell in this economy, I start with a very basic question. “What is your job as a sales person?” Usually, that question is met with silence for a moment; and then I’m peppered by a plethora of descriptions. “Sell something to someone!” “Generate revenue!” “Hit quota!” I’m always amazed at the description variance for the same role. Often times, I hear these differences among the members of a single sales team. How can a sales person be successful if they can’t clearly define their role?
This exercise is followed by another question. "Would it be worth the price of admission if I could provide you with a one-word job description that provides you with a level of focus that you have never had before? You will wake up every morning and say, “I know exactly what my job is!” As you can imagine, this offer is always met with a warm reception.
To help paint this picture, I ask the group to picture the two sides of Velcro—the cotton side and the hook side. Imagine each side represents a business entity: buyers and suppliers. Think about it. There is no other part to the sales equation. Thus, the fundamental job of the sales person is to put these two entities together. The one-word job description is to be the matchmaker.
Right away, a sales person will say, “But, my company pays me. I have to be focused on generating sales.” Fair point, or is it? The company may actually write the check, but from where do the dollars come? It’s from the revenue generated from the clients. Thus, while the supplier writes the check, the buyer is funding the transaction.
The matchmaker sales person works with these two entities with the goal of bringing them together. To successfully do this, the matchmaker needs to master both sides of the equation.
For the supplier side of the equation, the sales person needs to understand:
1. The supplier’s offerings
2. The important features and functions of each one
3. The problems each offering solves for a client
4. The attributes of the ideal client for each offering
5. What buyer needs/circumstances affect the scope of the offering
