Shed the “snake-oil” reputation. When asked if they would be proud to call themselves a salesperson, 46 percent of respondents said “no thanks” to the profession. And who can blame them when descriptions of salespeople in the study include “charm school graduates,” “leeches” and “rashes”?
“Sales organizations have made great strides toward becoming better business advisors over the last ten years, but it’s still difficult to make these inroads because the perception of salespeople isn’t always positive,” Thomas said. “The general perception of buyers is that salespeople don’t listen, they are pushy, and really don’t take the time to understand buyers’ needs or even their own products. It is hard to be a business advisor when the relationship is a one-way street.”
It’s not all peace, love and understanding. Forty-one percent of respondents rated the overall quality of the sales profession “fair” or “poor.” “Salespeople shouldn’t settle for this mediocre perception,” Thomas said. “And companies shouldn’t either. Do you really want most of your customers to feel lukewarm about your sales team?”
More than 40 percent of buyers have increased their expectations of salespeople’s business and industry knowledge. And one in five buyers believe that salespeople’s expertise is getting worse. One US buyer said the problem is “too many under-trained, underpaid young professionals who probably won’t be there in a year. They have few resources for information and aren’t trained to know how or where to look for help.”
“Salespeople need to keep up with the changing needs and demands of their clients to meet these rising expectations,” Thomas said. “If you want your salespeople to build value-added relationships with clients, you need to hire people who are good listeners and problem solvers, not hit-and-run sellers”
Rules of engagement. When asked if they considered their sales contacts to be business partners, 54 percent of buyers said “yes.” So, what makes a good partner? Buyers cited “product or service advice,” “market knowledge” and “trust” as the top three qualities they value the most in a salesperson. Surprisingly, only 31 percent of buyers selected “relationship building” as a desired quality.
“In the wake of years of public business scandals, trust has really become a precursor to relationship building,” Thomas said. “Salespeople have to provide extra value in order to earn the right to be viewed as a trusted business advisor.”
Other Highlights from the Survey
- One third of respondents don’t receive the level of support they need from salespeople
- Salespeople are the second choice for information to make buying decisions, losing out to the Internet
- Forty-three percent of buyers are more loyal to the salesperson than the company