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December 22, 2006
Peering Into The Sales Mindset
As a marketing profesisonal who came out of the sales ranks, I have seen many articles about the "marketing-sales disconnect" ... the running battle between marketing teams and sales teams over strategy and tactics. The root cause of marketing/sales dissonance in most organizations is poor communication and a lack of sensitivity by both sides to the other's plight. Sales is hard work...and requires both mental discipline, energy and an irrepressible ego able to take rejection on a daily basis. Good salespeople know that collaborating with marketing can make their lives easier. Unfortunately, there are lots of less skilled salespeople out there, whose incessant whining drives marketing people to quickly class all salespeople as "fill in your favorite expletive".
My sensitivity to sales challenges is why I found a Seth Godin blog posting from July, titled "Nine things marketers ought to know about salespeople (and two bonuses)" so interesting. If your job involves support for a signficant direct sales organization or dealer channel, this posting is worth reading.
My favorite line..."Selling is interpersonal. I am not moving bits, I'm trying to change people's minds, one person at a time. So, no, I can't tell you when the sale will close. No one knows, especially the prospect."
That point really puts into perspective what it means to sell, especially in complex, B2B sales environments. Sales is about building trust and confidence in a human, not about just "getting a signature on a contract."
Take a moment to read the rest of the article. It adds dimension to the challenge.
Posted by jcioban at December 22, 2006 5:35 PM
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