Why Good Salespeople Will Always Be Necessary

Joseph Stubblebine
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When you think about salespeople, perhaps images of real-estate agents, department-store clerks and trade-show hosts come to mind. Most of today's sales workforce, however, develop relationships over the phone or online as call-center sales agents, customer-service representatives and brand managers. Despite the specifics of the job description, good salespeople are always necessary to the success of a business.

Customer sales grow when your sales workforce believes in your product and knows your customers' business needs. This is why good salespeople focus on developing relationships with customers. Good salespeople are listeners who ask open-ended questions that engage customers in order to assess a customer's requirements. Salespeople can increase revenue by infusing tradition with innovation. When you combine the key qualities of a traditional salesperson, such as being confident, outgoing, relational and purposeful with current technology including analytic software and social media, you have a potent tool designed to help attain, engage and keep customers.

One analysis divides all salespeople into four types, each of which necessary in today's job market. The four key types are the hunter, the farmer, the scout and the shepherd. Each type is unique and invaluable to business growth, and finding the right mix for your own business is vital to boosting sales. The hunter goes after the big sales. The farmer develops long-term client relationships. The scout builds market expansion into unfamiliar territories, and the shepherd brings in flocks of customers. In today's market, the need for good salespeople is not in question. Whether a company deals in direct customer sales, agency-based sales or business-to-business transactions, finding the right type of salesperson is crucial for each of these markets.

Think about how your business can pair these varied types of salespeople with different forms of technology to generate and increase sales. A hunter might use multimedia presentations to sell a product and acquire a new client. Farmers might use social media pages, polls and surveys to develop customer relationships. Software that analyze demographic data and predicts expansion into a new market is perfect for the scout type of salesperson, while the shepherd can motivate customers via social media tools, encouraging them to join an ongoing discussion or burgeoning market.

Good salespeople are the front line and the backbone of business. They keep happy customers satisfied and turn negative situations into positive outcomes. They handle leads, cold-calls and rejections. They cultivate and nurture a business through its start-up phase, then expand upon each customer lead and referral.

Ultimately, good salespeople create satisfied customers. When customer satisfaction is maintained, customers continue to use and recommend a business, creating invaluable word of mouth. Bring your company to this desired point by hiring, supporting and maintaining a workforce filled with good salespeople.

 

(Photo courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

 

 

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  • Joe W.
    Joe W.

    Good sales people are critical--in sales and throughout the organization!

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