26 July 2013 at 10:00
In order to grow your business there is one key thing above all others that you need to do – sell. And yet in businesses across the country the term ‘sales’ appears to have become a word that ought to be avoided at all costs.
Instead we talk about growth, deals, winning customers, or – the classic – business development.
At recent Downtown events across the North of England I have posed the simple question ‘who employs sales staff?’ From aggregated audiences of over 300, only 3 hands went up.
I then asked who employs Business Development Managers – there was a much healthier response. But why? In the majority of cases the main priority for BDMs is to sell.
For some reason the UK has developed an aversion to sales people. We think of a salesman as someone who is trying to blag us, rip us off, and sell us something we don’t really need. Sales in this country are caricatured by a Del Boy or an Arthur Daily.
Few people admit to wanting a career in sales, preferring the fluffier Business Development or Marketing badges.
However, businesses only thrive if they are good at selling.
In reality there is an acceptance that selling is important. The most subscribed event during our recent Liverpool Business Week was the ‘sell more stuff’ session. Even so, we shy away from the term and as a result we are encouraging an army of marketers rather than a battalion of salesmen and women to infiltrate our businesses.
We need to re-establish sales as a positive skill. Indeed, good salespeople are few and far between. Selling is becoming a dying art in this country. It needs to be front and centre of the nations drive for economic growth.
I am pleading with you to make your next sales appointment a genuine sales appointment. Call it as it is, not as you fear the outside world may see it. Downtown is about to recruit a head of sales. Expect a call from them soon – and be nice!