DISCUSSION

Salespeople Get a Bad Rap

January 11, 2008Written by Tom Ryan

A survey of 2,700 corporate buyers worldwide found that 41 percent rated the quality of the sales professionals as "fair" to "poor," with some describing salespeople as "charm school graduates," "leeches" and "rashes." Of those surveyed, one-third said they don't receive the level of support they need from salespeople and 46 percent said they would be ashamed to call themselves a salesperson.

The buyers were surveyed by Development Dimensions International, the human resources consulting company.

"A few bad apples always spoil the bunch," Bradford Thomas, the company's sales practice team manager, told the Associated Press. "We see it in popular culture all of the time -- the aggressive, deceptive used car salesperson with high-pressure techniques. But most are dedicated and hardworking."

On the positive side, those surveyed ranked salespeople their second choice for information to make buying decisions, above friends and family, losing only to the internet.

"In a given week, people make dozens or hundreds of purchase decisions but see the process as a necessary evil," said Mr. Thomas.

Indeed, more than 40 percent of buyers have increased their expectations of salespeople's business and industry knowledge. One in five buyers claimed that salespeople's expertise is getting worse. One U.S. 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."

When asked if they considered their sales contacts to be business partners, 54 percent of buyers said "yes." Asked what made 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," Mr. Thomas said. "Salespeople have to provide extra value in order to earn the right to be viewed as a trusted business advisor."

Overall, Mr. Thomas said that although sales organizations have made great strides toward becoming better business advisors over the last ten years, salespeople should keep up with the changing needs and demands of their clients to meet these rising expectations.

"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," he said.

Discussion Questions: Do you think the majority of retailers think of manufacturer reps as a "necessary evil" or a business partner? What do buyers and others at retail want most from the salespeople who call on them? Do you think the quality of salespeople calling on retailers has become better or worse over the last decade?

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