What's A Sales Culture?

A sales culture is a business culture that includes team members who are comfortable with selling.

A sales culture relies heavily on the abilities of individuals to sell products and services that they believe in.

It's an environment where employees are judged by their ability to make the sale, not through a transactional process as is often the case in customer service environments or customer-facing industries such as retailing and banking.

Employees of a company with a sales culture will take it upon themselves to pursue prospects and cultivate relationships on behalf of their company, even if there is no direct financial incentive for them. They are rewarded based on performance and will have an internalized sense of pride if they close the deal.

A sales culture is a culture of selling, and it's not for everyone.

In addition to being an effective way to bring in new business and close the deals that you have, it is a key factor in fostering a positive company culture.

A company might have an excellent product or service, but if employees are uncomfortable with selling that product or service, then the company will fail to achieve its full potential.

Even if you don't sell yourself or your direct reports on a regular basis, it's important to keep in mind that the reason why they make their living is because they sell themselves and their products and services. If they don't like that aspect of their job, they might leave.

So, understanding how you and your direct reports might sell yourself and your products and services will help you to improve the culture of your company and attract more customers.

It's also a good idea to research how other companies in different industries sell their products or services. If you are self-employed, then you should be able to look at sales leads on a relatively frequent basis.

As with anything, sales is an art. You have to study really well and prepare because there's no magic cure that can get you all the way into the right mindset and into a position where you can be so effective that everyone loves being around you.

What makes you tick?

First, think about what motivates you, and what makes you feel good when you are doing it.

Think about what activities get your juices flowing. Do they include selling?

Sales can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but it helps to know what type of salesperson you are or would like to be.

You'll have to look past the scripted answers that emphasize how much fun it is to sell.

Think about the best things that happen during a sale. What do you enjoy most?

Perhaps being able to share your knowledge with someone will help them solve a problem or accomplish something important for them will give you the excitement that's needed for selling. Or, maybe it's the responsibility of helping someone who is in a difficult situation. Or, you could enjoy the process of helping someone to understand your product or service and why its benefits best suit them.

All of these are examples of an internal motivation that will help you sell and feel good while doing it.

Begin by analyzing each potential opportunity to sell. Think about what scares you the most and then begin to create strategies to avoid that outcome in the future. For example, perhaps you find it difficult providing advice on how your product or service could be used when prospects ask for this information. Or, perhaps you find it challenging giving presentations in front of large groups of people even though they are well-prepared presentations.

Alternatively, you might feel good about these activities and find that they generate a lot of excitement in you.

Now, think about what makes you excited when buying your products and services.

It's important to dissect the buying process and understand how to present your product or service in a way that will appeal to customers' needs.

Think about how you would describe yourself to someone who is deciding whether or not to buy from you. What words would describe your preferred characteristics? Are you an expert? Do others listen to you? Are people motivated by your enthusiasm for your products and services? It's also important for sales leaders to be able to answer these questions so that they can help their employees understand the experience of buying from them. It's not always about the product or service itself. It's also about connecting with the person you're selling to.

By understanding yourself and your motivations, you are better able to articulate what it is that you do well and have no idea how to accomplish on a daily basis.

Phrases like "do it because it's my job" do not work as effective directives for improving how salespeople behave.

Instead, think of these phrases as orienting statements that help employees understand their motives, identify weaknesses in their approach and potential barriers to closing deals.

For example, if you think of yourself as a person who is interested in helping other people and who typically avoids conflict, then you'll want to prepare yourself so that you are prepared to handle difficult situations during a sale.

Or, if you are someone who likes to be the center of attention, then perhaps it's important for you to learn how to take a backseat or fade into the background at times when customers require more attention from their salesperson.

Selling is all about creating needs in customers' minds so that they will buy your products or services.

And it's about using your skills and experience as an employee in your company to demonstrate how those same strengths in your work environment would be effective for them.

In order to sell effectively, it's important to be an effective self-promoter. Think about how you would describe yourself in your team or within the organization.

Think about how you can help your customers and prospects understand what they will receive by purchasing your products and services.

These are all things that can be done in a variety of ways; some could be more effective than others.

Augmenting Qualifications and Skills with Externals

You might also consider augmenting your qualification and skills with some externals, or secondary qualities that make you more appealing. These include:  Impartiality, enthusiasm, likability and energy for example might make you more effective in dealing with customers and prospects.

For example, imagine you are working for a company that has been selling to the same customers for many years.

Maybe the culture within your company is not customer-oriented and salespeople are often treated poorly by their coworkers.

Or, perhaps they have worked in the industry for many years and there's no room to learn new things because they are part of a team that is always growing and expanding. Perhaps it's difficult or impossible to learn how to sell effectively when dealing with people from within companies who don't value salespeople or work in an environment where there is pressure to close deals quickly just so everyone can move on to the next opportunity.

Conclusion

Regardless of your role in the company, there are many strategies to consider and tactics to employ when selling.

When you understand the answers that salespeople give when asked "how do you sell?" and how they feel while they're at it, then you can use your employees' strengths and achievements to help you develop new ways of selling.