by Ryan Walker •

Stop treating salespeople like idiots

If you believe “salespeople are idiots” I challenge you to think again.

Expect salespeople to generally do the following things:

  • Walk close to NOT OK lines (sometimes crossing over). They make more money operating that way.
  • Be more on the customer’s side vs. the company’s side regarding pricing, product customization requests, payment terms, etc. They want to maximize the odds of getting the sale; deep down that drives them.
  • Get irritated when people at HQ mess with sales they worked hard to create.

Key thing is to have authentic conversations with the salespeople, let them know you understand that their comp plan drives their behavior, push them back from the NOT OK lines that they’re tripping over, and give them respect for doing a tough, tough job (humans don’t naturally deal well with continued rejection, so they’re really taking one for the team.)

Salespeople drive revenue, the lifeblood of business—give them the respect they deserve.

Filed under Sales