What is Sales, actually?
I’ve been in sales for 17 years and a month ago was the first time I ever paused to answer that question. Pretty remarkable and pretty humbling to tell the truth. Shouldn’t I know the answer to that question? If you had asked me before, I’d have answered you with an operative definition. Sales is [fill in with all the things I do on a daily basis]. It wasn’t wrong, but it was a reactive definition rather than a proactive definition of my work.
There are over 14 million people employed in sales in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 9% of the work force. And according to Google’s Keyword Planner, there were fewer than 10,000 searches for “What is sales?” in 2023. Translation - no one is asking that question! That’s crazy right? Either we all think we know the answer or we’re all robots. Neither option is appealing in my opinion. And if book titles are any further indication, try finding a book that defines what sales is rather than teaches you how to sell. Of course, all those books likely lay the groundwork, but I wasn’t able to track down a legitimate attempt to detail the definition, role and operation of sales. Again, that’s crazy right?
As a salesperson, what is your role? What does it mean to sell? Is it just to process the transaction (a cashier for example) or is it persuade Jimmy he needs that 2007 Chevy Impala with 185,000 miles? Okay, the used car salesman bit is played out. Maybe the role of a sales person is to convince Amy, the CTO of the latest silicon startup, that she needs your slick new SaaS solution.
If you look up the definition of sales, you’ll find two primary definitions:
1) “to give or hand over in exchange for money” OR 2) “to persuade someone of the merits of”
The listed synonyms like convince, persuade, coax, smooth-talk and more leave a bitter, cringe-worthy taste in most people’s mouths, kind of like the user car salesman.
Since this is the Relational RevGen blog, let’s take a step back and think about this from a relational perspective. For any sale to occur, there are two people involved, which means a relationship of some degree has to exist - a relationship between the seller and the buyer. For a meaningful definition of sales then, it’s necessary to consider the buyer since they’re the second half of the relationship, the one receiving the goods being sold. Why does a buyer need the seller? Can’t they just pick a thing they want or need and go on their way? Sometimes, but not always. In today’s digital age, buyers are increasingly armed with information to make purchasing decisions, but oftentimes they need help determining the best solution to their problem. Enter sales person, and…enter our answer.
Sales is “to help a potential buyer determine the best solution to their problem.”
Sales people are problem solvers. Better synonyms than our prior list are counsel, advise, guide, or coach. The buyer isn’t coming to you because they need to be convinced or talked at. They’re coming to you because they need help solving their problem. Your job is to offer the best solution, regardless of whether your company offers that solution; because sometimes they won’t. If you have a transactional approach, viewing people as means to an end (like a commission check or met quota), you won’t give them the best answer to their problem. You’ll give them the best margin for your wallet. Their problem or your wallet? Which one wins?
The natural progression from this line of thinking leads us to the question, “How does this change the way we work?” If sales is counseling not persuading, how should we work?
