Sales Reps and Sales Managers: Endangered Species
In North America there are over 2 million sales representatives and over 337,000 sales managers (Source: US Department Labor; salaried, full time, full benefits). As the new global economy takes hold, purchasing technologies improve, and pressures to grow business and cut costs intensify… the forces quantifying sales performance are discovering that there are far more effective ways to sell products and services.
The median annual salary w/ benefits for sales representatives is $100,000 and for sales managers is $140,000. When measured against their sales growth/profits, the costs are high. The old maxims of putting resourced sales representatives on the street will grow business are falling flat in the face of reality. Cold calling is not working and old relationships/loyalties are fading. New branding techniques, scalable technologies and the way businesses now buy, are limiting the chances for sales representatives to be successful. Sales managers are now faced with high rep turnover, training options with lackluster results, unrealistic goals and new realities that are tying their hands to impact business growth. Businesses are clearly buying through new and improved sales channels.
Three channels are reinventing the way businesses sell/buy their goods and services: Branding, Technology and Culture.
Branding: Just as cattlemen seared their ranch brands on their livestock, businesses today spend millions on positioning their brands to be recognized, differentiated and sizzled with their consumers. Creative logo styling, colors, music, even star power, all blend so that we know immediately with either an image or sound, what the product/service is and identify as our preferred choice. Marketers are now heavily involved in production and distribution of goods and services, monitoring the consumers experience and engineering adjustments to make each experience repeatable, creating loyal customers. Those that better position their brand in the minds of their customers are those that reap greater sales and higher margins. Outlets include television, radio, print, internet and sport sponsorships; however also effective are guerrilla techniques such a word of mouth, product placements, engineered articles, testimonies and celebrity endorsements. Just think of your own favorite brands that you buy…Did a sales professional make the difference or were you already sold by the branding experience
