Why Salespeople Get A Bad Rep

The stigma surrounding salespeople is not a good one. I interviewed several people to ask them what they thought about salespeople and their responses weren't very positive. Most people said that salespeople are too pushy, selfish and money-hungry. There's no shortage of statistics that validate this popular perspective.

A sad truth: most of the population don't like interacting with a 'salesperson'.

Although most businesses and companies haven't gotten rid of their salespeople, they have changed their titles. Instead of reaching out to a 'salesperson', buyers communicate with 'account executives', 'business development representatives', 'sales development representatives', 'sales consultants', 'account manager', 'client relationship manager' and the list goes on.

The reason for this negative stigma surrounding salespeople is because the majority of people perceive that the average salesperson cares more about money than they do about establishing a relationship and making a genuine effort to provide buyers with a solution.

Salespeople who care more about money than the relationship with their customer never seem to have much money. On the flip side, salespeople who care more for the relationship with their customer and show a genuine interest in helping them seem to have a lot of money and experience success in their sales role.

The bottom line: people have money and people buy things. If you aren't focused on creating a relationship with your customer, it will be nearly impossible to create a relationship with their checkbook. 

Salespeople need to stop running around with 'commission breath' and start making a genuine effort to identify problems and provide solutions by asking better questions, honing their skills and providing their customer with a truly unique and valuable buying experience.

If you want to change your title from 'Account Executive' to 'Sales Professional', all you have to do is be one. Get the right skills, change your attitude and start caring about your customers more than you care about your customer's money.