Study shows up lack of sales people in SA

“South Africa has far too few salespeople, says Peter Finkelstein, MD of specialist sales consulting practise DaiSho Marketing.

Looking at the results of a nationwide research by DaiSho into sales and selling in SA, he says fewer than 6% of 1 812 respondents involved at various levels in the sales chain are called salespeople or sales representatives.

The rest go by an assortment of titles ranging from adviser or consultant to customers relationship manager or account manager.

… For some inexplicable reason,” says Finkelstein, “sales people don’t want to be recognised as salespeople.” This despite all respondents admitting their main function is some form of selling.

… managements agree with DaiSho that when sales personnel have low self-esteem – when the live in denial of their role or are so embarrassed by it that they need to disguise their function [my highlighting] – they cannot expect customers to show them real respect.

… Customers expect more from salespeople than they can afford to give.

… A high 72% of salespeople say their workload does not leave enough time to generate leads. What is more, few companies appear to invest in prospecting [my highlighting]. They seem to regard this as a part of a salesperson’s general duties.

Thank you to Mr Finkelstein for pointing out what should be seen as a serious problem for South African business. At time like this, when running expenses seem to be sky-rocketing, companies are under even more pressure to perform & turn a profit. Sadly, it seems most turn to cost-cutting exercises, with many of them thinking that by laying-off staff (or not replacing opening positions) is an acceptable way to save money.

Not the greatest solution – it’s cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Forgive my ignorance & naivete, but isn’t profit = sales – cost of sales? That’s one of the first things I learnt in high school accounting classes. What seems to be happening here is that with a decrease in sales (due to the economic climate), companies are not re-thinking their sales strategy – they’re trying to lower their expenses. Oh oh.

So where have all the salesmen gone?

If the salespeople themselves are embarrassed about their job function, how confident are their prospects about the company’s abilities to deliver on their promises? No wonder their customers don’t give them enough respect! They’re not expecting it of themselves, never mind demanding it.

Are people just not generally aware that you’re selling all of the time? If you’re going on a date, you’re selling. Getting dressed smartly for a meeting? You’re selling. Trying to convince your family to buy you that birthday present gift you’ve always wanted? You’re selling!

On my recent visit to India, I saw that everybody sold something: if you are able to walk to the street, plonk down some coconuts, bananas or magazines, you sell. It didn’t seem like people were thinking “Oh, dear me. I don’t have a job, I’ll wait for someone to give me some work”. Rubbish! They create their own work by buying something, anything, & finding out where people were willing to buy their products . And Kerala, where I was staying, is run by the local Communist Party, so you can’t exactly blame socialism.

What is even more disconcerting is that it seems that in South Africa,in an effort to get some sort of work out of their sales staff, management gives their salespeople even more work to do. Work that keeps them in the office – who are you going to sell to there? If almost 3/4 of the salespeople questioned say their workload does not leave them enough time to generate leads, who’s fault is that? You can’t consider investing in prospecting as part of a salesperson’s general duties AND expect them to increase sales.

Personally, I think the root of the issue is that South African business owner’s don’t know how to motivate, educate & appreciate their salespeople. By the same token, I don’t think there are enough “full-time professional” salespeople who consistently work on self-development of their skill sets.

There is obviously a urgent & desperate need for proper “I-am-proud-to-be-a-salesman” salesmen in South Africa. If you are one of them, this is best time to be searching for companies willing to pay serious money for someone that can effectively increase sales. Just put on your ‘marketing hat’ for a second here: isn’t finding a need & fulfilling it what selling & marketing is all about?

Do South African salespeople really know how to ’sell themselves’?

Do you think that South Africans generally negative towards selling?

Or just towards salespeople?

Recommended resources:

Anything by Jeffrey Gitomer : if you haven’t heard of him, then you know nothing ‘Sparky’!

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness: How to Make Sales Forever

And my favourite:

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money

Don’t forget to sign-up to Jeffrey Gitomer’s ‘Sales Caffeine’ Newsletter:

As an added bonus: Jeffrey Gitomer & ‘The Little Salesman That Could’:

• I’m an optimist.
   
• I have seen throughout history, that no matter how much a human can be hurt physically & emotionally, that the human spirit survives. I have learnt that despite the odds, the most powerful adversaries, the most evil ideologies & the world’s most devastating tragedies, that hope, love & trust will always remain.
   
• I believe that optimism can change the world.
   
• I have the unwavering hope & belief that tomorrow with be better than today.
   
• I believe that, despite what the rest of the world wants me to believe, that hope, love & trust are alive.
   
• I will strive to live day-to-day with the belief that the world is becoming a better place.
   
• I will be happy, I will live each day to the fullest.
   
• I acknowledge that I may be unhappy from time to time, because this is natural. However, I will be a winner not a whiner. I acknowledge that happiness & optimism are not mutually exclusive. I will strive, despite unhappiness, to reject fear & choose to be optimistic.
   
• I understand that undesirable things happen – this is the way of life. However, I will not believe that desirable things are there to make my life unhappy forever. My response to an undesirable thing is my choice. I will choose to be optimistic, despite being sad. I will not dwell. I will not take misfortune personally.
   
• I will not be blindly optimistic; ignorance is not acceptable. However, I now understand that although undesirable things may cross my path, I may chose what they mean to me. That choice will be determined by my will to be optimistic. The facts are real, they have no emotion.
   
• Problems will happen: however, by being optimistic, I will find solutions. Problems are not indication that things are wrong: that are an indication of things that can be done better. With optimism, I will focus on the solution instead of being part of the problem.
   
• I only share that which will encourage optimism in others. I will disregard pessimistic opinions: they will stop with me. I choose to only share that which encourages and enlightens others around me.
   
• I accept that not everyone will agree with my choices. I have not been put here to please them. Others may not like me but they can respect my choices: I cannot please everyone, only myself. I experience pleasure & joy when I embrace hope, love & trust.
   
• I know that the media makes a choice when releasing news; they make more money when they sell to the pessimists. I will choose to be optimistic & will therefore avoid this negativity at all costs. I will chose to be be affected only by news that displays hope, courage, love & the truth. It is in my power, & therefore my responsibility, to only spread news that encourages hope.
   
• I believe that love is most powerful force known to man. Pessimism can only bring fear, doubt & mistrust. I know that fear is the opposite of love & that most people are not afraid of dying, but of truly living.
   
• My success at the end of my life can only be determined by the number of days I was truly happy. Optimism is my choice & only being optimistic will ultimately make me truly happy.
   
• I wish this for my fellow South Africans: that we although may live in a country that, despite it’s problems, that all our people may be optimistic & live in the hope of a better world. Our shared past clearly demonstrates this belief that tomorrow will be better than today – today that truth is clearly evident. Let us never forget that those that inspired this optimism; let our leaders show us that hope, love & trust so that we may together create a better world for our children.
   
• This I will teach to my children, my children’s children & all that may cross my path: Have faith, tomorrow will be a better than today.

‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so?

‘You are a child of God, small games do not work in this world. For those around us to feel peace, it is not example to make ourselves small. We were born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us. While we allow our light to shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others.’

- Marianne Williamson in Return to Love: Reflections on a Course in Miracles

Will you choose to walk this path with me?

Can you embrace this pledge me with? I am optimistic & know that if you & our fellow South Africans could share our hope, love & trust, that we can make South Africa as great as it deserves to be.

By sharing this with as many fellow South Africans as you know, you can indicate that you wish to uphold this pledge.