Salespeople: “Wherever you go, there you are.”
Salespeople – don’t change companies yet! Jumping to the next employer is not likely to help your career unless you do these three things first. I share a quick story, then the tips:
My father was in the Air Force. Like most military kids, I moved from one place to another at least once every three years, sometimes more frequently. As I hit my middle school and high school years, I recall thinking to myself “I’ve seen the cool kids, this next move I will be sure to act the part and become one of them at my next school.” I, of course, had not pulled that off in the past. Side note: as a parent I shared with one of my teenage daughters that I was NOT one of the cool kids in high school, but that I was on the periphery of that crowd. She was not shocked. She responded quickly “maybe the cool kids didn’t hang out with you because you use words like periphery?” Anyway, after at least two or three changes of location I quickly learned the meaning of that old adage “wherever you go, there you are.” Sure, I could consciously make a few changes to my speech, or my attire, or my interests, but inevitably I would find myself comfortably hanging out with the same crowd that I had found in my past schools. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As I got older, I began to realize that I surrounded myself with people that I liked - people that hopefully liked me too.
The thoughts above came to me recently as I read a post on LinkedIn about those salespeople who tend to move from employer to employer every few years. No, the sales environment is NOT high school, but there are similarities in both thought-process and in outcome to the cycle I had noted in my teen years. Said differently, if you are a salesperson with middle-of-the-road results at one company, then that will likely be your result at your next company. Changing companies, without changing your own sales practices, is highly unlikely to improve your outcome. If you want better results, regardless of what company you represent, you should first do at least these three things:
1) Take a good look at yourself. Be honest. Are you truly doing all you can to drive the best outcome? Do you understand what is driving, or not driving, your results?
2) Take a good look at your sales peers. Who at your company is driving the top sales results? Are there things there that align with who you are that you can emulate? It’s not about “acting the part”, it is about identifying new practices that may align with your unique skill set.
3) Work with a sales coach. Do you truly know your own strengths, weaknesses and barriers to success? Before I left my last company, I hired a coach to ensure I was prepared – I ended up staying four more years and having some of my best sales years ever, and I enjoyed the job more.
In summary, it is mastering your unique strengths, mitigating your weaknesses and aligning your actions with effective sales and business practices that will improve sales results. That is a life-long journey, one that changing companies every few years won’t make any easier.
p.s. - all this being said, there are some bad employers and some bad jobs out there, that’s true too. If you are being honest with yourself, you can likely tell the difference.