In discussions with a senior executive of a public company last week, I learned that they were looking for a sales executive, but wanted someone specifically with direct sales experience and they would not even consider someone who had worked in sales, but only through a channel (indirectly selling to a client through a reseller, OEM, consultant or some 3rd party).
This started me thinking - is sales one category or do areas of expertise matter?
I believe that sales is all about understanding the needs of the client and finding a way to solve those needs with your product or solution.
If this theory is true, then it should not matter whether you have sold to an end-user directly or sold to the needs of the partner and convinced them to sell your product/service.
The end-user wants to make sure that their needs are met, they can pay for the product or service from an existing and approved budget and that the support will be there after the sale to help them with any issues that may arise.
The reseller wants to know that their clients (existing and new) need this product, they need to make sure that there is margin in selling the product (that they can pocket some money on the transaction) and that the vendor is there to support the product or service if any issues arise.
Does that seem to be so different that a sales rep experienced in one area would not be able to adapt?
The process is the same:
1. Identify the right person in the client or partner
2. Identify the needs of that person within the larger organization
3. Fit your product or solution to the needs of the client or partner
4. Work the pricing or margin to meet the requirements of the client or partner, respectively
5. Support the client or partner in using the product or service
So, are companies limiting themselves by only looking at sales people with experience in one route to market? Are they missing out on that great sales person that could sell ice to the Eskimo just to look for someone with the right type of CV or resume?
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1 comments:
I agree with this blog post. Most companies try to pigeon-hole each applicant without looking at the "whole picture".