Selling is the art of building bridges with people, picking them up, involving them, inspiring them, and making them happy. Selling is a complex relationship between two or more parties that demands the highest communication, persuasion, and relationship-building standards. Understanding the customer’s needs, offering them tailor-made solutions, and gaining their trust are essential parts of this process. To keep a company running, existing customers must be satisfied, new customers must be acquired, and all of them must be retained simultaneously. This is mutually beneficial: if customers leave the business happy and with full pockets, money has flowed into the company’s coffers.
To me, this sounds like a significant challenge and an important task that sales staff face daily at the point of sale. That’s why I ask even more loudly why they receive so little recognition and appreciation for their work. I have often noticed that there needs to be more appreciation for sales staff in companies. Sales are the last link in a long chain after everything supposedly crucial in the overall process has already been done. Many colleagues think that products sell automatically once they are on the shelves. However, if things don’t sell how top management wants them to, sales often serve as a scapegoat.
It is worth listening to and looking at carefully, especially here. After all, who is closer to the customer and knows their wishes better than a salesperson? In many cases, top management or designers must be more aware of their target group or want to address a completely different customer group. Sales can save a lot, but it can only lead collections that are far removed from the market and target group to success to a minimal extent.
Sales staff are often seen as a cost factor that can be saved without any noticeable change in sales. This assumption is based on two fundamental misconceptions: the pay of sales staff is often below average. A female retail sales assistant’s average gross monthly wage in Germany is 2,140 euros. A man in the same position receives – unsurprisingly – 210 euros more. (Source: lohnspiegel.de of the Hans Böckler Foundation). Another aspect that tends to go unnoticed is that human relationships and accurate contact are paramount in a digitalized world. Real people and their needs are always at the center. And this wonderful task must be skillfully implemented in sales.
I think it’s obvious that sales play a crucial role in the sales process. Secondly, in an ever-changing business world where technology and globalization are redefining the way we work, appreciation in the workplace is becoming increasingly important. Appreciation means expressing recognition and pleasure about a person or their performance. In the workplace, appreciation can be as simple as a “thank you” for a job well done, completing a project quickly, or preparing a meeting well. Today, appreciation plays a key role in creating a positive organizational culture and strengthening relationships between employees and managers. Many studies have shown that appreciation is a proven method of motivating employees, making them more productive and enthusiastic about their work.
Finally, a little thought experiment: I’ve often wondered if we need a new term for salespeople that gives their job the luster it deserves. For example, what do you think of relationship builders in sales? I look forward to your suggestions.