More than any other corporate discipline, salespeople second guess their current role constantly. I’m not talking about whether or not they want to quit their current position (that’s everybody). I mean they question if they want to get out of the whole sales racket altogether. Even seemingly seasoned (the George Hamilton look-alikes with the Rolex) will admit that they would love to go back to school and become a teacher, open a restaurant, crew a crabbing boat, whatever. For those people who are still young enough to do something about it, the ones that have their fantasies of joining the circus get in the way of closing deals, allow me to focus you with a few quick pros and cons of being in sales. Who knows--I might help cull a few of you jugglers out of the woods quicker or rein a natural hunter back in.
Cons of being a salesperson:
The number: It won’t go away, not even when you sleep or drink yourself into vaudeville. It gets harder all the time. You don’t get a pass for being old. Or new. It might as well be your prison number that you answer to at company meetings because your relationship to quota is WHO YOU ARE. You are the only person who has to care about everyone else’s job, because they all get paid whether the deal goes through or not.
Your boss: For some reason it is a rule that your manager, your VP, your CEO, your company owner or someone above you in the corporate monkey tree will be diametrically opposed to you in outlook, work ethic, technical ability, looks, etc. For me there was always some process whip-dick who wanted to see the easygoing jokester fail.
The customer: The inescapable reality in sales is that you are totally subservient to the people that will eventually mumble their consent to your proposal. No matter what kind of Far Side cartoon character you are dealing with it is your job to smile your way into their head and get the deal. They set the rules and your only reward for one failed (or Pyrrhic victory) relationship is another one on the spreadsheet. I still have a fantasy of jumping up in the middle of a call, letting everything I really think come spilling out and singing that “Anything you can do I can do better” song in full punk rocker roar.
Pros of being a salesperson:
The number: Hitting that number frees you from all the chains of corporate life. Executive management LOVES you. HR shreds your file. PTO days don’t apply to you- and you work your own hours. It is the way that salespeople become the best paid people in the organization. Nobody can look elsewhere for who is number one because it is right there in black and white- I’m the best, so suck it. It is the closest you can get to being a celebrity or athlete.
Your boss: When you crush your numbers, you don’t have a boss. Your manager needs to just stay out of your way. There is no comparison in any other department. The top sales guy trumps the VP. He gets to slap the CEO’s bald head and call him “Woody” to his face. True story--I once laid down on the stage and fell asleep while a new president was grilling the rest of the company. I was closing deals--so he wasn’t talking to me.
The customer: I’m all about new people. Go ahead, jump in the cliché Conga line and say I’m a people person. Success in sales is directly attributable to how many people you can meet and move toward your goal. You are not allowed to sit at your desk and only deal with the same set of tired people (all former and present co-workers of mine obviously not included). The salesperson is constantly learning -and being entertained- and can make his own schedule. Customers are the path to freedom.
That’s right, the pros are the cons. Decide which they are for you and get out now or get back to work.
