There are many myths surrounding the sales profession. Because the majority of companies need strong salespeople to compete in crowded markets, countless hours of speculation, behavioral analysis, and observation have been devoted to the profession.
Let’s debunk the five myths we encounter most often.
Myth 1: Money Is Everything to Salespeople
Most great sales professionals care about their customers more than their commission checks. Yes, that’s right.
High-performing salespeople have been known to leave jobs not over money, but because they don’t believe what they’re selling is the best product on the market for their customers’ needs. In fact, lost belief in the product ends more sales tenures than any comp plan ever has.
Myth 2: Salespeople Who Work from Home Are Lazy
This myth has mostly died out as employers got comfortable with remote and virtual sales forces, though it still resurfaces in every return-to-office debate.
The productivity evidence settled it long ago. Nicholas Bloom’s research concluded that telecommuters are, on average, happier and more productive than office workers, and employers noticed the gains when employees stopped commuting. Remote workers tend to work more hours and take shorter breaks.
The honest caveat: remote suits some salespeople and not others, and knowing which you are matters more than the myth ever did.
Myth 3: With Self-Service Business Models, Salespeople Don’t Really Do Much
The theory goes: with free trials, online shopping carts, and informed customers, salespeople are overpaid and less needed than ever.
But no matter how great your product is, you’ll lose business if you can’t surround your solutions and customers with high-quality professionals. Products that “sell themselves” may do so for a small window of time. Eventually a competitor or two steps in, and market share disappears overnight. Salespeople are necessary and essential to a product’s survival.
Yes, they can make a good chunk of change. But don’t be bitter, rejoice! When they make money, the company makes money, clients get outstanding products, and everyone wins.
Myth 4: Great Salespeople Don’t Make Strong Leaders
Leadership requires more than top sales skills. But top sales professionals can become great leaders with the right support, environment, attitude, and motivation. Leadership is a craft, and not unlike sales, it takes constant work, improvement, and dedication.
Top salespeople are accustomed to obsessively working on their skills, and once in a leadership role, they’ll immediately take the initiative to acquire new ones. Of those who make the transition, some find leadership a truly rewarding path. Others decide they prefer individual contributor roles and eventually make their way back to field sales. Both outcomes are fine, and neither proves the myth.
Myth 5: A Dynamic, Extroverted Personality Makes You a Natural-Born Salesperson
Sales professionals can go pretty far on a dynamic personality, but so can accountants, lawyers, and news broadcasters. In the long run, charisma alone won’t sustain any career, not even in sales.
Look inside any sales team and you’ll find a broad range of personalities. There is no “magic personality” that predetermines success. Great salespeople need drive, sales skills, and above-average activity levels on a consistent basis, and they’re committed to continuously improving themselves.
Like other highly successful professionals, salespeople value a sense of purpose. They seek out companies with solutions that make a difference in their customers’ lives.
The One Trait the Top 10% Share
The top 10% of any sales force contains a broad spectrum of personality types, backgrounds, and experience. Yet top salespeople across industries share one common trait: a strong devotion to helping customers solve their most pressing and demanding problems.
And if the myths in this post sound familiar, it’s because you’ve met them in person. They’re exactly the assumptions waiting for you when you interview with non-sales leaders, and knowing how to dismantle them is a skill worth having.
