Career success in SALES now depends on your participation in an ‘open network’.

What's the biggest predictor of career success in B2B sales? Take a guess and you're likely to come up with: EQ, IQ, persistence, confidence, 'gift-of-the-gab' or even luck (right place, right time)…I’ve heard them all before. Some of these are great things to posses if you're a B2B sales professional however, I recently read a brilliant Medium post by author and entrepreneur Michael Simmons, which highlights that science actually offers a different answer to this question.

According to Simmons, "simply being in an open network instead of a closed one is the best predictor of career success". Simmons posits that half of the predicted difference in career success (i.e., promotion, compensation, industry recognition) is due to this one variable, and this article explains why your future career requires an ‘open network' - and why you need to join SalesTribe - TODAY.

Michael Simmons discovered this startling truth about the ‘open network’ during interviews with several prominent network scientists, and whilst it might seem startling to some, it’s actually kind of intuitive when you think about it.

What exactly is an "open network"?

To define the term, let’s just define a 'closed network'. Despite networking being a pivotal aspect of the sales role, most sales people spend their careers working inside ‘closed networks’ – moving from one in-house sales department to the next each time they transition roles (circa every 18 months nowadays). Closed networks are networks of people who already know each other, and because sales people often stay in the same industries, they invariably end up cultivating a relatively small inner-circle of connections that they call upon when in need of a new job. Naturally, this type of ‘closed network’ does have some advantages, but a small network is no longer good enough in the global-digital-social-interconnected world that we all now operate in.

Let’s consider the typical way that most B2B sales people find their next role. In my experience, sales people generally find their next role via a personal contact – often referred to as The Hidden Job Market. That is, an internal transfer, or someone that they have worked with before, a referral, or a close connection of some sort. Most of my own sales roles throughout my 28 year career have come about exactly this way – that is, do good work and someone will tap you on shoulder for your next role. I have rarely had to use a CV or go through a recruitment company to find a gig….and most sales people that I know will say the same thing.

But herein lies the issue: most of us (me included) have worked through a period of unprecedented growth across practically every industry and product category - globally. In my home country of Australia, we have just entered the 103rd consecutive quarter of uninterrupted economic growth which is now a global record for the longest period without recession - passing the record previously set by The Netherlands. Think about that for a second: Australia has enjoyed 26 years without a recession, meaning an entire generation of Australians have grown up without ever having known what it's like to try to find a new job in an economic downturn. To say that things have been “pretty bloody good” for a long time in Australia would the type of massive understatement that would see you labelled a ‘flamin galah’ down under.

My point here is simply that a rising tide floats all boats, and now that the B2B sales job markets around the world are going into what is tipped to be a significant contraction (Forrester), the good old days of simply waiting for someone to tap you on the shoulder from within the Hidden Job Market, are no longer reliable. With a rapidly decreasing hidden job market you MUST now proactively protect yourself and your career in B2B sales by insulating yourself against the increasingly likely event that you will face an unexpected job loss in the near future.

“Are you able to build a strong enough network and personal brand to future-proof yourself against decisions that are out of your control?” Lee Bartlett

Therefore, you now must ask yourself some tough questions, and you have to be brutally honest with the answers:

1. How would you be viewed today by an unknown potential new employer?
2. Do you have a contingency plan in place that will help you to quickly regain employment?
3. Is your personal brand strong enough to position your favorably in tough times?
4. Have you done enough to separate yourself from your peers in a contracting job market?

Remember, you don’t have to suddenly become an A-Grade 'rock-star' sales person with 25k followers on LinkedIn and Twitter. You just have to be able to begin to position yourself ahead of your contemporaries…to rise above the pack.

What steps can you now take?

1. If you are not already, then you should be seriously working to increase your network leveraging the immense power of LinkedIn to exponentially grow your sphere of influence, and your ability to connect in times of need. Goes without saying that this will massively impact your ability to also make a sale without the cold outreach – duh!
2. The second thing you should do is register immediately at SalesTribe – it’s free, and it is the world’s first platform specifically for B2B sales people whom now recognize the need to be part of an open network, a Tribe, a community. Sales people need new job opportunities from different sources, and SalesTribe makes those connections.

By Graham Hawkins

About the Author

With more than twenty-eight years of experience, Graham Hawkins is B2B sales specialist with a contemporary view on how ‘sales’ must now align to the new customer-led era. Graham has recently authored two books on B2B sales – the most recent being ‘The Future of the Sales Profession, which is now an Amazon International Best Seller.

Graham is also the Founder & CEO of SalesTribe, and he can be contacted by emailing ‘[email protected]’

SalesTribe

SalesTribe is the first business of its kind (globally) which has been designed specifically to assist B2B sales people, many of whom now require career guidance and access to new career opportunities. 

SalesTribe also helps small businesses get access to flexible 'on-demand' sales resources to help accelerate growth, reduce 'time-to-revenue' and to shift fixed costs to variable costs. 

• Sales people need new opportunities. 
• Small businesses need access to ‘on-demand’ sales best practices.
• SalesTribe makes those connections.

www.salestribe.com