Did cheesy, sloppy, & tacky sales people actually make things better?

In 2013 I wrote a book, based on my work with almost 700 Hubspot resellers (or VARs as we called them) and it captured a moment in time. The way we approached sales was changing and it was a drastic change. I feel as if the changes I outlined in Sales Shift have continued and in many cases been amplified over the last 9 years. We continue to see adjustments being made in how we need to sell and position anything. Consumers are even more educated and the competitive landscape has become even more global.

Furthermore, the mindsets and perspectives of consumers have continued to change as well. As that continues to adjust it is reflected in what marketing, sales, PR, and promotional strategies are effective. In some cases, the old school methods are not just ineffective, they actually irritate the potential customer. This has resulted in feedback, backlash and expectations that salespeople need to adjust their approach. Consumers have had enough!

There are of course some people that still believe and therefore attempt to follow a very aggressive tactical plan, it is manifest in the language they use, they like to "hunt their prey" and "kill what they eat" and so on, and on the unfitting analogies go. The idea of being hunted is in itself offputting and guarantees we will not be treated with respect before, during, and after the sales process. There are some who "never take no for an answer" which is perhaps the stupidest of all sayings used by salespeople, ever! No, is indeed a valid answer and, when said, it means no.

But there is good news, the changes that are still happening with consumers are inspiring a whole new group of sales professionals to really just and to get it, and because they do, we are benefitting. Here are some examples of how that works:

1) The consumers' demand for authenticity and honesty is at an all-time high 2) The salespeople cannot represent an inferior product and still believe they offer the best without being authentic 3) The integrity of salespeople works with consumer sentiment and forces product improvement. In the "old days" even in cases where consumers said they demanded the highest quality, shady salespeople would make up the gap via sales tactics (sometimes tricks and dishonesty) and we might never get the improved product because the existing one was still selling. Salespeople were actually working against customer sentiment. Customers would regret their purchase but the cycle would repeat over and over again, this happened for decades.

It is clear to me that a place still exists for salespeople but their role is changing rapidly.

• Going forward salespeople will be responsible to manage the human side of the relationship and interaction - so they need to be likable, discreet, and authentic.
• Salespeople will need to be subject matter experts and advisors - so they need to understand the application of their product or solution and they need to help customers do the same, and get the most out of the solution even after the sale.
• They will serve a role of ensuring the customer feels cared for and important to the company - so they will need to be highly connected and involved with customer service issues rather than handing those off to someone else.

What I just outlined above represents a tremendous improvement in how we all interact with salespeople and sales teams. Regardless of our position, we should all want to encourage the transition because after all, as consumers ourselves, we can all benefit from these changes.