I work in Sales......

Is it just me or do those 4 words make your stomach churn? I have recently been at the receiving end of possibly the worst sales experience I’ve ever had, coupled with the fact that I’m reading a great book called “They Ask, You Answer” and it really made me think. Because I work in sales and I never want anyone to have their stomach churn when they think of me and what I do.

And looking back, I guess I’ve worked in sales for pretty much all of my working career. I recruited Nannies for the “rich & the rude” as I described it in my early 20’s. I then worked for an IT company in the HR Department (for this blog I’ll chose to ignore the 5 months I worked at Accenture as I hated all 5 months of it and can’t really remember what I did there!), I then moved into FMCG, working in Commercial for a wine importer before 8 years selling “slop in a pot” and M&S Desserts. Full circle, back to recruitment where I sold people their dreams jobs, and clients their dream candidates. And Winhurst Recruitment is nearly 6 years old so I must have sold someone something in that time or the business wouldn’t still be going. I’ve done the corporate sales training courses; I’ve been shown how to negotiate with the supermarkets but am I salesperson? Hand on heart, I don’t think I am. And here is why.

Last November a well-known German car manufacturer contacted me with “an amazing black Friday deal” as in 2017, I had signed up, again, to one of their good deals. But with my car on a PCP which can’t be handed back before June 2020 otherwise it’ll cost me, I was slightly cynical. So, any deal has to be more than amazing in my eyes. When the numbers were presented to me, I was slightly gobsmacked that the “amazing deal” would cost me ￡4,000 more over 3 years for the same car and that didn’t include the ￡1,000+ to hand my car back early. I pointed it out that it wasn’t a great deal, and could they reconsider it to which they said yes, and they’d call back later that day. A week later I chased as I’d heard nothing. I explained that may be the timing wasn’t right, they said they’d come back with a revised deal, but they never did. When Customer Service did a courtesy call, I politely explained that as I’d been a customer of this well-known brand of car for 10+ years, I wasn’t feeling like the Sales Team were listening to. They were in complete agreement and promised to call me first week in January to see how they could help me. That phone call never came however another call did a few weeks later with “Miss Richardson, we have an amazing deal for you?” No, they hadn’t spoken to anyone so weren’t aware of any previous conversations. You’re getting the picture here right? Long story short, eventually the Manager got involved and did give me a good deal which I explained I needed to think about because I’d just managed to have a spectacular fall (resulting in nearly breaking my leg!) and had 2 funerals in a week but acknowledging that I had appreciated the effort and would be in touch in 2 weeks’ time. 5 days later, phone rings, another member of the same sales team “Miss Richardson, we have an amazing deal for you”.

So, what makes a good Salesperson? Or what makes a good Sales Technique? I get that the current climate is tough, I understand that people are under pressure to meet targets because they might lose their job or not get their bonus which means they’ll struggle to pay for a holiday, or even treat themselves to a new winter coat, I get that. I then looked at how I “sell” in my current job. And I honestly don’t think I do, which does concern me a bit. Maybe I should, maybe I’d have more clients on, maybe I’d then have said yes to the first “amazing deal” I was offered by this Dealership, for another Series of having 1 car in my life. Money wouldn’t be an issue, I’d be having exactly what I want to buy, regardless of crunching the numbers.

In summary this is how I sell:

• I ask questions
• I listen to answers
• I listen to what the client wants
• I listen to what the candidates wants
• I challenge back if I need to
• I understand that no means no
• I respect other people’s opinions
• I appreciate that sometimes, it’s all about timing
• I do my research
• I am honest

The book I am reading is all about being the expert in what you do, gaining trust and people respecting you. And listening. The Bavarian Dealership based in Nottingham could not have got that more wrong. The “amazing deals” were amazing for them as they needed the numbers. The “amazing deals” were no good for the customer and therefore it never was an “amazing deal”.

So, if you work in Sales, decide the type of salesperson you want to be, make sure it fits with your core values and work for a company that matches those core values. I will be sad to say goodbye to my car in the summer when I hand it back, but I won’t be badgered into buying something that isn’t right, and I won’t give my hard earned cash to a business that treats its customers like that.

I’m now off to phone a candidate who had a final interview this morning. I never sold her the job and I never sold the client the candidate. The client invested a huge amount of time with me talking through the business and the role, the candidate spent a lot of time talking through their experience and what they want from a new job, and I spoke to about 50 people who applied for the job and I thought she was pretty near perfect. I guess you could call me the Cilla Black of Recruitment. Because surprise surprise, I’d rather be called that, than be tarnished with the dreaded sales brush we’ve probably all experienced.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0115 972 6513

@winhurstrec