Is Outside Sales for You?

From someone that fell into it and succeeded.?

Have you considered applying for an Outside Sales role?? Do you currently work Inside Sales, but you are considering a future move into Outside Sales?? I admire those aspirations - it’s a great place to start a sales career. But have you considered that this decision could lead to the end of your sales career?

Most salespeople long for an Outside Sales role because of the independence, the opportunity to build a territory, greater income potential, and the dream of leading a larger team.

These motives can make you want to be in Outside Sales, but it’s important to clearly understand what you are getting into before you apply.? Why?? Because Outside Sales is difficult and very few make it.? I can say this with confidence, because I have had the opportunity to screen, assess, and interview hundreds and hundreds of applicants.? I have also hired, trained, coached and supported many people who sought to begin their career in Outside Sales.? Not many have made it.? Most applicants don’t get?past the initial screening process, and those who do, rarely last at the position.?

During my tenure in Outside Sales and as a VP of Sales for an IT and Cyber Security Firm, I’ve observed quite a bit, and learned some lessons.? I hope these insights can serve as a type of “self-screening” for future Outside Sales candidates, and as a guide for organizations hiring for this role.

FAVORABLE WIRING – A hunter is much different than a farmer.? Before you apply for an Outside Sales role, you must determine you if are a hunter.? Here are a few ideas to help you figure this out.

A) Do you enjoy working independently, or do you prefer to work in collaboration with a team?? It is important to understand this key determinant of whether you are a hunter.? If you prefer collaboration over independence, then you will fit better into a farmer role, where you will work more with others.?

B) Does a full day of prospecting energize or drain you?? Invest in some "practice" time in the?prospecting role to answer this question before you take on an Outside Sales job.? Doing this will help you assess if this type of work fits for you.? If you prospect for a day and are totally drained - don’t apply.

C) Are you able to quickly determine a customer's pain point and recommend solutions? Or do you let the customer drive the process and follow their lead?? This is the difference between being an advisor who directs the customer toward the proper solution, or simply being someone who fulfills an order.? Do you prefer to be liked or respected?? If you prefer to be liked - don’t apply.

Your answers to these key questions will give you a good idea of where you fit best on the farmer/hunter scale.?

Another great independent review of your wiring comes from the DISC Personality Assessment, named after the four terms Drive, Influence, Support and Clarity. Our research has determined that a successful Outside Sales representative in our environment will be higher on the “D” score but also have a relatively high “I” score.? This is not always 100 percent the case but is a reliable trend.? We search for a score of 12 or higher for both “D” and “I” as a starting point, before going to the next step in the application process.?

HOW DO YOU BUILD TRUST AND RAPPORT? – You have a very limited time to establish trust with new prospects.? Trust is more important than the solutions you or your organization can deliver.? I’ve learned to always start a new conversation by telling the prospect who I am and who we are as a company, before I discuss what we can deliver.? Give them enough information so that they can assess if there’s a mutual fit and a baseline of trust.?

In your first meeting, I recommend sharing your core values early in the conversation, because your character will always be the bedrock of the relationship. Determine if those values are essential to the prospect and agree to be mutually accountable to those values.? You can also build rapport and trust quickly by determining mutual friendships/colleagues, work history and experiences, social connections, volunteer roles, and any other areas of commonality.? The key is to find common ground between you and the prospect and connect to them in a way that forms a solid basis of trust.

I also use this time to understand who they are, how they do business and identify their decision-makers. From this I determine if they are a good fit for what my company offers, and that I am able to trust them.? There are many solutions providers for a prospect to select from, but not many that they can trust.? There are also many customers you can support, and you want ones you can trust. Trust is key to building a long-term and successful working relationship with a client.

UNDERSTAND THE INHERENT RISKS – An Outside Sales role is not a position for people who are risk adverse.? Many companies complete a “risk tolerance” profile for investing, but few apply that same process to a career path.? You can consult a career counselor or recruitment agency to assess your risk tolerance before you apply for a job.? Among applicants we have interviewed over the past seven years for Outside Sales, we have experienced a success rate of less than 15 percent. ?All of them were “qualified” and vetted at the time of hire.? Many had previous experience. ?I believe many applicants just had a low threshold for tolerating the risk inherent in the role.

For new hires, we also provide a very thorough onboarding and training process, along with extensive support.? There are always internal factors that lead to success or failure, but you must also consider external factors that can make it difficult to succeed.? These factors can include a global pandemic, supply chain, market demand, market competition, and much more.? You must have the risk tolerance for these external factors when applying for an Outside Sales role.? If you do not, the tension and uncertainty caused by those outside influences will cause you to self-eliminate.

FOLLOW THE PATH PROVIDED – Past experience can be an asset and a liability.? I remember one of the early questions my current CEO asked when I started, which set the tone for me in that job, “Chris, can you set aside all you’ve done, know, and feel that you bring to the table, and follow the path of success we have seen at this company?”? Talk about putting you on your heels!? I had 20 years of business experience, an MBA, and military service!? None of that mattered in the current situation.? His question was important to work through at the outset of the job, and it set me up for success.? It put my mindset where it needed to be - in a place of humility and learning and allowed me to follow with genuine sincerity those salesmen who had successfully walked the path before me.?

I fixed my focus on becoming a student and re-directed my hunger from DOING to LEARNING.? After a year of learning and following, I saw success. I was slowly able to layer in the transferrable skills I had gained from my past experiences.? That was when I began to see growth beyond my peers - when I combined my prior experience with what I had first learned from being a leader.? If I had started “my way” from the very beginning, I don’t believe I would have achieved the same success.?

SUCCESS B4 DOESN’T GUARANTEE SUCCESS AGAIN – Every Outside Sales role has a unique success path.? Just because someone was successful before does not guarantee success within a new organization and in a new role.? This is a huge hurdle for candidates as well as hiring officials and a trap many often fall into.? I’ve hired many previously successful Outside Sales reps that were not successful in our organization.? Past experience is often the rationale companies utilize when hiring for Outside Sales.? It’s often said that, “I can bring my current relationships into my account set,” yet it rarely happens.

Beyond prior success, there are many factors that need to be considered. These include:? a candidate’s humility, teachability, culture fit, and the ability for your candidate to sell your solutions as opposed to just showing up.? You must also consider your organization's ability to support accounts the candidate wants to bring in.? I will dig into “selling vs. showing up” next, but if you are not adequately trained (or willing to be trained) as a sales professional then you should not apply, and an organization should not hire you!?

SELLING VS. SHOWING UP – There is where you determine if a candidate is a hunter or a farmer.? Many times, past success of an Outside Sales representative can be attributed to the quality of a brand or how effectively a solution meets customer needs.? I’ve met many Outside Sales reps that are friendly, have great customer service skills, show up, and even bring treats!? But what happens when they can't rely on those aspects and actually have to sell?? What happens when they go to work for a company that does not have a well-known brand, or a solution that is not “market hot?”? Will they last?? Most likely, no.?

For an employer, it is imperative to determine if the candidate has the selling skill set before an offer is made.?

You can likely determine this for a candidate in role play sessions, pre-hire shadowing, and through reference checks.? If there’s any question, then ensure you have a candidate willing to learn, and ensure they go through the training they need to learn how to successfully sell your solutions while representing your organization.?

BE A STUDENT OF PROSPECTING (IT’S YOUR ELECTRICITY) – I’ve been in Outside Sales for a number of years, and I have consistently experienced growth in sales production year after year.? Even as a VP, overseeing a team of outside sales reps, every year I have realized growth in my personal production.? I’m often asked, “How do you sustain this?”? The answer is, “I tap into the same sense of urgency I had the first two weeks on my job.”? As each year ends, and a new year begins, I intentionally put myself back in the same mindset I had when I started working in Outside Sales.?

The tendency for anyone with longevity and success in sales is to relax and rest on prior success. This invariably leads to a loss of discipline. I remember my first two weeks in sales very well. The uncertainty of success created a hunger that drove GOOD daily disciplines.? I rinse and repeat that same process each year, to ensure I don’t fall prey to a career where I can only talk about past successes, but don't have any new ones to share about.?

Where does it all start?? With prospecting.? Prospecting in sales is like electricity in your home.? Without it, you won’t have the basics you need to survive.? Each year I continually refine my prospecting strategy and strive to be a student of this discipline.? But...I don’t stop prospecting - ever!? Prospecting is a continual, daily routine, that must never be forgotten.? I learn from past experience, peers, my sales coach and pull in any other resources I can find, to ensure that I get better and better at it, but I never stop learning.

YOUR WORK ETHIC – THE BEST CHANCE FOR YOUR SUCCESS – If you like maximum results with minimal effort, don’t apply for an Outside Sales position.? In her book Grit, Angela Duckworth shares key answers to the question of “Why some people some people succeed, and others fail?”? One of the most compelling quotes in the book states, “Without effort, your talent is nothing more than unmet potential.”? She also shares, “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.”? These statements are very true of Outside Sales roles. A day-to-day enduring work ethic will be the most likely indicator of your success.? If you want to truly succeed in Outside Sales you must be prepared to apply a work ethic daily and with constant effort.? If you are looking for a way to be successful with minimal effort, don’t apply for an Outside Sales role.?

FAITH MATTERS – What’s your vision in Outside Sales?? Do you have one?? Can you see what you are attempting to achieve?? If not, don’t apply.? Why?? What you believe about yourself and the things you can achieve will supersede what others believe about you.? You have to believe it first.? The faith you have in yourself, your ability to accomplish the vision, and the intended outcome will serve as your sustaining power.? You will face many days that shout, “you are not going to make it,” or “you will never be successful.”? It’s the faith you have in yourself and your vision that will kick in to overpower and overcome.?

In her article "How Imagery and Visualization Can Improve Athletic Performance," Elizabeth Quinn states “Research has shown that athletes can improve both physical and psychological reactions in certain situations with visualization. Such repeated imagery can build both experience and confidence in an athlete's ability to perform certain skills under pressure or in various possible scenarios.”? It’s no different in Outside Sales - your faith and ability to visualize the outcome will be the sustaining power of your success!?

DEPEND ON YOUR TEAM – When you are hired in Outside Sales, you will often have a team that supports you.? This is not always the case but is true more often than not.? That team often includes support from Inside Sales, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Engineers, Project Management, Purchasing and more.? As you move into a new Outside Sales role you must quickly learn who does what, and your precise responsibilities within the team.? Once you learn those roles, you must depend on your teammates and not try to be all things to all people.? Why?? Because the more you get involved with areas outside of your responsibility, the less you will sell.? I’ve seen many Outside Sales reps who want to be the technical lead, handle purchasing, and have their hands in everything.? These reps will never be your top producers.?

FOLLOW-THROUGH—THE KEY TO CUSTOMER RETENTION – What sets apart one Outside Sales rep from the other?? My experience shows that it is follow-through!? Note that I didn’t say “follow-up,” but follow-through.? What’s the difference?? Follow-up is a short-term contact process and often does not ensure the customer receives what they actually need.? It’s an email or a call that says, “make sure this gets done” but doesn’t actually ensure its completed.? Follow-through ensures a customer gets what they requested but also ensures they are satisfied with the outcome.?

Follow-through requires effort that won’t give up until the customer is fully satisfied.?

This is how you retain customers.? Follow-through is a rare quality to find in Outside Sales.?? Just ask a few customers about their experiences with Outside Sales reps. You will quickly discover this is a defining factor that sets one Outside Sales rep apart from the other.? Follow-through is also the key for receiving referrals, which is how you will continue to prospect and build your territory.? ?

GET A COACH! It wasn’t long after I took over leadership of my sales team that I realized I needed outside help. I quickly re-aligned budget priorities so I could secure a Sales Coach for myself and my team.? Ultimately, it didn’t happen until year three, but it was the best decision I ever made as a sales leader.? Since we began working with a dedicated sales coach, we have grown nearly 300 percent in production!? Bringing in a sales coach helped:

• Formalize our sales process.
• Better define our target customer.
• Better position our solutions.
• Improve our prospecting approach.
• Expand our customer base the right way.?

But a Sales Coach is not just for organizations…they are for individuals as well.? The top sellers that I know would personally fund their own Sales Coach if their organization did not provide that support.? Why?? Because, according to Forbes, “nearly two-thirds (64.8%) of reps' time, on average, is spent in non-revenue-generating activities.” ?But - until you have someone from the outside looking in at your day-to-day strategy and approach, you won’t realize or understand that.?

IN CLOSING

There are many factors which you must take into account to determine if Outside Sales is a good fit for you. If you're not well suited to this type of job, it can lead to an unsatisfying and unsuccessful work life. However, if the various elements I've outlined above indicate you would do well at Outside Sales - I can tell you from experience, it can be an exciting and extremely rewarding career path. Just take the time to fully assess up front if it is the right role for you.

References:

30 Motivational Quotes from Grit by Angela Duckworth | The Millennial Grind (millennial-grind.com)

Why Sales Reps Spend Less Than 36% Of Time Selling (And Less Than 18% In CRM) (forbes.com)