There are usually very few stakeholders within a company that are truly dedicated to the organization and its purpose, and those are usually toward or right at the top. To those further down it’s much of the time “just a job”—their real life and true ambitions exist outside and away from that company. They learn enough of their job skills to perform adequately while they’re there, and at a certain point don’t need any more than that.
For the sales force it can be a bit different, if only because sales reps create their own income; their very livelihood depends on their dedication to the job. Yet some salespeople don’t fully realize this; much like an average company “worker” they learn just enough to carry them along, and don’t really want to know much more than that. They then wonder how it happens that some of their colleagues advance to the “big leagues” and some even become wealthy.
It’s the difference between paycheck-to-paycheck workers and entrepreneurs.
What is Dedication?
Many employees secretly scoff at dedicated employees—what used to be called “company men.” In many cases there is a good reason for this: some of them are the type of people that will agree with and forward literally anything that comes down from the top. They don’t actually think for themselves, and others who do think for themselves see these “dedicated employees” as weak, servile slaves who lust after that possible promotion or bonus and are convinced they’ll get it by constantly kowtowing to management. This kind of behavior can be falsely viewed as the same thing as “dedication” and be soundly rejected.
But is that actual dedication, and is that the brand of activity that actually wins the game? Well, maybe in some isolated cases it does—but in sales, the only thing that, in the end, really wins is meeting or exceeding sales quotas. And no amount of pandering to company “values” will cause that to happen.
The Spirit of Entrepreneurs
If you take a closer look at successful salespeople, they aren’t winning because they’re “yes people”—they’re succeeding because they’re getting the job done. It’s because they’re “entrepreneurs within the enterprise.” They don’t view themselves as mere employees, but as totally in charge of their careers and their lives.
Taking on that view, they learn everything they can about their product, their market, their competition, their prospects, and their clients. They often and consistently are enhancing their sales skills. Such elements give them a substantial edge over others who simply come to work, put in their time, collect their commissions and go home.
Are they doing this because they’re “dedicated” to their sales management and the company? Or are they behaving this way because it results in great success in life? Certainly their company benefits—but so do they personally. In spades.
A Unique Position
In comparison with the average company worker, a sales rep is in a unique position with regard to advancement opportunities. An average employee can wait years for a promotion or often even a raise—and during those long waiting periods they’re making the same amount of money, week after week, month after month.
A salesperson takes on the considerable challenge of having a direct link between the amount they sell and the amount they earn. Right there they can up their income over the previous weeks and months. But by constantly learning all about their product, industry, competition and clients, keeping abreast of changes as they happen, and enhancing their sales skills besides, they position themselves to become leaders and move well ahead of someone who just sees what they do as a “job.”
That may be the type of dedication that makes their sales management and company happy. But it’s also the kind of dedication that they can carry into a better-paying sales position at another company, should such an opportunity arise. It can even enable them as independent sales consultants, answering to no particular organization except themselves.
The Right CRM Solution
One element that does level the playing field to a great extent is a leading-edge CRM solution. It enables any salesperson to move ahead by providing sales reps actual control of their sales pipelines, and greatly reduce the amount of reporting normally required of salespeople.
Salespeople are, in actuality, entrepreneurs. Find your inner entrepreneur and learn the true meaning of dedication—and success.
Make sure your company is utilizing the CRM solution that will empower all its entrepreneurs.You can learn all about such a solution here.
