Happy Friday, everyone!
OK, we’re not trying to start the war of the genders here. But fellow administrator Heather Schwartz (who also happens to be my sister) emailed me this blog post by Mark Hunter, thinking it would be an interesting subject for discussion on RSC. And I agree. In his post, Hunter goes through various aspects of the sales process (prospecting, conducting a CNA, closing the sale, etc.), sharing his opinions about which gender holds the advantage at each point.
So we’d like to know what you think:
What makes a woman good at sales, and what makes a man good at sales?
Looking forward to reading your replies!
Seriously? This is what it has come to?
The question pre-supposes that there are differences in performance and outcomes based on gender. This question is as offensive to me as asking what makes a Black person or Gay person good at sales?
Surely this is a joke? I might have expected to hear this kind of question in the 1960s period drama Mad Men.
'Speaking of Mad Men, can't wait for the new season to launch!'
I'll agree with that!!
After reading the article you referenced by Mark Hunter along with the previous comments...
1. Gender is a factor that we cannot change (without surgery) and each has inherent strengths.
2. However, those strengths can be weaknesses, depending on who is sitting on the other side of the table. I know business owners who distrust certain genders, ages, or races. Not much we can do with those clients except to attempt to earn ther trust or pass them off to a more suitable co-worker.
3. As a 54 year old white guy who has been bearded my entire radio sales career of 25+ years, I have never let who I am or what I look like stand in the way of being successful, both personally and my clients success.
A few other comments:
I've sold formats that I did not like, but believed in because I knew the audience and found appropriate advertisers. Today I'm fortunate to work for a station and company that I enjoy and like to listen to, that is respected and well known.
I don't care who or what you are regarding gender/race/age, etc. If you are willing to work hard and smart, I can help you be successful. A few years ago, I was mentoring a new salesperson in his 20's who was brand new to radio. Ben caught on and did the work. Fast forward about 7 years and now I work for him. We each have a keen respect and understanding of each other and what it takes to be successful.
Having read Mr. Hunter's post, I agree with a lot of his points, but come to a different conclusion. The best salesperson is the one who can establish the best rapport with the client. As a 25 year old male, I prefer working with clients that I can talk about sports, cars, etc with. Obviously we're dealing in deep stereotypes, but it is generally easier to connect with someone with shared interests, and interests tend to break on gender lines. It tends to put the client at ease when I can comment intelligently on his new truck, or the team he played college ball for. Additionally, men and women tend to communicate differently, which makes it easier to understand a person of the same gender. As Mr. Hunter points out, the majority of decision makers are male. Our team is evenly split and it works well for us. If I walked into a salon/spa, I would be much more likely to make a fool of myself than any of my female counterparts. My strengths with independent auto repair shops may not translate as well with a stereotypical female sales rep. To answer the original question of who I would pick if given the choice to pick one, my response would have to be whoever best balances out the strengths and weaknesses of the current team in place.
I totally agree Tyler. Working with our strengths is more important than fixing our weaknesses. I've also sworn off of ever having another hair salon as a client.
I entered the business in the early 1970's, when the vast majority of radio advertising salespeople were male. By the end of that decade, sales trainer Jim Williams was predicting that within another 5-10 years, most radio salespeople "will be wearing a bra." He was in this, as in much of what he taught, prescient.
I've had the privilege of knowing and working alongside successful radio salespeople of both genders. There are, I think, inherent gender-driven differences in disposition and response to different situations. But the factors that contribute the most to one's success in this (or any) business are a matter of volition; it's the choices we make that are determinative.
That said, this short video nails some of the differences between male and female brain-wiring.
I've discovered a study by McGill University which found that estrogen gives women the edge over men when it comes to fighting off infections. (Apparently estrogen confronts a certain enzyme that often hinders the body's first line of defense against bacteria and viruses).
So, I am willing to concede that women probably make better employees, not just for the qualities you've listed but, because that they are clearly less likely to be absent from work with illness than their male counterpart.
Not sure what the McGill study revealed as the consequence for the estrogen-induced immune advantage.My experience is that women in sales and in the workplace in very general terms are more management intensive - even the best saleswomen can take some things personally or become overinvolved in client or office politics periodically - and women definitely do take more time off than men. The latter is often due to family situations rather than illness. As an additional management consideration, women (in child-bearing years) have been to-date more expensive to insure on benefits plans.
As an aside, there is no more debilitating situation for a manager than a female employee planning a wedding - you may laugh but it's true. An astronomical amount of time is spent in non-sales activity; every other employee in the building and every client she has will know every detail of the wedding plans. Fortunately wedding planning has a distinct window of time....
BUT...the proficient female salesperson plans effectively for time off taken so the net effect on performance from the office and client side is negligible. I have seen this to be true even with maternity leave.
So in the end the playing field is pretty even across gender: personal traits that make a salesperson successful work for men and women. There will always be clients who relate better and buy more from someone male v female, old v young, etc. As Joel notes above, a manager will always attempt to match salespeople accordingly. I am a female sales manager and agree with pretty much everything Joel commented above.
David there are differences in performance and outcomes based on gender. This happens for physiological and cultural reasons. Men think like men. Women think like women. It's not a better-than situation, just a that's-the-way-it-is reality.
And this is coming from a fem-nazi of the 70's....
As a 60-year--old white guy, I'm not offended by the question. In almost every station I've worked at, a female has been the top seller.
