BACKGROUND

A new survey of the sales industry carried by Pareto Law, a recruitment and training company shows that women sales professionals are better than men. And this survey also suggests the needed qualities to become a successful salesperson.

Women on Top in New Sales Industry Survey

A new survey of the sales industry shows who sales professionals believe make the best salespeople and the qualities needed in order to succeed.

A new survey of over 200 sales professionals has found that two-thirds of women and over half of men believe that women make the best salespeople, underlining the growing reputation of women in the sales industry.

The survey was carried out for Pareto Law, a recruitment and training company. It questioned sales professionals on what they considered to be the most important qualities for a salesperson. It also asked who would be most likely to succeed.

Both men (53%) and women (66%) agreed that women do make better salespeople, with Hillary Clinton voted as the top female celebrity most likely to succeed in a career in sales.

When asked why women make the best salespeople, men believe the main reason is that women are better at actually closing a deal, while women stated they are better than men when it comes to dealing with people. Other female skills highlighted included being more organised and being able to handle more work, while male skills were identified as strong personalities and selling skills.

Jonathan Fitchew, Managing Director of Pareto Law, said: “Television programmes have increased people’s interest in the sales industry, but have also highlighted the different approaches of men and women to the same sales issues.”

When it comes to the individual qualities required to become a successful salesperson, men ranked honesty as most important (53%), while women placed most value on personality (47%). Both agreed that integrity was also key, coming third overall (41%). Good looks came at the bottom of the list, with only 3% of sales professionalsranking this as important.

This focus on professionalism, rather than the hard sell, supports the fact that over half of the sales professionals questioned believe that the reputation of sales has improved over the last 10 years, with 55% of men and 47% of women considering this to be the case.

Both men (87%) and women (86%) agreed that the top incentive for salespeople was money, with the average sales executive expecting to earn between £25–35k, including bonuses and commission, in their first year of work. Other incentives included verbal praise, overseas holidays and cars.

Find out these numbers in their article.

【WORDS & EXPRESSIONS】

appearance 

n. the way that someone or something looks 外貌；外表；外观

e.g. He had the appearance of a college student.

assistance 

n. a particular thing that is helpful or necessary for doing something 辅助；协助

e.g. The translations were carried out with the assistance of a medical dictionary.

cologne 

n. a kind of weak perfume 科隆香水；古龙水

e.g. Flattery is like cologne water, to is smell of, not swallow.

customised 

adj. modified according to a customer’s individual requirements 定制的

e.g. ZTE began courting European carriers several years ago by supplying customised handsets.

dispatch 

v. to send a message, letter, or parcel to a particular person or destination 发送，发出（信息、信件或包裹）

e.g. Free gifts are dispatched separately so please allow 28 days for delivery.

expiry 

n. the time that comes to an end or stops being valid of something such as a contract, deadline, or visa（合同、最终期限、签证等的）期满，到期

e.g. Documents must be presented not later than the expiry date of the credit.

honesty 

n. the quality of being honest 诚实；正直；坦诚

e.g. They said the greatest virtues in a politician were integrity, correctness and honesty.

integrity

n. honest and firm in moral principles 正直；诚实

e.g. He was praised for his fairness and high integrity.

inwardly 

adv. not aloud（思想、感情）在内心，秘密地

e.g. I sighed with inward relief.

platinum 

n. a very valuable, silvery-grey metal and often used for making jewellery 铂；白金

e.g. Metals commonly mixed with gold are nickel, platinum, and copper.

 professionalism 

n. a combination of skill and high standards 专业技巧；高超的水准

e.g. American companies pride themselves on their professionalism.

propose 

v. to suggest it for people to think about and decide upon 提出；建议；提议

e.g. Britain is about to propose changes to some institutions.

status 

n. the importance and respect that someone has among the public or a particular group（在公众或某一团体中的）威望，地位，身份

e.g. Nurses are undervalued, and they never enjoy the same status as doctors.

underline

v. to draw attention to something and emphasise its importance 强调；凸显

e.g. The decision to keep him in hospital for a second night underlines the seriousness of his injury.

verbal 

adj. of expressing in speech rather than in writing or action 口头的；非书面的；非行动的

e.g. We have a verbal agreement with her.

BACKGROUND

Sales process is a circle which can be divided in to several parts. In the sales process, the most different task is to close the deal. That’s to say, how to ask for money. It’s necessary to learn and master the closing technique in advance. 

What to Do at Closing Time

The most difficult sales task is asking for money,or,to use the technical term,“colsing”. Even experienced sales people will do anything to avoid this unpleasant part of the job. So, for a business owner, an import part of sales management is to encourage, or even threaten, sales people to get them to ask for orders.

Part one of the sales cycle is the qualification process：the sales person should listen carefully to the customer's needs and find a solution that can be delivered quickly. The larger the order, the more likely it is that the buyer may have to get authorisation form someone higher in the organisation,perhaps even the purchasing director. This is probably someone who is only interested in big discounts. lt is a good idea to ask a possible buyer how much they are allowed to spend.Then you can offer them products or services that they can afford.

lt's useful to practise a good closing technique in avance of the key moment. This will include a positive summary of the sales process, explaining the benefits for the customer that the proposed solutions will bring.

Then there is the most difficult part of the script,a final question in the style of, ‘So, do we have a deal?’ This should be followed by silence, which may fell uncomfortable, but if the sales person breaks that silence, the deal could easily disappear. Ideally,the customer will break the silence and say yes,a positive outcome for all concerned.But even if the customer says no, it is reasonable to ask why and perhaps work out how to change their mind.