What if you eliminated your sales department and, in its place, created the super helpful department? Charge these former salespeople with finding ways to help their prospects or existing customers. Help not sales would be the goal – what might change?
- Instead of a sales call, they would be finding ways to solve customer’s problems.
- The team would spend more time listening, being empathetic, and understanding how they could be helpful.
- Their lens or frame of references wouldn’t be achieving quotas but achieving successful customers.
The Help Department
Maybe you feel this is pure semantics that you call your sales department by a new name. But In Daniel Pink’s great book, To Sell is Human, his survey indicated that salespeople were considered pushy, difficult, annoying and sleazy. In marketing, we’d create a new brand name for this job function. The term had a strong, negative connotation.
- Apple calls salespeople their geniuses.
- Kate Spade refers to their sales team as muses.
- Origins call their team guides.
- Microsoft has advisors, not salespeople.
- Sephora calls their sales team cast members.
Get a cross-functional group together from your company and brainstorm ideas. What is the essence of your company’s brand – and how can the sales team transform into something of value? Call them helpers, consultants, listeners, educators, or whatever fits with your mission. How about super helpers?
Maybe today is a good day to rename your sales team to put their focus on how you want them to serve your customers.
Does your business need a marketing coach, guide, or sherpa? Are you generating enough leads? Is your marketing underperforming? I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash
