So, when you think of salesperson, what's the first thing that comes to YOUR mind?

Unfortunately many times what comes to mind is anything but comforting to your business or personal mindset.

Do you really understand what salespeople do? Why do you dislike them? Is it because it's easy to? Is it because you were burned by one? Or is it just fun to do?

Are all salespeople really in it just for the money? Are they really just pushy loners who will do anything for your money?

Isn't this a negative portrayal of salespeople -- in other words... aren't you just stereotyping? Aren't you really doing the same thing (judging someone by their title) as others do with skin color or clothes people wear?

Unfortunately when people don't understand what salespeople really do, they have a tendency to over-generalize and stereotype. Are you one of these people? Be honest.

Many would argue that there should be a push to phase 'direct salespeople' out of many different industries.

Sure, that makes sense! Go ahead! Especially if you don't want to have any open positions to place people into, you don't care if you get a paycheck, or you don't need any bills to be paid by your company.

What people are wrestle with is the reality of salesperson competency. They wonder if salespeople are relevant any more. They are also armed with the perception that there really are no professional salespeople. It's too bad that people think this way. But who's fault is it?

It's the sales professional's fault of course!

Let's face it....we've done a TERRIBLE job of explaining what we really do for a living.

Many salespeople would submit that there is a difference between a salesPERSON and a sales PROFESSIONAL. But what exactly is that difference and where do you find a commonly accepted definition of it? Here's a hint: It doesn't really exist

Sure, there could be "bad apples" in selling. But there are "bad [insert occupation here]" too....to generalize all people in one occupation as "bad apples" just by their title is a foul and it's stereotyping...plain and simple.

I would also say that of the 5,000 salespeople I have personally spoken to and the thousands of members our organization has DEFINITELY DON'T add to the image of a shady, oily salesperson who cares less about the buyer than the numbers.

If you have ever been burned by one of these types, I am sorry on their behalf. In fact, if you have been hurt by a salesperson in your past, perhaps you can share your story with me so I can then discuss it as a case study when I run training and guided discussions on sales ethics and sales process.

With over 3,000 people in our organization, I have yet to find someone who WASN'T humanely motivated to make a call, communicate the results or next step, or even a apologize when they are wrong about something. Any salesperson who has done well in the field would actually steer clear from 'not taking no for an answer' Perhaps if you should go to lunch with one of them, you'll find out that they care about more than you think.

Many people are passionate about PR or Marketing. To many, it "just feels better." It might surprise you to find out that occupations such as PR or Advertising are in the same Marketing Mix component (called Placement) in which salespeople reside.

The promotion element of the Marketing mix is comprised of advertising, selling, sales promotion, and public relations. In other words, it is a subset of the marketing mix. Promotion is the communication function of the marketing mix, and the components of the promotion mix are used to provide information to the target buyer (or candidate). To be successful in promoting to these groups, organizations use the promotion mix, which is comprised of functions that are not tied to a specific product.

It may surprise you to find out that you're actually closely related to a salesperson not only in job function but also in responsibility and competency.

Everyone knows:

the best salespeople are able to put themselves in their customers shoes and provide a solution that makes the customer happy.

The best salesperson is the one the customer trusts and never has to question. The best salesperson is the one who knows that with every cold call made, they are closer to helping someone.

The best salesperson is the one who takes immense satisfaction from the satisfaction their customer gets.

The best salesperson is the one who wakes up early every morning excited to come to the office and get on the phone and let people know exactly why they love their product, their job and their clients

It sounds so very simple and there has yet to be a successful company that has survived with zero sales. So if selling is the most important job in a company, why is it so hard to find someone to fit within an organization and stay there? Also, why do negative stereotypes exist?

It's because this simple job hasn't been defined too well.

In my book the 'Models of Salesperson Improvement', I highlight in depth the roles, competencies and outputs of salespeople. Below is a very brief summary.

See if you posses some of these. For more information, you can download the free universal selling framework for how all this is put together called the 'Compendium of Professional Selling' at our website.

There are Seven Roles of Highly Competent Salespeople

ROLE 1: 'The CLIENT-FOCUSED SOLUTION PROVIDER'

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
---- Buyer Knowledge
----Individual knowledge
----Environmental Knowledge
----Client Market Knowledge

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Expectation Management Ability

**Skills Necessary for this Role:
----Skill in understanding where buyers are in the buying cycle

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ROLE 2: 'The PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATOR'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Communication Management Ability
----Opportunity Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Business Knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Intrapreneurial Skill, skill with Supervisors with Co-workers and with customers and people in general

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ROLE 3: 'The FOCUSED CATALYST'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Personal Management Ability

**Skills necessary:
----Purposeful Skill
----Understanding of Needs
----Goals

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Solution Knowledge

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Role 4: 'The CONCERTED FACILITATOR'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Relationship Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Personal Knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Emotional Intelligence Skill
----Social Skill

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Role 5: 'The EFFECTIVE MANAGER'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Technology Management Ability
----Selling Interaction Management Ability

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Technical knowledge

**Skills necessary:
----Procedural Skill

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Role 6: 'The VALUE DRIVEN GUARDIAN'

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Ability to understand Character and personality

**Knowledge Needed for this Role:
----Ethics

**Skills necessary:
----Procedural Skill

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Role 7: 'The STRATEGIC PLANNER '

**Abilities Needed for this Role:
----Priority Management Ability

**knowledge needed for this role
----Strategic Knowledge
----Competitive Knowledge

I would encourage all business professionals to look internally at themselves and what they are saying when the feel like throwing salespeople under a bus. I would also submit that you should know what you're talking about before making unprofessional comments about what salespeople do and the role they serve -- especially if you're in a position that is closely related to selling.

Finally, if you took the word "salesperson" out of this list you would probably agree that it's a complicated and far reaching list of competencies. Nowhere will you find the convergence of so many fields within one profession (purchasing, marketing, HR, PR, economics, finance, law, etc). If you don't believe me, spend a day with a salesperson on sales calls.