When Wendy Mascio came in and spoke with our class, she brought up the fact that women have a natural advantage over men in sales. I wanted to do some more research on why that was. When many think of someone in sales, they think of a well-dressed man. While many individuals in sales are males, women have earned a well-respected position in the sales industry. According to careerealism.com, here are 3 big reasons why:
- Attention to Detail
- In many sales positions, being attentive to details is a key element of success. Not listening closely during conversations with customers often causes a sales rep to miss important statements, concerns or opportunities. While certainly not all governing, women have a tendency to be stronger when it comes to paying attention to details more so than men.
- Better Listeners
- Many sales trainers, coaches and experts will agree that “telling is not selling.” This means that it is more important to listen than it is to talk. Much like being more attentive, several studies suggest that women listen better and more closely than do men. Writer Carolyn Cohn has suggested that women in sales spend as much as 80% of their “sales time” listening to others and only 20% of their time talking. This factor alone could be the reason why many women are successful in sales.
- Empathizers
- A recent study showed that middle-aged women were extremely empathetic – more so than most people (male or female). In sales, empathy is a great quality to have because it helps the seller relate to the buyer, which helps the seller provide the buyer with exactly what he or she wants. This quality is important because it not only builds trust and encourages loyalty, but it also builds credibility.
BoweryJE22
Linds, loved your post. I wrote on this yesterday, and I really loved hearing that although I am not a man, I still have a chance and almost an advantage in the sales role. I focused my attention primarily towards empathy, but I love that you focused on the attention to detail and better listeners.
I also appreciated this part of Wendy’s presentation. I think she explained the balance between understanding the advantages a woman has in sales, but also understanding the fact that when she worked in business with her husband, his strengths were her weaknesses and vice versa. Great post!