Salesperson Is The First And Final Executive

Title: Why Good Salespeople Make More Than Marketing Executives?

Theme: The Salesperson: the ultimate creator of value

Let's face it. Nobody goes to college to become a

salesperson. In fact, it's questionable whether any

accredited college even grants an undergraduate or graduate

degree in this D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E. So, why -- in a country

which values "papered" people - is it not uncommon for

solitary salespeople to earn more than "papered" executives

with legions of corporate serfs beneath them?

There are about as many answers as there are people

providing them -- each with self-righteous intensity. The

"net-net" of all arguements, however, reveals the " naked

truth" of good ol' capitalism. We value "tenskins" (i.e.

$10.00) over sheepskins and nobody better assures the

collection of "tenskins" than salespeople who, as the last

humans in a long marketing mix chain, are the ultimate

creators of product value, as seen through the eyes of the

buyer. Scarey as it may seem ... the millions spent on

developing the right mix, end up teetering on the tongues of

solitary salespeople. And during the intense moments of

closing a sale -- when all the buyer's vulnerabilities to

imperfect product/company knowledge well-up to stall a

decision -- even the mix itself may fade as the salesperson

and buyer focus on the DOLLARS-FOR-VALUE DECISION ($4VD - how

can you forget this acronym!)

Whether this decision is the culmination of years long

selling activity, or a one minute encounter, it is arrived at

through a process which every good salesperson knows by

heart. It's simple in concept, yet complex in success.

The $4VD process has three steps ... motivation,

education, and negotiation ... and takes root in the concept

that people only part with their dollars to 1) obtain a good

or 2) prevent a loss -- both of which provide a benefit to

them in return.

Oddly, the origins for the $4VD start with questions

being asked by the salesperson and buyer of THEMSELVES -- NOT

EACH OTHER. The salesperson queries: "Do I have a

product/service which satisfies the buyer's needs/wants ...

and if so, why should they from me?" The buyer, on the other

hand, asks: "Is it worth satisfying this need/want ... and

if so, why should I do it in the way that the salesperson is

suggesting?" (This is the calm before the storm, for most

all $4VDs entail uneasiness. In truth, matters will not be

as calm again until after the sale and the buyer's validation

of the $4VD has taken place through the receipt of

anticipated benefits).

Now, enter the seller's rather static marketing mix.

Then, enter the buyer's rather dynamic economic/value

decision mix. At the gross level, the right marketing mix

should bring the salesperson's company into the desired

market (subset of Buyer Universe) see chart. But at the

individual level, it is literally impossible for a static

marketing mix to keep pace with the dynamics of an

individual's $4VD process. Only a salesperson can monitor

and react to what is going on. Product knowledge, favorable

and unfavorable company policies, competitive advantages and

disadvantages, buyer motivations and defenses bombard the

sales situation causing the salesperson to adjust in real

time and to reestablish value -AS PERCEIVED BY THE BUYER -all

within the confines of the static marketing mix. Under these

conditions, the super-salesperson rises above the strength

strength/weakness of the marketing mix and in so doing

"supplants" it with one designed by him/herself which is

perceived more favorably by the buyer. That's why it should

only seem that good salespeople make more than executives; in

actuality, they are executives themselves acting at the

critical time, and culminating what everyone has worked so

hard for... A SALE.