A reader writes:
I like nothing more than strategy, messaging, and marketing. In this capacity I have done some great things over the years — including some big-ticket sales along the way. Problem is, none of it took place as a quota-carrying member of a traditionally-structured sales force. Worse, my background also includes a good deal of communications and advertising — even (god forbid!) journalism. I have noticed all of the jobs I want in my field going to people who, despite their titles, all started as salesmen and have always been part of that culture. Meanwhile, I’ve been out of work for a year. How do I position myself as a member of a sales organization when I’ve never actually been a salesman?
You have two possible approaches:
- Lie. The only way you can position yourself as having been a “member of a sales organization” is to leave the false impression in the mind of your prospective employer that you actually know how to sell.
- Pay Your Dues. There are plenty of jobs in sales available out there in the real world. However, they involve real work as opposed to “strategy” and “messaging,” which are nothing more than the spouting of hot air.
You say you “have done…some big ticket sales” even though you weren’t in the sales role. Oh, really? Gee, I’ll bet there was a real sales rep around somewhere when these big ticket sales came down. I’ll bet euros to croissants you just were along for the ride. How do I know this? Simple. If you knew how to sell, you wouldn’t have been “out of work for year.” People who know how to sell can always sell their services to somebody.
It annoys me when marketeers take credit for the hard work of the sales team. And it annoys me even more when marketeers describe themselves as being involved in “strategy” and “messaging.” That stuff makes me cringe, since I have NEVER seen a B2B marketing group create either a strategy or a message that made sense to anybody except other marketing geeks.
All too many B2B marketeers get caught up in these grandiose fantasies that they’re strategists, plotting the future course of the company, and creating vast and powerful market programs that the sales team simply executes — creating revenue and profit.
Hogwash.
As a (god forbid!) journalist, I’m constantly exposed to marketing executives inside a wide range of companies and industries. And since I write about organizational culture and technology usage inside sales teams, I’m also in touch with sales professionals in those same companies. I can tell you with the authority of years of experience that your average sales rep knows far more about how the business world really works than your average marketing vice president.
You would not believe the stupidity that I’ve seen among marketing executives, even inside Fortune 100 firms.
For example, a few weeks ago I interviewed a marketing executive for a MAJOR software company. When I asked what differentiated his product from the competition, his response was: “it’s easy to use, makes people more productive, and provides a competitive advantage.” When I pointed out that every business software makes the same claim, the best he could come up with was: “uhh, well, we really do it.”
That dunderhead probably pulls $250,000 a year (not including stock options) and he can’t answer a simple product positioning question without sounding plain-wrap. He wasn’t just an empty suit, he was a waste of the wool that the suit was made of. But the worst thing about this encounter was that it wasn’t at all unusual. I run into similar dunderheads (or the “strategies” and “messages” that they’ve created) several times a week at minimum.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve met some smart marketing execs. These unsung heroes clearly understand that their purpose in the corporation is to make selling easier. They work hard to understand what kind of leads the sales folk need, and make a real effort to provide tools and support to make it easier to turn prospects into customers.
Unfortunately, those paragons are few and far between. And while I apologize for tarring all marketing folk with the same brush, if you don’t like me slamming your profession, why not get out there yourself and pitch the parasites out on their useless behinds?
So, reader, here’s my advice: Forget about these fantasies about “messaging” and “strategy.” If you want to claim you’ve got sales experience, go out get a real job. In sales.
Let me put it to you bluntly. There’s a reason that candidates with sales experience are getting the jobs that you want.
It’s because they deserve them.
