In response to a recent study, 29.5% of all salespeople are women and 70.5% are men. And yet, in line with a study by the Harvard Business Review, it’s women who outperform their male counterparts – 86% achieve the norm in comparison with 78% of men.
So despite the statistics, how and why do women have a greater impact on the retail industry and what will be done to scale back the gender gap?
Continuation of friendly interactions vs. one-time transactions
While each men and ladies have different skills and are inclined to use them at different levels, men focus solely on results, while women usually tend to give attention to networking, which ultimately translates into creating meaningful relationships and selling more effectively.
This skill may even be useful to the modern buyer, who because of the Web has loads of details about the company even before its presentation. Before the company and potential client engage in conversation, the client expects that beyond the typical demonstration and insight, there can be something of value that can not be found online. They wish to feel heard and understood.
Revenue and retention solve all of your problems
Along with friendly interactions with customers, the market itself is changing. What appears to be the most vital thing for all corporations is revenue and retention as a method to solve all problems.
But when you consider it, it is not the initial sale that brings revenue and retention. Understanding customer business and after-sales issues ultimately helps businesses achieve more revenue and growth through continuous sales.
Let’s take a look at an example. Many corporations went through layoffs in 2023, and one reason could have been that they were focused on closing net recent businesses in the previous yr. The truth is, changing your mindset and specializing in after-sales activities where you grow, nurture and sustain relationships is the method to construct long-term customers and achieve more revenue and growth.
This “efficient growth” is achieved when customers buy after which renew, which is more likely with the female sales approach to selling.
Millennials prefer female bosses
Millennials have been shown to prefer female leaders. This tells us that employees wish to see leaders who’re empathetic and seem like them (and doubtless also want mentoring opportunities). Another excuse why millennials probably prefer a female boss is because a female boss makes employees feel heard and understood.
It is vitally necessary for corporations to think about and implement ways to support women in sales and, more generally, in the workplace – which translates into greater revenues and company growth.
A part of that is recognizing that many corporations are primarily male-centred and wish to vary this habit. Along with hiring more women, corporations must support and prepare them for fulfillment. Nonetheless, in line with MIT research, as women are “climbed up the ladder,” it becomes harder and harder for them to advance.
Unfortunately, some corporations still hire women to “tick the box” – and the problem is that in the event you don’t treat her the same way you treat a male executive, you most likely won’t keep her. What message does this send to your team? It has a fancy effect.
The underside-level effect
One other problem many ladies in the sales industry face is that they’re unable to advance into sales leadership positions because:
- To start with, they didn’t get that initial leadership position, that’s
- They didn’t get that first promotion because their value or skills weren’t recognized in the same way as their colleagues.
Simply put, if a lady doesn’t get that first promotion, she’ll all the time be one level behind, making it hard to get to the top rung down. Firms need to know and be open to the indisputable fact that success looks different from individual to individual and there is no such thing as a one “right” way.
Give attention to what’s required to do the job well and think about that. Competence manifests itself in alternative ways. How an individual crosses the finish line will vary from individual to individual. Firms can now not lead with an old-fashioned (read: masculine) mentality.
How one can get there
The underside line is that this: A more diverse and inclusive sales team with women in any respect levels not only promotes an overall healthy workplace and provides women the opportunity to grow in sales, it also translates into profits – and it is a win-win.
About the authors
Val Riley is currently the company’s senior director of content and digital marketing Thoroughly.
Amy Volas is a company sales fanatic and startup addict with over 20 years of experience and over $100 million in closed deals. She is the Founder and CEO, Avenue Talent Partners.