The Professional Salesperson

Many years ago, when I began contemplating my career path, I grappled with a series of doubts, a common experience for teenagers at that stage of their lives. Choosing a university degree can be challenging, especially when there's a lack of direct correlation between professional roles and academic studies, unless one aims for careers like medicine or law.

In my case, I aspired to excel in the field of industrial sales or business-to-business (B2B) interactions. This choice posed a significant question: What should I study to become a successful salesperson? My father suggested pursuing a career in marketing, reasoning that it would equip me with sales techniques and insights into consumer and client behavior. However, I opted for electrical mechanical engineering. Looking back 25 years later, I am convinced that it was the right decision. For most part of my professional life, I’ve been able to apply the technical concepts I learned at college, especially in the electrical engineering field, to understand the different products and services offered by my business and translate them into solutions that meet my customers’ needs. This allowed me to perform successfully, first as an incipient product specialist and eventually, as a salesperson. 

During my college years, I discussed my ambition of becoming a professional salesperson with different people around me, such as friends and family. To my surprise, I often encountered negative comments, asserting that sales jobs were not suitable for someone with a university education. There seemed to be a prevailing notion that sales was a profession for those lacking formal education, implying that only ambition was necessary for success.

Throughout my professional journey, I've encountered successful salespeople who lack formal education; however, should we consider this as a standard for defining a salesperson's position in today's competitive market?

The business world showcases examples of immensely successful individuals without formal education, including figures like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Amancio Ortega. Interestingly, several of these prominent figures are pioneers in the technology industry. It's paradoxical that while the founders of these tech giants lack university degrees, the average employees in their companies are often required to have formal education.

It is a common notion to expect individuals in specific job positions to have an educational background, which nowadays often extends beyond the bachelor's level and into master’s or even Ph.D. programs. In general, we can find accountants in the financial area, psychologists in HR, and engineers in production or maintenance. 

However, when it comes to defining the profile of a salesperson, especially in highly specialized fields, the relationship between a specific degree and the skills required for a sales role becomes more complex. For instance, in the context of opportunities arising from nearshoring and high-specification manufacturing in Mexico, companies establishing themselves in the country demand equally specialized products and services, posing a challenge for any person who wants to succeed by offering solutions to these kinds of customers. 

Consider Tesla's recent decision to set up a plant in Monterrey; this venture creates significant commercial prospects for the region. In such technical environments, sales professionals must not only understand customer requirements but also navigate norms, standards, specifications, and technical documents. In this environment, can just anyone serve such customers effectively? If your answer is yes, think again. 

Let’s consider a scenario in which a salesperson without the appropriate educational background presents him or herself to his counterpart at the customer’s site, who could probably be like someone mentioned above. In this case, it’s most likely that the salesperson will be in a disadvantageous position and probably will struggle to understand the customer’s requirements, more so than someone with a more suitable education. The common response to this is that the sales guy will try to compensate for the technical limitations with commercial techniques that do not often lead to a good understanding between the parties. The other option is to bring some sort of support, such as a product manager, a technical specialist or his own commercial manager. From my point of view, this diminishes the work as a salesperson and subtracts from the added value of the position. 

Reflecting on this, I propose a model called "The Professional Salesperson Skills Triangle (Tello, 2022)," which outlines the necessary competencies for a B2B sales position:

1. Business Skills: These encompass formal academic studies that provide the foundational knowledge for the profession. For instance, electrical, mechatronic, and electronic engineers are essential in selling automation and robotics solutions. Without this educational foundation, it's challenging for a salesperson to understand not only the customer's technical requirements, but even the technical foundations of the solutions to be offered, making it more difficult to find the match for the customer’s needs and to follow through until the sale concludes.
2. Market Knowledge: This represents the experiential knowledge gained from working in a specific segment, with clients, or within a specific market. Successful salespeople often complement their experience with other skills to offer genuine value, establishing themselves as indispensable contributors.
3. Sales skills: This domain includes negotiation techniques, understanding customers' personalities, networking abilities, and other interpersonal skills fundamental to successful sales interactions.

When we integrate these three elements, it's evident that acquiring knowledge and developing specific skills are essential for B2B sales. Focusing solely on the commercial aspect, neglecting the other pillars, may still yield successful salespeople, but these cases are exceptions.

Viewing sales as you would any other profession starts by recognizing the diverse knowledge and skills encompassed within it. Attempting to separate or concentrate solely on one aspect of the triangle overlooks other crucial elements vital for the profession. This complexity might explain why companies find it challenging to locate suitable resources for their salesforce. In Mexico, it's difficult to find professionals willing to pursue sales careers, partly due to universities not emphasizing the importance of sales roles for their engineering graduates. This topic deserves further exploration in future discussions.
 

Reference:

Tello, V. (2022). El Manual del Vendedor Institucional. La guía completa del proceso de venta B2B. CDMX: Lid Editorial.