Should You Hire A Female Salesperson?
I often get asked my opinion or recommendation on a female being an in-home sales consultant, with regard to evening sales calls, customer comfort, receptiveness, etc. This most definitely is a compelling question and one that can provide many solutions to some challenging sales issues.
The simple response to the question is that if a woman can sell and do her job effectively, then most definitely I would hire her.
Why wouldn't I hire the most qualified person for the position?
In fact, I don’t care what sex, race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation or sports team fan you are, as long as you can do your job, get results, take care of customers, get along with co-workers, bring value to the company, and are happy doing so.
It all starts with defining the job function, and then you have to recruit, hire, train, and coach ongoing the right person no matter what the position.
Now I know the reason the question was probably asked, is because statistics show that women make as much as 85% of the buying decisions, or greatly influence them, when it comes purchases made for the home. With a larger segment of the female population working and single mother households on the rise, that percentage could increase.
So the appeal becomes, why not have women that can relate to, develop a bond and rapport with, and better understand and therefore, more effectively sell to women?
The key for any person to be successful in sales, including a woman, is that they have to want to do the job, be able to do the job, and have a passion for doing the job. This means the hours, the clients, the technical aspects, the physical component, the fact that the co-worker base is mostly male, etc. are all things that any employee MUST accept to in order perform successfully in their role.
Most customers readily accept any salesperson that can effectively build a bond and rapport with the customer, understand what the customer issues are and what they expect, and develops and presents a solution that meets their needs in the context of what they are comfortable spending to solve their problems.
Sure there is a segment of people in this world that may have an issue with a female salesperson, but there is also a segment that may have an issue with a male salesperson.
Young, old, black, white, male, or female; it does not matter to most people as long as there is value perceived in the relationship that is developed. The key is to have properly trained salespeople that know how to build relationship regardless of the genetic make-up or that of their customer and deliver excellence every time.
I am not of the mindset that a male or female makes for a better in-home salesperson.
Get the best person for the job and then train, coach and him/her hold accountable to performance standards and customer satisfaction.
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