Think you know everything about sales? Not if you're pointing fingers at your salespeople for flagging profits. Martyn Lewis, author of Sales Wise: A Journey through Sales and Selling, presents six myths about sales that may have you second-guessing yourself.

By: MARTYN LEWIS

Myth: When a great product isn't selling, the salesperson is probably to blame.

Reality: Although it's easy to point a finger at salespeople, selling is only one part of a larger system, in which all aspects of the company—from the executive suite and technical support, to marketing and distribution—should be aligned in well-defined roles that support the efforts and objectives of sales.

Myth: Great salespeople are entrepreneurial lone rangers.

Reality: Like no one else in the company, salespeople's pay is directly tied to results. Therefore, they tend to be highly motivated, success-oriented pros. However, in companies that have mapped out and adopted a company-wide sales strategy and process, salespeople function more as team members who drive profitability.

Myth: A good product at a great price will sell itself.

Reality: This would only be true if your company had researched customers' buying motives and found that discounted price was their number one priority—which it rarely is! More often, if such contributing factors as the product's delivery, customer relations, and technical support fall short, customers will choose a pricier competitor.

Myth: If sales understood the product better, sales would increase.

Reality: Actually, if everyone in the company—e.g., marketing, product developers, IT, and fulfillment, to name a few—understood sales better, sales would increase.

Myth: When salespeople don't use a consistent company or product "pitch," sales effectiveness suffers.

Reality: Again, it's tempting to blame the salesperson. A more holistic way to look at this issue is to ask: Does leadership have a clear vision for how to engage customers, and have they communicated this vision clearly across the organization? Has marketing created messages, based on this vision, that are meaningful to customers? Does everyone at the company speak the same brand language?

Myth: Sales coaching and training are a sure way to boost sales effectiveness.

Reality: In more situations than not, it is how a salesperson is applying his or her skills, not the skills themselves. Correcting this involves a deeper understanding of the sales process. For example, you may be able to improve the way in which a salesperson presents a message, but if he or she is presenting the wrong message, to the wrong people, at the wrong time, you are unlikely to see any benefit by simply improving their presentation skills.


Martyn Lewis is founder, president, and CEO of Market-Partners (www.market-partners.com), the leading firm for assessing, designing, and implementing organization-wide sales processes. His newest book is Sales Wise: A Journey through Sales and Selling (Fenestra Books, $12.95).