For many, the idea of sales is intimidating. Unfortunately, mischaracterizations may be stoking that fear and holding talented people back from entering the field.
“A lot of people are very scared of sales,” FOX Networks executive Sarah Tourville said during the 2017 WISE/R Symposium. “They think of it as a very cutthroat industry. I look at it in the simplest form of it’s a relationship industry.”
In contrast to the trust and integrity necessary to cultivate those relationships is the persistent misconception that people in sales are trying to push a product or service that their client — or potential client — doesn’t want.
“It’s not. It’s actually giving them a solution to a need that they have, and hopefully, it’s something you’re offering for sale,” said Miami HEAT executive vice president Kim Stone.
Client Relations
That shift in perception can be a difference-maker when it comes to approach and results.
At FOX, where Tourville is senior vice president of sports brand partnerships, she and her group act as the consulting arm between the network’s brand partners and its content team, working to produce branded content that resonates with fans and audiences. She may have offerings in mind, but they mean nothing if she doesn’t understand why the client is there, what the client hopes to accomplish and how the client will measure success.
“When you stop thinking about what’s in your bag of goods and what you want them to buy and you think about how you can help them and what they actually need, it takes the pressure off,” said Tourville.
Why Sales?
Sales touches many — if not all — aspects of business, so even when you’re not in sales, you’re in sales.
From 2015 to 2017, Ann Rodriguez was vice president of business operations for Atlanta United FC. During a panel discussion with Tourville and Stone at the symposium, she described the functional areas she was responsible for as “actually not sales,” but said she spent 50 to 60 percent of her time with the club’s sales and service team.
Stone considers herself an “accidental salesperson,” beginning her career on the PR side before transitioning into operations. At the time of the symposium, she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of AmericanAirlines Arena in addition to overseeing the service and retention of the HEAT’s season ticket holders and the team’s data analytics group. Since then, she’s assumed the role of executive vice president of business development, leading the sales and service division and continuing to manage the business intelligence and digital innovation functions.
“I come at sales from the service side of things,” she said. “I just want to make sure you have a great experience whether you’re a season ticket holder [or] whether you’re coming for the upcoming Carlos Vives show. Whatever it is, we really look at this service as being the differentiator for us.”
Salary Plus Bonus
Whether a role is technically sales or not, there are some pretty substantial draws to pursuing a career in or around the discipline. Rodriguez, now chief operating officer at the WNBA, alluded to stability in sharing advice she received early on: If you know how to make money and can contribute to that, you’ll always have a job. And Stone was pleasantly surprised by the opportunity to exercise some control over her earnings.
“When I jumped from my PR background and started doing sales, my salary exploded — in a nice way — because now you’re into the revenue producing,” said the 2018 WISE Women of the Year honoree. “And I learned about something called salary plus bonus. I was like, ‘Wow, this is great.’”