Women in Sales

At the recent MIT Sloan Sales Conference, there was a panel entitled "The Power of Women in Sales." As a female in the sales and marketing arena, it was fantastic to learn how these incredibly talented women have accomplished so much in their sales careers. But there was a question posed by one of the panelists who hails from the world of technology sales that made me stop and think. This panelist told the audience that of her entire worldwide sales force, only a small handful are women. So, she asked the female members of the audience: Where are you?

I echo the same question as I observe many of our corporate sales training engagements and speak with corporate sales executives from our client organizations. A huge percentage of these sales professionals are men and I am left wondering why more women do not enter the field of sales.

I should mention that 3 of my closest friends are in sales at various levels. And they are each incredibly successful. The characteristics that these women share are:

• Honesty
• Superb communication skills
• The challenge and thrill of sales victory

I bet that if you think about this, you will realize that these are characteristics shared by great salespeople in general, regardless of their gender. Which brings me back to my original question posed to the female audience: Where are you?