Why Aren’t There More Women In Sales? | 5 Expert Confidence Tips

women in sales

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, I’m wondering, why aren’t there more women sales? That question assumes there are more men than women in sales. So is that assumption true?

After searching for “women in sales” on Google, I find a Women in Sales Infographic Trends by Alex Hisaka on the LinkedIn Sales Solutions Blog. On the LinkedIn network, the percentage of women in sales is 39%, and the average rate of women in Director+ positions is 27%.

However, top industries for women in sales are Staffing (51%), Government & Education (50%), Professional Services (52%) and Media (50%).

In contrast, the lowest percentage of women in sales is Technology – Hardware (25%), Oil & Gas (24%), Aero, Auto & Transport (25%) and Industrial (27%). These trends of women in sales by industry are interesting but still don’t answer the question. Or do they?

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Why aren’t there more women in sales?

We could theorise that maybe there are just more sales positions in traditionally male-dominated industries. Or that women have a negative association with sales and don’t want to perceived as pushy. 

Well, that’s just the thing – in Dan Pink’s book To Sell is Human, he asks people to describe what they immediately think of when he says “sales.” 

To no real surprise, the main adjectives used were “pushy,” “annoying,” “manipulative”, and “dishonest.” Although regardless of gender, no one wants to be perceived that way- the question remains, why aren’t there more women in sales? It’s simple, we’re should be asking, “Why do we need more women in sales?”. 

Why women are important in sales

  1. Women are technically better at selling! A report from Hubspot states that women are 5% more likely to close a deal than men.
  2. It’s increasingly essential to reflect diversity in your business to connect more deeply with your growing customer base. However, more critically, because empathy is at the heart of what you do, your business needs various skillsets to grow these relationships. As peak sales recruiting said, “If everyone in the sales organization looks the same and has similar experiences and viewpoints, they may not always be able to find common ground with customers and prospects.”
  3. More women in sales increase the likelihood that more women will want to join the industry.

5 Confidence Tips Women Can Use to Excel in Sales

While in Dubai recently I met up with my friend Andreea Zoia a TV Host, Speaker, ex-model and Confidence Coach to discuss how women in sales can become more confident. Here are 5 tips for all of the women out there in the spirit of International Women’s Day.

Having confidence in sales is so critical, especially if you’re a woman. Quite often, we see people in sales struggling because they don’t have the confidence to really own the room or project that they are an authority. We think for women, in particular, this issue is critical.

How to be a successful woman in sales | 5 Expert Confidence Tips

We want to give you some tips that you can use so that whenever you have that big important deal, you walk in that room, and you maximize it. Guys, you can also use these tips as well, but this is especially for the women out there because we need more women in sales, and I think you ladies have the potential to be even better than men. So here are 5 tips on how you can increase your confidence in sales

1. Positive, Powerful Posture

First things first, you have to check your posture. In sales, it’s vital to practice effective body language, so put those shoulders back, chest in front and walk with your chin parallel to the floor. Look at singers and dancers how gracious they are. Your physicality immediately gives you a boost of confidence.

Some people call it the Superman pose, but I think it should be the Superwoman pose or the Wonder Woman pose one. Having that confidence helps you own the room and shows people that you deserve to be there and that they need to listen.

2. Present Your Best Self

Pay attention to how you are presenting yourself to the world. In the morning take a good look at your shirt, jacket, accessories and make sure that you are wearing your power/confidence suit. So you’re not just dressing up, you are wearing your best outfit that makes you feel limitless, powerful and that will help you be in that high state of ‘Superwoman’.

Studies have showed that a good lipstick, good makeup and a nice coloured jacket can instantaneously lift your mood and change your state.

3. Speak with Confidence

It’s very important how you speak. You can have so much information and can be so knowledgeable about your products or about the people that you are meeting but if you’re speaking low, don’t have any energy and if you are a bit shy, who will listen?! If you want to influence somebody, raise your voice. Have good voice projection and good volume. This will make people want to listen to you, connect with you and trust you.

People will always trust people who sound upbeat and content with their life. So make sure your tonality is happy. I always tell sales professionals to speak from their gut. Lots of people and women in particular often speak with their their throat and it gets very high and kind of Airy and windy but they don’t have that gravitas. So really speaking from the gut from your diaphragm and projecting makes you very very powerful.

What they can do is they can record themselves on the phone and keep on trying different type of voices or take voice classes, singing classes, to really achieve and make the most of their voices.

4. Be ‘Present’ and Active

It’s also imperative for you to be present. Being present in a sales meeting, especially for women, means you’re there, and you’re participating in the conversation. Put your pen and pad away, and don’t take notes! This is a big issue that I see women in sales positions doing-especially if they’re there with a male. For some reason, women salespeople tend to default to being ‘oh, let me be the one that takes the notes’. It immediately takes away your power. If you’re there with a guy and he’s a peer, you get him to take notes, and you, as the woman, take charge of that meeting. Then you own that room, and you own that dialogue.

And make lots of eye contact, it’s powerful!

5. Ask for What You Want

Studies have shown that women shy away from asking: “hey do you know somebody who can connect me with that person?” “I need this.”

Women in sales need to tell people what they want and what they need: “I need ten leads.” “Do you know somebody in that company who can help me.”

Women don’t ask enough for what they want as much as men do. The biggest tip out there for all women in sales is to ask for the sale, ask for referrals, ask for introductions, ask for the upsell, ask for payment in advance, ask for what you want.

Make a game with yourself where you write down how many times you’ve asked for something in a week or in a month and then reward yourself because you are creating a brand new habit and you are becoming an absolutely amazing Sales Professional.

What do you ladies think? Please put in the comments below what was your favourite tip that we shared and what have we missed. Happy selling!

Women in sales excel with Differentiation Dominance training

In this differentiation training, we help you do all of this in a way that’s important to your buyer because at the end of the day if your differentiator doesn’t matter to your prospects, you’ll still be left to compete on price.

Start learning how to position yourself, your company and your offering as the ideal solution to your customer.

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