Women Entrepreneurs Are Natural Business Owners
Posted by Vicki Donlan on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 07:37 AM
My more than 35 years of business experience has shown me that women's natural ability to teach as well as build relationships provides many of the characteristics needed for them to be successful in small business. Business today is becoming more about challenging the customer with new information than it is about building a relationship in order to sell him.
The Sales Executive Council did a global study (published in Harvard Business Review) to understand the differences between five distinct profiles for sales professionals. Traditionally, relationship builders have been seen as the most successful. This idea often leads sales organizations to believe that men are better in sales due to the fact the majority of their customers are male. However, more and more research shows that many women excel in relationship sales as they focus more on the equality of the relationship. Whether in B2B or B2C sales individuals are looking for the win-win in the transaction. Women tend toward this outcome often due to their inclination toward fairness.
However, the study's conclusion is that although relationships are still important to sales most customers are looking to be challenged by information from those who want to do business with them. In other words, I call this the teacher or educator professional. Women are natural teachers as they tend to be more interested in the detail and learning it for themselves and then translating that knowledge to others. Yes, men are teachers too. But women characteristically have more patience for being questioned and pushed for more and more information.
As I review my client list, in my business coaching practice now, I realize that this global study's conclusion is evident in each of my client's situations. Those that are taking the challenger/teacher/educator approach are more successful in attacting new customers. Challenging prospects with the opportunity to learn something new and at the same time finding a solution to their problem wins the sale.
Women entrepreneurs must feel confident in their natural ability and desire to share information and believe that this approach is not only appropriate as a sales technique, but superior to the old tried and true methods of relationship building (the who you know).
More and more women will launch new businesses in 2012. Each will be required to develop a business plan to determine who the market is that needs their product and/or service. Each must decide how she will sell her product and/or service. As her business coach, I want her to listen to her natural instincts and take every opportunity she can to challenge her prospects to understand how what she is selling can bring a unique solution to their business. The successful woman entrepreneur will spend the time needed to understand her prospect's business and bring new insight to the "what's in it for me" question.
Teachers are the greatest salespeople in the world. The power to make learning exciting is a power every small business owner needs.