During my earlier days, the stereotype of salespeople was antithetical to human nature. The general impression, especially in the IT field, was that a successful sales executive has to be flamboyant, use any means necessary, often resort to skulduggery and chicanery to sell goods and services. In a male-dominated citadel, one would seek the services of smart-looking chic women simply because of a perception that they could charm the customer into a purchase. Those were the heydays of psychological manipulation, bending facts to suit the convenience and high-intensity selling. Anything to get a sale was the popular adage.

 The stereotype was abhorrent to many of us. Fortunately, the tide turned, and by the early turn of the century, the perception had undergone a significant shift. One was supposed to be ethical and state things as they are. Exaggeration of features and benefits was frowned down. The emphasis was still to sell and make the customer part with his cash, but the means started having boundaries and constraints. 

The era of value selling then dawned on the world. The VC funds were aficionados of this trend. They popularised the term "elevator pitch". The idea was to somehow encapsulate the benefits and advantages of the product and services into a pithy one-liner that will make the customer jump from his chair. The crest of the value movement must have been in the 2005-2010 period, where pitches were being fine-tuned and elaborate training sessions conducted to ensure that the sales executives ingrained these pitches into their memories. 

While these eras were very distinct, and one could palpably sense the decline and rise of a period from the next, one can feel a different genre of salesmanship today. The sales leader of today is virtually indistinguishable from a thought leader. There is a distinct metamorphosis, and the very definition of sales is being stretched. These masters are mavens who partake in a brilliant mix of values and propositions to make it unique for a customer. Gone is the generic pitch statements. Knowing the customer, understanding their pain, knowing their priorities has become the vogue of the day. One may be selling a commodity with well-established features and benefits, but the emphasis goes beyond the product and its features/ benefits. Connect it to the customer. Establish a tenacious link, and then the job is done. A top sales leader operates at this level. There is no desperation to sell.

You might encounter a Buddha-like being who is calmly espousing the product's value in a highly personalized manner. There is no aggressive follow-up or a request for the next steps. It is almost a pull mechanism, where after the initial pitch, the customers take the lead and proactively follow up. If you are at this level and have to constantly follow up with customers to know the status of your sale, it could only mean one of the three things:

1. You are talking to the wrong organization. Maybe you are talking to the wrong company, or perhaps the organization is going through an investment freeze period. It could also be that the company is averse to making any investments even if it is of great value.
2. You are talking to the wrong person. Maybe they are not senior enough, do not grasp the vision, or have the authority to make decisions.
3. You have not been able to connect to the person through your pitch. Maybe their priorities are very different from what you perceived.

Barring any such peccadilloes, the process works like a charm. Empathy strengthens the bond with the customer. If you understand the customer, you would also know what they need and what they don't. A deeper analysis might draw you to conclude that the customer does not require your solution or the scope is severely limited. In either case, you speak out the truth irrespective of the lack of benefit to you. This is what truly distinguishes a masterful sales leader from a mediocre one. Display of honesty and trust creates a strong bond of respect and understanding with the customer. And these are the underpinnings of a strong customer relationship. There is also an exciting nuance to a leader who is at this stage of selling. They display genuine interest for the customer and not just their organization. I have seen great sales executives play the role of a mentor or even a counsellor. Their interest in the other person is all-encompassing and complete. They are just not interested in the organization but also the person beneath the veneer. 

In the last three decades, the nature of sales has undergone a tectonic shift. So what next? What is the persona of the next generation sales leader?

I do see, fleetingly, the emergence of such strange beings. If the sales maven of the past were indistinguishable from a thought leader, the future sales leader would probably be unrecognizable from a compassionate mentor. A true sales leader will associate with those products and services that transform an organization and an individual remarkably. The champions are a crucial ingredient for the success of a product. The sales leader works with the champion, plays the role of a coach and a mentor, instils the enormous possibilities of the product or services. In many ways, they play the role of a visionary. A breathtaking vision can goad the champion, motivate them to deliver their best and rise above the jejune. The salesperson of tomorrow would spot such authentic and driven individuals in an organization and aid their growth. The growth of the individuals results in a transformation of the organization as well. Such individuals do not look at the salesperson as a purveyor of products or services but as mentors, coaches and transformation agents. They feel beholden to the sales leader, and the connection can last lifetimes. Of course, such an endeavour calls for an investment of time and energy, sometimes with uncertain results. But the risk notwithstanding, the quantum of benefits far outweighs the risks.

Thus to summarise the five stages of a salesperson:

1. Stage 1: The desperate salesperson: Desperate to sell, eager to adopt any means. Impact on the customer: shunned and avoided by customer.
2. Stage 2: The honest salesperson: ethical, true to the benefits. Impact on the customer: perceived as staid, but respected.
3. Stage3:The salesperson with a pitch: the Genesis of value selling. They follow a rubric of a pitch. Impact on the customer: hit and miss. Works if the pitch connects to the customer.
4. Stage 4: The salesperson with empathy: understands the customer, builds trust and customizes pitch to fit the customer's needs—impact on the customer: respected, trust oriented relationship.
5. Stage 5: The savant sales leader: a true visionary who builds individuals and organizations. Impact on the customer: long-lasting relationship, a relationship of a guru.

Despite the advent of time, I still see individuals stuck at stages 1,2 or 3. Ultimately the level where you reach is dependent on how much you have been able to conquer yourself. The emancipated souls can display savant leadership, whereas those stricken with inner demons strive hard to go beyond the first or the second stage.