WOMEN WHO SELL WITH SAMANTHA CLARK
‘Women Who Sell’ is all about showcasing women who sell and are thriving and challenging stereotypes. We feature real perspectives of what it’s like being someone that identifies as a woman in Sales, the barriers and the breakthroughs.
Here, Samantha (Sam) Clark, Business Development Executive at T&S Creative Communications shares her take.
What is your job title?
Business Development Executive.
How did you get into sales and what makes it the career of your choice?
The majority of positions I’ve held have been involved with in-direct sales; mostly I have worked across administration and customer service roles but there has always been an element of sales implicit within the job spec. This is something I believe is true in almost all organisations and roles, it’s all about building relationships; if you’re talking about what you do for a living, you are advocating for the company you work for, whether there is an opportunity to purchase a product or service in the end, or you are seeking an opportunity to work within an organisation that sounds appealing.
In a customer service role, you are looking for a happy resolution, so that an individual becomes a repeat customer and shares their positive experience with friends and family, ultimately becoming an advocate for your brand or service.
For me, my role in sales is knowing the value of what t&s creative communications can bring and how we best communicate that to our prospective and existing clients. As Business Development Executive, it is my responsibility to consider the bigger picture; what is impacting organisations today, what is important to them and their stakeholders and taking this information and considering how our services can complement those challenges to provide a meaningful solution.
One of the things I love most about what I do, and luckily is a significant proportion of what I do, is the opportunity to make and build meaningful connections and relationships. Whether that is going to networking events and conferences to hear the fascinating and incredible work organisations of varying sizes and various sectors are doing, or supporting the team to enhance existing relationships. As one of the major perks, it often involves an opportunity to attend dinners and award ceremonies and get my hands on some cool freebies too.
Are there any barriers you have faced working in sales, and how have you overcome them?
Sales can be seen as a competitive, dog-eat-dog world where targets are seen as the sole and meaningful objective. Such environments can be detrimental to mental health, supportive team relationships, and a cause of conflict. There are many different roles and various opportunities within sales, it isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach, certainly not as it once was. I have always maintained my focus on value and how the products or services complement, are able to achieve, or how they are fit for purpose, and this has always been an effective approach for me.
What do you like the most about being a woman in sales?
This is quite a tricky one to answer; I can’t say I have ever considered there to be, for me anyway, a distinction between being a woman in sales and how my gender could enhance (or limit) my position. I am simply a person in sales.
However, objectively speaking, I feel I excel with the softer skills which are essential for successful sales, and include: empathy, communication, listening, time management and problem-solving among other core skills. All of these are skills I use day-to-day and are essential for me to carry out my role.
Personally, the greatest advantage of working in sales is it continually pushes me out of my comfort zone, it enables me to be consistently adaptable, it provides plentiful opportunities to enhance my creative thinking and apply a number of different skills, tools and techniques that I have developed over my career.
What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into sales and those wanting to advance?
I think that team building, and collaboration are huge factors in your own success as well as that of the business. As the ones deemed to be more outgoing, because of our ability to strike up conversations with people we’ve never met, we need to utilise these within the team and help to lift and upskill others, whilst simultaneously utilising their skills to help elevate ourselves and how we can continue to provide a meaningful connection and service.
Additionally, that ability to see value in the service or product you are promoting, the organisation you work for and the team you work with, not only makes for a happier place to work but in turn helps to motivate you and how you deliver. This hard work rarely goes unnoticed.
