Selling seems to me a dreaded word. All my 18 years in the industry was spent on Post-Sales Support. This means I was always responding to customer calls and problems. Always making sure that the solution they bought is running as it was designed. In my days of supporting the mainframe platform, my focus was to understand the customer’s business and how their IT infrastructure supports their business continuously 24/7. This was how I was taught by my predecessors and managers - to focus always on customer satisfaction. This was how, they say, our company gets a repeat business.
But I have always wondered how come most companies focus always on the salesman. We, technical personnel, are always seen as a cost center. So we always end up with a small piece of the rewards pie. Maybe it is because the salesman always directly brings in money but we on the technical side are just indirectly bringing it in.
But in order to have a repeat sale or a repeat business, I dare argue, a customer must have a happy and rewarding experience, isn't it? Think about it. If we go to a restaurant and don’t get good service, we often decide not come back despite the savory menu they offer. Or we may buy a very expensive and popular appliance brand but if the service is unsatisfactory or after-sales support is marginal at best then we end up not patronizing the same brand for whatever modern appliance or fancy gadget they may offer next.
During my first year in my previous employer, we were shown a video of Tom Peters’ “A Passion for Customer Satisfaction”. I was so inspired by this lecture that it became my principle to this day. It was my personal basis of success. I was more happy receiving compliments from my customers. Their favorable comments was to me a measure of my job well done. This “passion for customer satisfaction” may explain why until today I remain on the customer support side of the business. Always being called upon when the customer is in distress.
But I see changes in the horizon. This brings me back to my statement above regarding selling.
For some time now, my new manager has been egging me on to accept the network maintenance sales role which has been vacant for a half year now. I had been reluctant because of my not so favorable experience in the Philippines. I was preparing the documentations, pricing and approvals but in the end I was never rewarded for those effort. I never had a gainful experience and that has made me think that selling may not be for me. That unfavorable experience became one of my reasons to resign and head to Qatar. And in my contract I had specifically clarified that I will not do any sales role.
But in order to mature professionally in this business, I know that I have to be well-rounded on all the aspects of the business and selling is what I haven’t done so far.
So now I am in the middle of deciding whether to accept a role to sell post-sales network maintenance on top of leading a team that will perform the actual maintenance. Maybe it will be easier for me since I know the clients who decide on the maintenance and they know how I deliver. But then, it may not be. I did some haggling with my manager yesterday before I accept any role not in my basic contract. I am not keen on having the same woeful experience I had. So it’s up to my managers now if they will give what I ask in return. Should they agree to my terms then it will be a whole new world for me. Insha’allah.
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Companies focus on the salesman because they market the product to the customer. Direct selling is just one of the approaches coupled by advertisement in print and in media to sell the product.If the customer does not purchase the product, then you have no product to maintain and service, no customer to satisfy so to speak. In the meantime that the product is on the shelf not being purchased then on the other side of the spectrum you become a cost hanging on the neck of the company with complete salary and benefits. In the current corporate world, downsizing is the trend to trim overhead costs, that is why it is important to expand your mettle. You may be good in customer support, but would even be better if you can bring in more dough at the same time. That is how I see it. Philippine scenario of handling workers is not the best right now, but we did get rigid training so we know how to comply with expectations, but sometimes, we get too engrossed with our self-worth forgetting that you have to evolve and show you can do more. So break a leg, and good luck to whatever decision you take. One of the things we learn in working abroad, we do not get confined with just one position or work, we hone other transferable skills to further our edge among other nationalities, among other employers.
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