We need to petition Congress to pass a new law. I would call it the "Freedom to Sell Act".
I have seen way too many salespeople (anyone involved in business development) bogged down in endless paperwork, meetings and the like. They don’t spend enough time selling.
It’s a given that I’m referring to professional salespeople who serve their customers. This post isn’t for the amateurs.
Now I understand that the best salespeople won’t work very long for organizations that don’t free them up to do what they do best. But what about the professionals that are new or haven’t had enough at-bats? What about those that haven’t decided on an alternative path? Whatever the state, salespeople need to be doing sales at least 85% of the time. Anything less is a recipe for frustration and mediocrity.
Why do organizations let salespeople and business development languish? It’s mostly because the enterprise is run by people who have gone over to the dark side or they’ve never walked in business development shoes. Maybe every senior leader should be required to make one sales call per month…a real sales call.
An act of Congress would change the situation. Ready to call or write?