Woman doing sales

[Chitown King]

Currently for our business I do everything, as we keep growing, it is getting hard for me to find time to focus on sales. I have always had great luck getting out and talking to businesses, unfortunately I have not done so in 3 months.

My wife is thinking she wants to give a try but is a little hesitant because let's be honest, this is a largely male industry, and she is thinking a woman salesperson might not be successful.

So any woman out there doing sales or anyone have a woman doing sales? Success/horror stories?

[topsites]

The easy way out of this one is to just forget about it, maybe put it aside for another day.

[dwost]

Women selling in a male industry = great success. You answered your own question :)

[bohiaa]

I find that most Women dont know much about ourdoors issues.

the local auto stores fill up there counters with women. I go in looking for a HP starter.
Brushes for a starter. they have no ideal. they can find a part number in a book fast enoulf. then it ends there...

I useually take my business elsewhere. with Customer service being a thing of the past these days. we seem to accept it.

Now on the other hand, there are women who work in the field and KNOW what there doing and why, If a woman came to me and wanted the Landscaping contract, I would throw several technical terms at her, testing her ability.

not saying this wont work, or is a bad ideal. Just make sure she can handle it,

best of luck

[lifetree]

I find that most Women dont know much about ourdoors issues. ... If a woman came to me and wanted the Landscaping contract, I would throw several technical terms at her, testing her ability. ... Just make sure she can handle it ...

I was going to say just make sure she has some kind of training before you send her out ... in other words, if she doesn't know how to price a job then you can be hurting real fast ... other than that, there have some good stories on LS about women sales people !!

[bohiaa]

I was going to say just make sure she has some kind of training before you send her out ... in other words, if she doesn't know how to price a job then you can be hurting real fast ... other than that, there have some good stories on LS about women sales people !!

It's Not only larning how to price, But to give the custoemr that warm fuzzy there seeking.

If a kid came up to me and wanted to cut my grass " at my home" I would say NO WAY..... the risk is too great.

however sending someone out to seek contracts, that can make you or break you. that person Better know what there talking about.

I useually have the company profile in hand. and am ready for the tough questions

[shade tree landscaping]

I would say give her a shot, have her go out and sell 5, 10,15 jobs, see what her closing ratio is and then evalueate if its a good thing or bad thing.

[big acres]

Tru Green has a very attractive young brunette selling for them for a couple of years now up here.

Buddy of mine worked for a massive liquor distributor. I went to pick him up and grab lunch and he pointed out the sales force.... predominantly platinum blonde chicks with boob jobs. They were all over the place... selling to bar and liquor store owners -men.

like someone said above "women selling in male industry=success". She is gauranteed an audience just for the sake of being a woman, what expertise she has will decide from there.

[GraZHopA]

There is no reason that your wife can not be an asset to your company, if she is willing. I would suggest that you train her very well for the task at hand. This would include sending her out with the "crews" for a while. Put a weed eater and a blower in her hands for a week or two and let her get a feel for the service that she will be selling. Make sure that she understands the bidding process and communicate via phone with her on her first few bids. This may take up a lot of your time at the start, but it will pay off for you in the end. Also, make sure that when she meets potential clients for bids that she dresses for success. You may even want to buy her a polo shirt with your company logo on it. Just my $0.02 worth, I hope it helps.

[churlchurl]

Women that know what they are talking about are a good asset. I have a woman helping me with customers and at home shows. They have a softer side and are really into customer service.

Many people are intimidated by a male selling them something but they tend to put their guard down when a women is speaking with them.

Again, make sure she is interested enough in what she is selling or else she will not come off as knowing anything. If she believes in what you are offering then she will strive to know as much as possible and she will want to share it with everyone.

[Toy2]

Tru Green has a very attractive young brunette selling for them for a couple of years now up here.

Buddy of mine worked for a massive liquor distributor. I went to pick him up and grab lunch and he pointed out the sales force.... predominantly platinum blonde chicks with boob jobs. They were all over the place... selling to bar and liquor store owners -men.

like someone said above "women selling in male industry=success". She is gauranteed an audience just for the sake of being a woman, what expertise she has will decide from there.You find the hottest one and I bet she can sell a box of rocks........gotta love it....:laugh:

[jada86]

As long as your wife knows what's she's doing it will be a great asset. It's been said that the wife makes a good portion of the decisions in purchasing for the home. When a female shows up to bid a lawn job there is an instant comfort level for the "wife" as a buyer. I am a female and have had tremendous success selling all sorts of landscape related services and I believe that 1/2 of the success has been due to being female and the other 1/2 being savvy in customer service and knowledge of what I am selling. Good luck!

[Toy2]

This guy is looking for a sales job, he can bring in as much money as you want......we'll forward his app. to you........and yes they are real....

[Mowing By The Numbers]

My top sales person was a woman. She was a big flirt - that was her selling style. She only knew a little bit about the product, basically more than the customer, but we were there to support here with the technical stuff. And this was all telephone sales so looks had nothing to do with it. Plus we never had any customer complaints about being oversold or anything like that.