Trinidad and Tobago's Sales Industry and its Challenge with Growth

“Once a sales rep, always a sales rep” - Unknown.

The above quote may not be an actual quote; however, from my experience and time spent in the sales industry within Trinidad and Tobago and, by extension, the Caribbean, this seems to be the trend.

Sales is a beautiful profession, but like any other job, it can become very monotonous, stressful and stagnant, especially when people and their companies do not seem to be moving forward or growing.

The growth of any industry comes from its people, so what’s the status of sales in Trinidad and Tobago? Is it growing?

In this article, I’ll look at a few reasons why I think it's not, and I’ll share some reasons and suggestions on what should be done.

• What's The Problem?
• What's the Impact?
• What's The Solution?

Firstly, let’s answer the last question: Is the sales industry growing in Trinidad and Tobago?

Answer: From my perspective, No; here’s why:

What's The Problem?

1. Comfort

I’ve spoken to and provided services to many companies and sales professionals over the last four years, and one thing stands out. “Sales People are Comfortable”.

• Comfortable with the way things are.
• Comfortable with complaining about management
• Comfortable with complaining about customers, market, industry, etc.

It is apparent that for many of us, it has become easier to complain or to “go with the flow” than to try to do something about it. This may not apply to all sales professionals; however, the ones I’ve found to be empowered enough to do something about their situation are few and far between.

“People will get away with as much as you allow them to” - Stephen Juteram

2. Culture and Leadership

The culprit for comfort is culture, which is driven by leadership. You may be familiar with the famous Peter Drucker quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, which I support. However, the quote that stood out to me came from one of my previous managers, “People will get away with as much as you allow them to” - Stephen Juteram.

Stephen said that to me as a young manager that was learning to set the right sales expectations and culture within my team. I came into a team that was comfortable and not well led by the previous manager, so as I tried to make changes, I got pushback. Thankfully, with my manager's support, I got the team to see their shortcomings, and they helped me work on mine.

What fosters poor sales culture?

There are several reasons; here are five;

1. Sales managers operate more like “desk jockeys” than sales leaders or coaches.
2. The team is not clear on its purpose.
3. Lack of or no accountability for poor performance.
4. Sales professionals are not empowered.
5. Too much “we are a family” talk.

These five have been more common than uncommon in my personal and professional experiences and are a big part of why organisations and the sales industry are not growing.

What’s the IMPACT?

1. Organisational Sales Growth and Performance:

Companies will plateau or die with no growth or mediocre performance.

2. Companies will make redundant sales approaches to fix the problem.

While I enjoy sales training and helping sales professionals connect better with their clients, sometimes the problem is not the sale team but how the team operates.

A top sales professional once said, “Lyndon, it is easier to sell the item than to get it delivered to the customer.” While organisations put a lot of focus on closing sales. They often overlook the operations, which is a big factor in the customer experience and can be a factor in lost revenue.

3. A lack of evolution in the sales industry:

Earlier, I mentioned that the sales industry has become stagnant, and people are comfortable. With that, I mean we have experienced sales professionals willing to stay with an organisation for years rather than evolve and use their acquired expertise to return to the same industry to help companies in a different capacity.

So What’s The Solution?

The role of a batsman is to make runs! - David Belgrave (Former CEO of Massy Technologies InfoCom (Trinidad).

The first two suggestions are straightforward:

1. Remove the “family” concept from your teams. Like every other team, sales teams are made up of roleplayers, and each person has a role to play.

I remember a conversation between a CEO and a sales professional (SP) that went like this:

• SP: Mr. B, what exactly are you looking for from us?
• CEO: From this team?
• SP: Yes
• CEO: What sport do you like?
• SP: Cricket
• CEO: What’s the batsman's role?
• SP: To make runs.
• CEO: Cool, there’s your answer!

The above was one of the simplest but most profound responses I’ve ever heard someone use to explain to someone what’s expected of them; frankly, that’s how clear the message needs to be.

2. Sales Managers Must Coach or Lead

I used the term desk “jockey earlier” intentionally. I have seen sales managers preoccupied with managing desk duties and administrative tasks than leading their teams towards closing more opportunities.

Sticking with the sports analogy, I’d say that you don’t see basketball coaches in games doing paperwork, passing water, tracking numbers, etc. They have someone that does that for them. Organisations must take the same approach for sales teams.

3. We Need More Practitioners.

When I say practitioners, I mean seasoned sales professionals or anyone who understands what is needed to help companies grow. It also means that sales professionals must transition from employee to entrepreneur.

Four years ago, there were no locally qualified sales trainers in Trinidad and Tobago; today, there are at least four. These experts came from their traditional eighty-to-four jobs to help sales professionals in specific industries grow. This is the type of growth I’m speaking about. Not just from an organisational level but from an industry level because it also helps the economy.

Do we need more sales professionals with 15+ years of experience to become sales trainers? Yes and No.

The sales industry wouldn’t evolve that way; we need experienced sales professionals with expertise, skills and knowledge in different industries to step out and become consultants and practitioners to help companies in different ways.

• Why be a medical rep for 20+ years with one or different companies when you can start helping companies train young medical professionals?
• Why be a sales administrator for 8-10 years when you can start helping companies with sales operations as a consultant?
• Why be a sales manager with 10+ years of experience when you can be a revenue operations consultant for many companies or a lead consultant?

Here are a few examples of what the sales industry needs and what sales professionals can transition to.

• Sales Operations Practitioners
• Revenue Operations Consultants
• Sales and Marketing Tech Consultants
• Sales Enablement Consultants
• Sales and Marketing Software Developers
• Sales Trainers for Specific Industries

Conclusion:

Sales professionals understand the difficulties companies face but are either ignorant, afraid or not empowered enough to transition from employee to consultant or practitioner and provide that expertise to help companies grow.

Trinidad and Tobago’s sales industry has tremendous opportunities for growth, but this growth will not happen unless changes are made as organisations and as people.

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