Episode #172: Avoid Toxic Sales Environment

Bullying, humiliation, ridiculous targets, rubbish goods, stress, shame – a toxic cocktail often suffered in the sales environment. We often get into sales by accident. There are no varsity courses in sales. There is training available by companies like ourselves, but often this is not offered by the employer.

The assumption is you look after yourself. We won’t invest in you and we will fire you if you can’t make your numbers. “Churn em and burn em” is the dominant ethos. The successful salespeople ride the favourable market through to the inevitable downturn. If they survive that experience, they often wind up being the sales manager. Battlefield commands come on the back of your officer being killed off.

There is a high turnover rate in sales both when people fail or succeed. In either case, you are out the door and off to somewhere else. The survivors who don’t want to move on the greener pastures, often become the bosses. They continue the toxic culture regardless of how stupid it is, because that is all they know.

The client in all of this is the “mark”, to be harvested, to have their cash extracted and then abandoned to their own devices thereafter. Often in bad sales organisations, area salespeople have to cover big territories. This is because they can only hit that one market once. They are selling a lie. Their product is not matched by quality against price and they have to scarper with the cash and get out of Dodge. They are like sharks, which have to keep swimming around in order to breathe. They move from town to town, fleecing the rubes and riding off into the sunset. They are 100% commission pirates who have allegiance to no flag, except the skull and crossbones of short sighted, selfish salesmanship. The successful move up in the organisation and the rest move on.

Who decided it would be like this? Not the salesperson. They join a company and then discover the disconnect between the cost and the value, between the rhetoric and the reality. By this time they have already left their previous job and are treading water to make commission and not drown in debt. They are always just one week from financial oblivion, so they have to keep dancing while the music is playing. The evil ethos is the company’s making and this is where the blame should lie.

Bad companies are inevitably run by bad sales managers. The reason is simple – “birds of a feather, flock together”. Good sales managers don’t want to be involved in a business where they have to survive by fleecing the buyers. They see a bigger picture, they have ability and talent and a war chest of funds to offer them choices.

Old Japanese saying – “the fish rots from the head”. Consequently your company’s bad sales boss, environment, culture and ethos stinks. If you are a “good” person in sales, swimming in toxic cocktail of sales hell, then get out. You are not in a position to reform that business or management. It didn’t get that way by accident. Now you may not be able to move immediately, but for the sake of your health and mental well-being, don’t put up with crap from idiots. As soon as you can, move.

In the interim, educate yourself. There are tonnes of books, free videos and podcasts on how to do a better job serving clients. Access them. Feed your mind with the positive, because for sure you are being killed by the negative environment surrounding you. If you have the funds then get yourself into training. By whatever ethical means, make yourself more skillful and valuable.

I often refer to kokorogamae, which I translate in this case as our “true intentions”. Don’t let any toxic environment or people corrupt your true intentions. We should have a very clear guiding light and that should be to serve the best interests of the customer. That means we have their success as the catalyst to our own success.

This is not instant and means a different type of client relationship with a longer sales cycle. The share of wallet increases when there is a good track record and strong trust. The lifetime value of the customer becomes an integral part of the equation. This type of sales environment only exists in companies with a correct kokorogamae. If your company is not like that then do not become a lifer pirate, get out and save your career, health and mental well being.

Action Steps

1. Decide that your time in this toxic environment must come to an end
2. Study sales diligently while you are arranging your escape
3. Make your kokorogamae a clear vote in favour of serving the client