Why is Sales Such a Male Dominated Profession?

[TwiLight]

As a woman- here's what I think:

Women are awesome in emotional sales; healthcare, housing, retail, life insurance (to an extent) etc. Those kinds of products pull on an emotion- no one wants to be sick/injured, we have a plan to take care of you- warm and fuzzy.

I can sell emotional ALL DAY LONG. And I make a few bucks. It doesn't hurt to be cute/pretty/well dressed. I've straight up been told I got a sale on the way I look. Doesn't bother me a bit- as long as the check clears. . .

Here's where we get into challenges: Financial sales- where the big money lies. When we get into the financial sales arena- it becomes pretty black and white. There's not a lot of emotion in annuities and mutual funds. Although I know my stuff when it comes to life insurance and annuities, most men prefer to deal with other men for their financials. A lot of women also prefer men to handle their money. It's presumed that it will be safer.
Because I handle their emotional contracts, I must not qualified to handle their financial contracts. It's a crazy psychology, which I am working on overcoming.

The other thought I have as to why there isn't a lot of women in the industry is that it takes a specific kind of personality to be a sales person and business owner. You can't be too laid back, you have to be driven. Look at the women who are successful in the industry- we are all very similar in personality. Most women in sales are very Type A and can be on the aggressive side. Much like their male counterparts. This industry will chew up and spit out the meek.

Spoken just like a woman.....

It is about Personal Drive and a desire to take a risk.... That is what Sales Success uses as a foundation..... Men or Women... Does not matter... If you do not have "IT" than you are not invited to join the club....

BTW.... "IT" is not something you are born with, sales involves training, education, self improvement and all applied with experience....

 

[joe90]

As a woman- here's what I think:

Women are awesome in emotional sales; healthcare, housing, retail, life insurance (to an extent) etc. Those kinds of products pull on an emotion- no one wants to be sick/injured, we have a plan to take care of you- warm and fuzzy.

I can sell emotional ALL DAY LONG. And I make a few bucks. It doesn't hurt to be cute/pretty/well dressed. I've straight up been told I got a sale on the way I look. Doesn't bother me a bit- as long as the check clears. . .

Here's where we get into challenges: Financial sales- where the big money lies. When we get into the financial sales arena- it becomes pretty black and white. There's not a lot of emotion in annuities and mutual funds. Although I know my stuff when it comes to life insurance and annuities, most men prefer to deal with other men for their financials. A lot of women also prefer men to handle their money. It's presumed that it will be safer.
Because I handle their emotional contracts, I must not qualified to handle their financial contracts. It's a crazy psychology, which I am working on overcoming.

The other thought I have as to why there isn't a lot of women in the industry is that it takes a specific kind of personality to be a sales person and business owner. You can't be too laid back, you have to be driven. Look at the women who are successful in the industry- we are all very similar in personality. Most women in sales are very Type A and can be on the aggressive side. Much like their male counterparts. This industry will chew up and spit out the meek.

Very interesting to read.

I hope i wasnt coming across as sexist either.

To put it bluntly, i respect anyone who can make that board. Im my job there were 3 guys and 6 women in training. Now there are 2 guys and 2 girls left.
On the team as a whole there are many more guys and indeed the management is mostly guys. The girls that are there are very good, but most of them have fallen by the way side, and even good women have dropped out because of emotional issue imho, very possibly because of the job.

So i see girls that are every bit as good as the guys.

But i see good saleswomen leaving because they cant handle it, and lots of the girls dropping out, because they cant handle it who arent so good.

Its interesting.

I dont think anyone who has experience in the game would be sexist, because we do see some of the top hitters being female. But across the board, most of the women fall like skittles, as the going gets tough, and some of the guys who are average and even poor, suck it up and get better.

If i was an employer and allowed to be pragmatic in a generic sense, and not an individual one, looking at a team of 4 girls and 4 guys, investing in the 4 girls could well wind up problematic irrespective of targets, because they guys seem to have more staying power. Thats speaking generically and not individually, but its not much more of an ism than the stats that cap insurance rates by age and demography.

I think women get more cancellations after sales too.

I do think women can be very good though, and ive worked in jobs where the top salespeople and even 3 or 4 around the top of the top 10 are female in a 3 or 4 to 1 against ratio trade.

 

[kgmom219]

That said, most tech recruiters and pharmaceutical sales are hot women

Well, DUH. If you are a doctor (male) or an IT guy (male dominated industry) who are you going to be happy to see for 15 minutes? Some hot chick with great legs or another guy with a briefcase?

90% of my business is now referrals from financial planners. Somehow, I don't think I got in the door because I am brilliant. My biggest issue is getting past the frumpy gatekeepers.

When I first started out as a broker, I worked in an office with 20 financial planners. 1 was a woman. Went on a ton of meetings with business owners. Learned a couple things. People who have money to invest (docs, engineers, IT) are typically male. For multiple reasons, they want their financial planners to men. Very few are willing to work with a woman. Health Insurance is fine, because the wives are the ones dealing with health insurance. They could care less. "Its a chick thing"

Most women are not cut out for the grind that is years 1-3 starting their own business. And most men aren't strong enough to have a woman wining and dining clients to get the business, either. Yep. I'm being sexist.

Cindy's right...the women are a lot alike on the forum. The men are all over the map.

Except the guys with 20+ years. They are the same. Old, crotchety, grumpy and don't suffer fools well. But they've seen people come and go. They've earned the right.

 

[joe90]

Spoken just like a woman.....

It is about Personal Drive and a desire to take a risk.... That is what Sales Success uses as a foundation..... Men or Women... Does not matter... If you do not have "IT" than you are not invited to join the club....

BTW.... "IT" is not something you are born with, sales involves training, education, self improvement and all applied with experience....

I dont know about "the club". From a pragmatic angle, anyone that can sell gets respect regardless of age and gender. Consistency is a very good substitute for peak as well. Someone who is spiking and dropping is a little less sure than someone even with a lower average who is knocking them out consistently.

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Well, DUH. If you are a doctor (male) or an IT guy (male dominated industry) who are you going to be happy to see for 15 minutes? Some hot chick with great legs or another guy with a briefcase?

90% of my business is now referrals from financial planners. Somehow, I don't think I got in the door because I am brilliant. My biggest issue is getting past the frumpy gatekeepers.

When I first started out as a broker, I worked in an office with 20 financial planners. 1 was a woman. Went on a ton of meetings with business owners. Learned a couple things. People who have money to invest (docs, engineers, IT) are typically male. For multiple reasons, they want their financial planners to men. Very few are willing to work with a woman. Health Insurance is fine, because the wives are the ones dealing with health insurance. They could care less. "Its a chick thing"

Most women are not cut out for the grind that is years 1-3 starting their own business. And most men aren't strong enough to have a woman wining and dining clients to get the business, either. Yep. I'm being sexist.

Cindy's right...the women are a lot alike on the forum. The men are all over the map.

Except the guys with 20+ years. They are the same. Old, crotchety, grumpy and don't suffer fools well. But they've seen people come and go. They've earned the right.

Without being patronising, i do have tons of respect for the ladies that are smashing it in a male dominated industry, regardless if they are selling on sex, or bulldozing people like bossy nannies. And of course there are the ultra professional ladies, and the "nice" ones. Its not that different to the guys, in that there are different styles and we are all human, but women do seem to inherit a different angle and perspective, than guys do, from what ive witnessed. How a person plays the game is all up to them of course.

I have a lot more respect and admiration for the ladies i work with than I would ever let them know lol.

 

[kgmom219]

Joe....rude question. How old are you?

Not asking because I care, but I really do think the millenials are more willing to see women in these professions vs Gen X and boomers.

My grandchildren won't care if the financial planners are women. My generation does. And it also matters what part of the country you are in, too.

 

[joe90]

Joe....xyzde question. How old are you?

Not asking because I care, but I really do think the millenials are more willing to see women in these professions vs Gen X and boomers.

My grandchildren won't care if the financial planners are women. My generation does. And it also matters what part of the country you are in, too.

Im in my thirties, british, and i honestly dont give a .... about gender. whats interesting to me is diversity, and obviously gender is a kind of diversity. The other thing that is interesting to me is success. I see a lot less women out there, but some of the most successful sellers ive ever met are female.

on films, youtube videos and books... nothing.

in real life - a massively skewed boy / girl ratio.

in attrition - i often see more women apply and then watch them leaving a lot quicker than the guys.

at the top - i see a few women who just seem to excel and remain among the best sellers.

the whole thing is just interesting. it goes far beyond me or my viewpoint. there arent people bending over backwards to do studies on this, because of the nature of the trade. however respectable, sales is the cowboy of professions, because ... well,... its sales. i dont see people trying to study ratio, like they would in the legal or medical, or other academic professions, however it is very interesting, and there are some really good women here, so it seems like a good place to ask the question.

 

[goillini52]

Because males tend to have the pressure of supporting a family. It's something that society says what a man needs to do. They also die earlier than women because of the stress.


Rick Martinez
Latin Agents Alliance
latinagents.com

Richard Martinez latinagents.com

I agree with you Rick...in sales, a good looking woman has a "leg up" on a man.

 

[DHK]

in attrition - i often see more women apply and then watch them leaving a lot quicker than the guys.

at the top - i see a few women who just seem to excel and remain among the best sellers.

the whole thing is just interesting. it goes far beyond me or my viewpoint. there arent people bending over backwards to do studies on this, because of the nature of the trade. however respectable, sales is the cowboy of professions, because ... well,... its sales. i dont see people trying to study ratio, like they would in the legal or medical, or other academic professions, however it is very interesting, and there are some really good women here, so it seems like a good place to ask the question.

Have you read those career builder job listings? They say stuff like "get paid to help people and be a respectable member of your community". These kinds of ads promote a "warm, fuzzy" feeling... and that feeling is perpetuated through the initial interview process.

Then you get hired... and reality sets in.

In these cases, that's why women don't make it very long. They were "sold a bill of goods" during the interview process, and then find out that the job is VERY DIFFERENT from what it was said to be.

That's why I tell people about this:
An Employment Scam in the Financial Services Industry > HOME

and why I gave the advice that I do here:
http://www.insurance-forums.net/for...-do-you-think-general-agent-pitch-t69105.html

"SuperWoman" may be more analytical about her choices... but she will enter the field with "eyes wide open"... instead of a "bait and switch" situation.

 

[briko3]

As a woman- here's what I think:

Women are awesome in emotional sales; healthcare, housing, retail, life insurance (to an extent) etc. Those kinds of products pull on an emotion- no one wants to be sick/injured, we have a plan to take care of you- warm and fuzzy.

I can sell emotional ALL DAY LONG. And I make a few bucks. It doesn't hurt to be cute/pretty/well dressed. I've straight up been told I got a sale on the way I look. Doesn't bother me a bit- as long as the check clears. . .

Here's where we get into challenges: Financial sales- where the big money lies. When we get into the financial sales arena- it becomes pretty black and white. There's not a lot of emotion in annuities and mutual funds. Although I know my stuff when it comes to life insurance and annuities, most men prefer to deal with other men for their financials. A lot of women also prefer men to handle their money. It's presumed that it will be safer.
Because I handle their emotional contracts, I must not qualified to handle their financial contracts. It's a crazy psychology, which I am working on overcoming.

The other thought I have as to why there isn't a lot of women in the industry is that it takes a specific kind of personality to be a sales person and business owner. You can't be too laid back, you have to be driven. Look at the women who are successful in the industry- we are all very similar in personality. Most women in sales are very Type A and can be on the aggressive side. Much like their male counterparts. This industry will chew up and spit out the meek.

One of the biggest producers I know personally is a woman. She makes $500,000+/ year year in and year out.

 

[rousemark]

Well, DUH. If you are a doctor (male) or an IT guy (male dominated industry) who are you going to be happy to see for 15 minutes? Some hot chick with great legs or another guy with a briefcase?

90% of my business is now referrals from financial planners. Somehow, I don't think I got in the door because I am brilliant. My biggest issue is getting past the frumpy gatekeepers.

When I first started out as a broker, I worked in an office with 20 financial planners. 1 was a woman. Went on a ton of meetings with business owners. Learned a couple things. People who have money to invest (docs, engineers, IT) are typically male. For multiple reasons, they want their financial planners to men. Very few are willing to work with a woman. Health Insurance is fine, because the wives are the ones dealing with health insurance. They could care less. "Its a chick thing"

Most women are not cut out for the grind that is years 1-3 starting their own business. And most men aren't strong enough to have a woman wining and dining clients to get the business, either. Yep. I'm being sexist.

Cindy's right...the women are a lot alike on the forum. The men are all over the map.

Except the guys with 20+ years. They are the same. Old, crotchety, grumpy and don't suffer fools well. But they've seen people come and go. They've earned the right.

I resemble that remark!