Women Sales Managers Speak Out, Volume II

Women sales managers face unique problems and situations. In our continuing coverage of women in sales, two outstanding women managers share their views.

What Are The Biggest Challenges A Woman Sales Manager Faces?

Claudia Bowers is executive vice president of TRC Industries, a small Midwestern company with a total of 32 employees. She is president of Sales & Marketing Executives International for 1994.

“When I started in selling industrial raw materials to industry, I found that being a woman was a definite advantage. Men were not used to seeing women and I immediately got their attention. I had enough technical knowledge to prepare the buyer. The engineers followed up and closed the sale.

“One of the tough challenges women managers face is disciplining a male subordinate. While it is okay for a man to get angry when a subordinate makes a mistake, a woman can’t afford angry outbursts or else she may get tagged. Women managers have to be careful not to react with anger; they have to learn how to respond assertively. Some women get caught in a Catch 22 situation: if they fail to discipline a subordinate, they encourage poor performance, if they get too aggressive, they are seen as poor managers.

“Women managers today still have to prove themselves. They have to prove their credibility and have to work harder than men to gain acceptance in business. In many instances, men are accepted in advance because they have the title or the right education background; women rarely receive the same respect until they have proven themselves.

“The good news is that the number of women in management jobs is increasing rapidly. As the top two levels of the business hierarchy go into retirement, we will see more and more women moving into top positions. I think that the world is wide open for women in sales and management.”

What Do You Do When A Customer Makes An Improper Comment?

Jeannette Swartz is president of Northcoast Consultants, a commercial marketing company in Chicago.

“The best cure for this problem is prevention. When I deal with male customers, I may make a comment about my husband in order to send a message about my personal situation. If a customer ignores this signal and makes advances, I tell him, ‘This situation makes me very uncomfortable. I’d like to continue our working relationship on a professional basis and hope we can do so.’ This is a tough situation to handle, and it makes me angry, but to date I have had no problems beyond that dialogue.

“It is very important to create a high level of mutual respect with your client. Many times this is expressed on a nonverbal level. When the client makes an improper comment, your body language can send the right signal back and you can get your point across without saying a single word.

“Women need to be aware of the fact that they play an important part in how the relationship with the client develops. They have to be careful when they accept a dinner invitation from a client. If you go along with the client’s suggestion to order champagne, you may be headed for trouble. You have to maintain a professional attitude and you don’t want to encourage the client to cross the line.”