How to get the corner office

Consider a stopover in sales to really move ahead in your career

This topic is about taking your career to the “next level” - for individuals who want an executive role in the future.  Having grown up in a high-tech environment (even if you aren’t in technology, but work in traditionally male-dominated or deeply skilled/professional industries, you’ll see the parallels), I spent the first two years in some sort of daunted fear of the technical leaders around me.  They seemed to always possess such extreme knowledge of the technology and drove massive swaths of employees.  Then, as I arose in the organization and started to see and engage with more leaders, I noticed something very interesting: that technology-focused individuals (i.e., engineers, designers, program managers, etc.) tended to stay almost entirely within their functions and any promotions were usually very slow and within a small crowd.  Why is this?

People who stay where they are…

• Technology-oriented individuals tend to feel most comfortable surrounded by like-minded technology individuals, who can talk at their level, as well as theorize and pursue intellectual stimulation.
   
• Technology primes don’t tend to be overly communicated with as to why decisions are made at the executive level and thus may be insulated from opportunities or the ability to contribute to decisions which would gain them visibility (if this is you, find out why decisions are made and learn from it!).
   
• Many people prefer the recognition and safety of being niche experts rather than risking a move to a new type of job (and that’s fine, if it’s what makes you happy). It’s those that do gain the experience and broader view that leads to promotions. 

However, outside of the core technology industry-specific roles, executive promotions happened a lot faster, and those individuals tended to have a greater ability to influence corporate decision-making (especially true in weak markets or with companies hungry for revenue).  Why is this? 

People who get promoted…

• Executives respect and give a lot of mind-share to individuals who have had success in a direct customer-facing role.  This tends to mean sales, as sales executives are the key people who can demonstrate “how to bring the money in.”
   
• Salespeople often become the “voice of the customer” inside an organization and are able to use their knowledge to give them a position of strength when fighting for resources or visibility against others executives, especially those who may be creating pushback.
   
• Generally, the path to revenue always wins a conversation.  No one will argue with an end customer who’s willing to pay money in the near term, and you by default are the person who knows how to convince them to do this.  As an example, I can recount several instances in my career where I was given leadership over a key activity, of which a sales engagement plan was included.  When asked why, a key executive noted, “Because Angeline knows how to sell.”
   
• In addition, many leaders know the amount of risk people in sales take (salary, career longevity) and have even more respect for people who can flourish under that level of stress. 

Many will find this daunting, especially as many think that the only people who can sell are “true” sales people.  Not true!  Sure there are naturals, but sales like any role relies heavily on skills I suspect many of you have: organization, persistence, showing value, and negotiation.   

The key thing, once you step into a sales role is…

• You MUST knock over a few deals.
• The bigger and more difficult the sale, the more credibility you will have.

This will give you the hands-on experience you need to come back inside the organization and show heightened value.  In addition, if you’re one of the rare technology or critical skills people (i.e. finance) who have the soft people skills and interest in going into sales, you’re likely to be in extremely high demand quickly, as very few truly technology/critical skills-oriented individuals take on sales roles.

From: Goldengirlfinance.com/ Posted by Mags