THE “G” WORD
Gender is a topic we don’t discuss in the context of sales and customer experiences very often, so allow me to take a moment to
clarify how we’ll talk about it. All women—and men—are individuals, and should be treated as such. Women are not all the
same, just as men are not all the same. Yet, each of us is born
into a society that recognizes two primary gender “cultures”: the
male culture and the female culture. The gender culture in which
we grow up impacts how we’re socialized and interact with the
world, including the communication styles we use.
2 The descriptions in this book should be viewed as tendencies, not absolutes, that are based on the aspects of female culture that can affect women’s perceptions of sales interactions.
WinningHerBusiness_content.indd 17 12/18/18 12:10 PM xviii INTRODUCTION Here’s an analogy for gender culture: Imagine you were planning a vacation to Italy and decided to learn everything you could about Italian culture.
You study Italian history and modern society; you practice helpful tourist phrases in Italian; you learn expectations for customs such as tipping and hailing a cab. You’re happy to put in the work because you know the knowledge will enrich your experience. And yet, when your plane touches down in Rome, you would never expect every Italian to behave the same way. After all, it’s a nation of 60 million personalities. However, your preparation has provided you with a valuable foundation that allows you to communicate more easily, confidently, and ultimately, successfully. That’s the spirit in which this book is written.
It’s a guide to the cultural conditions of modern women that will help you exceed their expectations as customers. But it bears repeating: every customer is an individual, first and foremost, and should be treated as such. Let me also clarify the language I’ll be using so we’re on the same page. I use the term sales professional to describe all of us who work with customers for a living.
2 The descriptions in this book should be viewed as tendencies, not absolutes, that are based on the aspects of female culture that can affect women’s perceptions of sales interactions.
WinningHerBusiness_content.indd 17 12/18/18 12:10 PM xviii INTRODUCTION Here’s an analogy for gender culture: Imagine you were planning a vacation to Italy and decided to learn everything you could about Italian culture.
You study Italian history and modern society; you practice helpful tourist phrases in Italian; you learn expectations for customs such as tipping and hailing a cab. You’re happy to put in the work because you know the knowledge will enrich your experience. And yet, when your plane touches down in Rome, you would never expect every Italian to behave the same way. After all, it’s a nation of 60 million personalities. However, your preparation has provided you with a valuable foundation that allows you to communicate more easily, confidently, and ultimately, successfully. That’s the spirit in which this book is written.
It’s a guide to the cultural conditions of modern women that will help you exceed their expectations as customers. But it bears repeating: every customer is an individual, first and foremost, and should be treated as such. Let me also clarify the language I’ll be using so we’re on the same page. I use the term sales professional to describe all of us who work with customers for a living.
I recognize that few people
use that title in real life. However, whether you manage a sales
team, run a dude ranch, work in retail, or are an independent
business owner, your success depends on customers agreeing
to pay for your products and services.
Hence, we’re all sales
professionals.
For the sake of simplicity, I will use the word customer to
refer to women consumers in general, though depending on your
industry, you may call them guests, patients, clients, community
members, fans, or something else altogether.
0 comments:
إرسال تعليق