Women in sales: It’s time to smash clichés
Recent analysis backs up the claim that organizations with more gender diversity outperform their less diverse competitors, a strong argument for sales departments increasing their hiring and promotion of women.These steps will help companies attract women and build stronger sales teams:
1. Recognize and address biases
Leadership can bring the biases women face in sales into awareness through training. For diversity to thrive, companies should be aware of biases and correct any discrepancies.
2. Adopt inclusive recruiting practices
Reword job descriptions so that they’re more gender-neutral. For the hiring process itself, use a “blind” process that hides the candidate’s gender.
3. Develop mentorship and sponsorship programs
If representation is an issue, creating a mentorship or sponsorship program can help women to feel more at ease on your team.
4. Motivate teams with the right perks
Perks are key when attracting sales professionals, but priorities can differ. Lucidchart’s research found that the most important perk for men was regular bonuses but, for women, it was the opportunity to have a more flexible schedule (that doesn’t mean penalizing their bonuses). To learn which perks may attract, retain and motivate your team, survey your employees.