The landscape for women in sales is improving, with increasing recognition of the value they bring to sales teams and a growing number of initiatives aimed at supporting their careers. However, challenges such as gender bias and work-life balance issues remain. Companies that actively promote diversity, provide supportive resources, and leverage technology to create flexible work environments are likely to see the most success in attracting and retaining talented women in sales.
“Upon being ‘encouraged’ to quit my eleventh sales position once again (a yearly event as I was the top producer and an embarrassment to the men), I finally took a day off just for me. I stopped for a red light, but the person behind me was unaware and rammed into the back of my car at full speed. Upon enduring pain for ten years, I say ‘thankfully’ as a passenger on a rainy night; the car skidded into a lamp post for me to say, ‘You better call an ambulance,” adds Stutz, Founder, Smooth Sales.
My Life Was About to Change for the Better
I’m a rare person who had a near-death experience while awaiting admittance to the hospital. A beautiful gold light encased my entire body while two visions appeared. The first was indicated I was to become a speaker inspiring audience, to which I fervently said, Yes! (in my mind). That vision faded, and the next appeared. I had high life marks, but the right-hand side entitled ‘Community Service’ was completely blank. At that instant, I pledged to begin giving back to communities however I may, but as a salesperson, I added, ‘But I need to be able to walk out of this hospital on my own to do my best work.’ A blink of a gold light indicated to me I would recover.
I created my business plan in the ICU. Upon being heavily medicated the next morning, I heard the surgeon say, ‘Mrs. Stutz, when you wake up, you will likely be paralyzed.’ Being a sales professional, I knew he didn’t expect me to survive. Given what happened the previous night, I used his words to let him know I fully expected to be well. Hours later, he stood over me to say, ‘You are a walking miracle!’ Believe, Become, Empower’ Upon recovering from the broken neck the saying became my mantra. It translated to (believing you can become the person you envision and empower others to advance similarly).
The Initial Challenges
“Upon moving to San Francisco and attending a large event, I was asked to introduce myself on stage. Humiliation took over, as no one believed I could know enough to be a sales trainer. The ridicule and nasty laughter were horrific. Thankfully, as I stepped off the stage, someone grabbed me and advised me to write a book to establish credibility.
Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks, was featured in TIME Magazine and ABC-TV news, quickly became an International Bestseller and later, Evergreen – among the classics.
Why is it so popular? I refer to the book as a corporate tell-all, with names changed to protect the guilty! I wanted every working female to know it’s okay to speak up for oneself with examples of what I did. Even better, I shared all of my top-producing sales techniques for readers to advance their skills and careers.
In the meantime, I delivered inspirational keynotes at conferences to receive standing ovations and thunderous applause.
After moving across the country, again, I was not accepted at business events. Blogging was new then, so I decided to make that my community service project by delivering my best insights into entrepreneurship and business growth, including selling skills. Gradually, I began asking leaders from varying industries to contribute their insights for a comprehensive effort to help audiences reach their goals. Today, the Smooth Sale Blog enjoys a wide-reaching and collaborative audience.
Mission and Vision
“Based on my near-death experience, my mission is to help blog readers advance their careers or businesses. I also have leaders from varying industries share their experiences and lessons learned; all together we provide a wide array of learning insights to achieve the goal of having our readership achieve the success they desire.”
Our Services
The Smooth Sale Blog, provides knowledge concerning Sales, Business Development, Leadership, Communication, Marketing, Branding, Goal Setting, and all related topics applicable to most industries.
Additionally, two books are beneficial, one for sales success and the other for interviewing well to be the selected candidate:
Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks, is an International Best-Seller and Evergreen among the classics!
The Differentiating factors
“Numerous priorities plus approaches to business and clients distinguish what we do. Gone are the days of competitiveness; a marketing genius taught me to collaborate and use attraction marketing to sell products and services. It was scary at first, but I found it worked like a charm, and it is my mantra today. Moreover, my first goal is to ensure that I help my clientele.”
The Clientele
“The Smooth Sale clientele is seeking to advance their careers in business or entrepreneurship. They are generally at the beginning or intermediate stage of their work and seeking to learn what they can.”
The Work Culture
“First and foremost, every idea deserves consideration, and it is best to weigh all the pros and cons of questionable ones to arrive at a better decision. Our audience is global, the time zones vary, and we must respect private time. Additionally, it gives even more importance to respecting varying cultures and welcoming all ideas. Last, all assumptions are to be dropped from habitual activity.”
Future Roadmap
“My goal is to continue encouraging women, in particular, to speak up with a professional tone to ensure their full-fledged rights as humans, citizens, and people who want to deliver their best for future generations,” concluded Stutz.
- Visit Elinor Stutz – LinkedIn Profile
- Visit Smooth Sale – Company Website
