Greedy Jobs
This is a current buzzphrase. Used in the pejorative. Denoting a stubborn trap. For where a job is so consuming that it takes up more precious hours than it should.
I read it also applied in the context of parenting demands and care responsibilities. Particularly ramifications ignored by employers. Circling some families back to the 1950s. Here though, let's consider the general workplace smother.
Being overwhelmed by the undesirable time gluttony of others is not beyond our control to remedy. The current drive is to rein such demands in.
The counter warning is that big jobs expect a near monopolisation of your life. The pressures and accountability involved necessitate all-consuming attention. Anything remotely high reward-low effort is a socialist dystopia to be resolutely fought off.
It's quite the debate. As you'd sadly expect in today's climes, little nuance gets entertained. Yet you needn't travel too far from any entrenched position to enjoy the better state within the 'happy medium'.
The traits of a greedy job in our solution Sales space feature hours outside the workday norm, unpredictable working hours often at the shortest of notice, and the feeling of continual sacrifice forcing work/life imbalance.
Our arena is often one requiring last-minute reaction to prospect situations. Although I deplore such like - given my strong process over outcomes core - it is sometimes unavoidable. Add to this working across different time zones and the simple fact that, as was the case I realised three decades back as a cubrep, busy people that run organisations tend to open windows pre and post the standard workday.
We can take measures to help these jobs feel the benefits of a diet. Let's take this trio.
Greedy Customers
A classic of the genre. Clients (or potential ones) that seem to make never-ending and urgent-only calls on us. Often reactive, random and without joined-up thought.
I've had to deal with this in the past. And one answer is to consider the negative flow around your business. Cull the customer. It's a mercy killing.
Better still, try head any problems off. Append your 'ideal prospect profile' to cover optimum post-sale behaviours.
When prospects display disregard, there's a telling saying of the experienced rep; 'idiots pre-sale, idiots post-sale'. Not all margin is destined to be good margin. And if they don't follow your recommended process, then are they ever going to sign up with you anyway?
There's also the gags about what's the biggest drain on a salesperson's time. There's typically three culprits cited. Here, think about post-sale firefighting. Where your freshly minted customer keeps coming to you, the prime seller personality, rather than converse with your delivery, implementation and post-sale service resource.
Making a plan, and getting it agreed, to fend all this off is paramount before their ink gets dry.
Greedy Admin
Rare is the sales operation that gets reporting requirements right.
Even Gen Zedders entering sales outfits I've met lately seem as disinclined to filling in endless boxes within multiplying tabs on screens as their Millennial or elder brethren.
Don't get me wrong, recording sales intel is vital. It's just that misdirection still prevails.
Any salesforce that neglects the 'as much as necessary as little as possible' efficiency creed here will ultimately tie hands behind backs.
Greedy Colleagues
The internal yang to the external yin of my aforementioned first 'greedy'.
Those supposedly on the same team but prefer to take up your valuable selling time for themselves, rather than let you focus on bringing in the money to pay their wages.
These can stem from those in delivery. As well as other support roles. Even with semi-supervisory, distanced dotted-line distraction.
One memory that flew into my mind on this, was in a big off-site sales meeting of a large field sales team. The Marketing boss had dialled in a request, coming across very much as a command. Of the 'ask all your customers these questions' variety.
The list was onerous, unwieldy and caused a riot in the room.
Who doesn't love helping to shape other careers as mentor, new products as buyer behaviour expert or even strategy as marketplace future needs confidant?
But these slots cannot be allowed to dominate and remove us from our number one role.