Sharks have survived for 400 million years, but salespeople have managed to villainize themselves in far less time. Both deserve better than the one-dimensional stories we've given them, and it starts with understanding what ethical selling actually looks like.
Picture by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
That’s a question I have pondered for some time, and even more so since a customer of mine expressed her frustration with me, saying, “You’re human-centred in your approach, Nadya. How can you work with such sharks?” I must say, I swam hard to find an adequate retort to such a question. She obviously meant it with the negative connotation it often carries, that is, the negative perception of sharks and their place in business culture: cold-blooded, deceitful, manipulative, liars, and only interested in one thing and one thing only: making money at any cost.
I’ve often been puzzled by the constant comparison between these fascinating creatures and humans whose profession is essentially to generate revenue. I’ve always believed in making fair comparisons – the apple-to-apple kind, so I do find myself nonplussed whenever salespeople are compared to sharks. There may be slight similarities if we look closer, but not enough, and certainly not the kind used to confound a whole species with another, especially when it involves so many negative connotations. Sharks may have been vilified by one Hollywood movie, but salespeople have done that on their own.
These captivating creatures have been roaming our oceans for over four hundred million years – long before the dinosaurs – and have survived five global mass extinctions, none of which had any humans in sight. They vary in size, shape and species, and are capable of incredibly complex behaviours. And whilst they are indeed cold-blooded (most species, at least), it’s a necessary physiological adaptation to their environment – what’s a salesperson’s reason?
The answer to this question hangs in the air. Whilst there is no physiological reason for salespeople to be cold-blooded, perhaps the reasons lie in attitude and leadership, and, more broadly, in the emphasis on capturing value rather than creating it. If leadership doesn’t believe in sales as a full-fledged, skilled profession that requires education and know-how, it explains the lazy, villainous narrative that’s been plaguing the profession (and the fascinating ocean dwellers).
This same narrative was on full display at a business dinner I attended years ago in Riyadh. Being the only woman at a table of two dozen participants was intimidating enough, but I found myself seated directly opposite the then-CEO of a major company. As niceties would have it in such circumstances, we started chatting, and before the starters were even on their way, my academic credentials came up, by way of a question about them. I proudly responded that I was the product of vocational education, having spent 4 years learning sales management. His reaction, with a smirk and CEO-like confidence, was something that, quite frankly, shook me enough that I still remember it to this day. “Sales isn’t something one needs to go to school to learn and isn’t worth spending so many years learning”.
Perhaps, from a perspective focused solely on short-term value capture, he may have a point, but hearing that blatant dismissal from someone who leads an organisation crystallised the fundamental misunderstanding that is so pervasive in the sales profession. Those years weren’t about learning tricks, but about mastering a craft that is distant for many in the profession.
So, what exactly is learned in dedicated sales education that leaders like him might completely overlook? Well, for my part, I learnt how to sell in pretty much any setting, including retail and door-to-door, through many iterations of “le stage”, which cemented the learning and enabled the live-selling experiences necessary to develop the right skills across all selling environments. And I’m glad I did learn that way, because research suggests that performance in competitive sales role-plays doesn’t necessarily predict success in actual selling situations. The concerns highlighted by research are that such simulations can sometimes prioritise performance – becoming theatrical or scripted – over reflecting authentic, adaptable selling skills.
The curriculum covered a broad foundation; marketing and advertising were, of course, part of the teaching, because, as we know well, they work wonders when applied in concert, particularly when building the momentum needed to proactively engage with customers – existing and potential alike. These years not only taught me sales 101. They also offered strong opinions on what a salesperson should and shouldn’t be; chiefly, avoid using b******t to make a sale. A word I’ve heard too many people use to describe the vocation itself. Then there was the territory planning phase. This meant digging into an area to identify likely customers and their potential value. That data told us how much proactive outreach we needed to build momentum, allowing us to leverage that often-dismissed groundwork marketing provides.
My vocational learning never taught us to sell anything to anyone because we had to hit a financial target. We learned early on the importance of treating customers with the significance they deserve. That meant figuring out what a customer really needed, not pushing for what the company wanted to sell, and avoiding furthering profits at the cost of sometimes eroding valuable relationships. This perspective also meant overcoming the fear of acknowledging when a specific need simply couldn’t be fulfilled, rather than trying to push something, anything, through sheer persistence with visits or calls that were often unwanted.
We learned how to ask questions – aka needs analysis – to ask many of them, and the right ones – something that today is called consultative selling. If your customer is looking to buy a pair of sneakers, wouldn’t it look bad if you tried to sell a pair of heels? Yet most salespeople I’ve encountered in my career do just that, dismissing the value of listening and deep questioning. It’s incredible how many opportunities are underdeveloped; data from a white paper analysing salespeople’s effectiveness suggests that roughly two-thirds (67%) fail to ask questions effectively enough to uncover truly compelling reasons for their prospects to buy.
Another paramount principle we were taught was to ensure customers left satisfied and came back again and again. The long-term game was the priority. Thinking about loyalty programmes to keep customers coming back was also part of the curriculum, because a repeat customer deserves just as much pampering, if not more, than the ones you’re trying to win over. And while the end game is the same – profits – genuine customer interest took centre stage. This fundamentally customer-centric approach, ingrained in my training a quarter-century ago, well before ‘customer centricity’ became a boardroom buzzword, makes perfect sense. And why shouldn’t it? Repeat customership, after all, is a core driver of profitability and business growth.
The main teaching that still deeply resonates, 25 years later, is that empathy IS the main ingredient for a successful sale. When you’re in charge of making people buy your products or services, you need to, metaphorically, put yourself in their shoes, whether in sneakers or heels, and understand their needs and the circumstances they face. Something that seems inexistent today, because, as I’ve heard so many times, cash is king. Yes, the same adage from the finance world has been hijacked by sales departments to promote the idea of selling no matter what, with an emphasis on exceeding the target rather than ensuring the right solution fits the customer’s unique circumstances and contributes to their long-term satisfaction and success. And the company’s, by the same token.
The impact of empathy was best captured during a final meeting with a retiring client. As we shook hands, he thanked me for the transparency and flexibility I had brought to our work, calling me the most pleasant salesperson he had encountered in his career. The fact that he had renewed his contract every year we worked together underscored a vital lesson: business success is rarely just about the bottom line but about how you treat the people behind it.
While sales has evolved technologically since I began, its core remains unchanged. We now have sophisticated tools to navigate long-cycle sales and satisfy the “two Ps”: productivity and profits. Yet, if these tools are wielded without intent or skill, the desired results become a mirage, much like the missed opportunities that stem from failing to ask the right questions. Technology, stripped of the human touch provided by ethical, authentic sales, is ultimately a hollow instrument.
Sometimes I feel that the sales approach I learned twenty-five years ago has eroded and is almost extinct, for reasons far from natural, unlike those remarkably resilient marine creatures who survived that fate. Perhaps its decline stems not from inevitable natural pressures but from internal ones: the relentless focus on targets within companies that makes a thoughtful approach so hard to maintain.
Most sharks, contrary to popular myth, are small – four feet or smaller – and are not apex predators. They occupy the middle of the food chain, playing a vital role in their ecosystem. Perhaps most salespeople are similar; operating within complex corporate ecosystems, they rarely report to the ultimate shareholders, yet they remain crucial. It’s vital we see both sharks and salespeople in this fuller view, moving beyond the simplistic, one-dimensional caricature that paints them as merely ‘out to get us’. Just as a respectable salesperson navigating the business world, their role, when performed ethically and well, shouldn’t be predatory. Instead, it should be to guide, solve problems, and build value.
This is the core of why sales deserves a better story. Far from the dismissive view of that CEO or the negative stereotype held by many, professional selling, the kind built on empathy, deep listening, strategic thinking, and unwavering ethics, is not just honourable; it is fundamental to business survival and success. It is the engine that translates innovation into revenue, connects solutions to needs, and builds the customer relationships that create lasting value, ultimately aiming to become a trusted advisor. Without skilled, ethical sales professionals driving growth and navigating the market, many businesses, large and small, simply could not exist, let alone thrive.
As stories about sharks and salespeople develop, let’s move past Hollywood stereotypes and cynical views. Both have complex, vital roles—sharks maintain ocean balance, and sales drive economies. It’s time to see sales, when practised with integrity and skill, not as a necessary evil but as a respected profession capable of aligning profit with purpose. Sharks have gained resilience over millennia; maybe it’s time we give the sales profession the respect and better story it deserves when done correctly.
Thank you for reading. If this resonated with you – or if you’ve witnessed sales done right (or wrong!) – I’d love to hear your thoughts at hello@evenkeeled.co, or through any of my social media channels.
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