Closing the deal on women in sales

Like many other professions, sales roles have long been the domain of men who have used their role as a stepping stone for many to launch a successful career as a business leader. 

In Australia, that gender imbalance may be changing, with recent data showing a relatively equal number of females and males now in general sales roles. However, it hasn’t moved up the pipeline yet, and there is still a very obvious imbalance in the number of female leaders.  

According to the WGEA Gender Equality Scorecard, women comprise only 41% of managerial roles across all professions and the same is true in sales, with only 38% of manager roles being occupied by women. Additionally, the most recent pay gap data shows women, on average earn $26,596 less than men each year, so even though there are more women entering sales roles, they aren’t being equally rewarded for sales success. 

This is not because women aren’t suited to sales. Some argue the opposite is true, and that the traits needed for success are naturally inherent for many women. 

So how can businesses make sure they are attracting women into sales roles in the first place, and then making sure there are equal opportunities for them to progress up the ladder to managerial positions and earn equal pay? 

To see open roles at Airwallex, visit https://www.airwallex.com/careers. 

Playing to your strong suit

Sales is not for everyone, says Amelia Hamer, Airwallex’s director of strategy in Australia and New Zealand. There is a certain amount of resilience needed to bounce back from the inevitable rejections that will come each day. 

“A sales role is speaking to people all day but it is not just getting on the phone talking — it is also being able to listen and to be curious and want to discover what people need. Without generalising too much, women can often be very strong at that,” says Hamer. 

For those who can tell a good story, sit back and listen, ask questions and solve problems, it is a gold mine of opportunities.

“One of the advantages to working in sales at a fintech startup business like Airwallex is that it is fast paced — and there’s a huge number of opportunities to get your hands dirty and really go and solve problems, and that means you get that satisfaction from helping companies save quite a lot of money in the process,” she says.

Creating gender equity 

Making a sales career an attractive option for women comes down to creating an equal playing field and looking at the numbers, says Hamer. 

There is a $253.50 a week difference in Australian women’s weekly ordinary earnings currently across all industries and occupations. Changing that comes down to structuring salaries and performance payments equally, as well as providing equal opportunities for growth, she argues.

“We have gender pay equity in our sales teams at Airwallex. We’re very clear about salary banding and making sure people are paid the same amount for the same work. There’s also a performance pay element, which is fair and structured — we are very clear about expectations,” she says.

That has also translated an increase in female managers, with the current rates favouring women over men, she says.

“It’s a testament to the culture we have here, it’s supportive and it’s equal.”

Offer equal opportunities

Hamer says that opening up the business to provide further opportunities to learn and grow will also help attract people into sales roles. Unusually in an environment that is seeing mass layoffs in the tech sector, Hamer says Airwallex is growing its team of 1,300 by around 500 new roles this year, including 90 in Australia. 

“There’s a lot of scope for seeing how different elements of the business works at Airwallex. People start off in one area of sales but they move around and experience all aspects of the business.”

Good sales people will take advantage of those opportunities to learn so they can go and sell the product with confidence. In the long term, this also helps people move into more senior roles with a full understanding of how the whole business works.

“If you look at people who move into executive roles, generally they tend to be from the commercial side of businesses — starting in sales can be more favourable for that advancement of your career,” says Hamer.

Read now: Aussie retailers unlocking global markets