While it’s clear that diversity & inclusion in sales can affect revenue positively, there are more reasons to employ a diverse salesforce.
By now, it is rather clear that diversity can positively affect results, and publications such as HBR has underlined just how a diverse workforce can improve revenue growth. This also applies to the salesforce in particular, and where SBI recently underlined that this has a lot to do with the innovation that is fostered:
“Almost all studies that have found a strong correlation between diverse sales teams and a positive impact on revenue growth point to one key contributor: embracing and fostering innovation,” they say, giving the example that “if your sales team members are consistently approaching prospects and customers in a homogenous way, you and your team will not be able to embrace new strategies for different and ever-changing customers, and it will be increasingly harder to make your constantly growing number.” In other words, a diverse salesforce can give your sales team a number of perspectives to approach customers and prospects with. Increasing the chance of continued success and revenue growth even throughout changes to the market, customer base and their desires.
There is yet another perspective to this question, though, namely the talent/employer brand approach. Where, according to SBI, “DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) has also become a key criterion for sales-oriented job seekers when looking for a company to work for”. I.e. Prospective employees want to see a diverse salesforce, which would then serve as a good way of attracting and recruiting the best sales talent around. An idea that seems very plausible, and that gains even more credibility if we also look at a study from SalesLoft regarding the topic. A study including answers from 400 sellers and buyers, and showing that more than 90 % wanted to see more women in sales roles, as well as a larger degree of racial diversity. Additionally, close to 80 % also wanted to see a larger degree of generational diversity, while 69 % of buyers/74 % of sellers wanted a larger representation of LGBTQ individuals.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that working toward a diverse salesforce, where everyone is included, should be viewed as a critical business objective that can create large effects for revenue growth in the future. While also doing its part in ensuring you can attract and recruit the best sales people to grow said revenue.
Source: https://salesbenchmarkindex.com/insights/why-sales-leaders-should-care-about-dei/
