In the world of sales, one surprising statistic has caught the attention of industry experts: women consistently outperform their male counterparts. Despite a significant gender-based pay gap in the sales sector, women continue to close more deals, thanks to a unique approach that sets them apart. Research conducted by Xactly, a sales software company based in San Jose, California, sheds light on this phenomenon.
Women Outperform Men in Sales, Research Shows
Between 2020 and 2023, Xactly analyzed the performance of 37,198 salespeople across 89 companies in eight industries. The results revealed that women were 1.5 percent more successful at closing deals than men. When women occupied managerial roles, their performance advantage doubled, further demonstrating their exceptional ability to excel in the sales industry.
Empathy: The Key to Success in Sales
Empathy is a common buzzword in today’s business world, but according to industry experts, it is also the primary reason women tend to perform better in sales. Emery Rosansky, Vice President at First Round Capital in San Francisco, attributes her success to spending the majority of her time asking questions and connecting with clients.
On sales calls, Rosansky spends 80 percent of the time listening and understanding a client’s needs before making her pitch. “I think the only way to create prescriptive pitches is to ask great questions and really listen to the client,” Rosansky explains.
However, while this empathetic approach builds rapport, it can also lead to a potential loss of assertiveness in the conversation, an area where men tend to excel. Balancing empathy with directness is essential for closing deals and asking for higher prices.
Empathy vs. Assertiveness: Finding the Balance
Rosansky acknowledges that men tend to be more direct in asking for what they want, while women often focus more on understanding the client’s needs. While both approaches have their strengths, she believes empathy should be balanced with assertiveness. Women sellers, though excellent at forming meaningful connections, sometimes struggle to be as direct in closing the deal.
Katelynn Blackburn, founder of Diligence Agencies in California, echoes these thoughts. She believes that eliminating self-doubt is key to success in sales. “Self-limiting beliefs hold many women back, and overcoming these mental blocks is critical,” Blackburn says. Her insurance brokerage has seen rapid growth, with deep client relationships being at the core of her success.
Building Relationships: A Women’s Superpower
Building long-term relationships is another area where women tend to excel in sales. According to Chantel George, founder of New York-based sales network Sistas in Sales, women are more empathetic and relationship-focused, going beyond the immediate transaction to form lasting connections.
Active listening, George explains, is crucial for this. “The way a client speaks, pauses, or chooses certain words gives a lot of insight,” she says. This deep understanding transforms salespeople into problem solvers rather than just sellers, an approach that helped George thrive in her early career at Yelp and in building her own business.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Both Rosansky and George faced unique challenges in their respective careers, often being the only women, and sometimes the only women of color, in the room. Despite these hurdles, they found ways to thrive in a male-dominated industry by focusing on their strengths, building networks, and forming lasting relationships with clients.
George’s network, Sistas in Sales, was born from a small dinner party in 2017, which has since grown to over 12,000 members and has partnered with major corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and Netflix. “Sales is a life skill,” George explains. “It’s a launching pad for incredible opportunities.”
A Sales Strategy for the Future
While men may excel in assertiveness, empathy remains a critical component in building trust and forming deep client relationships. The success of women in sales showcases how a blend of both empathy and directness can lead to high performance. In today’s competitive sales landscape, mastering the art of listening, connecting, and building trust is key — and women are leading the way.
As the world of sales continues to evolve, more businesses are recognizing the importance of diverse sales strategies. Whether it’s by asking better questions or building long-term relationships, women are demonstrating that sales is about more than just making deals — it’s about understanding people.
Women in sales may have uncovered the ultimate secret to success, and the data proves it. With empathy, relationship-building, and the ability to ask the right questions, women are poised to continue outperforming their male counterparts well into the future.
