A day in the life of selling

Many years ago, while considering career options, it is fair to say that I took a step in the direction of sales, as an interim step. It was not what I had imagined myself doing, or the career that I thought would fulfil me.

As I started, in my twenties, I was told, ‘’you will never make it in sales, because you are not pushy enough’’. So 30 years later, what lessons have I learnt?

Firstly, I believe that well trained salespeople, learn lifelong interpersonal skills that will guide and support them all the way through their life regardless of career choice, because at its core, sales is about communication.

But today, we must look at what the salesperson of the future might look like.

We’ve all heard the term “born salesperson ” or “born seller,” both suggesting that a person can be somehow blessed with a gift of the gab, but really, how accurate are those assumptions? Are these skills that a person is actually born with or are they learned behaviour’s?

Allow me to share what I believe are essential skills for today:

Communication skills

The ability to communicate your message, persuade or influence an opinion is a fundamental skill in sales. The art of being able to genuinely talk and engage with people and to be interested and interesting will serve you well.
Remember communication is more than what we say, it’s also about our body language and written communication. People buy people first, so how you sell is more important than what you sell.

To be a great listener

I believe the best salespeople are those that ask the best questions and listen more than they talk. It’s not about waiting for your turn to speak, its about being interested and curious so you can learn. This helps you uncover customer needs.

Some reading this may be familiar with an old saying –⁠ the ABC of sales (Always Be Closing). My version of ABC is Always Be Curious.

Empathy

Perhaps not a skill or a trait you would instantly associate with selling, however when you sell with empathy it naturally repositions your thought process to be more customer centric. It’s also a trait that helps build trust and credibility faster, which leads me nicely on to the next skill.

Trust

Sales is not about selling, it’s about building trust, focusing on how you can help people, with either your product or service. So, help first and sell second, this will ensure you will attract customers for the long term. If you also apply the above points with your customers, trust is already established, and instantly you have an advantage over your competitors. Establishing trust will outperform any sales technique you will ever learn.

Confidence

When I talk about confidence, I am first going to refer to your confidence in the product or the service you sell. The more product knowledge you have the stronger your confidence will be. In turn this will help support your personal confidence. To become confident requires practice. ‘’ practice makes progress’’.

So, after all these years, what have I learnt, you don’t have to be pushy to succeed in sales.

Sales is a career, that allows you to meet the most amazing interesting people. It’s a career that is flexible and financially rewards success. It’s about building relationships.

Throughout my 30+ years sales journey, I have been able to meet so many different people from all walks of life, each with their own, unique story. The long-term relationships that have developed because of them has been a huge personal benefit to me. I also hold the view that while some might think sales as a solo career, my experience tells me it’s a team sport. You will learn from your colleagues, they will celebrate your success and they will lift you up on the tough days.

‘’Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you, becomes your trademark’’.