10 Things They Don’t Tell You About Sales

After 15 years in the workforce, I never saw myself in the profession of sales and certainly didn’t feel association of being a salesman was a compliment but following stints in hospitality, retail, technical service and account management the evolution seems complete. I still don’t appreciate sales people hovering when I enter a store but I have come to value the importance and misunderstanding of the profession, sales.

Today I am in direct B2B sales and I love it.

That said, I wish someone had given me more insight into the realities of this chosen career path so here are 10 Things They Don’t Tell You About Sales

Note: This will be known by people in the field but words for those considering sales as a career.

•   You must embrace pressure!

Anyone in sales will tell you about the intense pressure to hit targets. Unlike many roles, sales performance is almost exclusively measured by your results. Love it or hate it, there is no escaping. If you have a competitive nature and enjoy pushing yourself in comparison to others, this role is for you.

•   Soft skills better be second to none!

Understanding body language, tone, reading between the lines and having plenty of emotional intelligence is an important skill in sales. Whether you are an extrovert that has the gift of the gab or you are an introvert like me that thinks, plans and prefers to listen, this position is more about people than products.

•   It is a marathon and not a sprint!

Only foolish people think sales is about the quick wins. In today’s environment whereby savvy clients have options aplenty and do thorough research it is all about the relationship. It will take time to build your connections, reputation and portfolio of examples. The most successful contacts I have in sales have worked in the industry for years and nurtured the relationship over time. 

•   Your team will help you succeed!

Sales people are generally looked upon as an independent role where you work alone. This in my humble opinion couldn’t be further from the truth. A sales professional will utilize all available resources at their disposal. Fostering internal specialized assets to help their performance. If you know me professionally, you will know that I bring in those for their area of expertise. Average sales people only concern themselves about external relationships, high performing sales people foster internal relationships too.

•   Focus your time on mutually beneficial partnerships and not tire kickers!

Anyone in sales will tell you that prioritizing is paramount. Yes, you want to focus on the big fish but you also want to increase wallet spend from the medium ones to more and the no spend customers to something as targets are normally based on growth. We will also learn to read the ones solely looking for budget exercises or going through the motions to get a better deal from their incumbent. A true professional does not want to hurt the industry or go into loss leading pricing. If a client wants service and support, we need to acknowledge discounting should stop at some point. Thankfully in my career I haven’t seen any colleague trying to extort with price but I have seen customers continue to push the line for the best deal and end with the level of service paid for.

•   The sale is the easiest part of the job!

Sure, there are salesmen that drop you the minute the purchase order has come in but for the ones that understand relationships, sales is about more than the sale. It is about ensuring we can deliver (with stock) to meet your requirements (solution fit) and more often than not it becomes project management and account management. I hope all my clients understand that I will ensure their proof of concepts work and the solution fits in their environment.

•   Sales is an art and science (with a little luck)

This is the only position I know of, whereby you can inherit either a splendid pipeline of sales or absolutely nothing tarnishing your results. Yes, I believe it is a science by work ethic and numbers but I also will attest to it being an art with there being an X factor you simply cannot teach.

•   Believe in what you are selling!

In addition to being in sales, I am also a customer in everyday life. My parents taught me this lesson early in my years that if you don’t believe in what you are selling you won’t have the passion and we all are influenced by family and friends so when I think about a client I think what would I recommend to my brother, mother or friend? I don’t change my pitch because I truly believe what I am saying. Gone are the shady car salesmen. Building a reputation means building trust through honesty, integrity and delivering on your word.

•   Be authentic and who you are!

Nobody can tell you exactly how to be a salesman. Not really. The key to being successful is not copying others or being robotic with your emails but being yourself. Truly successful sales people are remembered for their individuality. Some of my clients will know that I support the All Blacks and recently went to an amazing French restaurant. They will see a person behind the sale and I, in turn, see how our products and services enable the client/organization to do more. That is not to say I am a big fan of chit chat but I do believe in the personal touch.

•   Trial and error is part of the process!

Nobody knows it all. I know of sales coaches that have never done the role. Management a long time removed from the front line and what may work for me in my industry would fail miserably in another. There are a multitude of approaches and I have developed considerably by trialing a range of approaches cold calling and with emails. I can even recall the disaster ones I cringe to this 

Thank you for reading my article.

Agree or disagree? Did I miss anything? Wish to add?

#career #change #advice #tips #insights #sales #management #newbies