Why you should be in sales
I often ask myself why the job titles ‘sales’ and ‘salesperson’ have such negative connotations. It’s almost a dirty word, people even feel sorry for you when you tell them you work in sales. But why?
Sadly, many of the negative associations people have with this job title are based in reality - but I would argue less and less so these days, and would also argue that we all need to learn to be sales people, especially in our working lives.
Indeed, many of us already are, we simply don’t know it.
Back in the late 90s, I went with a friend, Georgina, to buy a car. She’d seen a second-hand VW Golf for sale at a dealership in Manchester, had called to ask about it and took me with her to view it. We soon found ourselves surrounded by the stereotypical ‘pushy’ salesmen (yes, all men, of course) who seemed to think that telling Georgina that the colour definitely suited her and that it was really easy to park (oh yes, they said that) would definitely clinch the deal. They even offered to fit a set of teddy bear alloys. I mean, WTAF? They spoke over her questions about average mileage, told her she needn’t worry about its service history and promised everything was fine when she asked about its last MOT. Needless to say, we left. Georgina took her money elsewhere and found a smashing little MG Midget we had a lot of fun with.
We are all salespeople
It’s experiences like these that make sales a dirty word. But actually, have a think - sales is merely the art of persuasion, and we use persuasion in a myriad of ways, on a daily basis. You ‘sold’ yourself when you applied for your current role, didn’t you? You may have ‘sold’ the idea of your last family holiday to your partner or children, trying someplace new and exciting. What about taking an idea to your boss, or convincing your mother to go to your brother’s for Christmas, or talking your team into staying late to finish a project, or convincing your 16-year-old they really should get a part-time job?
As women, we’re particularly aware that we rarely have the power to demand, to insist, to simply state what’s going to happen. We have had to become persuaders and our skills of persuasion - of selling - become more and more honed and finely tuned until we don’t realise we’re doing it.
I started my career in telesales. I had a one day course on the basics of sales, then was thrown onto the phones to sell our product to unsuspecting purchasing managers across the country. I was blithely advised by my manager that for every 30 phone calls I made, I would average one sale and three sales a day would get me my bonus, so crack on. I hated it. I hated the need for speed, the need to push past all objections without really giving them space to breathe, the need to be constantly looking for ‘buying signals’, to go in for the close the moment I spotted one - all because of that 30 calls equals one sale demand. I even had a sheet where I had to write down who I had called, on what number and what they said - and was watched like a hawk. Suffice to say I left quite soon - but straight into another sales job. This time though I knew what questions to ask in the interview, so I wasn’t jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
My career in sales taught me a lot - not least to have massive respect for people who work in sales. It’s not easy, trust me!
BUT - and you knew there would be a ‘but’, my time in sales was also the most powerfully formative part of my working life. I learned to listen. I learned to read the room. I learned to really take the time to understand what my clients wanted and needed (and there is often a difference) and I learned that taking time to do all these things pays dividends. I also learned that selling is actually helping your customer. I became the best in my team, then the best in my division, then the best in my company. And then I was able to follow my dream, open my skin clinic, and launch my own range of skincare. Imagine if I didn’t advise a client which treatment or product was right for them because I didn’t want to ‘sell’ to them; I’d be doing them a terrible disservice.
Lean in
What I really want you to take from this is that you should lean in to your persuasiveness. Tou should recognise it and enhance it. Here are my top tips, from years of experience, on how to sell:
How to be a great salesperson
Know your customer
Whether you are taking an idea to your manager or convincing your child to eat their broccoli, you need to understand their motivations as well as your own. Listen carefully to everything they say.
Understand the value of your idea
What does your idea bring that meets the needs of your customer? If you have really thought your proposal through, you will instinctively know what makes it a good idea. What might sell it to your customer might not be the same thing as sells it to you, however. Consider all aspects - including cost. Often within business the bottom line is ‘how much does it cost?’ At home too, to be fair! Be prepared to adapt and adjust your proposal - if possible avoid constructing an ‘all or nothing’ offer. Compromise wins business.
Ask questions and be sure you have answers
Any selling pitch has to be a conversation, in fact before you make your pitch, make sure you know why you are there and what is in it for the customer. Make your pitch, but then be prepared for questions, and ask questions in return. In this way both parties can be assured the other is listening and respecting the process.
This in essence is what sales people call ‘overcoming objections’. If you have a sensible answer to all possible objections, it becomes harder and harder to object. And you know what they say, every objection is in fact, a buying signal - if they really aren’t interested they’ll tell you right at the start, no debate. And if you still end with a no, at least you will understand why - and there might be another opportunity for you to present your idea/proposal/you on a new day.
Next time you need to make something happen, remember - sales isn’t a dirty word, it’s a valuable life skill we all could benefit from enhancing.