So you want to be a Sales Person

Making a Career Choice to become a Professional Sales Person

I read somewhere recently that sales or being a salesperson is an accidental profession (Sean Weafer) and I would have to agree. I have yet to meet a person that made the conscious decision to become a sales person, sales rep, salesman/woman etc. Its usually something people fall into or start into for their firs job and it progresses and takes over. Then leading to maybe going to a professional sales body and getting some formal training.

The great news is, and lets us be very clear about this from the start, the world would not revolve without good sales people, no organisation would exist without sales people. They say that the oldest profession in the world is prostitution, well if that's the case then that makes sales the oldest profession.

Every company in the wold depends on revenue and that revenue is generated by the sales people in the company. Look at the first page of a company balance sheet and you will find the Turnover of the company, and the cost of Sales and the Sales of the company, these figures do not just appear, they are generated and generated by people , Sales people.

Sales is part of every piece of communication that we take part in , we are constantly selling ourselves in our job no matter what you do , getting a promotion you have to sell yourself as the right candidate for the job, A baby looking for food cries for it in order to sell you the idea that they are hungry. A Teenager buys an aftershave to wear to sell them self to a girl they have a crush on. ( and yes your scent is selling you to your surrounding).

Sales is a great profession and can be very rewarding financially and personally, it can also be very pressurised and stressful, but the good news is that you can choose which end of the sales spectrum you want to work at. Yes, John but which end of the spectrum is dependent on what I am selling or who I'm working for , Nooooooooo !!!! it is dependent on YOU, your planning, your skills, your knowledge, your organisation, your interest in solving problems.

Are sales people born or created, my personal belief is that it is a bit of both erring on the side of created. There are skills that we learn growing up that we can use in sales but are not aware that these skills are very important in a sales process they come naturally to some people, for others they have to learn these skills. Building Rapport is an example.

So in conclusion, if you are thinking of becoming a professional sales person you should choose to be the best that there is , learn some basic skills that you need and build on them to become a professional problem solver because that's what professional sales people do, they solve problems and get paid for it. Skills like, building rapport, cold calling, time management, pricing, closing a sale, why people buy, presentation skills, networking, social selling, and there is more.

Thanks