Everyone around us is trying to sell something

Most of them aren’t called as “salesmen”.

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One does not have to be in the profession of sales, to sell. The common perception of people regarding the act of selling and salespeople is very limited. The skewed perception of people towards the salespeople makes it even more difficult to understand their job. Sales is not a job exclusive to the people involved in sales and marketing. All of us, whose jobs are remotely related to sales and marketing, have done it at some point in our life. It does not have to be the way the salespeople do it. One does not have to go door to door or use flashy presentations.

How are we similar to salespersons?

• Let’s imagine a person is waiting at the reception of their dream company’s office. That person has waited for this day. In some time, they are going to be called in for the interview. But what exactly happens in an interview? I am assuming all of us know the answer. The person in the interview has to convince the interviewers that they will be a valuable asset to their company. They are selling themselves to the company. They talk about their work experience if they have any. They are selling their skill-set that the company requires.
• People not only sell but also market themselves. With the strides that social media has been making, it has only made it easier for people to be recognized for their prowess in various fields and gain popularity. LinkedIn is one such networking site where people connect with other people who can someday land them in their dream company or find like-minded people to start a new company.
• Budding companies or start-ups need to gain the confidence of the venture capitalists. That is when these companies receive their initial funding to transform an idea into a product that can bring a change in people’s lives for the better. In this process, we will focus on a very important task, called pitching your idea. Simply put, it is selling your idea to the investors. Pitching is exactly what salespeople do daily. They try to convince the customers that their product will be helpful in solving their problem.

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There are abundant real-life examples, which prove that the way we work is quite similar to that of the salespersons. It’s the designation that makes the difference.

Virtues that we share with that of salespersons

We are not only similar in the way we work in our daily lives, but also have common virtues. Often most of us demonstrate these virtues sporadically in our work places, but salespersons demonstrate all the time. Some of these virtues are described here, which make salespersons unique to the professional sphere.

• Conviction — A salesperson must display a strong sense of faith in what they are doing and the service that they sell. A person who has great conviction in whatever task they take up, have always performed well. A salesperson’s confidence is an outcome of their conviction in the service that they sell. Similarly, when we work hard to achieve something, without the conviction it will always be an incomplete effort. Hence, the output will never be as great as we desire it to be.
• Persistence — We have always been taught that we must never give up. We should continue to give our best even the chances of succeeding are bleak. A salesperson will face a lot of rejection initially. But, if they give up soon, they won’t become a good salesman. The next customer might be willing to buy the service and the deal could have been closed. Every individual pursues something and strives to be the best. They must not lose hope, even when it seems like they are spiraling down in an abyss of failure.
• Empathy — Of all the people involved in various professions, salespersons are arguably the most empathetic people. To sell a service or a product, one must ensure that it helps the customer to solve their problem. People buy things either to celebrate happiness or to alleviate themselves from pain. When in pain, we must listen to people and be considerate of them. Salespersons are required to listen to people. They listen to people’s problems and then talk about their service or product, in terms of its specific problem-solving capabilities.

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Role of salespeople

When a company launches a product and it is the company’s first since its inception, will people really know about the product? People would have hardly heard the name of the company, let alone the product. It is not sufficient to just build a product. If building a product is a milestone for the company, then boosting the reach of the product to the people is a bigger milestone to achieve. Often people do not realize the worth of the product. Especially, when the product is launched by an unknown company. Even if it is a product launched by a company, reputed for innovation and bringing positive change to people’s lives, the utility of the product is not explicit in nature. That is when the sales and marketing department plays a crucial role in boosting the reach of the product to a wide range of sections of the society.

How do they do it?

• Door-to-door selling — This is one of the basic ways of boosting the reach of a newly launched product. People often have a skewed opinion of this job and the people involved with it. But, this job is a tough one. The salespersons are required to make the customers understand the utility of the product and make them realize the worth of the product. People will be reluctant to believe in the salespersons. Especially, when a company is a small company this is one of the ways of advertising the product.
• Social Media Marketing — With the advent of internet and the recent strides in social media, it has become easier to connect with vast variety of communities. As opposed to advertising, this is more personal in nature as the people on social media can directly interact with the company. This may not be similar to door-to-door selling, given that a lot of companies provide software solutions and deliver software products. It is important that they enough popularity on the internet. When a lot of people talk about the company, that is when a lot of people would be willing to try a new service of a company.
  Salespersons have to be always in contact with their clients and make sure that they are having the best experience. Their job doesn’t end at closing deal with their client. They also have to make sure the company is delivering the best possible services. Consequently, a trust between the company and the client is built, which eventually helps the company to boost their image in the market.

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In the end, we all have done things similar to what a salesperson does all the time. We sell, we market ourselves in the society. We convince people that our ideas are not just mere ideas, but disruptive ideas. We are all humans who strive to be the best in this world which is competitive in nature.

We are all the same.