Know how to sell is not the same of selling at any cost
I wanna start this text talking a little about the image of the work of salesman here in Brazil, specially about the selling´s act perception, this action usually happens when we go to malls, street shops or even in sales catalogs.
When I was teenager, in Brazil, legalized worked is permitted just when you are 16 years old, we used to print resumes, and the first place we start our “summer job” was as salesman at malls or telemarketing operators. Nowadays, this roles are negatively perceived, people talk about it like an underemployment. Usually the main requirement was good looking and familiarity about computers.
Well, now you are asking yourself what a hell this is related to Design? It is not, but it is related to the act of selling. Nowadays department stores were spread and are less of this kind of job, but unfortunately, Brazilian people still see the job of salesman as an underemployment, specially if you do that in a way independently of any company.
People used to connect the image of salesman to a person inconveniently friendly, with a smile all the time and there is a saying here that is something like that: “a good salesman is capable of sell ice cream at Alaska”, it means they will say, do, appear anything to convince you to buy.
I start my job life in those jobs, but I tried to understand the client´s necessities, explain the differences between products besides the price, and sometimes indicate products. What a few people think about this situation is that is crucial to any kind of business. Sell is to close deals. It should n´t be something shameful, embarrassing. In my opinion it is a failed concept, and when you think this way you are missing several of good opportunities, it is a mindset we have to change.
Time goes by, years to be honest, and I became a designer. And when I started at the area, I worked in graphic shops and after that, for several years inside marketing area. People outside marketing area saw us like a separated part of the company, the cool part, or the cherry of the cake of the company. To be honest I think it was specially because the events and gifts. But the truth is, we as marketing area, have a mindset focused on sells, and we care a lot about that, and we though it as a serious, important e great job. And usually, designers don´t think like that, designers used to think that sell is not part of our jobs, and again, I think it is very wrong, and several times that I expressed it, I was misjudge.
The sales force is one of the most important areas inside any company, the salesman is the reflection of the company, in serious and important companies, every employee looks at them with respect and they are very integrated with all areas, they are known as the person at the elevator that you see every day and receive a large smile and a louder good morning even when you don´t know his name.
As a designer, I produced several jobs for the sales force, specially when comes to incentive programs, but suddenly I realized that my behavior changed, I don´t identified myself as the nice and friendly person that one day was a salesman too. I was kind, attentive and polite, nothing else.
And as I´m doing this reflection, I see this is very normal, with all types of persons, specially when you are the new employee, and you don´t know the company, the values, the team, how to interact, etc. But, to be honest, in all this years I observed that behavior in designers, and we have the tendency of not change. We are known in the company as the person who delivery arts, help on events, give gifts, talk with people when no one at the marketing area are available, etc.
This fact became a problem in my career, and I just realized it, a few years ago, to be precised at 2015, because in my private life I turned 30 years-old. And I had a desire to have my own place and do a master degree. And I haven´t money enough to do both, and I wanna a promotion or an increase in my salary.
Unfortunately, inside at medium and small company marketing structures, as one designer, consequently there wasn´t a career plan. And because that, to increase my profit I always changed from company to company until realize this fact.
As I moved to company from company, most of the time, my role, my experience and my responsibilities was increasing, but the payment didn´t follow this path.
At the year of 2016 I decided to get a plan to change this situation, specially because I´m was/I´m in the 30´s and I worked in the area since I have 18 years old.
Above I share a video with a part of my trajectory until right now, give a check on it:
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