Stop selling, start helping.

In over 25 years in sales, I estimate seeing 50–60 salespeople/colleagues come and go . This means they come into the profession with hopes and dreams and leave when it does not work out.

The challenge of finding a stable career in sales comes down to a few things. Lack of training is one, lack of focus on the skills required to be successful is another, unrealistic expectations is a third. Perhaps the most critical mistake of all is the definition of the job.

A salesperson is responsible for generating revenue. Sales refers to the exchange of a product, or service for money. Traditionally, a salesperson is defined as someone who persuades someone else on a transaction.

Therein lies the first obstacle to a nice career in sales.

Persuasion. Day in day out, it can get tiring to wake up with the sole purpose of convincing others. As a salesperson, I can share features of the product or service, I can anticipate and answer questions, but persuade?

Who wants to be convinced? The old saying is true, many love to buy but hate being sold.

For the sake of clarity: sales is less about selling and more about helping.

Helping the customer understand how they can benefits from the service or product.

Sales can be a very rewarding career in many ways. Especially when you commit to helping those who could benefit from what you are offering.

Stop selling, start helping.

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog