by Joseph Wardy

Created on: May 14, 2009   Last Updated: May 22, 2009

How do we know that sales is a challenge? Despite an environment of mass job losses, their remains opportunities for careers in sales. This perspective will offer suggest challenges based on personal experiences as an independent training consultant selling training services and an observer of successful sales professionals. I offer four suggestions:

1) In the mid 1980"s I worked for Merrill Lynch as a training manager. But armed with an a Master of Business graduate degree in Finance, i thought my dream would be to be stockbroker for a brokerage firm. When given an opportunity to interview with a gruff sales manager in New York, he discovered a clink in my armor. He said, " So you want to be a broker ,huh. I don't think so. Your a shrinking violet and shrinking violets don't succeed when rejected hundreds of times day in and day out" Do you still want to be a broker"/Because i didn't respond back with tenacity, I was never offered the opportunity. Lesson to be learned: Successful sales people do not take rejection personally and see as a way to worker harder toward success. Sales is a single minded focus on the end result of exceeding the quota as compensation is usually based on tangible production.

2) The mindset of results is balanced with the process of service and follow up. In a survey conducted by Forum Corporation, a salesperson spend 80 percent of their time selling and only 2o percent i n a service capacity. Result: the average unhappy customers who feel neglected typically share their unhappiness with eleven other people. In this case, the sales professional won the battle of the sale but lost the war of goodwill and the continuation business due to not developing a relationship.

3) It is true that sales professionals are good talkers but at the end and not the beginning. Meaning: Successful sales professionals listen intently to the customer need and probe deeply in order to suggest a recommendation that is right for the customer. In some cases, it may require the sales professional to follow up in order to allow the customer the needed space.

4) On a personal level,I have discovered a measure of success through networking. By networking here I mean to get to know the customer personally. When is her birthday? When is his anniversary? What are the customers interests outside their work? Why not send card through the mail, writer a personal letter . mail an article of interest. Please note that Ronald Reagan was a great salesperson because he wrote handwritten letters to people he cared about. Food for thought.

I hope one of these suggestions has practical value for you!

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