Achieving success in Sales Lesson 1: Is Sales the right career for you?

So, you are considering entering the world of the Sales Professional, eh?

Awesome!

It has been rightly said that Society would come to a grinding to a halt unless someone sold something somewhere … at a profit!

Let’s be absolutely clear here! I am not talking about those who sell merchandise over a counter inside a department store, or door to door selling.

I am looking at those highly motivated and skilled professionals who have:

1) a clearly defined territory to manage,

2) a specific sales target to reach each month.

3) a significant commission element radically changing their monthly income.

Such people literally make the (Western) World go around… but are you one of them?

So, before you embark on this significant and highly demanding career, let me share with you, as a former and highly successful salesman, what is required of you … personally!

‘Professional sales’ is a world of vivid contrasts!!

When you are ‘on target’ for your current month then the colors in the world around you are vivid and vibrant…. There’s a lightness in your heart, a little ‘giddy up’ in your step and Life will seem wonderful… until you consider how you can repeat your performance next month.

And when you are not on target and you have little prospects to achieve the sales the sales you have to make, you will feel like you walk inside a cloud of gloom… no matter how bright the sun is shining!

All that glitters ….

Many people, like I was, are attracted to “sales” when they are presented with an image that they aspire to enjoy. All that many ‘see,’ is ‘the company car,’ ‘an expense account’ for food & gasoline and ‘being able to stay in 4-star hotels’.

Let’s not forget there’s the attraction of the ‘incomes that can be achieved’ …. and all that these would provide.

What they do NOT see is that (On Target Earnings), means achieving a consistent record of repeat sales to qualify for bonuses.

What is also not generally understood is that achieving OTE in sales often imposes a very solitary lifestyle. This may be imposed by the size of your ‘patch’ or sales territory which can look like spending hours driving, (I used to drive 1000 miles a week!) It can also be due to the market acceptance of your product and the activity of your competitors. Along with this may be dealing with frustrations of your employer for failing to ‘back up’ the promises you make in good faith to your customers.

These can add up to you needing hours spent on your own … away from your friends and family!

However, if this describes something you think can handle, then perhaps you are on the right page, so now, let’s dig deep and explore what this world of Sales could mean for you. Let’s consider what will be expected of you and how can you personally meet the demands of your sales director or marketing CEO?

Let’s touch now on some areas:

Will you be required to work from home or an office?

You may have a local office to work out of…. and this will influence how you control your time. You may be part of a team and get the benefit of their ideas and support. However you may well have a local sales manager who will be able to monitor your activity.

Or if you are part of a large organization, you probably will probably be expected to work out of your home. This could have a major and possibly negative impact on both your family life and your business success. So, you will need to impellent a rigorous policy of separating home and work life. This is critical and we will cover this important aspect in later blogs.

Remember you are not alone!

Unlike nonprofit organizations such as those in local government, education or employees in retail stores…. when you are not working your territory, you are not earning!!

If you are not calling on your customer base, then your competitors probably are! Salesmen from the ‘competition’ will be after your customers, eroding your present and future income. This means that to be successful in Sales you need to have a driving and assertive attitude. Remember ‘success‘ only comes before ‘work‘ in a dictionary!

This means to be the equivalent of an “Energizer Bunny” using rechargeable batteries!

Are you married?

If you are married and have a family, you must maintain a strict division between work time and home time. To have a room designated as the ‘office’ and making it abundantly clear that when you are in there you are ‘at work’… and as soon as you step out you are ‘at home’. Failure to maintain this distinction leads to a blurring of the edges… and neither your work nor your family get 100% of you…. and ultimately that doesn’t work for anyone. (Believe me I know!!) Check if you will be required to spend time away from home?

Are you a ‘self-starter’?

Neither will you succeed in professional sales if you are not naturally a ‘self-starter’ – someone who can face disappointments and setbacks on a regular basis and ‘bounce back’ against them – and someone who is not prepared to work very hard!

It is perhaps the winning and losing of orders that most accentuates the emotional roller coaster of this industry. Demands will be made of you that will not really be fully understood by anyone who is not in the same field of work as you are…. So, putting it bluntly…significant relationships can suffer meaning successful salespeople are invariably single.

In Summary

So let’s summarize this aspect of this topic of a career in Sales. There’s no doubt that those who are involved in Sales are a vital part of our economy and there are indeed great rewards available to those who participate.

Equally there’s no doubt that while there are significant salaries to be made these will be well and truly earned through long hours and often a solitary… if not a lonely life.

However, if this does describe the lifestyle you want and you feel the challenges are something you can handle, then maybe you are on the right page! As you read on, I will pour into you the wisdom of my experience to maximize the rate at which you can achieve success. You may wish to consider getting more information available on the world of sales such as from here : https://amzn.to/3UTuPti

What is next?

In my next blog, Part 2, I will be again sharing more of how you can make a career in Sales work …. For YOU!

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