A sales career can be a highly lucrative undertaking. Of all the jobs you may select from when graduating from college with a business or liberal arts degree, sales could be one of the highest-paying, but only if you are good at it. Anyone can be a good salesperson given the proper education and training. However, if you are extroverted and have good persuasion skills, you are at a distinct advantage in this field.
Step1
Learn your product line upside down and inside out. This means that, if you are working in a manufacturing industry, you need to work on the production line for a day or two, spend time in customer service learning about the product issues and complaints and, if yours is a non-tangible product, studying the information until you have memorized it. A salesperson who does not know the product can be a detriment to the company instead of an asset. So, learn everything you are allowed to learn and then some.
Step2
Model good sales behavior in other successful people. Spend time with the best salesperson your company has so you can learn her techniques and systems for meeting the sales goals and quotas. Use this person as your professional mentor and ask her advice when you get on the job in your own territory. Use the valuable resources available to you.
Step3
Expect to work long hours with meager return at the outset of establishing a sales route, area or new product line. You will be spending many hours on the job, perhaps on the road and may not see great returns at first. Tenacity is the name of the game in sales. If you stick with it, get to know your potential customers and work well with your internal people, you will prevail in time. Don't give up too soon on a client.
Step4
Satisfy your existing customers on a routine basis. Ask for their product feedback regularly and respond to it as needed. If quality issues are a concern, meet with the quality department or production staff to initiate changes or corrections to the specifications. Get help from engineering if you need it. You are the customer's advocate and need to keep their best interests a priority.
Step5
Be open, friendly and cooperative on the job with everyone. Sure, you need to be strong willed and make your points stick, but you can't do it by beating people over the head. Schmoozing is the salesman's specialty. Learn how to get along with everyone and get things done at the same time. It is a big challenge, especially when the people you are dealing with do not report to you, but you are capable and can handle it.
Step6
Make good on all your promises to the customer. If you cannot make something happen, tell them so. Empty promises are the potential downfall of any good salesperson. If you allow this to happen, you will lose trust and face with your customer and they will look elsewhere for someone who they can trust.
Step7
Play your cards right. Be persistent first, last and always. Do it in a nice way, but make that follow up phone call and do all your homework on time. People buy from people who work hard and ask for the sale. If you play your cards right, you will make and keep the sales coming.
- Do learn from the best. Mimic people who are successful in sales and you will succeed too.
- Don't be rude or annoying. Occasional polite phone calls as friendly reminders are the best way to win over your customers.
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