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| The Soft Sell on Sales
Daryl Smith
Oct 01,2003
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| Ingrid Kuester will never forget the first door she knocked on.
“It was awkward – I was definitely out of my comfort zone,” she remembers of her start selling textbooks door-to-door for Southwestern Company. “It was hard trying to build a rapport with a stranger, getting them to like me and like my products.” But Kuester persevered – she discussed the merits of her products with the family and walked away that morning with her first sale.
By the end of the summer, she had earned $28,000
Sales is like the Rodney Dangerfield of career choices – it just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. “The fact is that Sales is not recognized as a profession,” says Anna Fredericks of the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA). “There are a few bad apples and everyone gets tarnished by the same brush.” But those willing to look beyond the stereotypes of pyramid scheme pushers and shifty real estate hustlers can enjoy a challenging, stable career in a wide range of fields.
Salespeople are always in demand.
“Nothing happens in the world unless a sale is made,” notes Brian Lambert, President of the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA). “Every job out there relies on someone to sell something.” That means companies need salespeople, regardless of the economic climate, to act as the link to the customers. He points to the current conditions in the American economy, where corporations are cutting back on staff in the face of declining growth but maintaining employment in the sales area. “Right now in a down economy, companies are scrambling to increase market share, and they need sales and marketing to do that.”
The figures certainly bear that out. According to Human Resources Development Canada, the average yearly salary for a university graduate working in Sales is $37,000, higher than the national average. That number rises to an average of $60,000 a year once the salesperson has moved into a managerial position.
Salespeople come from all backgrounds.
Tony Walker is a recruitment specialist for Pitney Bowes, one of the world’s largest shipping solutions firms. As part of his job, he travels to universities and colleges to speak with students about sales positions within his organization. While he admits that business backgrounds are preferred, he argues that any degree program will provide students with the skills to be successful in the field. “We have people from non-business backgrounds that have done very well in sales. I think the biggest reason is they have no preconceived ideas. They’re very moldable. To be good at sales you need to be very disciplined and organized about your time. It’s a transition that students make very easily, because they’re used to disciplining and structuring themselves.”
Lambert agrees Sales careers are available for graduates of all backgrounds. “The interesting thing about sales is that it’s probably the most diverse profession out there and it encompasses areas of almost every college degree. So the more broad the background the better, but they have to have an understanding of business and what drives the dollar,” he says. He cites the fact that many graduates in technical fields, such as science and engineering, have become successful in Sales simply because they have a solid understanding of the high-tech products they’re selling.
Salespeople have a variety of careers.
Being a salesperson doesn’t mean sitting in an office all day. It also doesn’t mean spending months in rental cars driving from coast to coast. Because of the range of industries that need salespeople, the working conditions and products vary considerably from one job to the next.
Those interested in a sales career can work in a number of different industries, including retail, wholesale, financial and real estate. Those selling financial services generally work in offices under extremely high-pressure conditions, with the possibility of excellent earnings over a short period of time. Sales representatives working in manufacturing, however, often spend a great deal of time on the road, meeting new clients and conducting sales calls.
There are also different types of sales jobs. Inside Sales specialists will work with clients who have already done business with a company and try to maintain and expand on that relationship. Outside sales, however, requires finding clients that have no previous association with the organization. It’s a career that, according to Lambert, can be both challenging and rewarding. “It means actually having to plan and execute your whole day on someone else’s turf. So if you’re an outside sales rep, you’ve got to have great time management skills and logistics. You might have to manage a mobile office in your car. You’ve got to think on your feet and really know your technology.”
Salespeople are always learning.
We’ve all heard stories about ‘born salesmen’, people who were hawking prescription pharmaceuticals while they were still in diapers. Whether the ability to sell can actually be taught continues to be a matter of contention. “There is no such thing as a born salesman,” says Walker, arguing that it requires training to understand and deal with the needs of the customer.
Anna Fredericks takes a slightly different view “There’s only so much you can teach – a lot of it is instinctive or intuitive in how you handle people. So if you have really good people skills, chances are you’re going to be good at sales,” she contends. “I would say it’s about 50-50.” Despite these differences in opinion, both acknowledge that a salesperson needs to have a certain set of skills in order to do their job successfully.
One major requirement is the ability to communicate a product’s importance to potential clients. It involves confidence, strong interpersonal skills and the ability to handle rejection. Trey Campbell, Director of Marketing for Southwestern Company, which recruits university students to sell educational books door-to-door, remembers one salesperson that broke a company record by earning $74,000 USD within14 weeks. “Her confidence and her attitude were everything,” he explains. “She went into each house expecting the family to purchase. Every salesperson is going to have a certain amount of persistence, because if you take ‘No’ the first time, you won’t be successful. She would say ‘Maybe you haven’t heard about us, I’m selling these study guides. Let me show you them real quick.’ And she’ll do a demo right there on the porch.”
In his work with the American Sales Association, Lambert pinpointed seven different knowledge areas – including technology, time management and business management –salespeople need to have at least some expertise in. As he notes, “any one of these areas could be a career in itself. The problem is that in comparison to other careers, there is very little industry-specific training for salespeople. You have to understand that this isn’t one of those professions where there’s a lot of leeway for mediocrity. You have to have personal responsibility and accountability for yourself. And a lot of companies don’t provide sales people with the training they need, so they have to go out and get it.”
But while there are few schools that offer degrees in sales, a number of companies do provide training courses. Southwestern Company conducts a four-day session before the sales season to teach their new employees how to sell. “It was an amazing training,” says Casey Sanders of the experience. “There were hundreds of college students in this big auditorium with motivational speakers. You learn a lot but they also motivate you to sell.”
The CPSA has also begun offering a training program for those interested in honing their skills. ‘They can take courses in six different areas,” explains Fredericks. The program focuses on developing the skills that are necessary for a successful sales career. At the end of it all, participants emerge with a designation that has typically been absent from Sales – professional certification.
Salespeople are helping shape the future.
In spite of all the technological and economic changes that have occurred over the last few decades, salespeople still require the same basic skills to achieve success. Brian Lambert, however, sees a trend on the horizon. “Salespeople will become more service-oriented to their communities. One of the misconceptions is that all salespeople care about is money, but I’ve seen a shift. There are many people in my organization who have made a lot money but feel there’s something missing. I think salespeople in the future are going to understand that because of their responsibilities, they can give back.”
After spending five summers working in sales for Southwestern and graduating with a degree in Advertising, Ingrid Cuester is staying on as an Associate Sales Leader, recruiting and training new students. And while she’s not completely sure what she’ll do in the future, she feels the skills she’s learned as a salesperson will help her navigate any career path. “If I can motivate myself to see 30 families every day and sell them my products,” she says, “then I can do anything.” jp
For more information:
HRDC Labour Market Information: jobfutures.ca/en/home.shtml
Canadian Professional Sales Association: www.cpsa.com
United Professional Sales Association: en1.endiva.net/upsa_national/ |
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