Sales people are under-rated in society and in organisations. It’s a vital part of the machine, and a few precious people have the gift. Every company could make more if they could only sell it, so selling is the limiting factor for nearly every one. So it’s only right that sales people are paid A LOT. If you think it’s unfair, go and be a sales person!
But could you do it? Unless your friends have always told you that you’ve got the gift of the gab, how do you know if there’s a career for you as a sales person?
And also, if you’re self employed, then you’ll have to sell AND do – but what if you have something you want to do but you’re not sure if you can sell it??
Here are four thoughts on selling as a skill, or even a career:
- Selling is just a process, and anyone can learn it. I’ve made some online sales courses that you can for example buy on Udemy for $15. Each step is learnable and doable by anyone. You might not find it as easy as some people, and you might not ever be world class like some naturally talented individuals, but just like riding a bike or playing the guitar, you CAN learn to do it, …anyone can.
- Non-sales people make the best sales people! The art is to not seem like a sales person. The art is to be similar to the customer. So Engineers or Lawyers or Bricklayers or HR Managers don’t want a sales person, they want someone who thinks the same way that they do. They want someone who understands them and can help them. And so you can just be yourself, be a person who listens to them and helps them.
- Sales is a really useful skill, whatever you end up doing in life. Any job that involves meeting customers has a selling component, and in fact you’re always selling because every meeting involves an element of persuasion. Influencing and selling are almost the same, and they are well worth getting good at.
- Selling is actually fun: making new friends and helping them is very satisfying. I love finding out what training outcomes a customer is looking for and suggesting ways I could help them – maybe we jointly design a clever new training course, and that’s exciting.
PS – Are you considering getting into training? Would being a freelance trainer suit you? Get more information here: www.becometrainers.com
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