Hey guys. It’s been a little bit since my last post. I thought I would get back ‘on the wagon’ (or off the wagon…whichever one it is.)
Todays rant is all about Salespeople. I was a sales person for a number of years and there’s a few conclusions I came up with. Instead of going on a rant about everything I dislike about sales, I thought I would write about what I actually like about sales.
There’s More Than One Type Of Salesman
My first job out of college was in radio sales for a small radio station. It was a pretty cool gig and probably the only ‘sales’ job I could see myself taking. In the beginning, I was given book after book after book about sales. Some were all right and some were bad. Books that talked about personality types, techniques like ‘mirroring’ and the like. I found there was a lot of great information I got out of it, but I didn’t quite agree with all the conclusions and methods.
There are a lot of different types of sales people out there. Some are sharks, some are shady, still others are sincere. Some industries even have a high turn-over of sales people. They get you hired, let you sell to your family and friends, and then when that ‘well runs dry’ they either quit or move on to somewhere else.
I don’t think I was a necessarily a good salesman, but I know I was a competent. What I learned over time was how to use my strengths to be a good salesman. One of the first rules of sales is that you actually have to ‘believe’ in what you’re selling. Therefore, I needed to believe in what I was selling and do it with integrity.
That being said, I wanted to help people and I had a great tool (the radio station) that I sincerely believed could do that. The way I saw it, I had some amazing tools at my disposal (the radio station) and my knowledge and skills in advertising and marketing. I could actually help local businesses with this tool-set. Many small businesses don’t have the time or energy to put into marketing or advertising. Sure, I had to make a living, but what better way to do that? Of course, it’s what I’m passionate about and knowledgable with.
I also hate cold calls, hounding people, etc. My time and skill set are worth something and I think they’re pretty special and not be undervalued. Therefore, if someone didn’t want to talk to me or I had to ‘hound’ someone then they didn’t deserve my knowledge.
Conclusion
I loved the clients that respected and appreciated my skill set. To a certain extent, if someone didn’t respect what I was doing, then why would they work with me (and vice versa.) Believe in what you’re doing and why you’re doing it and find the people who appreciate it.
