Your Sales Career

 

by Dan Ramsey

“I've been in sales for six months now and have sold lots of things: my house, my car, my boat …”

Selling is a difficult profession that will challenge your feelings of self-worth, your relationships, and your bank account — especially if some or all of your income is derived from commissions.

If you are considering a job in sales, think of it as the beginning of a career — a long-term progression of jobs that will take you to your personal and financial goals. As you develop your sales career, you will develop the things, listed previously, that make a good seller.

Where to Start Your Career

Many sales careers begin in areas of prior training or personal interest. Following are some examples.

• Computer programmers can sell software programs wholesale or retail.
• Well-traveled people can sell travel services.
• Banking and financial employees can sell financial services.
• Health care professionals can sell medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, health insurance, or other health-related products and services.
• People with economic or business degrees can sell financial products or services.
• Construction trades people can sell real estate, building materials, tools and equipment, or related services.
• Auto mechanics can sell tools, parts, or auto repair services.
• Experienced retail clerks can sell to wholesale accounts.

You get the picture. Use your own training, experience, and interests to map out a career in sales that offers progressively more opportunities to help people buy. Many people start their sales career at the retail level to determine if they have the desire and personal skills to be successful. If they don't, they either go out and get them or they choose another career. Sales isn't for everyone.
 

Life Is Sales Everyone can benefit from understanding the sales process and how things are sold. Consumers can make better buying decisions by understanding the approaches that sellers use. Basic sales techniques, inherently understood by most people, can be useful in relationships and even in other careers. Simplified sales methods can be used to help children accept household rules or to explain your political positions to friends. In addition, many other professions use the principles of persuasion and sales in their fields. Actors are persuaders. So are waiters, doctors, mechanics, and many others who don't officially work in the sales trade. They all can benefit from learning the basics of sales.

What is selling? It's a noble profession that helps buyers and sellers solve their problems. With your current knowledge, the ability to learn new skills, and diligence, you can proudly tell others that you are “in sales.”