Tweet

Sales - A test of character

Written by: Sue Barrett

Article Overview: I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn't always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn't have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to selling was what I really needed to prepare me for the future. In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson "Everyone lives by selling something'.

Sales - A test of character

I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn't always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn't have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to selling was what I really needed to prepare me for the future. In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson "Everyone lives by selling something'.

Over the years as my sales career evolved, I began to learn a lot more about myself and came to really appreciate the lessons I had learned in how to lead an honourable, successful career in sales.

Would I trade my experiences and tough lessons for something easier, more enjoyable? No not at all. I am glad I stuck with it because now I have a range of life skills that are serving me very well under many situations especially right now.

Make no bones about it Selling as a profession is a tough job because it requires self discipline, quick thinking, creativity, persistence, resilience and regular self reflection. As I have often said ‘Selling is not for the faint hearted'.

In pursuing a professional sales career, there is a lot to consider and integrate over time. You cannot learn how to do it well in 5 minutes. That is why I resonated with the article "Properties of the ideal global citizen" by Bernard Salt, which featured in The Australian (newspaper) 20 November 2008. In particular the final paragraphs of the article focused on what I would describe as a test of character.

As Bernard states in his article, an HR Director of a Paris-based financial institution was lamenting the flightiness of Generation Y wishing they would sometimes trust the organisation. This HR director went on to say that "sometimes professional and personal development is best advanced not by doing what individuals want but by doing what the organization wants them to do."

He continued, "Personal growth isn't always about doing what you want, or doing what is easy. It's sometimes about doing what is hard, by enduring, by overcoming, and by persisting. This is how true expertise is gained."

Like Bernard, I agree completely.

Over the next few years we need ourselves and our people to sell consistently and competently. This may not go down well with everyone in your business, but it is the reality - they all need to help with the sales initiative. Selling is one of the fundamental business functions we need to ensure is not left to chance

Making ‘selling' a part of your business skill set is critical regardless of your job title in today's busy and competitive world. I truly believe ethical, trust based selling skills are life skills you can use and apply anywhere in any role - personally or professionally.

While you cannot acquire someone else's sales experience and use it as your own, you can learn a sales process to accumulate your own experiences. To learn it well requires you to stick at it and persist. The current market conditions present a real opportunity to hone your selling skills and acquire this experience and you can only acquire the experience for yourself and it may be a test of character.

Enjoy it. Happy selling.

Related Articles
  "Talent Develops in Tranquility..."
  RIGHT THINGS BUILD YOU FOR LIFE TIME
  Out of Character: Surprising Truths about the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us
  Does Your Sales Training Program Pass or Fail the Rope Test?
  Does Your Sales Training Program Fail or Pass the Simple Rope Test?

Article Tags: 20 november, australian newspaper, bernard salt, bones, creativity, financial institution, generation y, global citizen, hr director, paragraphs, persistence, profession, professional sales, resilience, robert louis stevenson, sales career, self discipline, self reflection, tough job, tough times



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
test, test, test - Hi Sandy, The great thing about online marketing is that everything can be tested and you can quickly gauge if something is working or not. Run two tests, see if people respond better to the one option or the multiple options. Your customers will tell you which method they prefer and will vote with their wallets. Test your headlines, test your messaging, test your pricing, test your # of options - test everything! Good luck!
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: Traffic! How do you get it? - Hi Alan, Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to have a look. You have noticed that my old site is not as appealing as the new one and I will be endeavouring to balance them up a bit in the near future as cross promotion is very important to me as well. As you say, test, test and test again and discard what's not working. One thing I will not be doing is giving up as I am here for the long haul as I know you are too, thanks for the words of encouragement, best wishes, Mal.
Re: Lightbox Overlays -- a poll! - I don't think anybody in a poll would say a Lightbox Overlay that pops up after X seconds but if you test it out you'll likely get solid results from it. A simple A/B test as Jeff suggests is a great idea.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

What is Discretionary Cash Flow

Five keys to business success

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.