Get that Sales Job
Get that Sales Job
I don’t intend this to be an incitement for people to up sticks and seek pastures new unless now is the right time. A good reason for changing employer is that you have run out of things to learn. Another is when goals are miss-aligned and neither party is willing to compromise. If you are changing jobs for better remuneration, make sure you know what will be expected of you. Whatever your reason, if you observe the rules below, you will be much more likely to get the job you want.
Rule No. 1 – Decide whom you want to work for.
If no obvious answer leaps to mind, write down the characteristics of the type of company you want to work for. What industry or markets do they operate in? How big are they? Do you want to work in a fast paced, fast growth environment or are you interested in a little stability? What size is your ideal employer? How successful are they in terms of profit? What are your cultural preferences? Do you need to work in a disciplined environment or do you prefer the freedom to do it your way? Create a profile of your ideal employer but keep it grounded in reality. Your profile needs to be sufficiently similar to real companies so as not to exclude everyone.
Now that you have a profile, use your network of contacts and some time using your favourite internet search engine to identify a short list of candidates. You don’t need more than two or three companies who match your profile.
Rule No. 2 – Do your homework.
What is the Company’s goal and objectives for the next twelve months and what are their aims for the next several years? How is the Company funded and who makes the decisions about goals and objectives? What are the names of the executives and what are their records of achievement.
Rule No. 3 – Decide how you can help them reach their goals or objectives
Write down what you could do for them in terms of new market penetration and new business. If your skills are in account management and your aim is to have this type of role, explain how you can protect and develop existing business. Write down what you would actually do, step-by-step. Then explain why you will succeed in delivering the results you can promise.
Rule No. 4 – Plan your approach
Some organisations prefer to recruit through a particular agency and some would not consider candidates put forward in this way. Find out your target employer’s recruitment preferences. Your approach is unsolicited so it may be ignored or rebuffed. Plan a series of contacts over a period. Nothing impresses like persistence.
Begin with a letter addressed to the right person. Do this even if the Company usually uses an agency to filter applicants. Use your knowledge of the Company’s goals and objectives together with your work on what you would do for them, to write a compelling sales letter.
If you get no response within three days, telephone the person you wrote to. If you have difficulty getting through, email him or her. Leave it for a week or two and write a new letter, including different ideas or proposals. Follow up by email or telephone. If you are referred to an agency, focus your campaign on them. Switch back to the company if you fail to make progress with the agency. If you keep this up, you will either be granted an interview or be told to stop bothering them. Eight times out of ten, your persistence will lead to success.
Rule No. 5 – Prepare for the interview
The interviewer’s task is to eliminate candidates. Many fail to do this. Instead, they use their instincts to make up their minds. Be ready to use your communication skills to adapt for the interviewer and create rapport. Look for opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the Company’s purpose, people, and culture by asking intelligent questions or explaining how you found the information.
Make yourself easy to interview and hard to turn down. Quote verifiable facts about your performance record and abilities. Provide proof that you know how to fulfil the promises presented in your communications by explaining how you fulfilled similar promises in the past. Using facts and evidence to support your proposal will raise your credibility and diminish interviewer scepticism.
Proving sales competence is notoriously difficult. Answering the question, ‘What is the definition of sales competence?’, invites a thousand different answers. We are often asked, “Which of the Sales Exam competencies are most identified with top performers”? Results support the view that no common set of abilities distinguish successful sales people. Instead, those producing the best sales figures achieve outstanding scores in diverse aspects of sales competence.
You may be able to discern your strengths from the list of competencies below. Those who take the Sales Exam are equipped with measured results, independent verification, insightful feedback, and specific practical development instructions. Sharing Sales Exam results with an interviewer would provide empirical evidence of strengths, demonstrate an enthusiasm for selling, and show a willingness to be held accountable.
Answering common customer questions
Market and industry understanding
Customer and prospect understanding
Company understanding
Understanding and articulation of value
Proactive telephone prospecting
Networking for new sales opportunities
Opportunity qualification
Forecast accuracy
Organisation and time management
Sales methods used
Interpersonal communication skills
Objection handling, closing, and negotiation
Self-development
Attitude towards the job
Motivation to do the job
If you are already out of a job, you may be arguing that you don’t have the luxury of choice. Pretend that you do. Desperation is the pre cursor to many a mistake. Rules 2 through 5 are just as applicable, even if you are not in a position to choose your employer.
The ability of interviewers and the techniques they use to assess candidates, vary enormously. Often, too much depends on first impressions and chemistry. One thing is certain. When you face an interviewer, it is too late to prepare. Everything rests on the abilities and knowledge you have brought with you.
Questions and comments to Clive Miller
E-mail: info@salessense.co.uk
Web: www.salessense.co.uk
Tel: 0118 933 1357
1097 words
Get that Sales Job - To learn more about this author, visit Clive Miller's Website.
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The grass always appears greener on the other side of the fence. Had the goats in the fairy tale understood this, they might have avoided facing the troll altogether. As a sales manager, when recruiting I would discard CV’s that had more than two short hops, back to back. A ‘short hop’ meant two years or less with three or more companies consecutively. The implication is that the person can’t succeed in the role, has bad judgement, or is unreliable.
I don’t intend this to be an incitement for people to up sticks and seek pastures new unless now is the right time. A good reason for changing employer is that you have run out of things to learn. Another is when goals are miss-aligned and neither party is willing to compromise. If you are changing jobs for better remuneration, make sure you know what will be expected of you. Whatever your reason, if you observe the rules below, you will be much more likely to get the job you want.
Rule No. 1 – Decide whom you want to work for.
If no obvious answer leaps to mind, write down the characteristics of the type of company you want to work for. What industry or markets do they operate in? How big are they? Do you want to work in a fast paced, fast growth environment or are you interested in a little stability? What size is your ideal employer? How successful are they in terms of profit? What are your cultural preferences? Do you need to work in a disciplined environment or do you prefer the freedom to do it your way? Create a profile of your ideal employer but keep it grounded in reality. Your profile needs to be sufficiently similar to real companies so as not to exclude everyone.
Now that you have a profile, use your network of contacts and some time using your favourite internet search engine to identify a short list of candidates. You don’t need more than two or three companies who match your profile.
Rule No. 2 – Do your homework.
What is the Company’s goal and objectives for the next twelve months and what are their aims for the next several years? How is the Company funded and who makes the decisions about goals and objectives? What are the names of the executives and what are their records of achievement.
Rule No. 3 – Decide how you can help them reach their goals or objectives
Write down what you could do for them in terms of new market penetration and new business. If your skills are in account management and your aim is to have this type of role, explain how you can protect and develop existing business. Write down what you would actually do, step-by-step. Then explain why you will succeed in delivering the results you can promise.
Rule No. 4 – Plan your approach
Some organisations prefer to recruit through a particular agency and some would not consider candidates put forward in this way. Find out your target employer’s recruitment preferences. Your approach is unsolicited so it may be ignored or rebuffed. Plan a series of contacts over a period. Nothing impresses like persistence.
Begin with a letter addressed to the right person. Do this even if the Company usually uses an agency to filter applicants. Use your knowledge of the Company’s goals and objectives together with your work on what you would do for them, to write a compelling sales letter.
If you get no response within three days, telephone the person you wrote to. If you have difficulty getting through, email him or her. Leave it for a week or two and write a new letter, including different ideas or proposals. Follow up by email or telephone. If you are referred to an agency, focus your campaign on them. Switch back to the company if you fail to make progress with the agency. If you keep this up, you will either be granted an interview or be told to stop bothering them. Eight times out of ten, your persistence will lead to success.
Rule No. 5 – Prepare for the interview
The interviewer’s task is to eliminate candidates. Many fail to do this. Instead, they use their instincts to make up their minds. Be ready to use your communication skills to adapt for the interviewer and create rapport. Look for opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the Company’s purpose, people, and culture by asking intelligent questions or explaining how you found the information.
Make yourself easy to interview and hard to turn down. Quote verifiable facts about your performance record and abilities. Provide proof that you know how to fulfil the promises presented in your communications by explaining how you fulfilled similar promises in the past. Using facts and evidence to support your proposal will raise your credibility and diminish interviewer scepticism.
Proving sales competence is notoriously difficult. Answering the question, ‘What is the definition of sales competence?’, invites a thousand different answers. We are often asked, “Which of the Sales Exam competencies are most identified with top performers”? Results support the view that no common set of abilities distinguish successful sales people. Instead, those producing the best sales figures achieve outstanding scores in diverse aspects of sales competence.
You may be able to discern your strengths from the list of competencies below. Those who take the Sales Exam are equipped with measured results, independent verification, insightful feedback, and specific practical development instructions. Sharing Sales Exam results with an interviewer would provide empirical evidence of strengths, demonstrate an enthusiasm for selling, and show a willingness to be held accountable.
Answering common customer questions
Market and industry understanding
Customer and prospect understanding
Company understanding
Understanding and articulation of value
Proactive telephone prospecting
Networking for new sales opportunities
Opportunity qualification
Forecast accuracy
Organisation and time management
Sales methods used
Interpersonal communication skills
Objection handling, closing, and negotiation
Self-development
Attitude towards the job
Motivation to do the job
If you are already out of a job, you may be arguing that you don’t have the luxury of choice. Pretend that you do. Desperation is the pre cursor to many a mistake. Rules 2 through 5 are just as applicable, even if you are not in a position to choose your employer.
The ability of interviewers and the techniques they use to assess candidates, vary enormously. Often, too much depends on first impressions and chemistry. One thing is certain. When you face an interviewer, it is too late to prepare. Everything rests on the abilities and knowledge you have brought with you.
Questions and comments to Clive Miller
E-mail: info@salessense.co.uk
Web: www.salessense.co.uk
Tel: 0118 933 1357
1097 words
Get that Sales Job - To learn more about this author, visit Clive Miller's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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Useful information - a good source to outline a number of useful areas for further research, as well as very good advice on preparing for that job search and all important interview.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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