Quote: (08-14-2018 11:59 AM)Parzival Wrote:
Sales seems hard because you have to overcome your own fears. Rejection is very common. People say no, most of us tend to agree and get along. How you want to get along when the customer not even let you do a demo of your product?
My first sales job was high pressure but also high quality sales training. You analyse your calls, closed questions should be used with a certain purpose, open questions are better. How to deal with the responses of the customer at the phone? How to get information out of it? I'm now able to turn most calls into an appointment. Next thing is how to behave at the customer. Listen, understand what the customer really needs and if your product can solve this or at least you can make this impression.
I have a solution orientated attitude, I also do sales in B2B with a good product that can solve an application. Also I have to build the trust that we don't let the customer alone when some issues rise.
I spent some effort in my free time, know the product better, observe how I talk on the phone, how I talk when present with the customer. Many people say oh I want to just me. Well most of us are like an unshaped stone, it needs time and dedication to create the true sculpture underneath. What a lot of people also scares at sales is the measurement. You get measured at your profits. But its a weak argument. Today almost all jobs have a controlling department, they have some numbers where they get measured.
So for most its the daily interaction with different people, where you need a positive attitude and the skills to understand the other person that make it different. Also you have to deal with rejection and put some real work into it.
I have no issues with people saying no. It's disappointing but it's not the end of the world. And I have no problem with the fact that sales is challenging. I don't have any fear about talking to people on the phone (although I certainly did when I tried it a long time ago). In fact I find it exciting.
My issue with sales is that it is a profession in which you have to go through so much bullshit in between results. I don't expect it to be plain sailing but it really is way too much in the opposite direction, no wonder so many people quit.
The really hard part is simply the fact that it's hard to even get hold of people on the phone to begin with. I'd rather hear no X10 than make 10 calls and not get to speak to the decision maker. And if you're working in a way that slows you down (i.e. no CRM, shitty leads, having to actually dial numbers like it's 1999), that makes it worse and even more irritating.
Basically anything that slows me down or causes me to bang my head against a wall is unbearable to me. I enjoy a challenge but there's a limit. It's like guys who like big asses. There's a limit before it becomes disgusting.
So I think sales is tough partly for this reason, and partly for the reasons that I mentioned at the start of this thread. But I do get the feeling that everything I mentioned at the start might not be that much of an issue if only you can get through to people on the phone. I believe life is full of surprises but if you can't even speak to a decision maker you never get to see it in action.
By the way I think the most common reasons that people give for why sales is hard are very pedestrian and really miss the point. Not to blow my own horn but I believe I nailed it in my opening post.