How Sales Impacts Everyone. Yes, even YOU!

What Is Sales?

Guess what? It impacts everyone!

The dictionary definition of sales is “the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something.” You may not have the word “sales” in your job title. Or you don’t exchange any money. This doesn’t mean you aren’t selling something every day. You're always selling yourself! 

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all want to get our way.

It can be as simple as convincing your friend to go to the restaurant you want to go for dinner. Or convincing fellow coworkers to follow your new idea! It can even be influencing your family to see your point of view on a particular topic.

Sales is literally everywhere! It impacts everyone!

Why Aren’t These Skills Taught?

In college, my major was Business Administration with a focus on Management. I didn’t have a single sales course during those 4 years. I had plenty of training in economics, marketing, and human resources. Yet nothing on how to be a better salesperson. This makes no sense to me! Sales is a great field to go into straight out of college.

People can have a difficult time obtaining even an entry-level role when they have little professional experience. But this is not always the case with a sales position. Practically every company is selling a product or service in one way or another and most have sales teams! I truly believe that sales is a position that will never be fully automated or farmed out to a robot. So why isn’t this skill being taught in schools?

There is a negative stereotype associated with the sales role. When people think of sales, the words that come to mind are; “pushy”, “aggressive”, “sleazy car salesman”, and so on! Wolf of Wall Street come to mind?

But sales have changed! Pressuring the customer and being pushy are not the only way! People now buy from who they like and with who they feel connected with. Relationships matter today more than ever!

It’s difficult to lay out a clear roadmap for a sales process. This is mostly due to every company being unique with their products and processes. Each role has specific products or services to learn as well as a process to follow that can be specific to the company. 

What works for one product may not always translate over to another and what works with one type of customer, may not always be effective with another.

Common Sales Myths

“They like to hear themselves talk.”

People may think that sales reps talk more than they listen. This leads to the “pushy” stereotype. But the best sales reps do more listening than talking. Sales is about understanding your customer’s needs as well as their pain points so that you can properly articulate how your product or service can be the answer!

“They are ego-driven.”

Those outside of a sales role assume that because salespeople are typically social, and extroverted they all come with big egos. Leading to another common stereotype! In reality, ego has very little to do with motivation. People are commonly motivated by money or their desire to do a good job and achieve their goals.

“They are only concerned about making money.”

Most sales roles include commission as a larger part of your overall salary. With income being dependent on your performance, it is understandable that people believe this myth. If you aren’t performing well then commissions are going to be very low. But more often than not, the salesperson is much more concerned with hitting their goals since that can have a direct impact on how much money they’re able to make.

“They are just out there winging it.”

In most cases it’s only the really terrible sales reps that go into a customer conversation without a plan and process. In reality, the majority of successful reps are extremely data-driven, follow strategic processes and are committed, lifelong learners. Having a mentor and guidance will also help here.

“It’s easy work with good pay.”

Depending on the industry, product, location, and performance of a sales rep, they can be compensated very, very well! But the reason they are compensated so highly is that their job is so challenging. According to a 2018 LinkedIn report, the sales representative is the second hardest position to hire for. They come behind skilled trade workers and ahead of engineers! They are one of the most sought-after recruits in part because their job is so difficult. Most can be salaried or commissioned roles so sales reps usually work long hours, you might also get to take a lot of time off but that is time away from your clients, so most sales reps rarely take any time off for fear of falling behind.