Sales Tips 101 – Making a career of sales
- Take responsibility for your own self-development – You may be fortunate enough to work for a company that has an effective sales training programme, but not matter how good that is, you still need to take responsibility for your own personal development by following leading experts on social media and keeping up to date with the latest books and articles.
- Prepare for your next career move – Think about where your career in sales might take you. What sort of roles best suit your talents and your temperament? How might you need to develop as an individual to prepare yourself for those roles? What skills or experiences might you need to acquire?
- Work for people and organisations you can respect – A salesperson’s life is challenging enough without compounding that by having to work for a manager or an organisation who you cannot respect, or in an environment that supresses you rather than supports you. If you find yourself in that situation, move on before it corrupts you.
- Seek out role models you can learn from – In any sales organisation, there will always be salespeople who seem to have mastered the art better than their colleagues. Seek them out, develop friendly relations with them, and learn what you can from their success.
- Be prepared to give back – As you advance in your sales career, never forget what it felt like to be a newcomer to the profession. Be prepared to help out and to share your experience and wisdom – but also be ready to learn from the fresh perspectives that newcomers can often bring.
