While reading a local NBC17 (WNCN) news story titled, “Some Industries Identified As ‘Recession Proof’”, they cited Forbes.com as saying some recession-proof jobs were “Sales Representative and Business Development”, and “Sales Executive” (Forbes.com attributed the ranking to “…Jobfox.com, a job board founded by the creator of CareerBuilder.com.”).
In the Forbes.com article, these sales positions are described as “…peddling goods or services…” Although peddling by definition – to travel about with wares for sale (Merriam-Webster) – may portray the activity, it can paint a picture of someone who hawks their goods in a disapproving way. For those of us who practice Selling as a profession, and not just some casual job or pursuit of a paycheck, I find the term “peddling” undermines the serious effort many of us put forth as sales professionals.
When I was promoted from a sales representative to a regional sales manager, I recall my boss helping me more fully appreciate the contribution I was expected to deliver to the business. Unlike my three-state assignment as a sales rep, I was now responsible for eleven Western states and the contributions from my sales team. That included running the operations of our three offices and warehouses.
Getting ready for my departure, my boss turned to his son, who recently joined the company, and said, “Is there any advice you want to give Peter before he leaves?” His son, being younger than I and just beginning his career in business, turned to him and said, “Yeah. Don’t screw up!” For those of us who have watched our children begin careers of their own, I am sure you can appreciate the smile that crossed my boss’s face when he heard the comment.
At the time, his son probably didn’t fully appreciate the wisdom of his comment. I believe most sales professionals would agree; in our profession there isn’t a lot of room to screw up. We are expected to manage the sales opportunity to closure, and all the details that go along with it. Screw up and you won’t hear the end of it for some time to come. We can all chuckle at the notion, “You are only as good as your last sale.”
We are in a performance-based occupation. We live under the burden of a quota, expected to make accurate sales forecasts, and manage our expense budget with an accountant’s discipline. Our customers expect us to represent their interests within our company, and our company expects us to represent them in the most favorable light to the customer. We must be able to mediate differences and make all parties happy with the outcome.
No one should be lulled into thinking that taking (or getting) a job in Sales and Business Development is easy. It takes a serious commitment and can be a long, hard road to success. It’s a rewarding career, but be prepared to invest considerable time in training and education; “Sales is more than just a numbers game…” That’s why we say, “It takes a disciplined process to produce an accelerated sales cycle.”
p.s. Take a moment to visit the Podcast directory in this blog. In less than three minutes (per episode), you will find some helpful selling tips. Look in other parts of the blog for Posts that describe other ways to produce better sales results, and in some cases manage your business in a new way.
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