Introduction
There is a general saying that anybody can sell, that maybe true, however, not everyone can have a career in sales, you may be able to sell one or two products from time to time but that doesn’t make you a sales personnel. Sales go beyond everyday the selling we are used to, it requires a level of skills, networking, and result-driven orientation. If you are looking forward to starting a career in sales, you need a reasonable amount of training, strategy, determination, and key skills.
Luckily, unlike other career pathways, sales is one of the few careers you can easily transition into with little or no experience. If you like to meet new people, have a great sense of networking, and have exceptional communication skills, sales is a career you would love to explore.
There is always something to sell, with a population of about 200 million, a huge market base, and tons of various products, brands, and industries. Starting a career in sales is not just promising but also guarantees a decent reward and a good source of income.
Ready to start your sales career? No need to be overwhelmed. This article highlights a few points that can help you kick start a career in sales with ease:
Start with a Goal
This is far beyond starting a career in sales. Setting a goal would help you have a well explicit direction and serve as a daily inspiration to help you grow. You don’t want to start your career all rusty without a clear vision, so it is essential to state your goals and what you want to achieve clearly.
Setting goals includes how many companies, products, or brands you would love to work with, how many customers you will need and in what time frame, how many connections or networking you will need and how to go about it. Setting a clear goal that is time-specific would not only help you climb up the ladder fast but would help you make reasonable progressions in your career if backed up with hard work and genuine efforts.
Acquire basic sales skills
What would set you aside from the regular salesperson is the unique and important sales skill and strategies you can acquire. It is important to know what skills would help you strive and gain the upper hand against your competitors. But the unique thing about sales skills is some are transferable (i.e., you already have them). Yes, start by first identifying the skills you already have and how you can use them to start, then acquire others.
Key sales skills you need to thrive in your career include effective communication, customer service skills, strong negotiation skills, networking, relationship management, and seemingly simple soft skills like enthusiasm, persuasion, and active listening.
Identify companies and industries you love
As simple as this seem, it is essential. You don’t want to be a jack of all trades; that might sound exciting, but really, channeling your hard work to a clear direction would help you grow quickly, especially channeling it to areas you love. Sales is a very broad career, and luckily there are tons of industries to work with.
This means you can choose an industry you are very passionate about and pursue your sales career in that line. For instance, if you are a fashion enthusiast, working for a fashion brand might be perfect for you because you are passionate about it and have a clearer understanding and connection to it. This would help you advocate and sell the product or services better because you understand what the customer wants.
Create a niche for yourself
Just like streamlining your interest in one industry. It is also important to carve out a niche for yourself. There a various sales career options you can explore. For instance, you might want to check if you’re going to do offline or online sales. In choosing, you need to check your skills and available resources. For instance, if you have a good online presence and a ton of engagement on your social media, that is an excellent platform to start and leverage on. If you are also very skilled at connecting easily to people physically, then offline sales is definitely a good niche to explore.
Sales career options available include direct or physical sales agent, affiliate marketing, account management, lead generator, marketing partner, digital marketing, and so much more.
Get the proper training.
Acquiring professional knowledge would also set you apart from regular salespeople and broaden your horizon. You can search for series of professional sales courses available online and offline. Get mentorship opportunities. This is quite important. Getting a professional with significant experience in sales can also help plan and grow your career. Don’t forget to self-develop, read books, and get updated with the industry’s changes and a new innovative sales strategy.
Research products or services from companies and think of a unique way to sell them.
Creativity is vital in the sales profession, you need to be creative. Every product is unique and most times require a different approach in its sales. Understanding the product, its target audiences, and the expected outcome would help you develop a perfect strategy to sell the product.
Start small
As they say, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one start,” start small. A step at a time but with great effort and hard work. Don’t forget to begin within your environment. For instance, your immediate community is your first target customer base, explore your options first. Then build your portfolio little by little, taking in products and getting the best out of them; before you know it, you are a sales expert with an impeccable experience.
