Welcome to the world of on-demand, where customers are no longer prepared to wait. They want what they want right now. And, if you can’t provide it, they’ll go elsewhere.
From Millport to Manhattan, this global consumer village is savvy and sophisticated.
So, if you’re going to succeed in Sales, you need to be a super-fast responder.
Prospects don’t just walk through the door any more, they arrive by email, Facebook, Twitter and text. Some of them turn up in an Uber taxi and a few of them even still use the phone.
The one thing they have in common is they all want instant attention.
This means being in Sales can sometimes feel like being on the wrong end of an Andy Murray serve. The balls are arriving at all angles and so fast they could knock the racket right out of your hand.
So how do you get from on the medals board at your local club to world class?
By multitasking.
If you check out the Sales vacancies on s1jobs, you’ll find employers really rate people who can jump through hoops while juggling.
They want people who aren’t flustered by having too much on their plate and deadlines as tight as a pair of Ed Ball’s ‘Strictly’ trousers.
It’s a big ask, but not impossible. And the secret? Learning to block out distractions.
“It is really easy to become distracted if you hear a text arrive with a possible order while you’re already talking to a customer in front of you,” says Matt Clark, who handles feed sales to farmers.
“You know it could be the big order you’ve been waiting for, but if your mind starts to focus there, the customer you’re talking to will know they’ve lost your attention. And that can cost.”
Mindfulness training can help you to concentrate. It’s not about chanting or candles, but about being ‘present in the moment’.
“When kids are playing Minecraft you can ask them half a dozen times to tidy their room and they won’t even hear you.
“That’s because they are so wrapped up in what they are doing. They are in the ‘zone’,” says
mindfulness trainer, Anna Hill.
“Mindfulness is about having that same level of immersion, but still being able to hear the fire alarm if it rings.”
You also need to be able to take that level of involvement and transfer it seamlessly from one prospect to the next. And that takes practice.
So take a moment, relax, concentrate and be mindful of the latest Sales vacancies on s1jobs.
Now go get ’em!