If you thought all sales jobs were the same, a quick scroll through the vacancies on s1jobs will convince you the opportunities – and skills needed – are all very different.
To be the best, it’s a case of picking your role, learning it inside out and respecting your customers . . . as these top sales executives from four different industry sectors reveal.
Theresa McGlynn, sales executive, multi-media company
“You can sell to anyone once but if you want to turn them into repeat customers it takes professionalism and integrity.
It’s about taking time to understand their company, the issues they face and identifying what will work for them.
This takes persistence.
I’ve developed a thick skin and always call back, no matter how many times I’ve been told ‘No’. You’d be amazed how many of my best customers spent a lot of time first telling me to go away!”
Colin Chalmers, IT sales specialist
“The systems we sell can cost millions of pounds, so we aren’t selling one a week. In fact, it can take several years for a deal to be done and in that time we will have gone deeply into the technical aspects of the job and outperformed the competition.
A result doesn’t just depend on me. It is a team effort and I’ve learned to listen very carefully to what customers and my own technical staff are telling me and to trust their experience.
It’s all about the details. Ignore these and you won’t make the sale.”
Andrew West, wholesale jeweller
“Jewellery is influenced by trends but at the top end of the market it doesn’t respond so quickly. Here it’s about the quality of materials and design and customers can be a little conservative.
My customers, who are independent jewellers, know their clients well and can judge what will sell.
So it’s my job to supply them with pieces that follow fashion, but at a slight distance. If I get that wrong, they will go elsewhere.”
Alison Harding, outdoor events organiser
“I sell space at outdoor events to traders. These are a mix of large commercial organisations and small family businesses and you have to recognise the independents are spending their own, hard-earned cash.
It can take just one wash-out event to put them out of business yet without their presence many fetes and festivals would be far less successful.
I spend a lot of my time negotiating over small sums of money and dealing with traders who are angling to get the best possible pitch.
You have to be tough but fair.”
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