Getting the Sales job you want!

The economy is booming and many companies are expanding and re-structuring, which creates new opportunities in the market place for quality sales individuals.

What makes a successful sales professional?

Listen to your customer, sell them what they need, not what you want. A good sales person, will instill enthusiasm for their product in the customer. They must therefore believe in the product and drive its benefits home.

Good sales people use complaints as unique opportunities to strenghten the relationship with the client Realising that you can effect the sale itself, along with any additional sales, and learning what approaches suits each customer.
Building relationships with existing clients and strengthening relationships with existing clients is crucial to secure long term sales.
 

Next realise that your CV is a crucial selling tool in your own career. The key is to think of your past experience not as “what you have done” but rather, how well you performed. The key is to outline Key achievements in the role Take 20 minutes and a blank sheet of paper & jot down the achievements you have had in your career. Highlight quantitative areas such as “increased sales by 15% in territory versus a company average of 5%” This shows that you have performed and will perform again. Companies understand that the best sales people have been instrumental in increasing sales, know how they achieved those increases and can therefore boost sales in a new role.

6 Steps in a successful Sales Job hunt:

Prepare an effective and “success focused” CV (see above)

Identify positions that you wish to persue.

Register with a leading recruitment consultancy and meet with them.

Research and prepare for every interview. Talking to people in the trade is a great way of researching an industry. Carry this out for each interview round in the process

Be confident and outgoing. Don’t be afraid to outline your past achievements.

Give yourself 3 – 6 months to start in the right role. Finding the right roles can take several weeks, and the interview process can take 3 – 4 weeks to get to an offer stage. Its easy to find a role, it can longer to find the RIGHT role.
 

Mark Burgess has been working as a recruitment consultant with The People Group for the last two years. Previously a marketeer, Mark recruits for Mid to senior Field sales positions, along with Key Accounts, Category Management and Insights.

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