When I applied for my first sales & marketing job, I had no idea it would teach me to be a better person, leader, coach, girlfriend, mother etc... But here are 10 ways it did!
1. Communication - Effective communication is the staple to success in any relationship, business or otherwise. Sales & Marketing results give you a brutally honest look at how well you communicate, and demand you improve if you want better results.
2. Conversation - If sales is just the result of having an intelligent conversation, then everyone is in the sales business. You are selling an idea, yourself, a plan for the weekend, a vacation to your loved one, a raise to your boss etc.. And the only way to get great sales results is to be able to have an effective converstaion. This really comes in handy in personal realationships and with children as well!
3. Listening - Your customers will tell you what they can be sold on. This teaches you to become a great listener. We have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. Who doesn't like being around a great listener?!
4. Leading - If you are not excited about being a leader, you probably won't be in sales for long. It's competitive, exciting, and in most cases your results are based on YOU and your effort. Leaders (well, respected ones, anyway...) can't make excuses. Sales and Marketing teach you to eliminate excuses and get results, which, in turn, typically will propel you past the people who still make excuses. Afterall, a leader without followers is just a person who is walking.
5. Self-Belief - Tebow said it best - BELIEVE. In Sales & Marketing, people tell you no. Maybe people even tell you to "get a real job" or do something easier. If you believe in what you are doing, then you constantly have to re-commit to it while others may try to discourage you. Just because someone else can't do something doesn't mean YOU can't. You must believe in yourself to make sales a career.
6. Helping Others - As soon as you stop worrying about your numbers and your bank account, the sales just start pouring in. Money is just the applause for taking a genuine interest in helping others. It could be helping them with the product you are selling or helping them learn. Either way, sales teaches you to be SELFLESS if you want to succeed long term.
7. Reasoning - You have to be able to make things make sense to other people. If you can't get your point accross effectively, no deal. Everyone wants to know, "What's in it for me?" Reasoning skills help you to communicate why what you are selling is a good idea for the buyer.
8. Competition - Healthy competition keeps us from dying inside. We want to be the best mother, friend, daughter, closer, coach or whatever. Sales teaches you to look at yourself, your stats, your communication skills, your attitude toward life, and get better!
9. Hearing NO - Let's face it. No one likes hearing no. But we've been told no our entire lives! No more candy, no staying up past your bedtime, no you can't play outside, no you can't get into this college. The more we hear no, the more immune to it we become. And if you study ANY successful person, they were told no much more often than yes in their early business years. The difference between them and the next guy was they just kept at it. "No" can't ruin you. It should only encourage you to improve your strategy!
10. Integrity/Honesty - I've said this in my blogs before, but it is my MISSION to prove that you can operate a clean, honest, upfront business and still be incredibly successful. Omission is the same as lying according to my mother. We are dead a lot longer than we're alive, and I'd much rather make my living with clean money than have to look over my shoulder all the time. A lot of my sales I have made because I was upfront. The buyer was testing me to see if I would be honest with them in the eyes of temptation. Each time I made a sale becasue I was honest, I was more motivated to prove it could be done!
