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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Marketing & Sales |
Are sales skills acquirable or are they something you're born with? |
Can you take a regular person off the street who is shy and lacks people skills and turn them into a successful salesperson? I took a sales training class that put it this way, sales involves both art and science. The science part is what can be taught to you; the process of selling and the steps involved, anyone with the desire can be taught the science. Then there is the art part of selling, this is where personality and charisma come in. Many people go into to sales because they are told they are a natural for it, they have the art side. Many of these people have moderate or sporadic success because they never learn the science side of the equation. Others get thrown into sales even though they are not a natural but they have the ability to learn the science and through discipline become good salespeople. Success may not come overnight but it does come. The best sales people can come from either background because those born to the art can learn the science and those who learn the science can become confident and develop their art. I guess what I am trying to say is yes you can take a shy person who lacks people skills and turn them into a salesperson but they would have to be willing to work a plan that takes them out of their comfort zone and be diligent about learning the science of sales. within reason, it took me about a year at my sales job to really become comfortable approaching people. just remember you are going to get a lot more no's than yes's Sales is more about listening to people's problems and pain points and finding a solution than anything else. Think about how you like to be "sold" - you just want someone to help you out, right? So does everyone else. 20+ years of sales experience I think it is a little bit of both. My father is a great salesman. He has been for 40 years. Growing up with him, we always heard him talk about work, his customers, his solutions for them. Now that we've grown, my sister and I are both the #1 sales reps for our respective companies. I also recently trained an employee who was a just working in the warehouse. We needed another salesman on the street in his area, but he had no experience. However, he has a fantastic attitude about hard work and customer service. So with a little bit of coaching, he seems to be doing pretty well in his new position. 10 years in sales... and a lifetime of sales "experience." I think you have to be pretty outgoing and confident to succeed in sales. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and not get bummed by the rejection. I think part of it is personality - but I also think that people can learn how to be better at sales through strategy and being able to idently potential clients. Also you can have a great personality - but f you don't know your product you sound like a doofus! That is what I think! |
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