Fight the Recession! Why You Should Consider a Career in Sales

Are you concerned about the outlook for your job? Are the prospects for the next 6 months to 1 year looking bright or are you in a sector that is been hit hard by the economic down-turn? Are you about to graduate and not sure where you should focus your job search? Now is the time to seriously look at your career path. As the bleak job news surrounds us and the economy slips further into a recession, there are sectors of the market place which offer continuing opportunities for growth.

Profit Magazine reported "Finding the right sales talent was one of the biggest concerns facing sales organizations today." The Manpower Inc. Annual Talent Shortage Survey reported "hiring sales professionals as a top priority for the past 3 years." Jobfox identified "Sales Representative/Business Development as the most recession proof profession career". Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) stated "Even with Canada & the US in a recession sales positions will continue to weather the effects better than most other careers. "Sales and marketing workers tend not to lose or leave these jobs.

Clearly, a career in sales is and will continue to be in demand. I am sure you may be thinking; "I could never become a sales person, I'm not....... "(You fill in the blank)! Many sales people never planned to pursue a career in sales. They usually just ended up there due to some turn of fortune. Once they become a successful sales person few would ever consider doing anything else.

Many quickly dismiss a sales career because of some common myths about sales people. I am sure you have heard them but you need to understand that they are not the truth in most cases.

o Sales people have to be able to talk a lot. Top sales people in their fields are not talkers they are listeners. They listen to your needs, your goals, and your problems.

o Sales people are aggressive. Aggression would turn off most buyers. It is more important to be sincere, helpful, empathic, passionate and knowledgeable.

o Sales people lack ethics. Any professional should always put their client's best interest ahead of their own. Trust is essential to building a successful career. It's never worth compromising your integrity.

o You are born a sales person. Was Tiger Woods born a great golfer? Great sales people are the result of hard work, passion, motivation to excellence and most importantly training.

o The internet is going to replace sales people! HRDC said it best; "The increasing use of information technology will likely increase opportunities in sales and marketing,"

Why Consider A Career In Sales?

Why do people pursue a career in sales? Personal satisfaction & growth, freedom from the office, unlimited income potential, financial stability, perks (car allowances, trips, prizes, awards) and you can be an entrepreneur without the usual financial risks associated with self employment.

Are you into career advancement? Did you know that over 85% of today's CEOs, Presidents and senior executives come from a background in sales & marketing?

How many jobs exist where you are truly paid on your performance? When everyone around you is receiving a 1% or 2% cost of living increase or worse losing their jobs due to economic conditions, sales people have been known to go out and make double digit increases in their annual compensation program.

If you want the ability to earn a six figure income then you should seriously consider sales. If you look at the average income for a Canadian you will find that sales people consistently earn well above the average for their age group and education level. According to HRDC, "Business service professionals, including those in marketing, earned well above average for Canadians. Sales, marketing and advertising manager earnings were among the highest for occupations in sales and service."

Whenever I speak to a group of people looking for career advice I always do this quick exercise I call: "So, You Want to Make A Million Dollars. Take your current career annual pay and divide it into $1 million dollars. This will tell you how many years you must work to earn your first million dollars. In sales you can often increase your income by 25, 50 or 100 percent from one year to the next. Your road to a million dollars can be very fast if you are successful.

Would you like to be your own boss? Do you want to take control of your life? Does the idea of financial freedom excite you? Do you have the self discipline to work on your own to achieve your goals? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are surely a good candidate.

Can You Be A Successful Sales Person?

Do you have transferable skills, are you a coach, or have you planned meetings or events? Do you train people on the products or services you currently use? Have you worked in retail? Are you creative, honest, passionate, enthusiastic, confident, persistent and hard working? Do you have good communication and listening skills? If you answered; "yes" then you already have many of the necessary skills.

It's not as difficult as you may think to find out if a sales career is right for you. You can take a sales aptitude survey and see if you have the right personality and skills to be successful. These assessments and analysis tools require a few minutes of your time and are very inexpensive to use. Some assessment tools can even suggest what type of selling would suit you best.

Once you discover that you have the skills then it just a matter of training. Many companies hire "rookies" and provide their own training, or you can register for sales training classes. Many are offered over the internet or through sales training companies. Remember you may already have expertise in a field that can put you ahead of the game. Always use your strengths and focus on products or services that you know and are already passionate about.

If you are thinking of a career in sales, ask people you know to refer you to new and established sales people and ask questions. The motivation to take the first step towards a new career must come from you, not a school counselor, well meaning friend, family member or career counseling service. You must choose. A career in sales is a very important and noble profession but it is not for someone who is not prepared to make a commitment to the requirements at hand.

Remember the words of Henry Ford; "Whether you think you can or you cannot either way you are right."

Aim Higher!

Robert J. Weese

B2B Sales Connections Inc.

Robert is a managing partner in B2B Sales Connections Inc. He is a former broadcaster with over 25 years of experience in B2B sales & sales management, including extensive knowledge of alternative sales channel design and implementation. He has a proven track record of hiring and developing revenue-generating teams for B2B sales organizations. He can be reached at rjweese@b2bsalesconnections.com B2B Sales Connections - Canada's Premier Niche Job Board & Career Website Dedicated To Business to Business Sales Professionals! For more information, please visit www.b2bsalesconnections.com

Robert J. Weese is managing partner of B2B Sales Connections Inc. He has a proven track record of success, with over 25 years of direct sales, management and executive level business to business experience. Before co-founding B2B Sales Connections, Robert gained marketing, sales and general management experience in the business technology and office equipment industries. He also has experience in broadcast advertising and journalism. Currently, Robert provides revenue-generating consulting services to sales organizations and sales professionals in the business to business marketplace, including the operation of Canada's premier niche job board and career website for business to business sales professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.b2bsalesconnections.com, or contact Robert directly at rjweese@b2bsalesconnections.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Exploring A Sales Career

If you're a recent college graduate and are getting ready to launch your career and are thinking about pursuing the field of sales, congratulations! It's a great profession. Here are some practical considerations that you should think about as you explore whether or not sales is right for you. First of all, in terms of preparation, sales like any other career can benefit from many different tracks of educational background and you don't have to be a marketing major in order to get into sales. The most important attributes of a good sales person are that they have good critical thinking skills and that they're very strong at both verbal and written communications. If those are part of your DNA, then even if you're biology major or have a degree in science, you still may very well be at the aptitude that's necessary in order to be good at sales.

What's It Like To Work In Sales?

Well, it's a great profession, and the reason why it's a great profession is because you get an opportunity to stay very active and to meet lots of people, to travel and to solve problems for people. So if you have a high degree of interest in doing these kinds of things in your day job, you may be well suited for sales.

On the other side, if you are going to pursue a degree in sales, you need to be aware that it's not all fun and games, and its not easy. Sales is one of the most difficult games out there and isn't just for anyone. It requires an incredible dedication to the pursuit of excellence, continuous learning, to facing rejection, to developing your technical knowledge and to long hours in the trenches. There's a number of different things that you have to be good at in order to be a professional in sales, particularly in today's day and age.

One of the most important things that you can do for yourself to determine whether or not sales is an appropriate career move is to talk to different sales people -- people who are already in the profession. Find out what their daily routine looks like. Understand more clearly the kinds of challenges, problems and issues that they face in their work. Spend a day job shadowing with them to understand their daily routine.

So, if you're thinking about exploring a career in sales, make sure to do a lot of information interviewing with different types of sales people to get their feedback and to understand really what their jobs all about.

Another thing that you can do is get yourself prepared by taking a course in sales or a sales training course or consider getting yourself into a routine of reading some books on sales. There are many great books out there that cover the topic and will easily give you an idea and an appreciation of what sales is all about.

If you are thinking about moving into sales directly out of college, one of the most important things to do is to find a good sales team to work with and a particularly good sales manager who you can learn from. If you can't find a good sales manager, make sure that you pair yourself up with somebody who has a lot of sales experience and is a true professional so they can mentor you. Why is this important? Well, just like any other career pursuit, becoming successful in sales is all about learning from the best and developing positive work habits and behaviors. Sales is not something that you can do just any old way. Its requires a certain methodology and system. A successful sales person and management knows that building and executing that system day in and day out is what produces consistent repeatable results.

So, if you want to get into sales, make sure that you find a place where you can learn from the best. It'll make all the difference in terms of your achievement, you earning power, and your ability to advance in your sales career with some of the best companies out there.

Also, if you are thinking about a sales job, make sure that your first one is in a place where you can get lots of training. Why is this important? Because most employers actually don't offer good sales training programs, but the good ones do. What are some of these companies? Well, IBM is legendary for its training, so is Xerox, just to name a few. The point is that you want to be looking for a company that has strong entry level sales training programs, and where you can get the education you need in order to learn the right skills to become successful in a sales career.

About Cube Management
Cube Management provides sales acceleration services to emerging growth and mid-market companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. The experts at Cube Management work across the entire spectrum of marketing, sales and business development to provide customized solutions that drive revenue and profit growth. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process & People to produce winning results. Download the Cube Management Recruiting Guide and the Cube Management Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.