/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>895375

>Why get into sales?

Selling is the most competitive profession on earth. More competitive with any other profession out there. If you love to compete, you love to achieve goals you've set, and most importantly. You like to make a fuck load of money. A career in sales might be the perfect opportunity for you.

>So I'm thinking about a job in sales, I'm just starting a sales job, or I need some general career and life advice.

Selling skills are practiced and studied less than any other profession out there. Why? Too many sales people are TRYING sales until something better comes along. People TRYING sales make significantly less money than people who have COMMITTED themselves to the sales profession.

>Committed sales people practice their profession.

The same can be said for doctors, attorneys, accountants and most other professionals. They practice, study and make learning a continuous behavior. Think about yourself. Do you practice, study and intensely seek new information about selling? One goal you must set for yourself, a goal that when achieved will dramatically increase your earning power is this: QUIT TRYING SALES. Commit yourself to the sales profession. Decide that you are a salesperson from now on. If you do this and discover selling is NOT for you. You will never have any regrets. Chances are though that you will find challenge and satisfaction, and with that you will never leave the sales profession.

More to follow.

>>895375
>>895377

So lets get back to basics before we get into selling things. This is advice that almost anyone can use. But it is paramount in understanding and performing before you get into a career in professional sales.

>Keys to growth and development

The most important key to your successful growth is your own sense of personal responsibility for your own development. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for planning and managing your development progress. For effective development to occur, you will need a plan that is tailored to your development needs and includes ways to get continual feedback.

Others can help by encouraging, supporting and guiding your development efforts. You can grow on your own, yet your efforts can be significantly enhanced with the support of others who can provide ongoing feedback and encourage accountability. This fact alone can make or break sales careers.

>>895375
>>895377
>>895381

New posts may be longer than normal. Its late here and I'm also waiting for a phone call. Here is something to help pass the time. Pic related.

Anyways,

>Using what they call the "Development First" Model

The following model is derived from the book, "Development First: Strategies for Self-Development" by Daivd Petterson and Mary Hicks.

The following five steps help you proactively drive your development and establish a cycle of continuous learning:

1: (F)ocus on priorities: Identify your critial issues and goals
2: (I)mplement something every day: Stretch your comfort zone daily;
3: (R)eflect on what happens: Extract maximum learning from your experiences.
4: (S)eek feedback and support: Learn from others' ideas and perspectives.
5: (T)ransfer learning into next steps: Adapt and plan for continued learning.

Notice that these five steps alternate between an inward and outward focus. Effective development involves a reflective process, as well as action and interaction with others during the course of the five steps. Once you have consolidated your experiences in the final step, you then cycle back to the beginning to focus on your next priority for learning.

Now we can move onto bigger and better things. Selling.

Any good books or youtube channels to get good at selling?

>>895375
Mind telling a few stories so that you could illustrate how you use these sales tactics/strategies?

>>895375

what questions would you ask a prospective salesperson at an interview if you were a manufacturer?

>>895381
>YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

This is actually key not just for selling, but for life as a whole. Just as business fundamentals are vital to properly valuate a company, so too is an innate sense of drive and responsibility vital to properly develop into a person of worth.

I have a question about retail upselling. It's definitely sales, but on a very short time scale (a sentence or two to gain interest, then at most 20 seconds).

Where I work I have to upsell a promotional product at the checkout which changes every week. This week it's a ladies perfume. It's on a good offer, like 70% off, it smells ok. What I've been saying to them is 'We have an offer on X perfume today if you'd like to give it a try?'

Is there a more efficient sentence you'd use to get them to try it, before committing to purchase? Many thanks

>>895476
>>895478
>>895479
>>895952


OP here. Sorry, I ended up going to sleep shortly after my last post. I also checked back earlier today and it appeared no one gave a shit about this thread. Its good to see a few guys taking interest.

Ill share some stories and answer the questions some of you have asked a little bit later. I'm just finishing up my day right now. West Coast. So i'll be around to type up some stories later tonight.

Check back later.

>>895952
>This week it's a ladies perfume. It's on a good offer, like 70% off, it smells ok. What I've been saying to them is 'We have an offer on X perfume today if you'd like to give it a try?'
>Is there a more efficient sentence you'd use to get them to try it, before committing to purchase? Many thanks

"Your purchase today actually qualifies you for 70% off of X, which is fantastic. Try it! *spray on card and hand it to them* It's a $60 value that you're getting for $18. Would you like me to put it with your total here, or as a separate transaction?"

Always choice close people. Open ended questions invite no's when they come from salespeople. You need to give them two options, both of which move you closer to a sale.

Cool thread, OP. I'm the timeshare guy you're thinking of. I lurk a lot. I'll be watching this thread.

>>896129
That's pretty good. Any books you can suggest?

OP here. Almost forgot about this thread. Work has kept me busy because I want this weekend free. Anyways, lets continue off where we left. I'll answer questions already asked and provide new content.

>>895476
>>896191

There are good books and bad books. There are 2-3 fundamental books as a beginner you should read or look into. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Which has been mentioned here before, is a great intro book. The Social Animal. Is also another great one. And Split-Second Persuasion is also great read.

I tend to personally avoid these kinds of books. Once you've read the 1-2 highly recommended ones, you have pretty much read them all. At this point you should get into Psychology/Sociology as a science, and read google scholar papers. Or take a first year or second year university course to learn more of the science on why things happen and occur when it comes to negotiations, motivations, decisions and people.

I have found personally, that the absolute best resource when it comes to learning and understanding KEY selling/sales motifs, themes and concepts. Is to simply watch the selling/sales scenes from popular movies. Now what I mean by this, is not to watch the scenes and go "Well yeah that's great, he sold something, its merely fictional, it looked cool, omg Wolf on Wallstreet". What my intention is to do. Is to critically analyze and breakdown the principles and symbolism associated with each scene to understand the sales concepts being implied. Then internalize, adapt and mimic those kinds of actions in various sales situations. What i'll do later is link the scenes from the movies I'm talking about, and break down and explain everything. If some of you are interested in learning more.

>>897671

If you want to watch the scenes on your own and attempt to do this. Simply watch the following scenes. They're all great scenes for explaining key sales and confidence concepts that many of the books you will read will cover in the entire length of the book. Saves you a bit of time.

The negative reinforcement speech from "Glen Gary Glen Ross".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4PE2hSqVnk

The sales and intro speeches in the movie "Boiler Room".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izOIOvguncU

The cold calling scenes from "Wolf on Wallstreet"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iG9LN0Wfk

The sales training scenes from the car movie "Suckers". Ironically enough I started selling cars as a result from watching this movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2wLlrfU89E

The bank walk scene from "Catch me if you can"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCOm4osfWn8

>>897673
Man, that scene from glengarry glen ross is gold (or should I say brass).
Anyone who thinks Baldwin's character was overdoing it is just a sensitive cunt and should take up babysitting instead.

>>895478
I'll try to do a mix of both book concept and real life story applications. So you can get an idea of how each thing I've posted already and will continue to post, works in real life.

>>895479
How wide is your influenced audience? Meaning that if my contacts, connections and pipeline only targets youths, and my product is intended for the retired population. How much good can that do me as manufacturer? What kind of territory can you cover? Can you and do you have experience marketing cross promotion platforms with established businesses?

>>895952
>>896129

These kinds of products are what I like to call "Feel Good, Look Good, Smell Good" merchandise. Watches, clothes, perfume are all examples of this. Which means you need to tailor your approach to feed off of one of these areas. If you are pushing perfume in your example. Than you should be quickly illustrating to potential customers in the cases of Men. How this perfume will get them laid, will get me attraction from females, will make my girlfriend or wife go crazy over me. And as Women vice versa, but also how the celebrity of the month endorses this particular brand, or that it would compliment their beauty or style.

Doing exactly what >>896129 suggested. But keep in mind that people in stores don't like to be approached by sales people pushing products. EVEN if they are FREE. I have turned down many sales people at stores because they approach me in a rude or invasive manner offering free services or products. People don't like to be bothered when they are paying for goods or ready to leave a store. So what you need to do is personalize each encounter. Say exactly what >>896129 said. But before you do that. Go up and introduce yourself as a shopping experience or quality excellence rep. Shake their hand and get their name. Ask how their shopping experience was today, compliment them, then follow through with >>896129. If you do simply this you will notice a big upswing in potential buyers.

>>895381
>>895386

So lets get back to where we left off.

I will try to wrap up the pre-selling behavior and concepts section in the next 2 or so posts. Then move onto stories regarding everything so far, and then actual selling skills. It is important to remember that I am going in order of operations. You need to become COMPETENT at ALL the things I have mentioned here FIRST, before you even get into the art of selling for a living. It is also important to remember that ALL of these principles, behavior patterns and concepts, can be applied to ANYONE in ANY field. If you don't learn to do these things. You will never become successful in life.

>Questions - Setting Goals

Learning to set goals for yourself is the single-most important skill that you can learn and perfect. I remember when I came out of highschool and started working and planning for university. I was terrible at setting goals and courses of action into motion. After I learned to prioritize activities, and made myself accountable for what I wanted to achieve. I become 10 times more successful in my endeavors and since than. I have NEVER found myself to be unmotivated. I like to think of doing this as leveling up in real life.

In order for you to become successful, you must become competent at goal setting. When this happens, great opportunities will open for you. So what is the great news? You may be entering into a highly competitive arena with millions of people, the vast majority of whom DON'T set goals or practice their profession. You are a step or two away from separating yourself from the pack. Separating yourself from the pack means increasing your income via superior performance. Burt you MUST TAKE ACTION!

>>897688

It appears that one of the fundamental problems is that the vast majority of sales people didn't set a goal to become a sales person. So, it is fair to say that if you didn't mean to be a salesperson, you might be lacking some essential goal setting techniques?

>Most people don't consistently set goals. That is a known fact.

Yet almost every single person you will encounter will have at least one aspect of their lives they would like to change. Changing your life, yourself, your job performance or anything else you desire to change is not a case of ability, nor is it a case of motivation.

>It is a matter of WILL.

You must have a willingness to do what you know to be the right or most productive thing.

I like to view this as having a level of dedication that goes beyond the common experience. The majority of people I know, aren't willing to take a bullet for someone. Aren't willing to go beyond the call of duty to achieve something. They don't have that willingness to go out and succeed.

Chances are that 97 percent of you reading my posts right now cannot reach into your pocket and find an index card, look at your day planner or iphone or computer and find an updated version of your personal and professional goals, that you have VIEWED EVERY DAY for the past two weeks. Even if you have those goals written, how often do you review them? Not concentrated on, or visualized, or meditated upon, but just viewed every day for the past two weeks.

To set goals or objectives creates purpose for your life, instead of living an aimless life (if you don't possess a written personal and professional goals, your life is aimless, but not worthless!)

>>897697

This needs to change.

Brian Tracy, noted speaker and sales trainer, works for a big magazine, lists five primary reasons people don't set goals. The three that are especially noteworthy are:

Most people are simply not serious about setting goals. Until you get serious about setting goals, nothing will happen.

Most people don't understand the importance of setting goals. Most people did not come from families that are goal-oriented. Goal setting is NOT taught in school. Most people do nor understand that goal setting should be a part of normal existence.

Most people do no know how to set goals. Goal setting is not taught in school, yet learning to set goals properly is the single most important skill human beings, especially sales people, need to realize their potential. The other two are fear of rejection, and fear of failure.

That wraps up the introduction crap. Master these things, and you will master your life. I will get into actual sales next. The thing that anyone viewing this thread probably came here to learn about.

If you have questions are want to know more about anything I've posted thus far. Feel free to ask.

>>897698
Love it so far OP. I've been at a bit of a crossroads lately and what you're talking about is intriguing stuff. I want to be the best version of myself I can be. Mentally. Physically and emotionally.

Useful post, looking forward to the updates

I am lurking this thread, OP

>>896129
I've always wondered why you don't go into stock brokering. Is there any particular reason you have not? Seem's like a good way to clear cash since you enjoy sales so much

Thinking of getting into sales myself, and it seems as though there are enough openings in my area for me to be at least a little picky about which ones I apply for.

So which sort of job benefits/salary/conditions should I look for? Considering its my first job would I be better off getting something that pays a base salary and a smaller commission, even though there are opportunities that are entirely commission but have a higher OTE? And are the OTEs that are presented in job descriptions likely to be anywhere near genuine?

I also recognize that every industry needs salespeople. So which industries have the better sales jobs?

I'm gonna lurk here, It's great to see what you other guys have to say about the sales process, I'll contribute if I can too.

>>897675
i do commercial real estate acquisitions and development, and the single most quoted line in our office is "coffee is for closers"

OP here. Been a busy week. Wanted to have the weekend off and I found myself working 4 am to 10 pm today. Anyways, I'll continue where I left off and go into selling specific information next. Glad you guys are enjoying the material so far.

>>897716
>>897844
>>897883

Glad you guys are enjoying it. Feel free to ask anything related.

>>898625

Not me, but I think that guy has been in the business longer than myself, I believe. I think he said something along the lines that he was making so much money in his current sales job compared to the time he invests.

Time investments are huge for myself as well. I want to be able to make as much money as possible for the least amount of time invested. I would much rather make 150k a year at 40 hours a week, than 400k a year at 80+ hours a week. At least currently.

Stock brokering is no where near as profitable as it is portrayed in movies. Also it requires a shit ton more education than before. Its one of those specialized positions now that people get into because they are looking to become hedge fund managers and things of that nature, late into their careers.

>>898800

Ahh. Fresh recruits. This thread will benefit you immensely my friend. I'm going to give everyone material in the next several posts that you won't find anywhere else. Not in books, videos or sales training from big companies. This stuff is some of my firm's proprietary training material and information they had me sign 3 separate contracts before giving me access. And it will give you a head start that amounts to YEARS of sales experience. Keep checking in on the thread for the next few days. Ask as many questions as you can for things you think you need to know that I might not have covered.

>>898800

To answer your question though I'll need some more information.

Is this your first job? Is this your first sales job? How old are you? Education? Financial status currently?

If you are new to this industry. Don't be expecting anything in terms of extras. You won't get them. But what you should look for is a PER HOUR sales job to start. In most cases this may be a retail sales environment to begin with. No company out there will offer you a base salary + commission position if this is your first sales job. At least in my experience. However, there is no harm in applying to them. You never know. When I was 17 I use to frequent a pool hall and got to know the owner. His brother owned a business and needed sales people. I got a job that paid 1200 a month + commission. I didn't know anything about the business nor much about sales then. Still very green. I milked that position for 2 months before they realized I was actually costing them money since I wasn't really closing any new contracts for them. So yes it can happen. But don't be expecting it.

If they are obscenely high numbers, than yes they MAY be genuine. But only for the top earners. Keep that in mind. Your best bet is to find a per hour sales job. It does not need to be retail based but a per hour environment will allow you to still at least make money if it turns out sales is not for you or that you suck. It is also great depending on the industry because you can try to use sales techniques that may be too risky in other environments as well as try new things you may pick up here or else where without much risk to your income.

>>895381
>>895386
>>897688
>>897697
>>897698

So lets wrap things up and move on to the next section. Since I'm going in order now.

So like I was saying earlier. I've been doing this since I was 16. I originally intended on becoming a journalist growing up, and through HS and uni. But sales proved to be profitable during that time, and I eventually dropped out of my program and switched over to a business program. Then continued down the sales path.

I'm currently working in the real estate business as a broker. As well as in reputation management for an independent firm. The info that is quoted above is all material that I was taught at my current brokerage. Part of their in house pre-training program. I learned this stuff for 5 months before I even started learning anything to do with real estate and brokerage business. That information was NEVER taught in any one of my other sales positions/jobs. At least in my experience. There is a lot more to that info which I had left out. I could go on regarding that subject for another 3-4 posts. But I figured that info was the most critical to get across to you all.

What I can tell you though, without a shadow of a doubt. Is that if I had learned and internalized the above information earlier. Or if it was taught to me in a structured environment in school. I would have been 10000% more successful in starting off in my sales career. And chances are that I would have stuck to my journalism program and gone to the specialized school I was thinking about transferring to back than.

So what does this tell you?

>It is so important that you take responsibility for your own self development. Make yourself accountable. SET GOALS, and restructure your entire life to the info I provided above. Believe me. It will change your life.

>>899633

So I will begin the next section which is basically the foundation to sales and selling skills. This part is something I am taking straight out of my firms proprietary sales training program. As well as mixing in my own info.

>You won't see this info consolidated and structured in this fashion anywhere else.

People whom have worked for my firm in the past or currently, may recognize this information from their training. If that is the case don't say what firm it is. Last thing we need is the S-VP calling the RM's to find out who leaked firm materials.

The only reason i'm giving this info out is because I am leaving the business to switch over to the reputation management job I have now. So no harm done to my career here.


>Attributes of a successful salesperson

The Harvard business school conducted a study to determine the common characteristics of top salespeople. Here are some of their findings.

1 - Did not take 'no' personally: Ability to separate themselves from rejection. Short memory of rejection (its all in the numbers) Good managers of their emotional states

2 - 100 percent acceptance of responsibility for results: Don't blame outside forces and turn negatives into opportunities

3 - Above-average ambition: priorities. Associate with "winners". Sets the thermostat high

4 - High levels of empathy: Put yourself in the client's shoes. Imagine needs and concerns and respond appropriately

5 - Intensely goal oriented: You can't hit a target you can't see. Measure progress, minimize distractions (The snake with one head vs the 10 heads example)

6 - Above-average will power: Never never never never quit. Self-discipline, fatigue makes cowards of us all.

7 - Impeccably honest. Never a reason to deceive. Credibility issues

8 - Ability to approach strangers. Make it fun, fair trade using interest generators.

>>899642

Not taking no personally is so paramount in this business let me tell you. I use to work for a call center back in the day and we sold landscaping and painting services. We also went door to door. The amount of abuse you got over the phone, including the no's was too much for some people. One girl broke down crying one afternoon and left the job shortly afterward. You need to realize that rejection is something to cast aside. I remember hearing that you will get 5 no's on average before a yes. Don't let it demotivate you.

Accepting responsibility for your performance is also paramount. Alec Baldwin said it best in Glen Gary Glen Ross. "Fucking leads are weak! YOU'RE WEAK!". If you are not doing well it is because you are limiting yourself in some fashion. If you use the "Development First" model I talked about above. You should be able to figure out what those reasons are fairly quickly.

One thing that I will mention and it is not really taken into consideration as much. Is who you associate with and what kind of distractions you face daily. Your friends should be winners. Or people that are highly ambitious and self motivated in their careers and schooling. If you hang around degenerates, or people with negative attitudes all the time. That will bring you down and only hurt you in the long run.

Keeping distractions to a minimal is also important as well. I had an extreme case where I dumped my fiance of 3 years when I started in the Real Estate business. During my first year I brought home no money because it was a commission only position. She kept busting my balls about that daily, and to the point where we would fight often. It started to depress me and on top of that she wanted to continue living the high maintenance lifestyle she was use to, when I was back selling cars. Don't ever let anyone distract you from your goals or hold you back. Your friends are shit, your parents are shit.

You're fox guy, right?

What's your opinion on telemarketing? How does it compare to sales where you actually speak face-to-face?

I'm asking since you mentioned "trying" sales in your first posts, and telemarketing is often people's first job, which they go on to detest, and people also tend to detest telemarketers.

>>899642
>>899650

I'll continue on this sometime tomorrow. My laptop's battery is almost dead. And the basic selling skills section that I plan on utilizing from my firm's training program is almost 30 pages long. I will pre-type and consolidate the information in order to make it relevant to any sales position. Since a lot of what is mentioned is specific to real estate brokering. I'll also mix in my own experiences along the way.

In the mean time I will break down the movie scenes I posted before for you.


What to take from the Glen Gary Glen Ross scene is pretty straight forward. Its the first three characteristics from >>899642

You are responsible for your performance, the leads aren't weak. You're the one that is weak. And it is true what he says near the end. A loser is a loser. They will always complain, alleviate responsibility for their performance and bring everyone else down around them. You need to associate yourself with winners. The Navy seals have the best motto. "It pays to be a winner".

>>899666
Holy shit op. I'm certain you have changed my life already. Thank you for providing this info. I'm definitely saving this thread, but please upload all your posts to a pastebin for future generations.

>>899697
>>899666
Also what so you think of "how to win friends and influence people"

Just my two cents on only associating with winners...

I have, imo, found that professionally you should only associate with said winners true, however personally you can still be friends with others so long as you're aware of their failings.

i.e. A friend wan't really trying to make his small business profitable but loved to milk it (both for "muh business owner" and sympathy). I was aware of this and provided the kick in the ass he needed (whilst also doing some of the leg work).

He can now support his family on their joint income.

>>895375

I bought some ads on Facebook that lead to a clickbank ad where i get like 30 bucks for each sale i make through the ad - what are you opinions on that? I made the ad really juicy in my opinion - it's marketed towards old golfers and mothers starting to teach their babies potty training.

What i did, was i lowered the price of each click down to like 5 cents instead of the recommended of like 40 cents (the highest bidder get's the most promotion.)

And instead i displayed the price of the product on the ad itself, so only people possibly willing to pay that money will click on the ad.

What do you think about that? I feel that people that click these ads are curious and when they see the price (37$) they immediately lose interest and feel cheated.

>>899659
My own experience with telemarketing was that I learned some stuff for the first couple months, at which the point I stopped learning and the position became unbearably repetitive. The same call a hundred times a day. Could barely think straight when I wasn't at work as my pitch was spinning round my head.

Might be a good transition, but don't go in thinking you'll stay is my advice. I have no idea how the (small) number of people in the call centre had done it for over a year.

>>899615
I'm 21 fresh out of uni. I held a retail job for a year when I was like 17/18 and one of my responsibilities was to convince customers to sign up for a credit card offered by the store. So that's my very limited exposure to sales that I am hoping I can talk up in an interview. I'm also in the UK if that holds any relevance.

OP here. Will continue after lunch.

>>899659

Telemarketing is one of the hardest sales job there is in my opinion. You will get at least 100 answering machines and "not homes" in a 3-4 hour period before you even reach a live person willing to hear your pitch, past the point of you asking for the target and introducing yourself. And then you will only get 1 or 2 people out of the live ones who you can even complete a pitch on and start a dialogue with. This level of interaction really wines a person down and starts to demotivate them.

Everyone hates telemarketers. And as a first sales job especially for a young person. After a few weeks of constant abuse and rejection, they typically drop out and don't pursue any further sales positions thinking a lot of them will be like that. I don't recommend this path as a first job. It is also a common characteristic that telemarketers in call centers are the bottom of the barrel sales people. In the 3 call centers I have worked in as a kid. There was always this scumbag feel to the individuals working there. Real low life's that ended up there for one reason or another.

It does not compare at all to face-to-face selling. Face to face allows you to develop areas you wont ever get the opportunity to develop over the phone. It builds your self confidence, allows you to develop a knack for reading body language and facial expressions. And most importantly, its much harder for a potential customer to get away from you in person than it is over the phone.

>>899697

I'm really glad you are getting something of value out of my contribution here. Its rewarding for me when people here express that kind of gratitude. I hope the info here will be of great use in your career.

My experience in sales so far is primarily door-to-door. I did this for a beach rental company for the past two summers, earning 15% commission on sales plus pay for the labor of setting up what I sold. I also have very limited retail experience(trained briefly at the retail store for the restaurant I just started working at). What kind of sales job would you recommend for me to gain broader experience, and how much money would it be realistic to make with a career in sales?

>>899788

Winning in my opinion covers a broad area. You don't have to be financially successful or socially popular to be considered a winner. Winners to me are individuals that have a true purpose in life and encourage others to always be the best versions of themselves. People that encourage their friends to go back to school, start that business, or get back into shape and project positive characteristics are all winners in my eyes.

But yes I totally agree with you.

>>899791

Not my area of expertise, perhaps /g/ could be able to answer that question.

>>899846

Very true. If it is a good call center or company pushing a half decent product, they will definitely teach you a few tricks of the trade. I learned how to overcome a lot of objections through my time at call centers. Which I later carried over when I entered the retail sales environment. But yes you are completely right. A good transition but don't stay there long.

>>899878

>>899878

Have you had any jobs since than or while you were in uni? Sales related or not?

If not I don't recommend playing up your past sales experience from 3 years ago. Especially if it was very limited. You may have learned some great skills through the interactions or the training, but chances are you have forgotten a majority of the things experienced and the employer will know this. Especially, if this next job is a sales position.

Like I said before sales people consistently practice their profession not only to develop and master, but to maintain their skillsets. Its like if you played the piano 3 or 4 years ago and got to be fairly decent, but you haven't played or even touched it since than. You will definitely not be as skilled as you were before. So no point in playing it up.

The most important piece of advice I can give you going into this interview is this.

Be coachable!!!!!!

Tell the employer this and stress it. You are young and green. If you are able to learn their business quickly and are a good sponge for absorbing information. As well as being enthusiastic about doing so. This will put you light-years ahead of other candidates that go into the interview pretending to be top players bragging about past experiences and claiming they will do well there.

Employers want ambitious people yes, but they also want people that can be taught and able to learn well from the veterans.

>>900032

>>900032

Door-to-Door is a tough racket but its one of the best areas to start sales careers in. At least in my opinion. You will learn very quickly the best ways to generate interest, maintain interest, read body language and direct customers into taking purchasing action. How did you enjoy it if you don't mind me asking? Did you learn anything?

If you are serious about a sales career and are following my above posts. Than take the jump into the elite arena of sales. This is something anyone viewing this thread can get into.

>>900043
>>900043


>Real Estate - Insurance - Car Sales

If you are still in school or have a bit of money to spend for the courses/licenses. Go down one of these paths. You don't have to start at the bottom of the sales barrel working your way up. Following my advice above as well as my future posts will allow you to jump right into one of these fields out the gate.

Real Estate has the highest earning potential out of the three. It takes the longest to get into, depending on your country, and costs a fair bit for courses/licencing. If you started tomorrow you could be a licensed broker in 6 months. Earning money within a year.

In terms of earning potential. I live in Canada so this is CAD. Also the market may be different for various areas in the states.

I earned 0 dollars my first year as a commercial broker. I earned 120k my second.
My friend took the program the same time as me but went into residential houses. He made 65k his first year and 90k his second.
The top guy at my current brokerage who is based out of the states. He is 25 and he made 2.5 million this year. Started the business 4 years ago.

Insurance in Canada is easy to get into. Its essentially a 3 week course and costs the least. A lot of immigrants go into car insurance or house insurance here. I have a friend from my dealership days.

He made 38k his first year and 65k this year. This seemed to be the average.

The other thing about insurance is that most companies here will pay you a base hourly wage from what I hear. Something between 12 and 16 an hour.

>>900043
It was I nice gig, and I plan on doing it again next summer if I do have anything more pressing going on by then. I definitely got better at talking/approaching people, as well as cutting deals to fit the needs of individual customers. But most of the sales I made were call-in from people I visited, as opposed to being closed at the door. What I really did was generate awareness/interest in the service. As far as career goals go, it would either be something in sales or going into business for myself in some way or another.

>>900044

Automotive sales is the other arena.

Earning potential here is very high compared to the amount of time you will invest. You don't need to know a fucking thing about cars to get into it. Getting your foot in the door though is another story. Its very difficult in today's economy. If you want to go down this path my recommendation would be to suit up and go in person to every dealership in your area.

Ask to speak to the GM and ask if they are hiring. Regardless of what they tell you. Dealerships are always hiring. They are always seeking to replace their bottom three salespeople with a future star that will earn double the bottom three combined. You could be that person.

If you go and you are waiting for the GM. Be observant. What will happen is that the receptionist will sit you down in a waiting area and you may wait up to 30 minutes for him to meet you. In that time a variety of people will pass by you. Some will even sit next to you or across from you. What they are trying to do, especially if you told the receptionist your here to apply for a job. Is see how confident you are and if you are able to interact with complete strangers. Some will pass by and simply say hello. Some will sit with you and start a random conversation. Be alert to this. Interact and be as friendly as possible.

When you actually meet the GM. Stand up straight, hand out, firm shake and say: "Hello my name is X, it is a pleasure to meet you today".

Earning potential here is different brand to brand. I worked at Infiniti, Audi and a Honda dealership.

The most I earned in one month was 18500. There was places where making 5-6k a month is fantastic, and others where guys are making 20k+ a month.

Alright OP. I'm a 19 year old school dropout without any job official job experience.
How do I prepare and get a job at sales?

>>900022
OK, cool.

Reason I ask is because I've worked in a call center for ~7 months now. I'm doing pretty good, since I'm the top guy on the current project I'm in.

However, I feel kind of stagnant. I'm not really learning anything more, and since it's telemarketing there's a lot of scumbag stuff going on. I think I've already had one or two moral breakdowns after doing some questionable shit.

Even though I'm pulling about twice the amount of sales you're expected to (And even that number is higher than the project average.) I'm still only pulling something like $15/hr, which sure is better than the $10 most others pull but still.

I _think_ I enjoy sales, but I'm not sure where to go from here. It's my first "real" job. I'm a HS dropout so I go no education basically, but apparently I'm at least a decent salesperson. Should I just go into retail?

>>895375
>I seen a thread

>Poor grasp on English language
>Dropped

Keep posting op and other salesmen
This is some interesting stuff
One thing that I am currently reading is
48 laws
Can find the off on Google
But it is a really interesting book on how to live your life and influence people

>>900062

Follow the advice in the thread thus far. Ask specific questions.

>>900167

Sounds like you enjoy it and have a fair bit of experience. Which is great.

Start pulling money aside and go into one of the 3 sales fields I was talking about above. If you are in Canada or the US I can set you up for Real Estate and walk you through everything you need to know. Automotive sales and insurance you would have to research yourself depending on where you live.

You don't need any formal education for Real Estate, Insurance or Auto Sales. Big firms and companies LIKE to SEE business or accounting degrees for people coming into the Real estate field. Say if you were just to apply online or drop a resume off to one of their offices. But if you can get in to see a regional manager or head broker for a firm, they can slip you in past that requirement.

I would at least complete highschool go back and do it. Then look into taking a 2 year business program at a college or university. If you go into Real Estate especially, it only works to your advantage that you are starting a program that is related instead of doing nothing.

>>900169

I'm not here to make grammatically correct sentences. I'm here to provide people with information on sales.

>>900223

Will do.

Going to continue with the selling section later on tonight. Stay tuned.

>>900283
Not Canada or US, I'm over here in Yurop.

Real estate requires a 2-year degree here, which kind of sucks. It's actually illegal to practice it if you haven't got the proper degree. A lot of stuff is like that over here.

Insurance is what I'm currently in, and even there I had to complete an examination, again government issued.

I'm not sure where to take this. I could try looking into working for one of the bigger insurance firms, since I already got basic training in it, and some experience. Hopefully they won't require a degree. Insurance is one of the few things you can sell over here without going through college.

>>900283
I'm close to completing a two year, but it's a liberal arts degree(A.A. In social science) which is what interested me out of high school(by the time I decided I want to make a lot of money I was close enough to completing it that it wouldn't really make sense not to). How difficult would it be to get into real estate under these circumstances. From what I understand, aren't there classes one can take to become liscenced and find employment? I'm from the U.S. If that is relevant.

OP here. Sorry, haven't had the time to continue with the thread. Will try to do some tomorrow evening. Picking up where we left off.

>>900296

The process for Real Estate in Canada, essentially works out to it being 2.5/3 years, in terms of being fully recognized by the board/government, but you can legally sell and work as a realtor or broker after doing the basic licensing course and examination. Which can be done within a 6 month period given you devote the proper time to studying.

Do you know exactly how the process works in Europe?

I would honestly consider going into it if you are keen on continuing a sales career. There is no ceiling for earning potential in Real Estate. The sky is the limit.


>>900437

Not hard at all. If your based in the states all you need to do is look up your local state laws and licensing requirements. Essentially it almost universal for North America with minor differences in how licenses are processed and where your fees go. But doing the basic pre-licencing course is basically the same.

You don't need any prior formal education to start in real estate. You just need to be able to pass the examination and pay the fees.

>>899697

post pastebin link in a few days anon

i'll be lurking

Any really good sales seminars people recommend?

Going to school ATM, but I'm really interested in sales. What types of companies should I look to apply to? New to sales as well.

>>895375
How can learn about sales help a person who dont work in sales in their daily life?

>>900892
>post pastebin link in a few days anon
This.

I started a job at a car dealership recently and they have us watch these grant cardone videos. I'm pretty oblivious on these things so I don't know how far his name reaches but my dealership pays some amount per person so we have access to the videos and from what I've seen it has been worth my time on this topic.

OP here,

The work week has begun again. Will try to update and continue on with this thread in the next 24 hours. Sorry for the delays.

I have a friend who started working as a telemarketer when he was 17 and now he's dropped out of Uni and works full time as a sales executive or something at Sky (UK broadband service). He now just gives presentations and goes to meetings and conferences. A lot of the advice he gave me is similar to the advice you've given on this thread.

I'm going to get into sales next summer and take a break from Uni to rack up some job exp and some $$$.

Hi OP, you seem like an extremely helpful guy.
I'm just starting a BSc Economics degree with a guaranteed third year work placement. I know this is an extremely vague question to ask, but:

Is there any advise that you would give to a new student with regards to being successful in the future? Getting a part time job, learning sales, becoming extremely well acquainted with lecturers, learning to code - anything.
Any advise from anybody would be extremely appreciated. I have the willpower to do almost anything, I just don't know what the fuck to do.

[Also, I learnt a basic level of Java and am currently cramming as much non-curriculum economic theory as possible down my skull, if this helps fine tune advise.]

>>895375

Im an intovert and I dont want a job where I'm forced to make bullshit conversation with people all day. Is there anything about sales that I would enjoy? I've been getting lots of interview request lately and they're all sales gigs. Mostly for insurance companies or loan sales. Both sound like shit but admittedly I dont know enough about either to be sure.

>>901974
Questioning the same here

>>901974
>>902210
Just deal with it guys. Life's tough, sometimes you have to do stuff that's uncomfortable.

I'm an introvert but I've just learned how to deal with talking and conversing with people.

I want to say thanks. I work for a small it firm but I sell myself every day. This is all good info for me, especially the part about setting goals. I admire OP if he's telling the truth. Thanks again.

bumping good thread

>a thread a long time ago on here, with an experienced credit card/timeshare salesman
Anyone know which thread OP referred to?

>>895386
>filename

OP HAS RETURNED!

I apologize for the several day delay. Any spare time I get in between the office and clients I use to workout at the gym.

Important fun fact - If you don't take the time and effort to fulfill the needs of your body health and fitness wise, you'll never be able to handle the needs of your clients or customers. Take care of your gear, gear takes care of you.

Will continue on with the selling section next.

>>901749

Good luck my friend. Keep an eye on this post and ask as many questions as you can. Everything here will give you a head start.

>>901824

Depends on what your future job prospects will be. More importantly, what do you want to be doing for the next 25 years?

As for quick tips for your particular situation.

1 - Master the skills and knowledge I've already provided in this thread
2 - Learn multiple languages. SO IMPORTANT for business roles of any kind.
3 - Learn software relevant to your career or future career
4 - Volunteer for positions relevant to your career choice
5 - Gain real world experience. Even if it is non related to your career choice.

>>901974

Introverted people will never be successful sales people. You may be highly successful as an investor, accountant or business admin or HR, where you aren't necessarily trying to get individuals to take specific action ie. Purchasing. But in a face to face selling environment where your job is ONLY to get customers or clients to take specific closing action. You will not be successful. You need to be outgoing, engaging, captivating, and able to approach complete strangers and groups of strangers essentially steering the boat.

>>902477

No problem. Glad you are enjoying it thus far. No reason to lie, but even if everything is complete fabrication. There is no excuse for anyone to not be setting goals, taking responsibility and making themselves accountable for their futures.

>>903088

I wish I had a pastebin. I screenshotted all the good bits though.

>>899642
>>899642


So lets continue where we left off. Like I mentioned before, I am utilizing the next few sections straight out of my firms pre-training material. This was information I was taught for months before I even started working. This is consolidated and researched information you won't find anywhere else. Unless of course you've worked for us.

>The Value of the Selling Process

Sales is a noble profession and the ability to sell is one of the most valuable skills in the business world. A simple definition of sales would be this: "Working with clients to create a vision of future possibility that is compelling enough to change their actions in the present".

(Next time you are in a sales interview and are asked about sales in general. Find an opportunity to drop that definition to the interviewer. Than come back and tell me that hasn't gotten you a job)

It has been derived from my experience that the vast majority of clients seek to do business with experienced and productive salespersons and that good selling will enable the salesperson to best represent his or her clients' interests and will earn him long-term respect of both his or her clients and peers. Salespeople who misuse information and or lose sight of the vest interest of their clients will quickly lose the respect of both their clients and their peers.

>Lets do an overview of the selling process

As discussed above, selling is the process of using information to make things happen. This process, however, involves many steps which can best be understood when isolated

>>903896

>Creating a Long-Term Relationship

As I will discuss throughout the next few posts. The goal of the salesperson is to establish long-term relationships, based on trust and respect, with every client or customer in their market serving areas. As discussed above, although the vast majority of clients seek to do business with salespeople who possess strong selling skills, it is critical that clients perceive that those skills are being used for their benefit and not to advance the salesperson's selfish or short-sighted objectives.

>Rapport and Credibility

People do business with people they like and respect. It is almost impossible to be successful in selling if a good foundation of rapport and credibility has not been established. In the case of a good salesperson, rapport and credibility will increase over time, which is another reason to take a long-term view of the business.

>Information Exchange

Successful selling requires a good exchange of information between the client and the salesperson. One of the main objectives of this information exchange is the identification of the client's needs, wants and or potential opportunities. This foundation for a good exchange of information is a long-term relationship and a good level of rapport and respect.

>Determining the "Value-Added" Strategy and or Solution

After gaining an understanding of the client's needs and wants, the next steps of the selling process are to determine a strategy of how to best use the resources the salesperson and the company he or she works for to accomplish the client's objectives.

>>903896
>>903900

>Presentation of the Recommended Strategy

After a specific strategy is developed to accomplish the objectives of the client, this strategy or solution must be presented to the client in an organized, credible and persuasive manner. It is important to directly link the salesperson's strategy or solution with the specific objectives of the client. The presentation should not be just a delivery of price or value of the asset, but also must demonstrate how the price and process will accomplish the client's objectives or goals that are beyond the price.

>Identify the Client's concerns and objections

In most cases, the next step int he selling process is identifying the concerns and objections of the client. Information, once again, is extremely valuable to this step of the process and the salesperson must create an atmosphere wherein the client feels comfortable in discussing his/her concerns. Only then, can the salesperson respond to the client's specific concerns and adjust the strategy/solution to best accomplish the objectives of the client.

>Overcome the Client's concerns and objections

The next step in the selling process is to overcome the client's concerns and objections and alter the client's thought process relative to them

>If appropriate, encourage the client to take specific action. Closing.

The "obtaining a commitment" process is an important part of selling and is the natural next step for a client who already understands and acknowledges the value of the strategy or solution. The closing process is designed to counteract the clients natural resistance to change or new ideas. One of the differences between top sales people and average sales people is that top sales people always ask for a commitment.

>>903896
>>903900
>>903904

>Strengthening the long-term relationship

Mutually rewarding business relationships are sometimes difficult and time consuming to establish. Especially if you are not in a top end sales environment. ie. Insurance, real estate, automotive, business services, banking/investing etc. However, once established, can be very rewarding over the long term. Every effort should be made to conduct the selling process in a manner which will enhance the long-term relationship with the client.

That covers the absolute basics of the selling process when broken down into specific sections. I will try my best to pre-type some sections. Especially on overcoming common objections. That part alone I can already see taking up 8 or 9 posts easily. Remember I am going in absolute order of operations.

FEEL FREE TO ASK ABOUT ANYTHING SPECIFIC! You may be confused or certain things you may need clarification or real life examples on. Don't be afraid to ask.

>>903896
>>903900
>>903904
>>903910


Before I continue on. I'll give some other advice that a lot of you should try to utilize. Its relevant for anyone not just sales.

It seems that the demographic on /biz/ is as follows. At least in my experience.

30% of you here are actual NEETS. Either working shit entry level jobs or not doing anything at all. You browse here and shitpost about shorting PRAN. 60% are highschool, college or university students. Ranging from fresh out or in to 3rd or 4th year students. And small 10% of us are the actual contributing members of society. Working in a business related field currently, or making actual money through investments or ownership.

With that being said, it would appear that at least 9 out of every 10 posters here, are under 25. So here is some godly advice.

>MILK your PARENTS! DO NOT MOVE OUT!

Be as good to them as you can! But milk them for everything you can! They WILL NOT BE THERE FOREVER! Car insurance payments, university tuition, spending money, gas money, transportation, place to live rent free. The absolute worst position you can be in after turning 19. Is to be a full time or even part time university/college student who works a shit job AND lives on their own or outside the parental safety net.

Don't fall into that moving out asap fallacy. It is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE if you do not have your education paid for in FULL currently, to GET AHEAD in today's economy if you have to pay rent, insurance AND for your education at the same time.

You want to put yourself in a situation so that when you get out of university you have liquid equity stashed away that can be used for paying liabilities and debt. Most of you are probably in situations where you live for free or your education is free. If you happen to be lucky and have both. Then you better be stashing away 10k a year minimum.

Gold mine thread right here boys^

>>903891
Thank you. Can you post the screenshots as well?

>>903937
How important is your major in university?

I'm a year away from graduating in archaeology, with plans on working in resource management, and maybe my own firm one day. I've since delayed graduation to get into my school co-op program so I can get more work experience.

However, now I'm looking at back up jobs to prepare for the real likelihood of not finding anything after graduation. Should I just grad asap, and get into a more relevant field?

>>895375
Excellent thread op ! I'm a some what seasoned sales person myself ~15 years experience mostly jewelry retail and B2B sales. Currently I'm at a cross road and seems like you are a very sensible individual so I would like to ask your opinion . It's some what a complex situacion , so I will green text to give some context:
>I was born in third world country
>poor as fuck
>dad was a great sales man but a drunk and a horse's ass 11 kids with diferent women etc .
>at 13 left home , at 16 droped out of highschool
>eventually I learned English and got a sales job at a tourist ( cruise ship ) town /island
>job payed well and I enjoyed it
>4 years later was promoted store manager (small watch and jewelry store ) since I was a top performer
>3 years after that get offered better position , salary and store with competitor company
> took job and moved to the town where said store was located
>meet qt Canadian girl there
>1 year latter we were engaged
>she wanted to move back to canada to finish degree
> her father offered me a job in canada (mining)
>moved to canada , worked mining hated every second of it but very good money
> 4 years later got job at Canadian jewellery company
>after a few months get offered management position
>father inlaw offers more money and management position to come back
> wife pressures and I accept
> big mistake
>hate every second of it again , got the raise but not the promotion mfw still doing grunt work
>wife finishes masters degree

Now I'm finally able to quit the mining job and find myself with 3 solid options ;
A) get a management job at Jewellery store ~50K/ salary + commissions +benefits and perks

B) take Canadian securities course and work as an investment advisor at a local bank while I get the CFP designation ( paid by the bank) and later move to and investment group and work in wealth management ( I'm more inclined to this options since I'm very interested in finacial products and the markets )

>>905297
>cont.

C) get a Real Estate licence and fight my way to the top ( Real Estate have always appealed to me but I couldn't afford in my home country to get into it since it takes so long to start making money )

What would you recommend me to do ? A) is the easiest since I already posses the knowledge and experience necessary to get a good job , with a great work life balance , however the income cap is between 80K to 100K if I get placed at a great location

B) is something I would love to do , and the income potencial is great , but it will take me years to get all the courses and in the meanwhile I'll be making ~40K a year

C) is the one with the greatest earning potencial but the Real Estate in my area is dominated by Asians , I don't have a large network and I would have to start from scratch . I figure it would take 2-3 years to start making decent money . However I have savings from mining

Thank you in advance and I would love to hear opinions from other lurkers as well

>>905297
>Mining
Best way to get my foot in the door? Was thinking of doing the Ft.Mac grind, but now that it's dead, been looking at mining.

>>905304
Infomine.com there you will see all job postings from all the employers worth working for. If you don't mind working in BC fort saint john's is building a Dam and are hiring everything . Also check pelly construction they are the biggest contractors in the Yukon . And if you don't know how to operate machinery or have a related degree or experience a OFA level 3 ticket and a CSO or a NCSO tickets would get you a job starting at like 30/hr

>>905305
How competitive is this? From what I've heard from a highschool friend who went up, it's pretty brutal working conditions, and most people "wash out".

>>905311
It's brutal work ! 12hr /day 7 days a week for 21 days and then 7 days off , fly in fly out so you live out of suitcase in a trailer in the middle of nowhere , with no cellphone signal , some camps have internet but lots don't nearest town is 2-3 hous drive and camps are full of redneck assholes . If you can deal with it it's not too bad but yes 90 % of people don't last more than 2 years . This is my 9th and I'm ready to stop

>>905352
>redneck assholes
I'm kind of concerned about this. I'm not white, and I'm a bit concerned that trouble will come looking for me, even if I keep my head down, and work.

>>899659
HA. This is the second time I've seen my friend's picture posted. The first time was a couple years back on /k/
I suspect you're the same poster.

OP, please continue on. Timeshare guy, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

>>905363
If you are not white , then you must be assertive , be willing to work twice as hard , not complain and be able to take all the rasist bullshit that they spew your way. But also keep on mind that most of this guys are pussies deep down , so if they get personal just stand up to them and they will back off in a hurry. I grew up amongst real mean mofos and had to fight every other day after school just to get home just because I'm not "native looking " ( I'm a cluster fuck of Caucasian , black , Arab and Mayan ) so in comparasing the rednecks weren't much of thread just very annoying , I'm. Not gonna lie I had to slap a couple of them and be willing to fight to get some respect , but never actually got further than that

To all who are following this thread:
Here is a paste bin with all of OP's major posts. The formatting didn't work so well in pastebin so it just looks like one long post and the post numbers are just left in to show you that he was replying to a comment someone else left.

Enjoy, will add an updated one in another couple weeks or so.

http://pastebin.com/mfaUjWfq
http://pastebin.com/mfaUjWfq
http://pastebin.com/mfaUjWfq

>>905372
>Timeshare guy, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.
Honestly, I haven't really been lurking the thread. I've been trying to squeeze in a lot of fishing before the season ends. Tl;dr for the moment as I'm half asleep in a passenger seat, but I'll chime in once I'm home.

>>905957
>there are people out there who still resort to physical violence to establish dominance
>these are your employees

bump

How do I into medical sales? Also working on a finance degree but want to do sales, should I just start working and drop school?

When will OP deliver?

>>908493
Not OP, but I can help.

First of all, don't drop. Most medical and pharmaceutical companies are looking for students with business degrees. Actually, any kind of Bachelors is acceptable, but /biz/ degrees are preferred. So don't drop.

While you're still in school, go for a retail sales job. Think of looking into cell phone stores, where you'll gain a very rudimentary understanding of the sales process (It's a mix of order-taking and selling). Better yet, look for direct/cold-calling sales experience. It's horrid work, but it'll make you less of a pussy. If you're able to perform in this kind of job, any medical or pharmaceutical company will look kindly on you. It is selling in its purest and hardest form. My recommendation would be for the book companies.

The culture of most medical/pharmaceutical companies is about not what you know, but who you know. You need referrals. I've cold applied for this when I started out . . . and it worked, but it's not going to be easy for most. While you're still in school, take a trip to career advising. Tell them you need to meet somebody in medical/pharma sales. Any good career advising office should have several leads for you.

Also don't mistake the medical industry for the pharmaceutical industry. They are entirely different, but they are both excellent options for a college grad getting into sales.

summary:
>don't drop, a /biz/ degree is very good
>get a sales internship under your belt, direct sales is strongly preferred
>(network while you're still in school)

Hi sir. I'm 20 still in college for business credits. I started working at sears part time recently in the appliances department. It's full commission an I wanted to seek advice. I make 1% off the full purchase then 9% of the margin profit from the sale. Then I make 12% off the Repair Agreements. I'm having trouble trying to convince the public to buy those. Especially when they are 500$ for 5 years. I usually say "this purchase is also qualifying for our protection agreements we can do repairs, replacements and even free yearly maintenance all for a one time charge of 499$ for 5 years."

>>910133
maybe tack onto the fact that it's just over $8 a month or $2 a week and that's a small price to pay for peace of mind. Not to mention it will continue to work just like the day they bought it.Selling is about appealing to the emotions.

>>895375

sell me this pen OP