Selling is tough – I can say this as I am all too familiar with it. Selling requires a sales strategy, tenacity, discipline, a lot of activity, a thick skin and patience. The sales cycle varies significantly dependent on the product or service you are
selling however more often than not (aside from retail sales) it is not an instant process, taking weeks, months or even years. It takes time to find the decision maker, to then get in contact with them to present your offering, followed by the follow up calls and emails to build the relationship, convince other stake holders and eventually make the sale.
Salespeople generally have high daily activity targets to achieve, from keeping in touch with and selling to current clients, to developing prospects and cold calling. The activity numbers vary dependent on the type of sales and role however for most salespeople it is making 20+ calls a day even up to 50 calls. During this daily activity you can guarantee a lot of knock backs, following of wrong leads and hopefully some positive leads.
If you are not in a sales role the level of activity and commitment required to make a sale is likely to be unfamiliar. Selling requires a lot of hard work. The same can be said for securing new employment. This is why there is merit in understanding the sales process – to then adapt relevant parts to your job search to assist you in securing the job you want.
When job seeking, you are selling the product you – your ‘Personal Brand’
Your job is to convince an employer that they need your services / skills at a particular point in time for a specific rate, which when you think it about it is the same as selling any product or service. The same level of discipline and commitment is required for a successful job search. There are a few selling fundamentals to follow, outlined below.
- Firstly create your sales strategy – what are you selling and who are you targeting? Where will you find these people? How will you approach them?
- Identify who are the decision makers you need to be speaking and meeting with.
- Be clear about how you solve their problem/s before you contact them (do your research)
- Set realistic activity targets with a bit of a stretch for yourself each day/ week to call, email and meet with leads. If you are serious this should be a minimum 40 a week and should always include at least half of these making phone calls. Any sales people will tell you its unlikely you will ever make a sale via email, next to always its face to face or on the phone.
- Discipline yourself to follow up emails, applications, calls and meetings weekly/monthly for those leads that are going to get you the sale! Remember it could take weeks or even months of follow ups before you land the job, however if it’s the one you want, then it is worth it. See the article ‘How Not Achieving Something Is the Key to Achieving It’ and why it is important to enjoy trying.
- Tenacity and a thick skin to keep going knowing that you will get a lot of no’s and only a few yes’s. Focus on the yes’s and the positive leads to ensure you achieve your dream job
Too many job seekers have a half hearted approach to the job seeking process and give up to easily. As a result they end up staying where they are or accepting a job that is not particularly what they are after however all they were able to secure given their commitment to the job seeking process. As I mentioned, job seeking like selling is tough, I don’t deny this. However it all depends on how much you value securing a great job over simply having or getting another job. Success comes at a price which is more often than not a lot of hard work, just ask any sales professional. In fact, if you a serious about getting a great job, I would encourage you to call or meet with someone in sales that you know to find out more about how they sell. You will no doubt pick up a lot of great tips and also hopefully some enthusiasm, direction with your sales strategy and potentially even a mentor or supporter.
