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I just want to know - how are some people successful in sales jobs in this economy? What's the secret? Is it the industry, having a strong pipeline, being in the business for a long time, etc...?
My brother has had several sales jobs (all B2B sales in both inside sales and outside sales rep) in the past 3 years and has really struggled to hit quota in which most times he did not. He noticed that those who had been with these companies for a long time got all the best accounts, or got good, solid leads from managers while the new employees got the worst territories and no leads. What's the deal? He doesn't seem to have an issue with landing gigs but once he is there he can't seem to get momentum going enough to last long-term.
Is there an industry he should try to get into that would yield better results? Any suggestions or advice?
Sales is not an 8-5 job. That is the problem most people have with sales. And, it is more about developing a relationship with people, not the hard sell the minute you meet them. I deal with alot of sales people, but the ones I call are the ones who call me even when they are not selling something, but have new information for me. Or who go out of their way to help me out with their products.
I'll give you a hint, sell a product that saves people money, people in this economy are looking to reduce their bills. Sell a product people already have, but reduce the amount they pay for it.
Know your products inside out, have some type of certification or specialty with various products and be a good listener. It helps to sometimes build a relationship with the customer instead of just going for the kill. That's a real turn off. Good luck to everyone!
I just want to know - how are some people successful in sales jobs in this economy? What's the secret? Is it the industry, having a strong pipeline, being in the business for a long time, etc...?
My brother has had several sales jobs (all B2B sales in both inside sales and outside sales rep) in the past 3 years and has really struggled to hit quota in which most times he did not. He noticed that those who had been with these companies for a long time got all the best accounts, or got good, solid leads from managers while the new employees got the worst territories and no leads. What's the deal? He doesn't seem to have an issue with landing gigs but once he is there he can't seem to get momentum going enough to last long-term.
Is there an industry he should try to get into that would yield better results? Any suggestions or advice?
I am a sales director; what I do is b2b sales, selling consumer products to retail stores to be exact. The most successful sales people I know are ones who have been in the same industry for a long enough time to build relationships with buyers. Buyers change jobs in the same way we all do, so you often end up selling to the same buyers over many years.
I remember when I was a sales assistant just starting out in the 90s; it was very difficult to talk to a buyer at your average gift store. I struggled to get a $500.00 order. Fast forward to now, I can pick up the phone and easily set up meeting with senior managers at major chains around the country and easily get $50,000 order without breaking a sweat. Why? I've been in the same industry for all of these years, so for instance the head buyer at XYZ Retail Chain was a lowly assistant way back when I was a lowly assistant too. So 15 years we've both risen through the ranks and now I can just call and say, "Hey, it's Onglet. I've got something for you to try, your customers will love it" and she trusts me well enough to just do it on my say so. (It's a two way street - I'd never try to sell something that will not work.) Bingo, now my stuff is in 600 stores.
I lasted through the early days because i purposefully got into an industry that I love. Selling something that you really love brings passion to your job and that really is the only thing your brother can bring to the table early on. Another person I know is an avid cyclist, so he went into sales, working for a distributor, selling bike gear to bicycle shops. Passion brought him through the early days, and he too rose through the ranks into management as I have done.
Good responses. I agree with relationship building part but my brother keeps telling me that these companies only care about you hitting quota and so he's constantly under pressure to do strong sale.
Is there any sales industry that is doing particularly well in this economy?
B2B sales is tough right now, at least in my corner of the world the good old fashioned account manager has all but disappeared. Have not seen a legitimate company that offers a base salary with commission post a job in about two years. When I started in sales there were two general types of sales jobs, jobs for hunters and jobs for farmers. Hunters are aggressive and kill for the sale and then move on the next prospect, farmers tend to their territory and wait for the sales to grow. From what I have seen all the jobs for farmers are gone. Tried to be a hunter-type sales person for a while but it just was not for me.
If I had to guess any industry that is thriving right would be selling logistics. Every company that I know is trying to cut back on transportation expenses and would be willing to try a new company if they can save money.
For many industries the Sales numbers are way, way down from where they were 3 yrs ago. It's a shame that he keeps working for companies that the Leads aren't at least somewhat fairly distributed. There is a n argument for rewarding your long-term reps, but that also can lead to laziness and missing out on some sales because Joe the Long Term Rep might not hustle hard after every lead.
The recession-proof Sales industries are the usual suspects such as Food Distribution, Medical Supplies, Pharmaceuticals, etc. There are a few up and coming industries such as any company that is doing well with the Medical Electronic Medical Records field.
Realistically, until the Economy picks up the choices will be few that pay a good salary + commission and has stability.
The new Economy is about Diversifying your income. If that means moonlighting or starting a small business at night until you can build it up. Do whatever it takes.
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