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You really haven't been in sales until you've been fired a time or two. The way I spin it is that I wasn't given all the tools that I needed to be successful. My last gig I waited almost a year for a CRM system that actually worked, so I kept track of prospects with scraps of paper, post-it notes and reminders on my calendar in my computer.
Sales is pretty quirky, lost another job because a sales rep in a different state walked out the door with 10% of the company's business. Overnight the company told all their sales managers to get rid of anyone hired in the past two years and for the sales managers to take over their accounts until they could right the ship again.
Couldn't say say all that I wanted in my previous post as I was on break at work and had to rush. However, now that I have time, I want to say that although door to door and telemarketing sales may not mean much to you, but for many people, that is what many people start off with these days.
True. These jobs are horrible. I find many young people (in college or just out of college) get pressured into these types of jobs. Telemarketing is very demeaning work. I worked at 3 of these places. I was hung up on, cussed out, called names over the phone. I was threatened every day with meeting my quota or else. I saw people walked out of the door every day for not making their quotas and thrown out on the street to desperately scramble for another job. Also, the boiler room environment was gross. You quit really fast or you got fired. As for door to door sales, its just downright dangerous. I would never do it, even if I had to go on welfare as my only other option.
True. These jobs are horrible. I find many young people (in college or just out of college) get pressured into these types of jobs. Telemarketing is very demeaning work. I worked at 3 of these places. I was hung up on, cussed out, called names over the phone. I was threatened every day with meeting my quota or else. I saw people walked out of the door every day for not making their quotas and thrown out on the street to desperately scramble for another job. Also, the boiler room environment was gross. You quit really fast or you got fired. As for door to door sales, its just downright dangerous. I would never do it, even if I had to go on welfare as my only other option.
Which is why I would always prefer to have a job where the customers come to you, rather than the other way around. The other poster bragged about how great of a furniture salesman he was. Not that it is easy, but there's an advantage to that type of sales over the telemarketing stuff where you're fishing for leads over the phone. Customers walking into a store like a furniture store, auto dealer, etc. are at least somewhat interested, or they wouldn't be there in the first place. You have a better chance of closing the sale when they're already in there, and if you're a good presenter and well knowledgeable. Most people are very skeptical of telemarketers anyway and automatically think its a scam.
Disparaging your former boss in an interview is absolutely, positively, the last thing you want to do no matter the industry.
This isn't necessarily true. If your former employer was asking you to do things that are unethical or even illegal, then you can state that as grounds for cutting ties if push comes to shove. Granted, there are better responses, but I think no hiring manager would question the motives of someone put into that type of situation. If anything, it's more in your favor, as long as the company interviewing you is on the up and up.
To answer the OP, my ex husband was in sales. Was let go from 2 companies for not making quota. One of the companies had a hard time all around because of competition from a well known provider. My ex also didn't like committing to the hard sell, didn't like to have to shove his pitch down someone's throat.
He found another sales job and has been there for about 8 years now.
Which is why I would always prefer to have a job where the customers come to you, rather than the other way around. The other poster bragged about how great of a furniture salesman he was. Not that it is easy, but there's an advantage to that type of sales over the telemarketing stuff where you're fishing for leads over the phone. Customers walking into a store like a furniture store, auto dealer, etc. are at least somewhat interested, or they wouldn't be there in the first place. .
True, its an entirely different ballgame when the customers come to YOU.
Also, furniture salespeople tend to do very well (as far as income) if they are good at sales. Most of the ones who worked at Dillard's selling furniture, were earning six figures - and that was when I worked there 20 years ago.
Also, businesses constantly claimed that telemarketing worked to generate business. They were wrong because in some areas, cold calling just doesn't work. For example, businesses would try to sell certain products over the phone like wine, clothing, etc. that the customer couldn't even see, so why would they commit to buying it over the phone? And yes, there were some businesses that tried to sell these types of things over the phone. Believe it or not. And if you can't sell it, well you're a bad performer and you're fired.
The "Do Not Call" list was the death knell for a lot of telemarketing businesses.
True, its an entirely different ballgame when the customers come to YOU.
Also, furniture salespeople tend to do very well (as far as income) if they are good at sales. Most of the ones who worked at Dillard's selling furniture, were earning six figures - and that was when I worked there 20 years ago.
Also, businesses constantly claimed that telemarketing worked to generate business. They were wrong because in some areas, cold calling just doesn't work. For example, businesses would try to sell certain products over the phone like wine, clothing, etc. that the customer couldn't even see, so why would they commit to buying it over the phone? And yes, there were some businesses that tried to sell these types of things over the phone. Believe it or not. And if you can't sell it, well you're a bad performer and you're fired.
The "Do Not Call" list was the death knell for a lot of telemarketing businesses.
I have never really seen telemarketing work for anything other than lead generation, precious metals such as gold, other investments, some business to business like software or known supplies, anything else is a waste of time and should not be done.
As for having people coming to you, yes that is nice however to try to go from something like selling furniture or even cars into a business where you have to go hunt for customers is usually a difficult transition for many sales people and has killed plenty of careers.
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