Why do people enter into the sales profession? We have heard quite a few answers:
- I like people
- I’m great with people
- I’m a people person
- I want freedom
- I want to control my own destiny
- I am great at persuading people
- I don’t want to be tied to a desk
- And on and on and on . . .
Real answers from real people in real sales jobs.
Hang out with salespeople for long enough and you will learn that these are common reasons early in sales careers. Keep hanging out with them and you will learn that these are still popular reasons later in their sales careers. But boy oh boy have they learned a lot in the meantime! A lot about business. A lot about people. And A LOT about sales.
It is interesting how many people tell us, I wish I had known (FILL IN THE BLANK) before getting into sales.
Here is a Top 10 List of things salespeople tell us they wish they would have known before diving into this career:
- I wish I had known that prospects are not always up front and honest (When they say they want to “think it over” I used to believe them. Now I think I am the only one thinking it over!)
- I wish I had known that you are not paid for working hard – the ultimate measuring stick of success is closed business (Work as hard as you want. No closed deals will lead to a very rough work environment)
- I wish I had known how lonely this job can be (When the going gets tough, you are still on your own)
- I wish I had known he difference between Hunting and Farming (Hunting for business is hard!)
- I wish I had known that only sales have KPIs that are measured (Nobody ever asks HR how many resumes did you review this week?, or Accounting how many journal entries did you enter this week?)
- I wish I had known that people in other departments at my company think I have it easy – often begrudging me (The stereotypes of salespeople were created long before I entered into sales)
- I wish I had known about all of the admin work that is required (CRM, call reports, forecasts and projections, competitive analysis, territory management, sales meetings, post-mortems, goal setting, etc. – Feels like I am in the Time Management business)
- I wish I had known that you DO NOT punch a clock in sales (If I want to be screamingly successful it will involve evenings and weekends and other times when “my non-sales friends” are having fun)
- I wish I had known that every Month/Quarter/Year you start over at $0 again and nobody cares what you did yesterday. (What are you going to do this Month/Quarter/Year?)
- I wish I had known that my boss (as great a person as she is) still has a job to do (And holding me and the Sales Team accountable is one of her jobs – UGH who likes to be held accountable?)
Sales is still the greatest profession in the world. People will continue to choose it as their career. Be straight, do you wish you knew these 10 things before you took the plunge? Me too!
