Retail Sales Professional - It's all in the mind :)

Chapter 1. Let us start with the mind…

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. – Buddhist proverb

Did you know, that selling is the world’s oldest profession ?

Did you know, that in India, it Retail industry is the second largest employer, that means that  plenty  of jobs or opportunities in sales are going to be available now and in the future for a long long time.

Want to become a Sales Professional, not just a sales man in a unknown neighbourhood store ?  

But then, whether we call ourselves Sales Professionals or not, every one is in the field of selling.

1 .Five important benefits of becoming a Sales Professional ?

1.    You get to  meet people and solve their problems

2.    You can almost decide your income, because most sales jobs come with a combination of salaries and incentives.( reduce the hyperbole )

3.    You get to learn new things every day

4.    You will become a very good communicator.

5.    You can move up in life.

2 Characteristics of a Sales Professional ?

The best description of the characteristics of a Sales Professional is given below

THE SALESMAN*

Salesmen are big problems to their bosses, customers and wives, to credit managers, hotels, and sometimes to each other.  Individually and collectively they are cussed and discussed in sales meetings, conventions, behind closed doors, in bathrooms, bar rooms, and under one's breath from many angles, and with much fervor.

They make more noise and more mistakes, create more cheer, correct more errors, adjust more differences, spread more gossip, explain more discrepancies, hear more grievances, pacify more belligerence, and waste more time under pressure, all without losing their temper, than any class we know—including ministers. They live in hotels, cabs and tents on trains, buses, and park benches, eat all kinds of food, drink all kinds of liquids—good and bad—sleep before, during and after business with no more schedule than the weather bureau, and with no sympathy from the office.

Yet salesmen are a power in society and in the public economy. In many ways they are tribute unto themselves. They draw and spend more money with less effort, and less return, than any other group in business. They come at the most inopportune time, under the slightest pretext, stay longer under more opposition, ask more personal questions, make more comments, put up with more inconveniences and take more for granted under greater resistance than any group or body, including the U.S. Army. They introduce more new goods, dispose of more old goods, load or move more freight cars, unload more ships, build more factories, start more new businesses, and write more debits and credits in our ledgers than all the other people in America. With all their faults, they keep wheels of commerce turning, and the currents of human emotions running. More cannot be said of any man. Be careful whom you call a salesman, lest you flatter him.

*From Zig Ziglar’s, Ziglar on Selling, p. 14 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), originally sent to him by Donald Benenson of Levittown, New York.

3 In a country where there is so much emphasis on education, I am not so well educated. How are my chances ?

Sure, a formal education is a great starting point for any career, but even an MBA from IIM can at best get an interview for a position that you may not get , if you did not have an MBA.

But, after that , it is only the performance that counts on a day to day basis.

History has shown that people who have succeded or failed, are of all kinds, college educated, college dropouts  or did not even attend college.

But ultimately, what matters is a willingness to succeed, the desire to learn the trade, and the tenacity to keep learning as you go along.

That is more important, than a college education.

4 How is life as a sales person?

Let us face the reality , upfront. There are those who make things happen and then there are those who wonder what happened ? . Any job or profession today, is more difficult than it ever was before. It will be tougher in the future also. But, ups and downs are part and parcel of any life today. Unless, you are willing to go and live in the Himalayas, tough days are part of daily living . It is better to be ready for them mentally so that you can face it when a tough or bad day happens than be not prepared for it.

The “mantra” is to say, this can happen to any one and take learnings out of it.

5 When the going gets tough, will you still be there ?

Ex. To show who in a group can do something difficult and which people cannot This month’s target achievement should separate the men from the boys! Because the market is poor, there is new competition and target achievement seems so difficult.

Difficult days are when the committed Sales Professional will still find ways to do the work, while the “chalta hai” sales representative will find reasons to explain why he could not do the job assigned to him.

6 Personal time for going to the movies, spending family time.

Weekends may no longer be Saturdays or Sundays . Weekly off is typically a “working day of the week ie Monday to Friday. But the advantage is , you will be able to enjoy a much more “quality time” either with your family

Or at the movies. In fact, many things like movies, food are now a days cheaper on week days compared to week ends. So you have an additional advantage of having a holiday on a week day.

7.Being ethical

Being is no longer an extra advantage in this age of white lies, half truths and outright lies. Being ethical is not only the right way to live , it is also most practical way to live. There are any number of examples of individuals, companies and large diversified groups who have lived by the law and spirit of running an ethical business. Ultimately, they have prospered compared with those who took short cuts to success.

Being ethical is no longer an advantage, in this age of white lies, half truths and outright lies. There are any number of examples of individuals, companies, and even large diversified companies who have succeded, without compromising on values.

8 Can mindset and training be related ?

How can training and mindset complement each other? Simply put, training is like your vehicle and the mind is the driver. Even if the vehicle is powerful; it will only perform at its level best when the driver also performs.
9 The Sales Professional For the 21^st Century Malls and Hi Street Brands.

With literally thousands of brands being retailed in the country and many to come in the years ahead, all Sales Professionals may or may not have college education or an MBA to their names, but they are educated enough to want to do a college education but they are educated enough to want to do a college education.

10 Now and into the future

With the number of things that are being discarded and the number of things that are being introduced every day, there will no dearth of new sales job opportunities now and into the future.

So, being in sales is the best profession in the world. If you do not want to be in sales, then get out now and find a job that works with what you want out of life.

But remember, you can take the man out of selling, but you cannot take selling out of the man.

How did you like this article ? Did it help you become a better Retail Sales Professional ?

Do send your feedback to shivaraaam@gmail.com or 90360 365 24. You can also follow me on twitter @shivaraaam or blog at http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com

Posted in: MBA, Mindset, Professional, Retail, Sales, Training