Getting Ready For A Career In Sales

Whether you’ve landed your dream sales job already or just considering sales as one of the options for your career currently, it’s natural to feel the anxiety of selling. The true hustle of finding leads, making thousands of cold calls for conversions, delivering flawless pitches, and maintaining relationships — can be overwhelming. 

Skipping the pressure is no option, but you can undeniably lower the intensity of this pressure by being prepared beforehand. One way you can do that is by honing your skills - from building your confidence to learning how to maintain long-term relationships. 

Why sales as a career is a great choice?

Salespeople make up a significant portion of the workforce worldwide. There's always something to sell, from necessities like food and housing to high-end services like software as a service. 

Between 2020 and 2030, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 4.5 per cent increase in sales representative employment. During that time, an estimated 59,400 opportunities are expected to be available. 

With sales as a career choice, you can start small and find yourself advancing in your career ladder within no time. However, advancement in a sales role requires 100% commitment and a strong foundation. 

Here are a few ways to learn how to prepare for a successful sales career. 

5 Effective Ways to Prepare For a Successful Sales Career

To succeed in a sales career, you need to learn to set ambitious goals, meet deadlines, and build a reliable network. However, everyone is not a  sales expert from the beginning, and that should be the motivation you need to work towards it.

If you start with a solid foundation, you can develop the professional skills needed to prosper in the industry. Below are 5 strategies you should focus on, to succeed in sales. 

1. Focus on Experiential Learning 

We learn best through a combination of experience, reflection, and experimenting — ideally with some ‘good mentoring’ to speed up the process. 

Before starting your first day as a sales rep, you must understand every aspect related to it. Actively participating in activities like roleplays, simulations, and internships can get you the experiential learning that you need to be prepared. 

Roleplays benefit is twofold: It helps you anticipate diverse situations and understand customer behaviour and personalities by reinforcing smart sales methodologies. These smart sales methodologies include product pitching. Internships further help in learning because you are actively practising what you’re learning. Together, these activities provide a sense of challenge and realism to brace you for a successful sales career. 

2. Stay updated about the Sales Productivity Tools 

There have been paradigm shifts in the way sales processes are conducted. Technological advancements have revolutionised the sales processes entirely by streamlining the techniques and tweaking the old processes. Therefore, the only way to progress ahead is by familiarising yourself with the cutting-edge technologies making their way into the business world. 

CRM is a tool that expedites business growth by reducing friction, collaborating with teams, understanding customers, and automating tasks. To be better prepared, gain extensive knowledge of CRM software skills. Acquaint yourself well with basic digital skills such as software productivity and non-digital skills such as customer service and communication skills.

3. Don’t underestimate the power of Product Knowledge 

Extensive product knowledge is a hallmark of a promising sales career. It is indispensable and should never be neglected. No matter which company you’re going to be working for, you should know its products or services well. It is important to provide a solution to every client and tailor the solutions as per their needs. 

Therefore, invest your time to get the basics right - how your product adds value, its unique selling point, and details. It’s important to know all this to cater value to your customers. 

4. Constantly Improve your Interpersonal Skills 

Good interpersonal skills are at the heart of selling. They are more than the ability to chat with your customers when they reach out to you. They involve active listening, teamwork, leadership qualities and effective communication. 

Some ways you can work on your skills are:

• By paying attention when a prospect speaks
• By asking questions to get a better understanding 
• By working on your body language while talking 
• By participating in Public Speaking 
• By participating in sales training programs
• By consuming content that features sales experts sharing their successful experiences.  

5. Always work on growing your Network 

In sales, it is rightly said that "Your network is your net worth". It is true that the more individuals you know in your industry, the more opportunities will automatically come your way. 

​​Join a professional sales group and attend networking or webinar events to expand your network. In addition, you should always keep an open mind during building a network as you never know which connection can be your helping hand in the future. 

Be 100 % Sales Ready

While many people in the industry inherently possess the skillset that makes them stand out as successful sales workers, there’s nothing to worry about if you don’t fall in that category. Formal schooling can undoubtedly help polish those skills, open new opportunities, and provide the first few stepping stones for your long and prosperous sales career.
Juno is one of the best online schools in the market to kickstart your career in sales. From getting you well versed with some solid sales methodology to getting you hands-on experience with tools such as CRMs, Juno can be your guide to building a solid path. To know more, visit https://www.junoschool.org/