Embarking on Sales Career

Before the Game Started
My impression of salespeople was bad, terrible in fact - false grins that did not meet the eyes, over-zealousness at the products they were pushing, and overdose of compliments towards their intended prospects.

I hated them, god. Whenever one came near me, I was quick and brusque at brushing them off. I always wondered why one would choose to go into sales - couldn't get a normal, well-paying job? Hence the need to harass other people for sales, earning pittance for commission.

This was why the thought of going into any kind of sales never crossed my mind.

Joining the Sales Force
It was by accident that I landed myself a sales job in a huge investment cum insurance company - the recruitment agency was superb. The lady managed to make the career sound like  a breeze, and the job boosted a good remuneration package overall. I was tired of deskbound jobs, so I thought, why not?

It was only after I signed the contract and began training, I began to wonder what I got myself into. Could I really do sales? Smooth-talk and persuade people to buy from me? Would I have the confidence to do that?

Then I realized I had also been "sales-talked" by the recruitment manager into accepting this job.
Everything was about sales these days - even professionals like doctors, lawyers and certified public accounts were advertising aggressively, trying to convince potential clients that they were the best firm amongst the fierce competition out there.

I made many friends during the Sales and Product Trainings before I was posted to a branch officially. To my surprise, many people had actually came into the company on voluntary basis, because they wanted to excel and earn big bucks; some of them even had passion for sales-related roles. I nearly could not believe it.

Hands-On Experience
After I was discharged from training, I was assigned to my team. This was where my managers worked very closely with me on sales script and presentation skills, as well as professional grooming.

I remember having to approach potential clients at branch or roadshows. It was rather intimidating. What if he or she rejected me? What did they think of me? What if I managed to get them to sit down and listen to me - would I be able to remember my script? So I would hide at a corner and watch more aggressive colleagues approach the potential clients, eventually leading to closing cases.

My managers gave me more motivational coaching, and I decided to cast my fears aside and began to do my own prospecting. If I was at branch I would boldly walk up to the customers queuing up, to offer them my brochures and share about my products / services since they were waiting in line anyway. The first one rejected me, so I was embarrassed, headed back to my desk cubicle to act busy. In actuality I wanted to recompose myself to prepare for the next approach. I walked confidently out from my desk cubicle but chose the prospect standing furthest away from the one who'd rejected me earlier on.

This went on for a couple hours, until I was tired, and just spoke to them one by one in line, regardless of whether I got rejected or not. Then suddenly I hit jackpot - a pleasant looking elderly gentleman expressed interest. I led him to my desk cubicle, spoke to him in details about my products, and he signed up on the spot. That was my very first customer.

Of course, being new and all, I had mixed up the explanation for some of the product's functions, and the paperwork had missing fields. When my manager came to branch to visit me, I showed him the forms proudly; he was happy I finally made my first sale, but grimaced at the paperwork. I had to go down to the client's place to re-sign the forms, but he was very understanding.


Continual Sales Process
We also had to learn prospecting for clients on the streets or at shopping malls - sometimes without the luxury of roadshow booths to facilitate the prospecting process. With roadshows at shopping malls, we could still entice the potential clients to sit down with us using "lucky draw" or "free gift" concepts.

Without roadshows, we basically walked around "doing surveys" with spotted targets, but we had to do it to generate leads.

Sometimes we would actually do door-to-door sales, combing rows of houses and apartments to promote our products / services and generate awareness. There were actually results as some of the homeowners welcomed us into their homes to chat further and listen to our presentation.

Of course, for this manner of prospecting, all of us had to be extra cautious. We never knew if we may walk into the home of a serial killer or rapist, whether we were male or female. Hence we often used the "buddy system" in which we would work in pairs, and if we did not feel comfortable about anyone or any unit, we would not enter their homes.

In office, we would make calls using leads we generated on the streets, called our warm markets or cold leads purchased from various sources. We also went through telephone directories, since back then not everyone had mobile phones, so it was still alright to reach them at home.

My portfolio grew and business flourished. Sometimes clients would also refer their contacts to us, so the job got easier with each passing month.


Passion for Sales
Our hours were rather flexible, and the colleagues grew close from working long hours together under harsh conditions - be it day or night, sun or rain. Sometimes we would also go for meals or tea together to de-stress, and trade gossip. Other times, we went partying after work to celebrate or lament, depending on whether it had been a good week for us or not.

Motivation and encouragement between colleagues were important, as well as support from the bosses and clients.

I began to enjoy my work very much. I had very supportive bosses, yes, and I also had close colleagues whom I would brainstorm with, partner with for new projects, and hung out with.

Some of my clients also became my friends, and we would meet up just to have tea or meals. They were wonderful people from all walks of life - directors, HR managers, nurses, executives, pilots etc. Some of them referred clients to me every now and then because they liked my service, and I tried to do the best I could - I was generous with gifts, helpful with all their tasks related to the products / services they got from me, and I even sent them tonics when they fell sick.

This was a career that allowed me total carte blanche to get creative on how I acquired my clients and serviced them well. The money was good, and I was able to plan my own schedule (the latter requires much self-discipline and self-motivation).

Sometimes it did not even feel like work to me, even when I stayed till eleven on weekday nights or returned to office to do paperwork on weekends.


Promotion and Incentives
Best of all, for sales careers, how much we wanted to earn pretty much depended on the efforts we committed to doing the job. That said, it does not mean that putting in 20 hours a day would definitely bring in sales.

Besides committing work hours, I think it is very essential to also devote some time to read books or watch videos of successful people, so that we could improve on our sales skills and rejection handling techniques. Setting time to keep ourselves updated on latest news (especially those related to our industry) and reading up more about competitors would help, too. There is nothing like being equipped with knowledge that would both impress the client and makes oneself feel empowered.

Monetary rewards aside, the company also tossed incentives such as overseas trips, celebratory dinners at posh restaurants, Ipads or vouchers etc to motivate us further. I myself had enjoyed some of these perks and would always strive for more.

Seeing my name on the notice board of "Top 10 Sales of the Month" or "Top Rookie" were also motivational factors that kept my drive going. It was an honor to be on the Hall of Fame, and I enjoyed recognition.

When I received news of promotion, I was elated, needless to say. I felt that I had earned it, truly, and that my hard works have finally been paid off.

Now my roles would include training and coaching people, managing them so we could all work together to achieve greater heights.


Conclusion
Now, I no longer look back with loathing at salespersons.

In reality, salespersons in many companies earn a lot, some even more than their managers. It is also not all about fake smiles and product pushing all the time - though, granted, there are industries that practice hard-sell pretty commonly - but if one were to think carefully, every industry, every trade is all about sales.

In actuality, sales jobs are not easy too. The salespersons face rejections on a daily basis but have to learn to be strong enough to deal; the constant chase for targets is very stressful,  and the skills of talking well is not something that everyone can do.

I am proud of my chosen path, and hope more people get to see the truth behind a good sales career, too.