A career in sales can be extremely exciting and rewarding. But since sales is a highly competitive field, there’s no time to take a break. Being edged out by the competition is a possibility that even an experienced salesperson has to contend with everyday. Sales careers can take many forms - from pharmaceutical sales to car sales to real estate to insurance. They call fulfill telemarketing, advertising, or even corporate functions.

For most companies into producing goods or providing services, it all comes down to sales. Without the help of a skilled and highly motivated sales staff, businesses of all sorts would be busy writing their obituaries. In sales, where compensation is often hinged on performance, the pressure to produce can be too much for some people resulting in quick turnovers and job instability. So is a sales career your calling??

Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed in Sales?

Many people blindly go into sales, never stopping to consider whether they’re the right fit for the job. If you’re thinking of pursuing a career in sales but aren’t sure if you’ve got what it takes to succeed on the job, here are ten easy ways to find out.

1. Sit down and talk with as many sales people as you can. Spend a day and ride with a sales rep. You’ll discover firsthand that a sales job isn’t all peaches and cream and so you can gauge if this is something you see yourself doing… long-term.

2. There are different kinds of sales careers so it’s important to examine your motives carefully. Some sales fields bring in huge sums of money fast while others provide rewards in other ways like continued traveling, learning and training.

3. Do you have an appreciation for non-obvious solutions? Good salespeople make themselves stand out by bringing to the job a unique vision of things.

4. Becoming a top seller in your chosen field will be impossible if you’ve got a less-than-contagious sense of enthusiasm. Check if you’ve got loads of this characteristic before taking on a sales job.

5. Gauge your sales commitment level. Sales cycles typically take months (some even years). Individuals who can keep an eye on the prize while selling to other prospects are ideal candidates for sales positions.

6. Genuine love for the product is what gets most salespeople through the inevitable rough patch. Find out if you possess the burning passion to enable making successful sales… yes, even if you don’t believe in the product you are selling.

7. People like to buy from a salesperson with integrity. Trust can translate into repeat customers. Subject yourself to an integrity check.

8. Are you a very sociable creature? The sales arena requires the forging of new work relationships on a regular basis so it is important that you are somebody who not only likes to meet new people, but one who thrives in it!

9. Ask yourself whether you’re capable of setting aside feelings of rejection to keep a potential buyer. Sales require steely nerves to be able to persist amid one dismissal after another.

10. Are you disciplined, yet flexible? To succeed in sales you need to have the discipline to keep on going and not rest on your laurels after that big sale. Remember that sales is a dog-eat-dog industry so if you are not always on top of things… somebody else will be. However, you also need to be flexible because not everything will fall in your plan. (Actually, most of the time it won’t.)

Companies put great stock on their sales teams to successfully market their goods and further the company’s interests. Self-starters, good communicators and product experts can take advantage of the high-income opportunity that a sales career offers. So if you feel that you fit the profile of a great sales person, it’s time to take a look at the various sales jobs… pronto!

Ryan Stewart has coached hundreds to pharma sales success (and he’s done it all for free). To jump-start your pharmaceutical sales career go to pharmaceutical-sales-representative.com

If you are looking for a way to make your company stand out from the crowd, you may want to consider purchasing a batch of double sided business cards. These cards are unique as they are printed on both sides. Double sided business cards offer many advantages compared to those with printing on only one side. You are wasting valuable “real estate” with single sided cards. You double your message with double sided business cards.

First off, double sided business cards allow for your card to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Projecting that image of providing more information to your prospect or client, will win them over every time. If your prospective clients receive a double sided business card from you, it will show that you are professional, and that your company has a sense of elegance. Double sided business cards are more expensive to print, but they go a long way in making a great first impression.

Double sided business cards also allow for you to fit more information onto your card. Have you ever received a business card that seems cluttered? On the front side alone there is a name, address, phone number, company name, and mission statement. This clutter does no good for your client, as it is very difficult to read and comprehend. If you offer a double sided business card, you can put all of your contact information on one side, and then add a mission statement or other customized text to the other side. Just imagine what you could use that extra side for… There are too many to list here!

These double sided business cards can cost more, but it makes up for it in appearance. These business cards look great. Think about it. If you are searching through a stack of cards, which one will you notice first?-The card that is one sided black and white, or a double sided color business card? The double sided theme makes your card more visible. You can portray a larger message with double sided cards and probably provide extra information you could not fit onto a one sided card.

If you are looking to stand out above the rest, try out a batch of double sided business cards; they are a great way to show your professionalism. The cost is not usually double the price of single sided cards, so you are getting more for your money.

Keith Londrie II is a well known author. For more information on Business cards, please visit Business Card Information for a wealth of information.

Q: I’m so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer’s, so I’m the one who’s always right. Sure, they can have an opinion, but in the end it’s up to me to decide who’s right and who’s not. And if the customer doesn’t like it they can take their business elsewhere. What do you say to that, Mr. Business Expert?
— Paul W.

A: Ah, Paul, and I had such high hopes that we would be friends. Oh well, so much for that hope. The fact is, Paul, within the context of a normal business transaction, the customer is always right. If you can’t accept that fact, you won’t have customers for long.

Sure, the customer might also be unreasonable, demanding, obnoxious, totally insane, and argumentative, but if you are willing to take their money in exchange for providing a product or service, then yes, the customer is always right.

I agree that there are terrible customers that will beat you into the ground if you let them. They rant, they rave, and they demand more than they should receive. But guess what, Paul? If a customer crosses the line of reasonability you don’t have to do business with them. Thank them for their time and then send them on their not-so-merry way. Let them become someone else’s problem if they are too much for you.

I have invited customers to take their business elsewhere and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The truth is some customers can not be pacified and end up doing more harm to your business than good. Still, it’s up to you to do business with them and if you choose to do so, you basically agree to put up with whatever they dish out.

Most customer issues arise from bad customer service. There is not a week that goes by that I am not confronted with bad customer service, provided by apathetic business owners and their disgruntled employees who don’t seem to give a flip that I am not a happy customer.

As an entrepreneur I give my fellow entrepreneurs more leeway than most people when it comes to bad customer service. I know how hard it is to be in business and I know how busy the average entrepreneur is. Still, the entrepreneur who ignores the customers needs will not be an entrepreneur very long.

I am not an over-demanding customer, but I do expect to be treated with the respect due someone who is willing to pay hard earned money for a product or service. In the past year I have been physically assaulted by a car salesman who refused to back up the promises he had made to get my signature on the dotted line. I’ve given up going to a certain Mexican fast food restaurant because the spiky-haired kids behind the counter act like taking my order is a major imposition on their day and when I do convince them to sell me food, the order is always wrong. And a certain cable company is still billing me for cable service at a house I moved out of six months ago.

So don’t preach to me about who’s right and who’s wrong, Paul, because I have enough customer service horror stories to fill your soon to be empty appointment book, and in every case the customer WAS right.

Tell you what, Paul, instead of continuing my regular customer service sermon let me take this opportunity to write an open letter to you and other entrepreneurs everywhere who share your point of view.

Dear Paul (and the rest of you jokers),

The next time I order your product and you swear on a stack of bibles that it will absolutely, positively be there overnight and when it doesn’t show up for two weeks and is broken in a dozen pieces and I call you to complain and you just say, “Oh well…”

The next time you tell me that my house needs a new roof when really all it really needs is a few shingles nailed down and when I confront you with the truth of the matter and you just say, “Oh well…”

The next time you tell me that my car needs a new engine when all it really needs is a battery, and I point this out to you and you just say, “Oh well…”

The next time I get lousy customer service from you I am going to go out of my way to let the world know about you. I’m going to start a campaign of customer service unawareness that will have angry customers beating on your door with torches and pitch forks in hand.

I’m going to send emails to everyone I know and encourage them to pass them on to everyone they know. It’ll be like that old shampoo commercial where I tell two friends and they tell two friends and they tell two friends and before you know it the entire world will know to avoid your business like the plague.

Then I’m going to build a website dedicated to telling the world about your lousy customer service, Paul. I’ll register it with search engines and send out press releases and buy TV and radio spots that announce to the world that your idea of customer service leaves much to be desired.

And when you come crying back to me, Paul, moaning that you have been run out of business as a result of my campaign of customer service unawareness do you know what I’m going to say?

That’s right, Paul, old pal.

I’ll just say, “Oh well…”

Note to readers: Have you experienced bad customer service? If so email me the details. Who knows, maybe we can hit the campaign trail together.

Here’s to your success!

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur
and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.
Tim’s latest books include “Small Business Success Secrets”
and “The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!”
Related Links:
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

I attended a seminar the other day at a local trade show and one thing that they mentioned almost in passing that inspired me was the critical concept of “selling your successes”.

Hmmm… “Sell your successes” - What could that mean?

Simply put, when you walk the talk, talk the walk. Adjust your marketing and sales conversations and materials to reflect how your product or services helped someone achieve what they wanted.

Now how do you do this? Well here are 3 techniques that when applied effectively can lower your marketing costs & energize your business.

1. Let ‘Testimonials’ Pave the Way
To best illustrate this technique, let me share with you a line that I use often that goes something like this: “If I tell you that I’m great at what I do, at best you’ll take it with a grain of salt, but if an unbiased third-party tells you that I’m great at what I do, you’ll tend to believe them. In other words, people tend to give more credence to what someone else says about you rather than what you say about yourself.

So use every opportunity to gain testimonials about you, your team, your product, your service, or your business in general. Collecting and effectively using testimonials should become a key marketing strategy for your business.

2. Using ‘Stories’ to Get Your Point Across
Storytelling has been around since the beginning of mankind and when used properly can illustrate your point better than almost any other way. Stories have the power to capture and engage the listener in a softened manner - not the hard selling approach that people typically run away from. Stories also have the unique ability to take complex ideas and make them easy to understand - without a dissertation on the subject.

My best advice here is to model other great storytellers. Take one of my favorites for instance, Mark Victor Hansen. Just look at his Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. Essentially each chapter is a story effectively illustrating a point that touches, moves, and inspires its readers.

So you may be tempted to say, well that’s easy for him, but I’m no Mark Victor Hansen. Now maybe you potentially are or aren’t, however my point is, that this is a very learnable skill, people aren’t born with it. They develop it by continually practicing and honing it.

3. Sharing ‘Case Studies’ to Illustrate what’s Possible
Case studies are a sure-fire way to give your prospect a mental picture of what’s possible for their business should they engage you help. These are particularly great for those prospects who need to see it themselves in order to believe it. Case studies illustrate tangible solutions - they tend to instill a deeper level of confidence in your prospect that you can get it done for them. Essentially, you have a track record of success to draw upon.

Now when using any or all of the 3 techniques just discussed, remember that just like telling a joke, timing and delivery are critical to their success. For example placing a testimonial in your sales letter in just the right spot where you are looking to establish credibility is key to getting your prospect to keep reading.

These techniques can also play a critical role in humanizing your business and its offerings - placing real people behind your messages. For example, instead of pounding a prospect with every possible service you offer and the features and benefits of each, try using a short story to simplify a complicated solution that you implemented for a similar customer. Or how about using a relevant case study in a sales presentation illustrating how your service helped a client with similar needs to the prospect you’re presenting to.

Try integrating these techniques into your everyday marketing and realize the positive residual effects they can bring.

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle — All Rights Reserved.

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, “The Motivational Marketer,” is creator of the acclaimed ‘Pumped Up Networking‘ system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the ‘Marketing Minute’ - a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit http://www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

People like to do business with people they trust. And more than that, they like to work with people that they like.

The “courtship” phase of your relationship with your prospects is critical to your small business success. So are you giving your clients the reasons they need to fall in love with what you offer?

First of all, do you know why you’re the best choice or — even better — the only choice worth considering?

If not, it’s high time you found out. Take a look at 4 or 5 competitors’ websites and see how they communicate their services.

What works? What doesn’t?

Do they focus on the results they achieve for their clients? Do you? Results you have achieved for other businesses can be powerful stuff.

Do they specialize in exactly the same market? Do you currently have a specialization? If not, would this help you?

If you’re not a better option on paper, find ways to set yourself apart, such as choosing a market niche that is slightly different or deciding to add your own personal twist to your marketing. You might see success just by adding helpful articles and a more client-focused approach to your marketing mix.

Are your marketing materials full of powerful statements that show your prowess in your field, without being pushy? Or are you mainly sending prospects the marketing equivalent of cheesy pickup lines?

Anyone can come out with a promotion that says they offer the best-quality services in your line of work, but unless you can back it up with real proof, it can easily sound slick and untrustworthy.

Be yourself. It’s a common mistake that especially newcomers to self-employment sometimes make to try to put on airs in order to appear more successful, but frankly, this almost always backfires. For starters, you won’t feel confident during the exchange, which means that your personal passion will not shine through. And having the passion to help your clients goes a long way toward building trust.

What’s more, you might promise more than you can deliver — and the very best way to make clients unhappy is to do just that. Instead, promise excellence and then deliver even more than you promised!

And remember, even if you’re not confident about your marketing, you are unique. No one else can offer exactly what you can. Use your current marketing techniques to express your personality, your business’s brand, to let people get to know you.

Listen more, talk less. Have you ever spent time with someone who really listened to you? Talk about an amazing way to make you feel special.

More than one love relationship has been ignited by such simple means — and the same tactics work for your prospects, if you are truly sincere about wanting to hear about your prospects’ concerns. I know that every time I open my ears and shut my mouth, I learn more about my clients’ needs and am able to better help them in the future.

Besides, there are plenty of “experts” out there who can talk all day and all night about what they know and what a great a “catch” they are (in the business sense and otherwise!). But who likes to deal with talking heads who are full of themselves? That’s not attractive in the slightest.

The last bit of wisdom that I might offer is to take a step back and allow your relationship with your prospects to progress at their pace. You should stay in touch while the decision is being made, but don’t force the issue.

As I said, marketing your small business is a little like dating. If you keep the pressure off, share your strengths and set yourself apart, your relationship with your clients will be founded on trust, respect and — yes — you’ll find that your clients actually like working with you very much.

Are you a coach, consultant or other solo service professional who’s struggling to grow your business? Small business marketing strategist Jennifer McCay will show you how you can attract more clients more easily. Get her FREE audio course and FREE weekly small business marketing lessons at http://AvenueEast.com.