3 Misconceptions about being in Sales

Being a sales professional can be really tough and there are a lot of misconceptions floating around about the job. In some cases, the stereotypes that are created have a hint of truth to them, but most of the time they are truly misconceptions. This article will go through a few of the misconceptions of the industry and how you can learn from them to become better at your job.

Cold Calling isn’t a Viable Option

Everybody hates cold calling and most don’t think it can be a viable sales strategy. If you use an intelligent approach, however, cold calling definitely can work. The key is doing lots of research on your potential client and his/her company before making your pitch. If you can learn a lot about your target client/company beforehand, you can tailor your pitch in an intelligent way. This should greatly increase your conversion rate. It will also give you a lot more confidence before you make the cold call, so you will be much more confident going into the pitch. This is the best way to separate yourself from the average salesperson.

It’s Hard to Find the Right People to Talk to

There are some very informative sites/companies, such as Jigsaw and iProfile, that can provide you with a lot of intelligence about your potential client before you make your pitch. These companies have massive databases that provide information like org charts, contact information, etc. If you use this information correctly, you will know whom the right people are to talk to at your target company. You should be able to fine-tune your sales pitch based on this information to be able to convert more leads to customers.

An Engaging Personality is all You Need

An engaging personality is a really great asset to have, and oftentimes can help you seal the deal, but you cannot just rely on your personality to be successful. No one likes talking to someone with a really bad personality, but a potential client also doesn’t like talking to someone who can’t answer his/her questions. You therefore need to be fully fluent in all information about the product or service you are selling. You need to get to the point where you can anticipate every potential question your client could have and be ready to respond with a really great answer. With the Internet becoming a greater and more accurate source of information, your potential clients will become smarter and smarter about the choices they make. They will therefore have lots of specific questions they need answered before ever buying anything. Make sure you have the answers to all those potential questions.