Do you have to be Crazy to Enjoy Sales?

The life of the salesman can be tough as there are always high expectations. Everything is wonderful when the new clients are rolling in, but never good when goals are not being met. Performing sales-work can cause mere mortals to have serious issues not seen in normal circumstances. Over the years egos have been crushed, ulcers have been produced, spouses have lost hope in seeing their loved ones and many other unmentionables. My friend is in financial services and his doctor has outright questioned his sanity because of the stress of selling his services. Does this sound fun? To normal people probably not, but to those of us in sales, it can be as fun eating Grandma’s homemade peach ice cream and chocolate cake!

Why does this matter to someone who is not a “salesperson” by title? In my opinion, everyone in a business is in sales. We are constantly selling our business through marketing, the web-site, answering the phone and helping our current clients. Everyone has a piece of responsibility that directly affects sales. On a serious note, not everyone has to lose sleep by worrying about the intricacies of selling or the goals of signing a certain number of new clients. That is the great part; the salesperson can do the worrying about making goals and signing new deals. You can help them by giving the best service you can to current clients, listening closely to feedback they offer, asking for referrals when you can and adding value to what prospects see such as your web-site and marketing materials.

Now, before you dismiss my thought that everyone is in sales in some form, think carefully. How many ways do you directly or indirectly affect the sales process in your firm? Do you help create proposals? Do you answer technical questions that the salesperson can not? Do you help with follow-up work after engagements? This list could go on and on, but the idea is that your role is important in sales and you DON’T have to be crazy to enjoy that!