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What a great profession
August 3, 2007
So what’s in a sales blog? It could be a clearinghouse for information, an exchange of ideas or a bully pulpit. This one is for salespeople. I will offer some ideas, musings and maybe vent or lament a bit as it relates to sales. I’m eager for ideas, so don’t be a stranger. Contribute. E-mail me. Suggest topics you would like me to cover. My intent is to publish this twice each month. So, what’s for number one?
What a great profession we work in. Think about what we do for a living. We are hope merchants. We take hope to our customers. We help them find a better way of doing something and after we help them, they pay us. Imagine that. Getting paid to help people. Sometimes they pay us better than other times.
Think about what our companies offer—a chance to run our own business with their money and inventory. This is one of the things about sales that has always impressed me. Salespeople basically run their own businesses on someone else’s dime. Wow! Now, that’s cool.
Let’s not forget about the freedom that sales offers. For the most part, we get to determine our own schedules. For some, this is a burden as well as a blessing. A little bit of discipline helps here.
I think about the rewards I’ve enjoyed as a salesman over the years. I’ve met a lot of great people. I’ve helped a lot of people. A lot of people have helped me. The income I’ve generated from sales has paid for my home, educated my children and provided a nice nest egg for the future. Is this a great profession or what?
More to come…
Posted by Tom Reilly on August 3, 2007 | Comments (4)
In response to: What a great profession
Terry Rainwater commented:
Every thing you said - DITTO! Sales were great for me and I was able to retire in 2004 at age 57 and fulfil a dream to live and travel on our boat. My greatest disappointements had to do with the large customer, contract negotiations. We would go through months, sometimes years of negotiating some very complex agreements for MRO supplies that included delivery parameters, services for technical assistance, after hours service, inventory commitments, personnel commitments, payments terms, and much more. We would always be held to the highest standard, as we should, while the customer (Most every one of these) would always find ways to pay their bills late, default on the terms, abuse any other special circumstances, refuse contracted price increases, and more. I worked for a very large distributor and we always caved in, as did our competitors. If we stood up for our contracted rights, we would have lost millions in sales. How to impress upon these large users so they keep to "their" promises? That is my question.
In response to: What a great profession
Coleman commented:
How do we get Distributor salesmen to work closer with the sales reps from the Manufacturer? It seems like everyone wants more product training and sales leads yet they also want the cheap prices the foreign imports provide. How do you sell value to a distributor salesman so they can pull a product through their system?
In response to: What a great profession
AR commented:
I have worked for several Distributors and when Factory people come to town, most of the time it is without an agenda. For a seasoned Distributor, nothing is gained except to please the sales manager or owner. Now if there is a problem and Factory support is needed, there will be value in taking him/her to a customer. "Just making calls" in most cases is of little value to many Distributors.
In response to: What a great profession
Terry Rainwater commented:
I always found factory representation to be of great value. Of course, there were those sales people in our organization who believed their visits were for the most part, a waste of their time. For the most part factory reps know their product, they know how to get things done for you when the need is critical, and they remember their friends who have worked with them and who welcomed them in the past when there was nothing specifically going on or no "fires" to put out. I "always" learned something of value whenever the factory guy was in town. Even if it was a short dialog or visit, I treated him/her as an important part of my team and the rewards were there when I had a serious need.