The Winding Path to Sales Success

From a September 9, 2016 article by Neil Irwin:

"How does a person get to be the boss? What does it take for an ambitious young person starting a career to reach upper rungs of the corporate world — the C.E.O.’s office, or other jobs that come with words like “chief” or “vice president” on the office door?

The answer has always included hard work, brains, leadership ability and luck. But in the 21st century, another, less understood attribute seems to be particularly important.

To get a job as a top executive, new evidence shows, it helps greatly to have experience in as many of a business’s functional areas as possible. A person who burrows down for years in, say, the finance department stands less of a chance of reaching a top executive job than a corporate finance specialist who has also spent time in, say, marketing. Or engineering. Or both of those, plus others."

We often think, as salespeople, that our jobs start and stop with knowledge of the product that we're selling.  That couldn't be further from the truth if you're seeking to become a real sales success story.

A successful salesperson understands all aspects of his customer's business; all aspects of his company's products; and all aspects of his competitor's products.

If you think that you're done once you understand a little bit about your product because you have great sales skills and you think that will carry the day, you are wrong. It may get you an order, or a contract, but it won't get you to the top of your field.

I met a young new car salesperson recently who was developing his capabilities as an entrepreneur by running a small weekend business, who was developing his capabilities in engineering by racing a car he built and repaired, and developing his sales skills in a car dealership.  This young man is doing all the right things to get to the top because he doesn't stop work at 5pm, he STARTS work at 5pm and never stops.