Tenacity, knowledge and keen people skills drive best reps

“You can’t have any lulls. There’s

no skating, no relaxing, no going

through the motions. Either you’re selling or

you’re out.”

If you’ve landed a job in sales, you can obviously sell. Well, at the very least, you sold that new manager on hiring you, offering up your skills, expertise and ambition as those “can’t- live- without” talents he or she needed to market the company’s products or services. But now that you’re in, what do you need to do to keep from heading out?

“Sales is a tough job,” says Marcus Firm, a 49- year- old restaurant- supply sales representative from Chicago. “You can’t have any lulls. There’s no skating, no relaxing, no going through the motions. Either you’re selling or you’re out.”

Firm says he knows, having moved from one industry to another, how the needs of clients can change.

“I’ve sold motorcycles, billboard space, candy, power generators, and in some instances, your clients move on,” he notes. “They want speedboats instead of motorcycles, and Internet ads instead of billboards. And you just have to roll with it.”

We asked eight other veteran sales experts for advice to help reps just starting out:

“I would recommend finding an industry, product or brand ( for which) you have a strong passion or interest. When you truly believe in your product and genuinely believe your brand is the best, it comes through in your sales presentations and your dealings with customers. Passion is hard to fake. Sales has become much more than pitching a product. It’s really about being a business consultant to your customers and understanding how your product or brand can make their overall business stronger. Understanding this gives you a competitive advantage in a dynamic marketplace.” — Brian DesBiens, Elmhurst, Ill., Regional Vice President- Sales, Simmons Bedding Company

“The best salespeople build relationships with prospects and clients. New salespeople must maximize their LinkedIn profiles and include information about who they are and why people should work with them. The LinkedIn profile is where your personal brand lives and where prospects and referral sources will do their due diligence. Who you are is much more important that what you sell. Build rapport, trust and a relationship, then ask for the sale or present the opportunity.” — Bill Corbett, Jr., Floral Park, N. Y, President, Corbett Public Relations, Inc.

“You’re not selling anything. You’re the mirror of their own voice convincing them to sell themselves.” — Alin Cruz, Van Nuys, Calif., Director of Franchise Development, 911 Restoration

“New sales reps should use visual storytelling in their pitches vs. relying on a PowerPoint presentation. Using techniques such as whiteboarding will increase the engagement you have with a potential buyer and make you more memorable than your competitors. This, in turn, will help your prospect make a purchase decision in your favor.” — Tim Riesterer, San Francisco, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Corporate Visions

“Your first interaction with a new customer could be the most important. Treat it like a first date. Don’t spend the time talking about yourself. Instead, learn about the other person. Learn about their struggles, their challenges, their goals, dreams and desires. Remember, customers solve problems. Find out what issues they’re trying to resolve. Then you can tailor your presentation to provide specific solutions that help them achieve those objectives.” — Tom Latourette, Saratoga, Calif., Managing partner, M3 Learning

“One of the best pieces of advice I can give to a new sales rep is to go deep, not wide. What that means is that instead of trying to make it a numbers game by trying to approach as many prospects as possible, make it a numbers game by approaching the same prospects as many times as possible. Statistics show that more than 80 percent of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact, yet 90 percent of the salespeople give up by the fourth attempt, which means that only 10 percent of salespeople are divvying up 80 percent of the sales, plus they’re getting their share of the 20 percent that happens within the first couple of attempts. So if you want to become a top producer, learn to find the top prospects and stick with them until they purchase.” — George Athan, New York, CEO, Mind-Storm Strategic Consulting

“The best sales reps aren’t always the most experienced or technically skilled. The greatest career success often comes to those who are most tenacious and willing to persevere. If sales is a numbers game, then the sales person focused on an active and robust pipeline of targets nearly always comes out a winner.” — Allen Jacobson, Chicago, Senior Vice President-Sales, Lawson Products

“Good sales professionals know their products and their customers. Great sales professionals enhance those skills with consultative insights to match customer needs, including local and national market trends.” — Scott Oehrlein, Bridgewater, N. J., Vice President and Head of General Medicines Sales, Sanofi North America Pharmaceuticals