Are all sales people made of the same stuff?

If you asked people outside of the sales industry if this was true, most would say yes.

However, for many sales people these days, it is a job which holds no greater specialist skill or understanding than someone working in an office answering the phone and taking messages.

You see, both positions require a level of aptitude in dealing with people and neither one carries any more weight in terms of the overall objective – getting the customer to feel happy in the environment they are in.

Most companies these days are switching on to a new type of sales person. Long gone are the days of the thick pin stripe clad media sales person with the leather media pack holder and gold pen. It seems that the brash and wide boy image has been replaced by the agreeable and likeable alternative. This is also true of sale people within the auto industry. You just don’t hear those cringe worthy one liners any more.

With all the advertising and public pressure, people are now turned off by the car and window sales sterotypes. It is now more important to build quick relations and trust before doing anything else. Companies now see long-term business as the ultimate goal, especially when consumers are experiencing more financial challenges.

When it comes to advertising sales jobs, you can understand why this particular group are held in high esteem. First of all they have to grasp around seven different media formats if they are to fully understand the varying requirements from potential customers. These main areas are magazines, websites, radio, TV, outdoor and newspapers.

Added to these pressures, people who are selling advertising within this industry have to contend with big budget cuts whenever there is any problem during a recession. Of course advertising is one of the first cut backs for many companies and their print media budget is usually the first one to be hit hard. If there is an sales position that commands a very high level of optimism and staying power it is advertising media sales.

The fact is that sales men and women are not members of an elite group within the business arena. However, I know several people who make an excellent living from it and are totally different people when the ‘home time’ bell sounds. It may be a tough job but someone else has to do it.