Quote: (08-12-2017 01:28 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:
Quote: (08-11-2017 08:02 PM)Deadlifts Wrote:
Quote: (08-11-2017 06:06 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:
Hilariously, i'm in sales as we speak. B2B as a matter of fact for software.
It's probably the hardest thing i've ever done (coming from IT). You get over rejection really fast. Took me three weeks, but I finally have two solid prospects in my pipeline. Let's see if I can close them.
You also need to be "hungry' but not starving in sales especially when the cycles are so long with big ticket items. For me i'm grateful my wife has a steady income stream while I close a few prospects.
OP, a lot of guys hate on college (myself included) but a degree would open some more avenues for you especially in sales. I would seek a degree that you can get for pennies on the dollar. Look at doing a 2+2 (community college and regular) or local state school. Just make sure your expense is stupid low.
Interesting Beast. What would you say makes sales the hardest thing you've ever done? I'm assuming it's the constant grind to generate new clients? Do you find yourself stressing out often in this job?
It is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. To be blunt, i've already tried to quit and the guy i'm working for gave me a good pep talk which convinced me to reevaluate how i'm approaching everything. It also helped I manage to add another guy into the pipeline. Or should I say another plate? It's weird how this is all connected to a certain subforum we have here. If you start doing sales, you'll see what I mean.
This is all done via cold calling. Honestly, this is one of the best things I could be doing to myself right now and has helped me greatly in my communication for helping me break out of my shell. What kicked me into high gear was restarting my work out routine.
To be fair, I have zero training whatsoever and completely got rejected... hard. I had to ask around to seasoned sales professionals for advice both from RVF and in real life. Those same resources recommended some good reading materials. Spin selling and Challenger sale helped me frame a good script to work on.
But honestly, calls never go as scripted and almost all of the time i'm just shooting the shit and hearing what someone else has to say.
Breaking the ice is the hard part. Afterwords, it's very easy.
I'm hoping my job gets easier however. Part of what we've adding right now is a marketing component to bring in warm leads. I'm grateful we're a small outlet where we have full control of both sales and marketing. This is where I think the job will begin to ease in. Cold calling is important and valuable to do in a salesman's toolchest. I just hope to eventually upgrade my arsenal with other tricks soon.
This work i'm doing came surprisingly from networking via a personal hobby. People of means tend to congregate around the following hobbies in big cities:
1. Golfing
2. Yachting
3. Classic cars
4. Art
5. Classical music
My involvement in a few opened doors for me. My advice is to find a way to get a degree for as cheaply as possible in something relevant. Computer science and sales experience is a dangerous combo and a great way to make lots of money.
Good luck.
This is what I do. I am a software engineer and a copywriter. I've been burned too much giving free advice to 'green' people who do not know what they want.
I started selling and playing with computers and the internet at 13...
It's a very fun life's work. Because if you don't take a long term approach with selling, you will take the rejection personally. But it is the best way to get the living you want.
A hint: it's very similar to running correct Game on chicks...
All the best with your decision.