There are thousand of jobs people can chose from, to make a living yet few stand apart by the basic nature of their profile. Till few years back i used to believe doctors, military personnel, administrators, artists and politicians are rare breed and they rightfully command the respect for their professions in the society, but not anymore. After spending more than 10+ years in IT industry doing Sales for services and product companies i have realized that Sales is world's greatest profession and it should be recognized as one. I being a Sales guy myself will delve further on to this self propagated theory.
Think of any sphere in your life and their will be products or services that you ,your family, relatives and friends are consuming. Like it or not, you are sold on to those and that's why they are taking away a share of your wallet on priority. Though i believe that intrinsic nature of goods and services is a major parameter considered before buying but unless and until a smart salesperson sells you that idea or concept one does not realize the complete benefit of it. To add to this, take a thorough look at all your major and minor purchases in life and i bet not all of them were necessarily required and even if they were, a god send sales person made you realize the need for it.
Let me give some more insights into a Sales person profile and how this breed is far more superior than rest of the crowd. 90% of job profiles are clearly defined , expected deliverable and outcomes written over in the form of Job Descriptions (JD's) but for poor sales guys there is just one deliverable and that is Sales and achievement of targets and no one tells you how to reach the finish line. Neither the inventor of the product/service , nor your employer nor the HR has the slightest of the idea as to how these front end guys will make their salaries and their variables but they hardly give you a choice. Now this supposedly omniscient creature has to pull out all tricks from his sleeves and make the magic happen. One got to think out of box, assess all the loose ends , prepare as many propositions as needed , patiently pursue the sale and chase it till completion. Think of this single guy as a deadly combination of technical, commercial , legal who is high on interpersonal skills, negotiation abilities and best networking capabilities. Also, ironically for a sales professional failure is individual and success belongs to the complete organization. All in all, a sales guy to become successful should be a 'Superman' who has all the arrows in his quiver.
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No idea in this world ever became acceptable or reached to masses till it was taken up by a confident ,smart, suave ,dynamic, ambitious and visionary Sales person. Would you and me be flying on planes ,using electronic gadgets ,consuming delightful services and affording luxury had it not been presented to us as an option or an alternative in the first place? Behind every major breakthrough, every empire, every growth story someone from the elite sales fraternity decided to make it a reality. Dear Friends ! if you have read this post till this point i am sure you would be a little jealous of this superior and elite community but let's sportingly accept the fact that Sales is the greatest profession in this world. Sales person are a different breed and after all a sale is a sale as it sets the cash registers rolling and the entire drama in this world is about taking your money honey !