Part of your sales success still comes from just showing up and listening, even when you are selling yourself in order to further your sales career. With over 22 million sales professionals in the United States, there is still plenty of room to differentiate yourself amongst your peers. Recruiting agencies that hire sales reps are increasingly savvy at filtering out the less desirable candidates to get to the best sales people.
As you decide to further your sales career, you may want to engage recruiting agencies to help you get in front of the right companies for the more desirable sales jobs. First, your resume does not define your sales ability. While it is to your advantage to document your experience and the successes you have had, there are key skills that will make you a better salesperson. Oftentimes, describing stories of challenges along the way can get your name to the top of the recruiting list. Make sure you are prepared to answer questions about your abilities, and weaknesses that you can overcome.
A lot of companies and recruiting agencies are using personality testing to screen applicants for sales careers. If you know that you do well on these tests, use it to your advantage to highlight the qualities that you have in your sales toolbox. Since non traditional sales can require up to 8 or 12 touches, highlight qualities like perseverance and patience. Along those lines, sales managers also react favorably to your organizational skills, especially when it comes to managing an evolving sales funnel or detailed contract work.
Another thing to highlight as you talk with recruiters is your technical knowledge in various industries. Frequently, you will find that technical or complex sales rely on similar qualities in their sales force. By showing that you can properly present complex ideas to potential decision makers will help tilt the odds in your favor of progressing along your own sales career. Wherever you search for a new sales role, make sure to highlight your experiences, but to also listen for qualities that your prospective employer needs and you will do well. More like this blog.
