I'll Take Two! How to be Your Best Salesman

Happy Friday!

In last week's post Why it is Important to Stay Connected to Your Alma Mater, I mentioned how crucial it is to not cut ties with your alma mater and to take advantage of the wealth of professional resources available to you to kick-start your career.

This week, I'll talk about how to be a salesman. 

Not kidding. You think getting a job is any different than selling cookies door-to-door? Maybe your job isn't to sell cookies but to land that Investment Banking Analyst role at Goldman Sachs.

Source: Lieu, A (2018). Neighbors call police 3 times on girl selling cookies. [online] Fox News. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/us/neighbors-call-police-3-times-on-girl-selling-cookies [Accessed 6 Oct. 2018].

You're going to need to prepare.

Think about it from a recruiter's standpoint. Each company boasts that they have the "brightest, most innovative, educated talent available to them". Of course they do. They have to. Nobody wants to hire people that can't meet deliverables. Each time a company hires an individual for a position, they are investing in that person. How much do I have to invest in Jane so I can make X amount of profit by the end of the fiscal year? How much can I pay Jane so that she's happy with her salary, and I'm happy with the money going into my business at the end of the day?

Everything is the stock market. Humans are assets to a company because they provide a means of income. They are worth a certain amount of money because they provide a stream of income, most of the time. 

Companies pay you so customers can pay you. It's simple. Would you want someone who is not competent working on a high-risk story, and potentially jeopardize millions of dollars of financial loss for a firm? No. You want talent. You want people who know what they're doing. And you want to hire people who are confident in their abilities.

So the question is, how do you make yourself as well-informed and confident as you can be? 

You need to learn how to be not just a great salesman, but the best salesman. If you want mediocre, you will get mediocre. If you want excellence, you need to put in excellence. 

Let's talk about salesmen. Here's my "5-point guide to be an Excellent Salesman":

1. Knowing Your Audience

            Salesmen operate on one fundamental principle. Being likable. It's not enough that you know how to study for the test; it's how you can go to the professor during the test and ask for some hints on how to answer a question. How can you make yourself likable on paper is the tough part. This requires a dedicated amount of time to really tailor your resume for each position. You need to know your audience. I have at least 100 resumes, all fundamentally the same, but varied in some slight manner from each other. Your resume is your catalogue. Like September's version of Vogue. Make your resume as specific as possible to the position. Use keywords from the job description in your resume to lock in the chance of software passing your resume on to human recruiters. 

2. Walk it Like You Talk It

            Don't just put text on your resume for the sake of having your resume stacked to the 9's. You want to put relevant material on your resume, including, but not limited to: certifications, awards, patents, licenses, skills, software you frequently use, and academic honors. This is where knowing your audience matters. You need to keep your resume as specific as possible with respect to skills that are applicable for the position to which you are applying. Does a cookie salesman know much about selling Teslas? Probably not. Cookies and cars are completely different product. You need to know what you are selling. In this case, you are selling your specific set of skills for the particular position in which you are interested. 

3. Looks Are Not Deceiving

            Presentable salespeople tend to be trustworthier, and instill a sense of confidence in their customers. Have your resume reflect that same phenomenon. Keep your resume to less than one page, one-sided. Avoid clutter like the plague. Creative positions such as those involving graphic design, writing, etc. have more flexibility in this department, but if you want to land a position in a more analytical setting such as finance, technology, or banking, stick to using fonts like Times New Roman, Calibri, and Book Antiqua, to name a few favorites. I let my work speak for itself; my resume isn't a painting. Please do not add "references available upon request" at the bottom of the page, either. That's implied and putting it there is just redundant. 

4. Burn the Midnight Oil

            If you think you're never going to study again you are misinformed. This step is the hardest. I am a very fast-paced individual, and I find it difficult to dedicate time to study. But I have to. If you want to sell something, you have to know your product. Not just one line of the product. All versions of your product. I had a college professor elegantly state: "You are engineers. You need to know everything." He couldn't be more right. You are responsible to look up the company's products, rising technology, and financial state (990 form). This is the most important step in foraging your professional career. Invest time in it. When I had two interviews with SpaceX, I spent two weeks reading about rocket engines, propulsion, and avionics systems. I had to know what I was talking about. What good is a salesman who can't talk about how much better macadamia cookies are over double-chocolate chip?

5. Confidence is Contagious

            When you show up to an interview, you want to glow. Have an aura around you that exudes positivity, enthusiasm, and intelligence. This is the last step towards tailoring your resume and landing your interview because you need to have steps 1-4 complete to feel confident in yourself. To improve your confidence, you cannot give up in the face of rejection. Do you know how many jobs I have been rejected from, even though I thought I was shoe-in? It was a humbling experience for me. I did not realize how difficult it was to land a job because so many factors come into play, but I noticed all factors that influence your fate in obtaining a position have a common denominator: how much you believe in yourself. If you don't believe in your capabilities, do you think someone else will? No one is going to hire someone timid: you can't survive in the business world that way. You need to grow a spine, take life by its wings, and take off. You control your destiny. You are capable of achieving greatness. You can do whatever you put your mind to. This is the mantra I live by. It has changed my life. 

These steps are what I found to be crucial in refining yourself as a professional. Practice these steps daily. Make it a habit. Soon you will find yourself in a better position professionally, but you just have to maintain the consistency and positivity. 

Summary: Practice the "5-point guide to be an Excellent Salesman". Let me know how the progress is going by dropping a comment. I want to hear about it!

Until next time, my dear friends!