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The difference between successful and unsuccessful salespeople has less to do with what they say, and more to do with how they frame the situations in front of them. Emulate the greats by getting into the habit of doing these 3 things.
Success in Sales Tip #1: Be a regular person
If you think of yourself as a salesperson, your customer is going to treat you like a salesperson—and guess what: Most people don’t like salespeople! Instead, frame your interactions as regular conversations between two people. Don’t put on an act; don’t speak in a tone of voice you wouldn’t normally use. Focus on listening carefully, displaying genuine empathy, and making the other person feel as comfortable as possible.
When customers view you as just a salesperson—rather than a fellow human being—they’re more inclined to believe you don’t have their best interests at heart. However, when you’re able to behave naturally and be relatable, it becomes much easier to establish natural rapport, which in turn makes it possible to build trust and work toward your success in sales.
Success in Sales Tip #2: Get to the bottom of “no”
Even if this is your first day selling, you know that you’re supposed to overcome objections. But there are alternative ways to think of this.
Issue the following challenge to yourself: Always walk away from a prospect with 1 of 2 things—a sale or a true understanding of why the customer didn’t buy. (Hint: There’s a difference between a reason and an excuse.)
When someone says they don’t want to buy, simply set out to learn more. Successful salespeople don’t just move on, and they don’t lead with trying to change the person’s mind, either. Remember the advice in tip number 1: Be a regular person. Step into the other person’s shoes. Focus on asking great questions and actively listening to the customer’s responses.
By digging deeper when you get a shallow no, you’ll end up uncovering a lot about a customer’s motivations—their problems, challenges, what they’re looking for, what they’re not looking for, and maybe even past experiences with other vendors. The result? You’ll start turning many would-be nos into yeses—and success in sales.
Success In Sales Tip #3: Master your own body language
Successful salespeople are hyper-aware of their body language and tone of voice. They have a sense of how they’re being perceived, and they’re strategic about using their physical presence to advance a conversation.
Amateurs, on the other hand, don’t necessarily realize that their hands are in their pockets or that they shifted their weight when asked a difficult question. They aren’t aware, per se, that they’re swaying while speaking, that their eye contact is inconsistent, that they're frowning or over-smiling. Folks with less success in sales are generally unaware of how they are coming across.
If you want to become maximally successful in sales, you need to develop an extreme sense of self-awareness and the ability to quickly adapt your body language to the customer and situation. (Hint: Try videoing yourself practice-pitching or ask a colleague for feedback.) It’s important to realize that simply saying all of the right things isn’t enough to become great. It’s up to you to master your own body language so that it becomes a controllable part of the sales process.
What habits have helped you see more success in sales? Share them with Cydcor on social media
Demonstrating excellence isn’t just about doing what is expected; it’s also about achieving goals that may seem impossible. At Cydcor, we take our goals seriously. We don’t just set big goals because we like to impress clients and sound ambitious. We set big goals because we expect to achieve them, because we believe that going above and beyond should be the norm—not the exception. We like being good at what we do, but we aren’t satisfied until we’re great and producing real results. So, what does it take to deliver what you’ve promised, even when the goal feels out of reach? The secret is digging deeper to find that little bit extra you didn’t realize you had. It’s there, in all of us, and when we decide that the only option is success, it shows up just in time to prove that your potential to achieve is truly limitless!
Lean on Your Strengths
Find what you’re great at and make the most of it. Everybody has his or her own talents, areas of expertise, or skill sets in which they excel. Identify yours and use them to your advantage to produce results. Focus on those areas where you can bring even more to the table, because you know that’s where you have the most to offer.
Work Smarter
You’re passionate, dedicated, determined, and you don’t give up, so nobody can say you’re not working hard. Producing outstanding results isn’t just about the amount of effort you put in, it’s also about the approach. Start asking yourself and the members of your team what you can be doing differently, better, faster, or cheaper to help achieve goals.
Gather Honest Feedback
You can’t expect to get better at achieving your goals if you can’t be real with yourself and embrace all feedback, both good and bad. Reaching that next level and crushing huge goals takes having the courage to accept that you’re not perfect. Every single one of us has room for improvement and honest, constructive feedback is a gift we should embrace, because it helps shed light on our own personal path to growth.
Tackle the Biggest Hurdles First
You’re determined to move mountains, but you can’t and shouldn’t move all of them at once. Decide what matters most to you and your business, and go after those things first. You’re more likely to achieve goals if you’re focused on the things that will bring you closest to the goal line.
Assume the Sale
Know with all your heart and mind that you can do it, and you will! Achieving big goals is as much about how you think as it is about how you perform. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds takes a winning mindset. There is no room for self-doubt on the path to producing extraordinary results.
There is no such thing as an unreachable goal. Most of the greatest success stories in the world start with someone who said it couldn’t be done—but somehow, it was! Even when the task seems impossible, there is no excuse for giving up. Dig deeper, find a solution, and deliver on your promises, because the opportunity to “be so good you can’t be ignored” is yours for the taking.
There are several advantages to having a mentor, especially in your professional life. The experience, knowledge, and contacts you stand to inherit from a mentor are immeasurable, but how do you get to that point? Follow these simple tips, and you’ll learn how to find a mentor that’s right for you.
Know Yourself
The first, and perhaps most challenging, part of finding a career mentor that fits your needs is to really understand what you are looking for. Take the time to figure out where you want to take your career. Set goals for yourself. Figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. What are you particularly good at? What are the areas of your life that you could stand to improve? What are things you can do to actively work on shoring up the areas of your professional life that you aren’t fully satisfied with? It may help to sit down and write out all of these things. Something almost magical happens when you set down abstract concepts in writing. Insights become more palpable and goals feel more obtainable. Define who you are and what you are working towards.
While these are all exercises that are good in and of themselves, what do they have to do with finding a career mentor? Part of figuring out how to find a mentor is realizing that a mentor-mentee relationship requires participation from both parties. You can’t expect your mentor to do all the heavy lifting. By clearly defining who you are and what you want for yourself, you can express that clearly to your future mentor. You can demonstrate that you are an active participant in the relationship, and you can get exactly what you are looking for.
Build Your Network
The only way to find the right mentor is to get out into the world and meet the people in the field you want to master. The stronger your network is, the more likely you are to find the people with whom you truly click. Attend professional events and industry meetups in your field. Seek out volunteer and membership opportunities with professional organizations that are relevant to your career path. Inquire at your alma mater if there are any formal mentorship programs available. Failing that, you may discover that there are alumni events that are great opportunities to build your network. Also, you should make it known that you are seeking out a mentor amongst the individuals in your network. Someone whom you trust could very well provide an introduction that changes your career.
Let It Happen
You are unlikely to find the career mentor you need by asking total strangers to devote their time and energy into a relationship with someone they do not know. Your primary focus as you unravel how to find a mentor should be to focus on your own value and process. You need to be someone who is both enjoyable to mentor and someone worthy of your mentor’s expertise. Be the best version of yourself every day. Bring that best self into your network and let yourself be seen. As long as your remain actively working to better yourself and continue to seek out the mentorship you want, the foundations of the relationship will begin to form of their own accord.
Seek out people who you admire, people who align with your values. Be on the lookout for potential mentors with unimpeachable integrity, and then study how they deal with the challenges in their own careers. Stay open. Stay Honest. Stay seeking. The right relationship will eventually present itself, and you need to be ready for it.
Solidify the Relationship
Once you have found someone with whom you connect well and you feel would be a good fit for you as a career mentor, you need to define what that relationship will look like. Be clear about what you are seeking and what you are willing to bring to the relationship. Schedule regular meetings and check-ins with your mentor. Hold yourself accountable for reaching your goals. Be ready with questions and voice them appropriately. Also, be open to what your mentor has to share with you. Straight talk and honesty are like gold in the mentor-mentee relationship. It may not be always be easy to accept words that are critical, but they are invaluable to your development. A good mentor will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Be receptive and attentive. Well-defined roles with accountability for follow-through are the cornerstones of your relationship with your mentor.
A good career mentor can make a gigantic difference in getting all you want out of your professional life. You can benefit from years of industry insight and knowledge about how to navigate that sector, and how to build yourself up. Now that you have figured out how to find a mentor, be sure to explore additional professional advice on the Cydcor blog.
Companies have many options when it comes to how to build and structure their sales strategies and approaches, and one important decision they will have to make will be whether to invest in inside sales or outside sales. To weigh the benefits and advantages of each sales approach, it’s important to clearly identify what each option entails.
Inside sales are generally done “inside,” from a single location. Inside sales do not take place in person, and they can include interactions ranging from phone calls to emails, chats, social media, and even texts.
Outside sales refers to situations in which a sales rep makes in-person, face-to-face contact with the customer. This can include door-to-door sales, sales made through visits to customers’ homes, offices and local businesses, or retail sales.
Both inside and outside sales can offer advantages to companies wanting to maximize revenue and keep costs manageable. To achieve the absolute best sales and customer acquisition results, companies should pursue a mixture of both. When optimized, inside and outside sales can support each other, helping companies acquire more customers, improve their overall conversion rate, earn greater revenue from customers, and build stronger relationships with the customers that could support better customer retention.
How do inside and outside sales teams work together? Customers who are first contacted by an outside field rep, for example, may have some interest in a product or service, but he or she may ultimately decide against making a purchase. In cases like this, an inside sales rep may be able to follow up with this customer by phone or email to find out why he or she decided against the product or service, and by offering additional information, the sales rep may be able to change the customer’s mind. The inside sales rep may also be able to present alternative products to the customer, such as a different service package, that might better fit the customer’s needs.
Alternatively, the inside sales rep might be able to refer customers to outside sales reps after making initial contact. This customer now has some awareness of a product or service and has built a relationship with the brand. The outside sales rep may then be able to work one-on-one with the customer to find a product or service solution that fits their needs.
These are just a few ways inside and outside sales teams can work in partnership to drive better overall sales results for your company.
Other ways inside and outside sales may be able to work together are:
Customers are individuals, and not all customers will respond the same way to the same sales approach. By enlisting both inside and outside sales, you give your company more flexibility to communicate with the customer at a variety of touchpoints and in a variety of ways. By incorporating both sales channels, you can acquire more customers, more easily address weaknesses in your sales funnel, gather more valuable data and customer insights, and boost revenue by giving the customer more information and more options.
Below is a breakdown of the advantages each sale method offers:
Both inside and outside sales offer major benefits, and a winning strategy for sales revenue growth is one that combines the two, allowing them to work in partnership to deliver the best possible results. A sales program that includes both inside and outside sales can interact with the customer at multiple stages of the sales cycle, building product knowledge, strengthening the relationship with the customer, growing trust, fostering interest, and gaining valuable insights about what the customer needs and wants.
To reap the advantages of both inside and outside sales, the smartest organizations are partnering with companies like Cydcor, a leader in outsourced sales and marketing. Cydcor has experience building full-service sales and customer acquisition programs that combine effective outside sales, with inside sales techniques. Cydcor drives high sales volume using traditional feet on the street sales methods, and it supports these efforts through multi-channel and tele-sales techniques to capture, retain, or upsell leads with which the outside sales team has already made contact. By entrusting a company like Cydcor, with expertise and experience in both outside and inside sales tactics, companies benefit from a tested, disruptive, and winning formula that consistently delivers results.
Shirley Levine was an incredible educator that I had the pleasure to work with and learn from. She once asked some teachers, “What is your job?”
The teachers responded, “Teach the kids.”
Shirley said, “That is not it.”
The teachers responded with, “Educate the kids,” and similar concepts.
Shirley said, “That is not it either.”
After a while, when the teachers were perplexed, she said, “Your job is to get the kids to learn. There is a big difference. If your job is to teach, once you deliver your great lesson, you are done. If your job is to get them to learn, you are not done after the lesson. You are only done when they learn the material. Also, kids can learn a variety of ways. They can learn on their own, from their peers, from a book.”
I frequently need to remind myself of this concept. I too often get into teaching mode. My eldest daughter reminded me of this hearing me go over one of my presentations. She thought it was bad. I asked why. She said, “I felt like you were talking at me, not involving me. Millennials like to be involved to learn.”
After the initial shock of her dissatisfaction with a presentation I have given for over 25 years, I remembered this quote frequently attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Did Benjamin Franklin know about millennials 250 years ago? Or, is it always that we learn best when we are involved? It is much easier to teach than find a way to involve. But who wants easy?
Gary Polson is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Cydcor, the market leader in outsourced sales. With more than 25 years of business operations experience in accounting, legal and senior management, Gary has propelled Cydcor to unprecedented achievement with clients, culture and philanthropy since 2001. Under his leadership, Cydcor has increased its revenue more than six-fold since 2001 and has been recognized as “…the most respected sales outsourcing company in the world” by Datamonitor and The Black Book of Outsourcing, and one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Los Angeles Business Journal for eight consecutive years. Gary’s passion for excellence and never-satisfied approach has led Cydcor to earn both industry and employer recognition. With Gary at its helm, Cydcor has built its reputation on maintaining long term relationships with clients by consistently delivering results and by going above and beyond to help Cydcor’s clients gain market share and grow.
If you’re serious about advancing your career, you have to be willing to take massive action—there’s no way around it. Top performers in any industry are those who know how to push themselves. They are constantly seeking out a new competitive edge, looking for ways to up their game and achieve the next level of results.
Whether you are just beginning your career and want to get off to a strong start, or you are a seasoned veteran looking to kick things up a notch, it’s all about the willingness to take action and put the pedal to the metal. While there will always be factors outside of your control, the ability to be proactive will ultimately determine how far you'll advance in your career and how fast you get there.
1. Don’t wait to shine
A shocking number of professionals fail to reach their full potential because they’re waiting for the people who got there first to succeed. You might be doing this without even realizing it. If you truly want to advance in your career, get rid of this mentality. Never be afraid to set the pace, even when you’re the newest member of the team.
Are you awesome at what you do? Shine. Can you break a record? Do it. Do you have great ideas? Share them. Want more responsibility? Rise to the occasion. Take action and unleash your talents on the world. Outwork the person who started five years before you. Whatever you do, don’t wait for someone else to get promoted first just because you’re the rookie.
2. Be hyper-strategic about where you take action
If you want to advance your career, it’s time to be smart about what activities deserve your time and attention. Yes, there are likely three-dozen things on your to-do list—that’s why you need to strategize.
Start by asking yourself this question, “What is one specific change that I could make that would elevate my game?” (Hint: if you’re having trouble answering this, schedule a chat with your mentor.) Simply knowing the answer to this one question can bring clarity to your plan of attack.
Once you’ve got your mission, put the blinders on. Take deliberate action to advance the specific goal that you’ve defined. Give your freshest, most valiant effort while you’re still on a full tank by avoiding lower priority tasks until you’ve made satisfactory gains. If you catch yourself sending your valuable resources in the wrong direction, be sure to pivot quickly!
3. Spring clean your life
Now is the perfect time to get impeccably organized. Set aside a weekend to dust away anything extraneous in your day-to-day life. Put away your winter clothes. Go through the files you’ve downloaded to your desktop. Get rid of old voicemails. Finally hit inbox zero—and come up with a system to keep it that way. This might mean skipping your normal Netflix-dedicated Sunday, but it will be worth it. Nothing feels better than having your ducks in a row. By cleaning up and simplifying your world, you will eliminate distractions and clear up space to focus on how to take action to advance your career.
Remember, successful careers aren’t built overnight. Little things add up to big things. Keep working hard and never stop asking yourself how you can up your game. Be so good they can’t ignore you. You have the power to increase the pace at which you advance in your career.
When asked for his advice on how to achieve success, renowned comedian, actor, and writer Steve Martin once said, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” But isn’t that easier said than done? We all want to be good at what we do, but how can you become so good that you stand out from the crowd? And, more specifically, what will you be good at? It’s tempting to say that you’d like to be good at everything you do, but to stand out from the crowd and reach your most ambitious goals, it’s important to figure out what you do uniquely well. Then, you can start to build a game plan for how you will push yourself even farther, so you’re not just good, but great. With work and focus, everyone has the potential to become so good they simply can’t be ignored.
1. Make the Choice
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Decide to get out of your comfort zone in order to achieve success and stand out from the crowd. Realize that you can accomplish more and choose to be your best in everything you do. Change your mindset toward action and you’ll discover that nobody can motivate you more than you can. Push yourself to work differently or to put yourself in situations you normally wouldn’t—those are the moments when you can truly learn, and more importantly, grow.
2. Play to Your Strengths
Don’t focus outward at your colleagues and wonder why they are so lucky or how things seem to come so easily to them. Instead, focus inward, and ask yourself why nobody sees all the talents you possess. It might because you’re not using your abilities to their fullest. Take advantage of the things you already do well and figure out what it will take to become great and to achieve success. What do you do best, and how will you become better than anyone else at that one thing? How will you make that unique skill or talent your calling card? How will you stand out from the crowd?
3. The Time to Achieve Success is Now
Change is hard, so it might be tempting to drag your feet, but don’t put it off. Waiting will only keep your goals out of reach that much longer. There is no time like the present to start pushing yourself to achieve more. First steps are often the hardest, so getting past that first hurdle might be all you need to start building momentum.
4. Take Control
This works in sales but it also works in life: Don’t waste time wishing for things to be easier. Instead, seek ways to make yourself better and stand out from the crowd. Realize that the direction of your career and your future are in your hands. You have the power to write your own story and decide where it will lead. Be an example to others by actively tackling the obstacles before you and realizing that challenges are really opportunities in disguise.
5. Remove Limiting Beliefs
Stop doubting yourself and giving yourself reasons why you can’t achieve success. There are enough setbacks along the way—there’s no reason to create your own. Be humble and stop letting your ego stand in your way. Realize that you don’t have to have all the answers, and embrace the idea that the journey to discovering those answers can help you acquire the knowledge and skills you’ll need to bring your ambitions to life.
Nobody ever said that achieving success was easy. Becoming the best version of yourself and figuring out what you’d like to be known for and how to stand out from the crowd is going to be work. It’s going to take passion, commitment, and endurance, but the alternative is most likely a career path that won’t take you where you want to go. By taking ownership of your story and your future, embracing your strengths, and committing to the values you hold dear, you can open doors to even your most ambitious aspirations. What’s important is realizing that you have much more power than you think you do. Once you figure out how you will “be so good,” you’ll become someone nobody can forget.
Terms and Conditions (Facebook)
Valid entries are comments that caption the related post on Cydcor’s Facebook page. To be eligible, entrants must be (i) at least 18 years of age and (ii) employees, contractors, officers or directors of an independent corporate licensee (“ICL”) of Cydcor LLC (“Sponsor”), including its affiliates and subsidiaries. Multiple comments per participant are allowed. Profanity or inappropriate language, as determined by Cydcor, in its sole discretion, will be disqualified. Each entry will be entered for a chance to win an Amazon Echo Dot ($50 value). Winner will be selected at Cydcor’s discretion. There will be one selected winner and prize will be mailed to the winning recipient. Contest begins on Monday June 11th, 2018 at 12:00PM PST and will end on Friday June 15th at 12:00PM PST. The winner will be announced via Cydcor’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CydcorLLC?ref=hl) as well as on Cydcor’s Instagram (@Cydcor), and on Cydcor’s Twitter (@Cydcor) on Friday July 15th, 2018 any time after 1:00PM PST. This promotional offer is not intended to create a partnership, joint venture, co-ownership or other association between Cydcor and the participant.
This promotion does not have a connection with Facebook in any way and is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. By entering the contest, participants agree to fully release Facebook from any and all liability. AMAZON ECHO DOT is a trademark of Amazon Technologies, Inc.
Terms and Conditions (Instagram)
Valid entries are comments that caption the related post on Cydcor’s Facebook page. To be eligible, entrants must be (i) at least 18 years of age and (ii) employees, contractors, officers or directors of an independent corporate licensee (“ICL”) of Cydcor LLC (“Sponsor”), including its affiliates and subsidiaries. Multiple comments per participant are allowed. Profanity or inappropriate language, as determined by Cydcor, in its sole discretion, will be disqualified. Each entry will be entered for a chance to win an Amazon Echo Dot ($50 value). Winner will be selected at Cydcor’s discretion. There will be one selected winner and prize will be mailed to the winning recipient. Contest begins on Monday June 11th, 2018 at 12:00PM PST and will end on Friday June 15th at 12:00PM PST. The winner will be announced via Cydcor’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CydcorLLC?ref=hl) as well as on Cydcor’s Instagram (@Cydcor), and on Cydcor’s Twitter (@Cydcor) on Friday July 15th, 2018 any time after 1:00PM PST. This promotional offer is not intended to create a partnership, joint venture, co-ownership or other association between Cydcor and the participant.
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This promotion does not have a connection with Instagram, Inc. in any way and is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. By entering the contest, participants agree to fully release Instagram from any and all liability and agree to Instagram’s terms of use. AMAZON ECHO DOT is a trademark of Amazon Technologies, Inc.
Terms and Conditions (Twitter)
Valid entries are comments that caption the related post on Cydcor’s Facebook page. To be eligible, entrants must be (i) at least 18 years of age and (ii) employees, contractors, officers or directors of an independent corporate licensee (“ICL”) of Cydcor LLC (“Sponsor”), including its affiliates and subsidiaries. Multiple comments per participant are allowed. Profanity or inappropriate language, as determined by Cydcor, in its sole discretion, will be disqualified. Each entry will be entered for a chance to win an Amazon Echo Dot ($50 value). Winner will be selected at Cydcor’s discretion. There will be one selected winner and prize will be mailed to the winning recipient. Contest begins on Monday June 11th, 2018 at 12:00PM PST and will end on Friday June 15th at 12:00PM PST. The winner will be announced via Cydcor’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CydcorLLC?ref=hl) as well as on Cydcor’s Instagram (@Cydcor), and on Cydcor’s Twitter (@Cydcor) on Friday July 15th, 2018 any time after 1:00PM PST. This promotional offer is not intended to create a partnership, joint venture, co-ownership or other association between Cydcor and the participant.
This promotion does not have a connection with Twitter in any way and is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Twitter. By entering the contest, participants agree to fully release Twitter from any and all liability and agree to read and abide by Twitter’s Rules. AMAZON ECHO DOT is a trademark of Amazon Technologies, Inc.
Finding your first job after college can be difficult. You’ve spent a great deal of time working towards your desired career, and you want to get it under way. The problem is that while you have the skills you need, you may not have the real world experience that employers are looking for. That’s why it’s important to weigh all of your options when you are searching for that first job. You may not have considered taking an entry level sales job before, but it is definitely worth investigating. Starting you career in sales can set you up for success in a number of different ways.
Communication
It’s hard to overstate just how important quality communication is. Virtually nothing can be accomplished in business or in life without clear, concise, and considerate communication. You may have the most brilliant idea in the world, one that will help your company out-pace the competition two-to-one. But if you can’t communicate it effectively, it won’t do anyone any good. Landing a first job in sales is an opportunity to hone those vital communication skills. In order to be successful in sales, you need to learn both how to listen to your potential customer and how to vocalize your point of view in a way that the customer can appreciate. Unless you know what the customer needs, and unless they are convinced that you have the solution to their problem, you aren’t going to close the sale.
Time Management
Most entry level sales jobs give you a great deal of flexibility as to how you make the most of your time. And as you get out into the field, it will become evident very quickly that time is a limited and valuable resource. This means that you alone are largely responsible for how you structure and manage your time to achieve maximum results. This is a skill that is critical for success in any professional field, and it will surely serve you well in the future.
Making Your Case
Your potential client isn’t going to seal the deal if they aren’t convinced that you have the right solution. You need to be able to summarize all of the important information and communicate how your service will solve the customer’s problem. You need to be flexible and adaptable in your approach. You need to be able to read your audience and be able to adjust as needed. These skills will come in handy later on, whether you’re selling your next big idea to the board or nailing that opening interview.
Networking
They say it’s not what you know, but rather who you know. The networking that is inherent in an entry level sales job is of great value. By learning how, when, and where to network, you’re both exercising vital business skills and creating the framework from which you’re future network will grow. You will be in contact with seasoned professionals that you may be able to enlist as mentors or supporters as you pursue your goals. You’ll connect with peers who will help to keep you informed about changes in the business. The networking that in inherent to the sales field will help you master the critical art of relationship building, which is foundational to almost any business transaction.
Negotiating
With a first job in sales, you will learn quickly that everything is a negotiation. In business and in life, moving forward often comes down to resolving the differences between conflicting parties and opinions, and that is the essence of negotiation. Since achieving success as a salesperson demands that you learn to become adept at negotiating, that skill will become an advantage you can use to get ahead in any number of future pursuits.
Goal Setting
Because your success with an entry level sales job is determined by how much effort you put in, goal setting and follow-through become vital. It puts you in a decision making position that requires your self-discipline and focus be consistently outstanding. With that skill set readily at your fingertips, you’ll be far ahead of your competition in any field. You will learn how to drive your own success and hold yourself accountable.
Grit
Setbacks and obstacles are unavoidable. Everyone encounters them from time to time. The important part is how you deal with the situation. It’s easy to get discouraged and get off track if you allow yourself to be overly affected. Salespeople know, however, how to get right back up and keep going. That doggedness and determination will be a valuable asset no matter where your career takes you. In situations where others may falter, you will thrive.
Leadership
If your first job is in sales, there is a very good chance that it will be the first opportunity you have to exercise your leadership skills in a professional setting. By taking the lead on a team or taskforce, you will have the opportunity to discover what your personal leadership style looks like. You will learn first-hand what motivates you and your team. You will understand how to empower your team to achieve their goals. Every profession needs leaders, and you’ll be ready to step up to the challenge.
Clearly, there are a number of benefits to working in sales, especially when you take an entry level sales job right out of school. When a potential employer sees that your first job was in sales, and that you excelled, they know exactly who they are hiring. There will be no doubt that you are a resilient, capable asset who will undoubtedly see any task through to completion.
Congratulations! Your college career is coming to a close and the future is exciting, but it can also be a little intimidating. Everyone’s either looking for a job or has one lined up, and the college-to-career transition might feel like a race. But the truth is, everyone’s path and pace are different, and finding success after college is about exploring opportunities and discovering where you’d like your journey to lead.
Nobody is ever fully prepared for life after college, but what it takes to succeed remains the same: focus, determination, and confidence. Below are Cydcor’s quintessential tips for success after college.
#1 Have a Focus
Landing your dream job takes time and dedication, but it helps to know where to focus your efforts. To land a job you'll love, research companies whose values align with yours, or where you can learn and grow into that position. When you know your career path, you can focus all your energy on impressing potential employers.
#2 Establish your Personal Brand
Your social media profiles say a lot to recruiters about who you are. Check them for anything you wouldn’t want to come up in an interview, and if you’re not on LinkedIn, make a profile and introduce yourself. LinkedIn allows anyone to self-publish, so seize the opportunity establish your expertise with an informative blog post. Join relevant discussion groups, and instead of asking people where they work, expand the conversation and ask how they got there. You might learn a different approach to landing your dream job and gain a reference who will put in a good word for you when you apply.
#3 Build a Winning Resume
A great resume can be a make-it-or-break-it tool for landing a great post-graduate job. When writing your resume, get plenty of feedback from friends, family, and another professionals in the field, and use language similar to what’s in the job description. Most companies use online resume checkers to filter out job applications based on certain keywords and phrases.
#4 Start Somewhere
When you find a job that interests you and has upward mobility, apply. It might not be your dream job, but landing a job is the first and most important step to getting there. You’ll gain real-world experience and chip away at student debt, but not at the expense of your dreams. It’s also easier to get a job when you have a job.
#5 Keep Learning
Yes, you just spent the last two decades learning and a lot of it wasn’t interesting. But, you also learned how to learn. Take advantage of your student mentality and learn more about what interests you and how to improve your skills. Read blogs about industries that fascinate you and seek out a professional mentor through your alumni network. Did you really enjoy an elective class that was totally outside your major? Look online or at a community college for more specialized classes, sharpen your skills, and turn it into a career. Life after college is all about applying what we know.
The reality is the world probably changed a lot while you were in college: new jobs that you haven’t dreamed of emerged, workplace culture norms evolved, and a job market with different expectations emerged. But don’t let that stop you from diving in. There’s no telling what twists and turns your career might take, but what’s important is to keep growing, keep going, and embrace the journey. Congratulations, and welcome to post-college life! Things may be different now, but if you’re open to them, exciting opportunities are around every corner.
There are only so many hours in a day, and you only have so many resources at your command. Luckily, there are a number of productivity tips you can embrace in order to get more done. Learn how to save time, increase productivity, and take control of your day. Incorporating these five productivity hacks into your routine can make all the difference in achieving your goals.
It’s fairly common knowledge that it is vital to create long term goals for yourself, to give yourself something to strive for. What you may not have considered is that giving yourself a deadline to work against can actually improve productivity! If there is an end date you need to have a project completed by, it’s much harder for you to procrastinate.
To get an early jump on your day, start planning for it the evening before. You should examine your schedule for the upcoming day to start planning out how you are going to organize work hours. Do all of your appointments make sense as they are scheduled? Do you have any materials you need to review ahead of time?
Set aside blocks of time to make phone calls or to complete tasks between meetings. Once you have the general shape of your day mapped out, write out your to-do list for the day. Capture all the important tasks that you want to complete the next day and rank them by level of priority. Choose your outfit and set it aside. You may even want to take 15 minutes and make your lunch ahead of time. That way you can get up and go immediately without any lost time.
It’s easy to get caught up in the mentality of working wherever and whenever you can manage to. Time management and being productive when you're working from home is just as important as workplace productivity. While a stop at the coffee shop to knock out a few items on the to-do list may be helpful, it’s important for you to make your home workspace your own.
Start by decluttering your space. A space free of clutter sets the appropriate mental tone to maintain your focus. This should also help to minimize distractions that may take you off task. Consider using a program to block social media and other websites where you like to spend personal time. It can be really easy to get lost in your friends’ vacation pictures when you should be taking care of business.
The first thing many of us do when we wake up is check our email. Don’t! Break yourself of this time draining habit. Stay on top of your correspondence, yes, but don’t let it dictate your schedule. Part of learning how to increase productivity is to taking control of your time. Set aside a predetermined amount of time early in the day to address emails. Start with the most critical ones, and work downwards by level of importance. If you don’t get to a lower priority email during your allotted time, it can wait until later in the day after you have completed your most crucial tasks.
You may be tempted to go full force without stopping to achieve your daily goals. However, in order to be more productive overall, MIT Senior Lecturer Bob Pozen suggests that a bit of a break allows your brain the opportunity to take advantage of one of our body’s built-in productivity hacks. That time lets your brain switch modes so it can actually process and organize all the information that has been flowing through it.
Try setting aside a period of time once a week for to conduct a review of all of your activity from the previous week. This can give you the opportunity to clean up any lingering action items, get up to date on your progress towards your goals, and gives you some time to think creatively about how you want to invest your energy going forward. Giving yourself space to breathe and collect yourself is an important step in learning how to increase productivity in a sustainable manner.
In order to truly master your life and your time, it’s important to stay focused on what you need to do and how you need to do it. These productivity hacks will help you master your own potential and stay in the present moment. Practice them every day, and soon you will be unstoppable!