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Many people are natural born salesmen. Building relationships and convincing people of their side of story is something comes easily to them. At Cydcor, we are happy to nurture young talented sales people with a gift for gab and laser focus abilities. However, some great sales people learn their skills from the college experience, for those looking to gain a broader perspective and refine the necessary skills. Here a few ways you can use your college classes to create a successful sales career.
Psychology teaches you about the human mind. You can learn how people will react to the things you say, how to gain trust, and what makes people want to buy your product or services. You can focus your abilities to read people into convincing them to come to your side.
Business will give you a broad overview of management, operations, and communications. Business majors are well rounded and have a solid understanding of how to identify needs and solve problems.
Finance or accounting degrees are useful for understanding numbers and efficiency. Finance majors will still need to focus on people skills but will understand what needs to get done in order to make the business profitable.
Communications is a great modern degree in order to study means and methods of communication. These skills will create savvy social media and email marketers as well as develop a solid understanding of how to get a message across. Communications majors can tap into what is important and popular, and put their particular spin on the situation.
While theater or drama may sound like a strange major for business, some of the best sales skills come from being able to act confident and knowledgeable even in situations where it is not truly the case. Actors know how to be charming and make friends with anyone, and can gain trust easily.
What do you think is helpful for a salesperson to study in college? Learn more about the skills necessary to be a sales rock star on Cydcor’s career page.
The job market is competitive today. Employers often get dozens of applicants for positions. Imagine being a simple line in a queue of applications, with a similar resume to ten other qualified candidates. Sometimes, it takes the extra effort to get called in for an interview. Here some ideas from the Cydcor sales blog to make an impression that will get you where you want to go when job hunting.
What are some great things you’ve done to get noticed in the past?
There is nothing like a perfect song to get pumped up for the morning. At Cydcor, we know working in sales takes energy and motivation. Here is a list of some of our favorite songs to get you ready for work.
What are your favorite songs to fire you up for work?
In sales, people have to have to interact with each other all day. Success in sales comes from being able to feel confident and comfortable in most situations. At Cydcor, we do our best to present the most effective sales teams around. One way to easily improve your sales confidence can be as simple as taking two minutes to stand powerfully.
Nonverbal communication has a lot of value in society. How we interact with each other can lead to very important decisions in life, such as whether someone is hired, sued, or accepted for a date. One second of political candidate facial expressions can predict election outcomes 70% of the time.
In addition to using body language to judge others, social psychologist Amy Cuddy has reported research that the way we move and carry ourselves also affects the way we judge ourselves. Further, many body expressions and postures reflect similar positions in the animal kingdom. When we are afraid we make ourselves small and meek, trying to appear insignificant. When we want to display power, we make ourselves big and open.
Power stances are known across the animal kingdom. Also, that powerful people express power chronically as well as in moments of victory. Even people who were born blind have been showed to display the upward v shape with the arms after winning something, the way racers do when they cross a finish line.
When powerful people and fearful people interact, body language reflects this as well. People unaware of fear will often shrink in the face of an open power stance without realizing it. Professor Cuddy realized the difference in power stances in the classroom, and decided to try an experiment to see if grades would improve on students she trained to stand powerfully.
The results were stunning. It turns out that powerful stances for two minutes actually increase hormones that contribute to self-confidence and assertion. So the fake-it-till-you-make-it strategy actually has a physiological affect that helps people be more confident and assertive. See the amazing talking by Professor Cuddy below:
Health and wellness are an important part of Cydcor company culture. We value our team and want them to the be the best fleet of sales people in the business. We also want Cydcor team members to feel like their best selves.
Confidence and good moods are key building successful sales relationships. There are some good personal exercises to build confidence, but the best practice for mood boosting is to incorporate foods that will energize and provide balance. We all know nutrition and exercise play a huge role in our overall health, but did you know that eating for good moods is possible as well?
Getting essential nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, antioxidants and omega fats are great for feeling good and getting out into the world. While they may not provide super powers right away, some great foods to keep on hand might just give that competitive edge in the world of sales.
Avocados are high in fiber, vitamin K, and folic acid. Fiber and the healthy fat in an avocado will make you feel invigorated and full. Vitamin K keeps your skin fresh and bright, and folic acid is helpful for mood boosting. These green fruits are ideal for bringing out your best self.
Hazelnuts are also rich in fiber and good fats, but their secret ingredient is their high magnesium level. Magnesium helps to keep stress levels low by regulating blood pressure and helping with calcium absorption. It can also help regulate heart beats.
Eggs are an excellent source of choline, protein and omega-3 fats. Choline is a micronutrient that helps to regulate the brain. They are also one of the few foods that contains vitamin D, which helps fight against depression and ward off disease.
What are your power up foods to get you ready for the sales floor?
According to Oracle, sales people spent 78% of their time looking for leads. That leaves very little time for actual selling, especially when relationship building is so crucial to making the sale. So how can one manage leads and spend more time selling? Here are some tips from Cydcor Sales Blog.
Start by organizing your leads into categories of likelihood. One for people who have bought from you before. Two for people who have expressed interest. Three for people you think would really benefit from your product or service. And four for completely cold leads. Categories one and two should take up most of your time, building relationship.
Think of the 80/20, which says that eighty percent of sales come form twenty percent of our clients. Many sales people and entrepreneurs alike are happier and more profitable when they make the most time for happy, enduring customers. That is why it is crucial to structure and evolve your business in a way that will bring in streams of income from your best customers. Whether that is a continued service, multiple services or new products, one must keep core clients happy and interested.
When generating new leads, stay within your network. You may need to cold call sometimes, but be smarter about it. Instead of spending time making calls to a list of a thousand, do research on a hundred and know why they need your business before you call. You will come off as more diligent, certain and provide your lead with information more relevant to them than a script. It also gives you time to ask questions.
If you need new perspective on what your customers are looking for, take a few past customers or customers of your competition out to lunch. Ask them what they like about their experience as a customer. Focus on the traits you hear in positive feedback and make them your main selling points. Take the time to build strategy around who your customers are and what they really need.
Cydcor is the leading expert in outsourced sales. To learn more about Cydcor, click here.
The Heavy Hitter Sales Blog recently reported on the seven types of sales managers. We wanted to review the types and then ask you what type you may fall under and which manager you prefer to have. So here they are!
For more detail, read Steve W. Martin's post on the seven types of sales managers over at the Heavy Hitters blog.
One of our sales office owners has made a big impact on me with a mission statement she wrote to capture what the purpose of her business is. She and her statement are such a great example of the best in our business – what makes us unique, and why we attract the best and the brightest.
In her mission, she talks about making sure that every person who comes into her office is given equal opportunity to be successful by creating meaningful and genuine relationships with each individual, constantly working for her people by setting the pace from the front and providing them with time and attention. She also places “importance on transferring knowledge to each person, personally, that’s necessary to open, operate, and grow a business.” Most importantly, she makes a “positive impact on every person that comes in contact with her, her staff, and her company.”
Her perspective on business is one that I feel applies to all of us. A successful business is run by successful people who are committed to achieving great things. In just a short time, she has managed to do extremely well and is one of our top office owners.
Her mission is one that should inspire all of us - good sense for great business.
Listening to a book on tape recently reminded me of George Washington's great vision, leadership, and sacrifice. Every time I learn about Washington, I appreciate his leadership and ability to balance short- and long-term goals. He held true to his vision for our country, which focused on representative government, civil liberties, religious freedom, and each person being able to control his or her own destiny. The biggest obstacle to achieving this vision was King George III and British dominance over the Colonies.
Washington faced a difficult choice. He knew that creating the vision that would prove best in the long-term for our country would require short-term sacrifice. He would have to sacrifice personally by risking his life and all his personal wealth, being seven years away from his home and family. The country would have to sacrifice by experiencing short-term economic suffering as well as the deaths and raids caused by war.
Most people shy away from making such a difficult choice. Knowing that short-term sacrifice facilitates long-term success, however, makes the difficult choices easier. Thankfully for us, George Washington was willing to make the necessary sacrifices in the short-term to ensure a better future for America.
Gary
By Gary Polson, CEO
Many military historians consider George Washington to be America’s greatest general. He led a tattered, under-equipped, under-manned, and starving army to defeat the greatest army of the world at that time to win our independence.
He was not always such a great military man. As a colonel for the Virginia Colony, he made strategic blunders that led to the slaughter of his men and the start of the French and Indian War. After that defeat, the Governor of Maryland described Washington as a “dangerous mixture of inexperience and impetuosity.” As horrible and humiliated as Washington felt, he did not give up on himself. He learned from these mistakes and eventually became a great general and the first President of the United States.
Like George Washington, we all have setbacks that feel devastating. He is a great example of not letting those setbacks stop us in the pursuit of our dreams.
Gary
All of us at the recent Keys to Success event, an annual kickoff meeting attended by all sales office owners in North America, were so lucky to hear from our guest speaker, Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and award-winning author of “The Heart and the Fist.” The most powerful part of his message was the mindset required to survive the Navy Seal boot camp. Only about 10 percent of these highly-fit soldiers make it. Eric said that it was not the great collegiate athletes that survived. Instead, it was the ones with the greatest will.
The attributes that he described for the successful are the same ones that are needed for success in our business. Here is a sampling of his comments that I wrote down:
“Confront your fear and push yourself.”
“Courage is the courage of perseverance of willing to do the hard things day after day.”
“People quit when they think how hard it is going to be, but rarely when they are doing those hard things.”
“The Navy Seal challenges are called ‘evolutions’. Your character evolves until you get to the place where you change who you are.”
“To get the life you want, change the compass just a few degrees and march in that direction every day.”
“If you attempt a challenge and do not succeed, the challenge always remains - the challenge always remains.”
Lessons for all of us. Eric, we will always be grateful and learned so much from you during the conference. Your words will stick with us now and in years to come.