Ever considered being a sales consultant? This interview will take you down the career path, including the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This sales expert also explains how important it is to have a positive mindset during any job interview.
I am the leading Sales Consultant for a major car dealership in Florida. I happened to stumble upon this opportunity about five years ago as I was transitioning out of the military. I had no previous sales experience whatsoever, but I have always possessed a very positive and outgoing personality.
A few months before my separation from the military, I was shopping for a new car. After countless, grueling hours of bouncing back and forth between several dealerships and exchanging negotiating tactics with different salesman, I finally locked in on the vehicle I wanted. My salesman was a nice, older gentleman with a casual, low pressure approach, but a firm stance on the price. We battled back and forth over the price for quite a while, but I finally sat down with the sales manager and we got the deal done.
At some point during our dealing, I had mentioned that I would be getting out of the military, and my salesman suggested that I sell cars for a living. I almost laughed at that, because I had never thought of myself as a salesman. He explained to me I had the type of personality and attitude that would thrive in the business, and all I would need is some training and I could potentially make a good living.
After discussing it with my wife, I decided to give it a shot. The week after I got out of the Navy, my salesman set up an interview for me with the owner and general sales manager of the dealership and they hired me on the spot.
When searching for a job in any professional environment, there are several factors that can be quite essential. Your personal appearance is obviously key here. Make sure you are well groomed, well dressed and well versed. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind about the professional job search is to maintain a great and positive attitude. Be flexible and have the cognizant awareness to adapt to the surrounding for which you are applying, but always maintain a confident, positive attitude. It is absolutely amazing how far a genuine smile and optimistic outlook can get you.
No matter what kind of job you are applying for, whether it is a sales position or a desk job, another important thing to remember is that you have to sell yourself. Being in the sales profession, that becomes especially vital because while you are being interviewed, the main thing that they will be looking for is how great you sell yourself.
Be realistic in your job search. If you have the desire to try a career in sales but you have no experience, then make sure you are willing to start from the lower tier. Do not attempt to apply for a Sales Manager position with little or no experience because you will not be taken seriously. I knew that I had no experience, and I made sure to let my interviewers know that if they hired me I would be dedicated to educating myself on the craft.
Be honest and open, but keep it relevant. I made sure to drive home the point that even though I did not have the experience, I had the desire, motivation and initiative to work hard, learn as much as I could and apply my sales knowledge to the best of my ability. I did not, however, overload my interviewers with irrelevant information, such as what I did while I was in the military. Although my interviewers appreciated the fact that I served my country, they were not interested in what I did in my military career because it did not pertain to sales in any way.
Do not lose confidence or get down on yourself. I was fortunate in the fact that I got hired the first time I interviewed. However, that is not the norm, and most people should not expect to get hired on the spot the first time they interview for a new position. I had a few things working in my favor, such as I was a previous customer, the sales manager was familiar with who I was, and my salesman put in a few good words for me.
It is quite typical to interview well, but get denied the job. Do not let that bring your spirits down and discourage you. Let's say you have two interviews scheduled for an afternoon. The first interview goes horribly. You felt like a fish out of water and the interviewers all but berated you for even showing up. You walk out of the building feeling dejected. Your next interview is in less than an hour, and how will you approach it? Will you walk into your next interview with your head down and confidence low? Absolutely not! Brush off the last interview, clear your mind and verbally give yourself some positive affirmations. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself good things. Think positively and stay focused. Walk into your next interview with a confident smile and a bright, focused attitude.
Throughout my sales career, those few things have kept me successful. There are times when it can get rough. Working for pure commission is not easy, but it can be extremely rewarding if you stay focused, positive, confident and dedicated. But remember, the key is that you must always know how to sell yourself.
Find and apply for your next successful job interview at SalesJobs.org where you’ll find all the jobs in one place.
Image from Gina Sanders/Shutterstock
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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