Anyone who has been in sales long enough knows that there is more to the job than most people realize. There is a level of nuance and detail that is often more art than science. This is second nature to a good sales rep, because they know how crazy and odd their job can get.
There are two common misconceptions about people who work in sales. One is that being a sales rep for a company is the same thing as working the floor of a big box store hawking TVs. The other is that being a sales rep is easy work, and all it consists of is shooting the bull and filling random orders that are called in. The truth is, a sales rep has to constantly hustle. Sure, playing a round of golf with a customer sounds fun, and compared too many jobs it is, but it is still work. Keep in mind that golf is considerably less fun when you have to throw the game to keep the customer happy.
Sales as a profession is also the ultimate level playing field. Some hotshot with an MBA from Harvard and an underachiever with a GED can both be sales reps. Impressive degrees don’t matter much to most companies when it comes down to it. They only care about who gets the most sales. If the Harvard hotshot can’t close the deal, that degree isn’t worth a roll of two ply.
Take a look at the infographic below. If you want to know the kind of craziness and work that goes into being a sales rep, here is you window into the world of sales statistics. It shows helpful tips like when the best time to send and answer e-mails, as well as stats like the staggering number of voicemails a sales rep leaves each month. Sales is now a data-driven craft that needs to be constantly improving.
Andrew Gazdecki is the founder and CEO of Bizness Apps—making mobile apps affordable and simple for small businesses. We’re a do-it-yourself iPhone, iPad, Android & HTML5 app platform that allows any small business to simultaneously create, edit, and manage mobile apps without any programming knowledge needed. Think of us as “WordPress for mobile app creation.” Many of our customers are white label app makers—marketing or design agencies that use our platform to cost effectively build mobile apps for small business clients.
