Can someone who works in the sales/advertising industry tell me a little about it?

Sales is never easy, even for a seasoned professional If you like working with others and helping them out, that's a great start. I think sales boils down to two things, numbers and personality. You have to work hard and get in front of a lot of people. If you are social now, that's a good sign. I wasn't very social till college, and even then I took speach classes and joined a marketing and sales organization. Personality is giong to consist of several different things, but they need to like you and you need to be knowledgeable. By being likeable, they will trust you and by being knowledgeable about your product/industry, they will trust in the solution you are providing. However, you will need to to be able to handle rejection. My first sales job out of college, I was only making $24,000 per year and the commissions were few and far inbetween until I became more seasoned. Like anything, the more you do anything, the easier it gets. You always have to do things you fear. But the more you do them, the less fearful they are. Then sales will get easier. You need to stay motivated and not get complacent, otherwise your salary will decline. Sales is a high risk, high reward industry. And can be the opposite if you aren't careful. A great perk about being in sales is the flexibility of your time. You can put in a lot of time, but you can also take off whenever you want. Your income is based on how hard your work, so if you want to relax, you are only hurting yourself becasue you are not making any sales, but you still have that flexibility. I work with two golfers who are never in the office during the summer. That's their choice. Hope this helps...

Sales is a very general thing. It would help if I had an idea of what kind of sales. I worked retail sales for close to 20 years. The first thing I want to say about retail sales is that it's very difficult to get a college education while working it. It's not impossible but it's just a challenge because the employers usually want you to work unset schedules and in some cases lots of overtime. There are lots of bosses that will work around your schooling but not all of them will. Even the ones that say they will, still might give you problems. Another thing about retail sales is that what the boss says about customer service and what they mean can sometimes be very differnent. They will always say that customer service is priority, yet if you drop what you're doing to help an old lady pick out a light fixture or spend several minutes measuring and cutting a customer's electrical wire, the boss will not understand the other work being delayed if you tell him/her that you had to deal with customers. It seems that they only say customer service is number one to sound good, but in actuality, they only look good when their assigned projects get done. Saddly many salepeople have to figure ways of helping the customer briefly and then breaking away to finish their job. Many customers usually need a bit more help than that. There are things you can do like say that if they have any more questions you will be right there and then start working again, but that only works if you don't have lots of customers. Sometimes in sales you will get so many customers you can't always make to back to the first one you helped.. There are also the salesmen that will direct customers to other salesmen, so they can get their work done and YOU can't. Watch out for those type. Sales is also largely political. You have got to not only be social with customers but you have to be able to get along with your coworkers. Have an eye for coworkers you can trust and coworkers you can't trust. This is not always easy. Sometimes it's not the person that does the most work that gets promotions but rather the guy that makes you look bad behind your back or kisses up to the boss. It's never a good idea to share too much of your feelings with people you work with because someone will always blab. Also understand that retail bosses are not always practical. Many of them think the solution to everything is to add another procedure. Not understanding that you barely have enough time to do the procedures you're already doing. What salesmen will do to look good is just cut corners to make up for the added procedure, so in reality when procedures are added it just makes things worse, not better. It's the salesman that knows how to prioritise (cut corners) and knows the ins and outs of playing with numbers, that will usually survive. Playing with numbers might mean selling high markup items split on 2 tickets to make your average go up. That's just an example. Again, the company doesn't benefit by this "cheating" but salesmen do it to survive. It's really a good thing to try to stay very honest while being in sales but there are thousands of things that encourage you to do just the opposite. If you treat the customers right, they will come back and ask for you, but if you don't give them good service or if you lie to them, they will not come back. I have seen salemen do well by being honest but I have also seen salemen sell a lot by lying too. It's not that I'm trying to be negative but more than anything, I want to prepare you for the reality you may see. If sales is something you think you'll like, then I encourage it, but just understand it has pros and cons. It can be very stressful but on the flip side, sometimes you can make a lot of money. Another thing that's not realistic about retail bosses is that they always want to ask things like. What is your sales for next month going to be! They think it's more important to have a goal (pull a number out of thin air) and that you remember where your numbers are, than they think it's important to have a solution or game plan to increase sales. Usually their solutions involves things they want you to say to the customer that will never work. In fact, many of the things I heard them suggest, would only make the customer mad. They generally make up lines they think will impress their higher ups, but there is no true science to it. Commission sales is probably the worse. If you work at a place that doesn't have constant customer flow, the boss will wonder why you're sales are not consistant. Again the retail boss is either not seeing reality or is pretending not to, so he can keep the pressure on you. Many salesmen will cheat by varias means to make it appear that their sales are consistant. This might include waiting until the following day for an item to go through by placing the order on a delivery install or any other trick they can dream up Retail sales managers are probably more stressed than you are, which can also be scary. Often, you will still have your job and they will move on or get booted. Retail sales managers will usually do just about anything to keep your sales up, so they can keep their job. Some are positive about how they do this and others aren't so positive.. Just keep in mind that people don't always do positive things if they're acting in desperation. Again, not trying to scare you, just wanting you to walk into it with both eyes opened. You can make a lot money in sales but in other ways it can be a very dead end career to go into. All I will say is if you think you'll enjoy sales, good luck! If you work hard, and work honestly, you may get cheated by other people but at least you'll have the fulfillment of an honest days work. Just remember to look in front of you, but also behind you.

Way to be thinking about your career at 13! You will go far in life. I am in the sales industry and I absolutely love it. I have chosen network marketing because it allows me flexibility with my time and my activities and it creates residual income (income that will continue even if I am no longer able to work). Sales requires good interpersonal skills, the ability to work on your own and self-motivation, and knowledge about the product your are selling. It is also absolutely imperative that you love the product you sell or your sales pitch will fall flat. Good luck to you! Sharilee Guest [email protected] hookedonabook.com

Im thinking about my future career too but i haven't got to anything yet. =[

You will have to be very good at hearing no. It can be hard on your ego, to be told all the time that someone doesn't want what you are selling.

Just talk what your customers like then you can get what you want,try it ,maybe you will be successful .where you go and how far you go depends on your skills you are performing yourself.

in fact, now. you are on internet. it is a good way for ads and extend your company and your company. i think so;

like what?

REMEMBER THIS: Sales is the ATR of making people feel happy paying for what they were convinced was of a meaning or value to them. WE CAUSIOUSLY INFLUENCE PEOPLE'S SUBCONCIOUS TO ACT... Meaning: U start your day asking yourself from the moment you wake up till the day you die (God forbids) the following question: Y A I E M T. "_WHY AM I ENJOYING MYSELF TODAY"_.... That's the start honey.... This tends to make u feel positive.....inside.... Carrying a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE WILL MAKE U FEEL POSITIVE INSIDE...In the sub-concious area... And while U R @ this state, you will be able to INFLUENCE PEOPLE... REMEMBER: WE ALWAYS INFLUENCE.... Selling is the very best thing one could do in a life... U need to have the right character.... Enthusiazm, inspiration, aspiration, ....etc. BUT B4 ALL U MUST B ALWAYS PREPARED.... We are all good people, but u need to UNDERSTAND YOURSELF JUST LIKE YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS... How to motivate them.......Move them...... You need to learn TO ASK QUESTIONS so that u reach to a deal with buyers around u. You need to know how to prop and make ROUND QUESTIONS...meaning, once u r asked a question, you reply to it, and ASK BACK whether or not u answered that person's question... Always collect the YES'S from those u r encountered with... You need how to make people THINK of u when it comes to wanting something be sold to them... You need to EVENTUALLY reach to the conclusion that you have really built an F A R out of your clients... F A R stands for FULLY ACTIVE REFERENCE... They become a SOURCE OF INFORMATION TO U... It is to understand the FEATURES of the Product or Service that u r selling, and weigh it against the BENEFITS that the customer will earn.....THIS IS WHERE U R SATISFYING A NEED FOR YOUR CLIENTS & CUSTOMERS... It is the art of selling something without even mentioning PRICE...; i.e., Show Features....Expose Benefits...Let the buyer realize the Need u r satisfying of his..... It is the art of handling complaints & closing a deal.... PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS A MUST, and just as well, u need to KNOW YOUR COMPETITORS' PRODUCT... This is what I have been doing for such a looooong time.... If I could be of assistance at all at anytime, please stay n contact with me. I will extend a hand to the best of my capabilities..... ON THE OTHER HAND, I KNOW THIS IS NOT MEANT FOR YOU AT ALL NOW, BUT I advise u to seek a course sometimes in the future with "Gustav Kaser Training International" I know it is waaaaaay tooooo early for u to seek knowledge with them, but I advise you not to EVER FORGET THE NAME... You may recommend them to your Employer in the future when you graduate and exist in the Market Place with such a Firm or an Organization that can handle & understand the concepts behind those people... Seek them as you grow older, honey. I had gone through THREE SESSIONS with a very knowledgable & experienced Instructor from Norway... His Name is Mr. Geir Solli..."[email protected]" Visit them : www.gustavkaeser.no Tell him u were directed to him by THAT STUDENT who had Class 8 with him in UAE, and was a very active & enthusiastic student with EVIDENT PARTICIPATION & CONTRIBUTION to the said class... I hope he will realize who u r talking about...LOOOL. For the time being it is good for you to read some books in Selling & Professional Selling that suites your age... "The One Minute Salesman" is fair & just for someone in High School for instance, or even in College... In my days I read about it in my first year at work... U R still young and energetic, so seek the above noted names, and lets take it from that end... Take care & good luck in your life.... YOU IMPRESSED ME A LOT......