11 Life Skills You Learn from Working in Sales

Starting out a career in sales can be difficult, but the rewards are enduring. And while the methods we employ in sales can change, the fundamental skills you learn are lifelong.

These skills are highly transferrable to a variety of industries or if you decide to pursue entrepreneurship. But they are also applicable to your personal life.

11 Life Skills from Sales

1. Overcoming objections

As a sales professional, you will encounter various objections and client concerns as you try to sell your product or service. The ability to overcome objections consistently is a sought-after skill that truly defines successful salespeople. But it’s also a perfect skill for adoption in your daily interactions. 

2. Handling rejection

You won’t always overcome objections. So, this is where you need to learn how to handle rejections. You will hear the word ‘no’ a lot. Moving on without it affecting your performance is a skill that not many learn well.

It also helps you to handle constructive criticism without taking offence.

3. Networking

Sales help you move beyond your comfort zone and get over the fear of talking to people. Meeting and engaging with new people get easier the more you do it. And in sales, you do this – a lot.

4. Active listening

This stems from learning to let your customer do the talking. When you listen, you can focus on the pain points that are driving their actions and be able to address them directly. Listening is a skill that can save relationships, jobs, etc.

5. The art of persuasion

Successful salespeople aren’t pushy, despite the movie tropes about sales professionals. They are the ones who have mastered persuasion techniques that ethically encourage the sale and closes the deals. Now, while the sales process may differ according to your industry, the skill of persuasion can be tailored to any circumstance.

6. Persistence

A good sales job teaches you how to be tenacious without being pushy or intimidating. That level of persistence can be an asset for daily life and a variety of jobs.

7. Self-confidence

A job in sales allows you to grow into yourself and increase your self-confidence. That’s because sales require that you interact with prospects and selling them on a benefit to a product or service. You learn how to negotiate and take command of a situation – useful skills for both work and personal lives.

8. Communication Skills

Prospecting is an essential part of sales. And the communication skills you learn from prospecting is second to none. From phone to email, you learn to improve your oral and written communication as you engage with leads. You may also be required to do presentations. Here you have two skills in one – presentation and communication.

9. Organisation

Juggling a life in sales throws quite a bit at you. Working under your own steam, you need to meet deadlines and quotas, manage paperwork, communication, scheduling client interviews, marketing. It’s a lot of moving parts, and the myriad of activities you undertake in this role can seem overwhelming.

But what it does teach you is useful organisational skills that are sought after in every industry and role.

10. Time Management

Following on from your organisational skills is time management. You learn how to prioritise tasks and how to focus your energies strategically for increased productivity.

11. Self-discipline

Nothing quite teaches you control, how to motivate yourself, and to stay on track than a career in sales does. You learn how to take control of your time, your days.

As you can see, there are many transferrable life skills that you can learn just from being in sales. Learning how to apply the skills you’ve mastered in your professional and personal life will only yield more positive outcomes.

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Disclaimer: All views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions or views of my current employer or any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. This post is for informational purposes only and any advice should be followed at the reader's own discretion.

?2020 by Alex Alleyne | www.alexalleyne.com | www.mysalesagency.com