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What it takes to be a Good Sales Rep I chose to write about what it means to be a good sales representative. I have always wanted a career in sales and am very good at it. Since I was 21 I have been involved in some type of sales career. The most interesting of all was being a sales representative for Roadshow Marketing and traveling to different parts of the United States. Of all of the places I have traveled, Atlanta was the coolest gift mart I attended. A sales representative can make a good amount of extra money if the time and energy is available to them.
I feel that I am a very good sales representative and these are some of the things that I have researched and reviewed in my business. A sales representative is first and foremost characterized by knowledge of its customers. A good sales representative has good customer base and maintains good relationships with all of individual clients. Good sales agents visit their customers or call them regularly. They know their needs and they know how to answer them.
Knowing its customers also means that your sales representative must know the purchasing pattern of their customers. What is the purchasing cycle who makes decisions along the way? These are a few questions that a good sales representative will know the answers to. Your sales representative must also know the product it represents. It can seem obvious but it has numerous consequences. It means that in order to sell technical products a sales representative must have a good technical education, good enough to understand its customers’ questions and give clear answers.
It also means that a sales representative can be good at selling one product but not good at another product. Some products require technical sales, some others require negotiation capabilities, others require understanding the emotions behind the purchase, and others require a constant presence on the field. Training a sales representative is crucial. Most companies do not give enough training to their sales representatives. This is a serious mistake because representatives can only be efficient if they answer their customers’ needs.
A good sales representative must be able to demonstrate a product or give a detailed presentation, it must be able to answer the main questions from the customers, and it must understand its own limits in order to come back to the company it represents and ask for details or answers to questions it has been asked. This capacity at dialoguing with the company it represents is an excellent indication of a good sales representative. Communication capacities of a sales representative are crucial. A sales representative is the link between two parties, one selling products and the other one purchasing them.
A good sales representative must have the capability to communicate with both parties quickly and efficiently. The representative must bring answers to its customers, but it must also bring answers to the company it represents. Finding prospects is a good start. But a sales representative must have tenacity. It must follow up with its customers, understand their sales cycles and know when to push. This follow up will make the difference between a sales representative that brings prospects and one that brings purchase orders.
And there can be a huge gap between the two. It is very important for a sales representative to keep the company it represents up to date on its progress. All companies require regular reporting from their inside sales force. This includes new contracts, new offers, follow up of existing prospects, probability to win existing opportunities, and revenue forecasts. It is normal to require the same level of reporting from independent sales representatives. Currently I am an independent sales representative for Thirty-One Gifts and I really enjoy that part of my job.
Unfortunately most companies do not have enough contacts with their sales representatives and do not get detailed reports. A good representative must define with its principal the level of reporting to provide. Then he must conform to this requirement and send its report by itself, without being asked. It is very frustrating for a company to be forced to ask regularly its sales representatives for reports. Very few give reports by themselves let alone every review the reports in a manner of detail. Most sales representatives have a very bad reporting.
Therefore, a representative that gives regular and complete reports without being asked is very much appreciated. Reporting can be a determining factor in the long run in the relationship between a company and its sales representative. Any company will prefer a representative that gives regular reports. A sales representative that reports brings less revenue but that gives better reporting can in certain cases be preferred to a representative that does not report on its activities. Managing representatives is crucial for a company.
Customer contact is very important for any company, in order to get feedback on its products, to know about new trends and new customers’ requests, and to know about new products that customers would like to see. Selling through sales representatives cuts the direct link between a company and its customers. A good sales representative must relay customers concerns and requests to the company it represents. Sales representatives must be opened to discussion and must listen to their clients. A good sales representative must also report negative comments from the customers.
Any company is interested in constructive criticism, which can make products evolve to better serve the customer. Sales representatives must understand customers’ criticisms and must provide constructive feedback to the principals. If a sales representative does not perform their job well things can go wrong within the sale. If a customer is turned away by a sales representative that is not friendly or helpful a word of mouth can be negative for the business also. From experience I can say that if you do not use the saying “The Customer is Always Right” you can find a loss in profits.
When in a larger area it is possible that negative words may not be repeated to others. In smaller communities people talk about their day to day activities and also certain experiences. It is almost obvious that a good sales representative must be reactive. It must answer requests both from its principal and from its customers. In the end, a sales representative is judged upon its results. A good sales representative is one that adapts to its customers and knows how to get the order. Certain sales representatives practices can be surprising, especially in foreign countries.
But the sale representative must be the one who decides how to interact with its customers to sell the products it represents. If you can show a positive attitude and clearly know the product you are selling you will get the sale. Today in this economy you have to do anything possible to make sure you get the sale and also have repeat customers in the future to keep sales at a high level. Being a sales representative takes a certain person with good communication skills which I am glad I have.