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Salespeople as Depicted in Media

by EditorDave

Last updated: 06/04/2012
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Sales Are What Makes the Economy Work.... (And You'd Be Surprised What Constitutes Sales!)

Really. If you have a RESUME in your hands, you ARE SELLING SOMETHING. When you are trying to pursuade someone to do something they ordinarily wouldn't do or you are trying to sway folks to going with your idea, you are selling.

Unfortunately, when most folks think of sales, they think of the obnoxious car salespeople or the time-share salespeople or door-to-door vacuum cleaner salespeople or insurance salespeople. But then there are those who sell real-estate, those who sell medical equipment, those who sell pharmaceuticals, those who sell industrial chemicals, those who sell advertising, and those who sell computer networking and data center equipment.

Some of these sales professionals work full-time on a commission-only independent-contractor basis and work widely variable hours..... and yet, if they are skillful, they can make six-figure incomes. Others work as "employees" (some with salary plus commissions and some with minimum-wage or commission--whichever is higher) for a company and must put in regular hours.

Some "salespeople" aren't considered to be in "sales" as their title may dictate, but because they are sole proprietors or business owners of companies that do roofing, air-conditioning, plumbing, flowers, medical services, accounting, and car repair, they wind up having to do their own marketing and sales to get business to their establishments.

This Squidoo lens describes a bit more on the process of "sales"... and what it really means to be in "sales" .... and to let you know that -- guess what? -- You ARE IN SALES!

Contents at a Glance

Sales Can Be Decorative!
What is Sales? Definitions are Hard to F...
Sales by the Bay... eBay, That Is!
Do You Buy Stuff? Then, the Next Questio...
Sales in Motion .... On the Big Screen ....
Yup. Successful Salespeople Read A Lot o...

Always Be Closing! Dark T-Shirt

From: IndividualiTEE

What does ABC stand for? Well, in the sales world it stands for Always Be Closing! A favorite of sales experts everywhere, this designed with the sales guru or sales goddess in mind!

World's Greatest Sales.. (H) Women's Long Sleeve D

From: The Fun Gift Store

'World's Greatest Salesperson'. Features cartoonish image of the Earth encircled by 'World's Greatest' in gold. Many other designs available -- see www.cafepress.com/fungiftstore for more!

"Sales Diva" [red] Tile Coaster

From: The YOU Store

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Kiss Me I'm A Salesperson Women's Long Sleeve Dark

From: Kiss Me T-Shirts & Gifts

If selling is your profession then our Kiss Me I'm A Salesperson is the design for you. Available in a wide range of apparel,caps,mugs and much more.

Eat Sleep Sales Women's Long Sleeve Dark T-Shirt

From: Eat Sleep Geek

Eat, Sleep, Sales. Be proud of your occupation, hobby, or obsession! Get this fun Eat Sleep design on great t-shirts, stickers, & much more. They also make great gifts!

See more designs like these on CafePress

What is Sales? Definitions are Hard to Find.

Many Now Nationally Recognized Franchises Started As a Single Sole-Proprietor-Operated Stand

There are techniques to sales... and most folks can be swayed by these techniques. If you have even the faintest inclination to want to buy something, a skilled salesperson will be able to press your "hot buttons" and get you salivating over that prospect such that you will be almost begging them to sell it to you. Sometimes it takes only persistence ... just look at the two-year-old kid in the supermarket near the candy or toy aisles to see an excellent example of this.

Some "salespeople" work primarily behind-the-scenes and are responsible for producing the words and images that get you salivating over some product or service--the words and images are intended to make you want to call the business or even get in your car and drive to the business storefront to buy whatever they are selling. These folks are in "advertising".

A lot of folks have a chutspa or gutsyness about them... and they seem to be good at sales.Scary. But good at sales. Especially if they can learn how to control their scary impulses and then learn to direct their people skills to be more refined. Then they can become great at sales.

Sales by the Bay... eBay, That Is!

Do You Buy Stuff? Then, the Next Question Is.... Who SOLD it To YOU?

Souvenir shop in Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii - Set up to attract tourists

Sure, for big-ticket items such as cars, homes, computers, and major appliances, we sort of expect to deal with salespeople. But when it comes to groceries, do we really think that we're dealing with "salespeople"? Maybe not when you go to your local grocery store and find your stuff neatly laid out on the shelves ready for us to pick the stuff we need and plop it down into our carts.

But you wouldn't believe how much thought (called "marketing") went into figuring out the exact placement of those goodies on the particular shelves to entice you to pick the stuff up.

I used to work behind the scenes in a grocery store chain -- in the Data Center -- and the complexity of a grocery store operation is unbelievable for those who aren't familiar with it. Grocery stores use things called Planograms to determine where each product is placed to encourage maximum buying instincts among their patrons. This product placement is sometimes determined by the stores' need and sometimes by the manufacturer and marketer of the product paying a placement fee to the store to make sure the product is put where it will be bought. Then, the manufacturers will also spend a bunch of money on television, radio, newspaper, and magazine (and now, Internet) advertising to create "product awareness" and "brand recognition" so that folks will buy their stuff rather than someone else's stuff.

Those cameras in the ceilings? Well, you may think they're there to keep an eye out for shoplifters and for security (and yes, they're there for that as well). But much of what they do is to watch and track shoppers' movements. They want to watch how you move through the store so they can better position the stuff so you will be directed to buy more stuff. They even hire psychologists (well, maybe "marketing psychologists") to figure out more of your buying patterns. With modern-day computers and ATM/Debit cards and check account-number recording devices, they can now track individual shoppers--have you ever noticed that the coupons they give you when you check out seem to match a lot of the stuff you are in the habit of buying?

However, when I was involved with a "network-marketing" company, some of our products weren't very exciting. Nope... not like cars or homes (but yes, we *did* have computers, some smaller appliances, and such). But most of the stuff we had was the "boring stuff" like shampoo, toothpaste, soap, detergents, vitamins, and even toilet paper. Oh yes, we also had snack foods, tennis shoes, clothes, toys, pet food, and other things as well. When we were concerned about having to SELL our products, our leaders said this: "After you've eaten a bran muffin with a chaser of a grande coffee and you have that rumbling in your tummy area and lower down.... do you expect to have someone chase you down the street trying to sell you toilet paper?" Think about it. You may not put a lot of thought into your purchase of toilet paper. It's something you really NEED. With certain influences and incentives, you can be enticed to try a different brand. Maybe you can even be enticed to switch permanently. Companies spend a lot of money trying to figure out how to get you to switch. From Chevy to Ford. From Coke to Pepsi. From Colgate to Crest. From Round Table to Pizza Hut or Dominos. From Burger King to McDonald's. So, if a friend can show you not only an alternate product, but also one that provides an incentive to buy it, this is pure marketing genius. It's called relationship marketing. It's very subtle. If done right, it's not obnoxious. If done right, it's comfortable and friendly. You may not develop a relationship with your car salesperson or your insurance agent or your grocer.... but it's a lot easier to develop a relationship with a neighbor, or someone you see every day at the coffee shop or bus terminal, or a colleague at work.

Salespeople as Depicted in Media

Sales Are What Makes the Economy Work.... (And You'd Be Surprised What Constitutes Sales!)

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Sales Can Be Decorative!

What is Sales? Definitions are Hard to Find.

Sales by the Bay... eBay, That Is!

Do You Buy Stuff? Then, the Next Question Is.... Who SOLD it To YOU?

Sales in Motion .... On the Big Screen ... Depending on How Big Your TV Is!

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Yup. Successful Salespeople Read A Lot of Books Like This!

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