To a salesman, selling is the art of living that is conducted with a whole lot of confidence. Without confidence, all the sensational vocabulary goes down the drain in front of a prospective customer. So the real challenge is to simplify the objective goal of becoming an A-grade salesman who delivers a quality sales career.



There is a very thin line between blowing & closing a sale. A real salesman truly knows the difference between these fine lines and juggles his way around to have a successful sales career. Just by having a higher intellectual knowledge also doesn't guarantee success in a sales career. What really make a difference are the most common rules of salesmanship- desire, commitment & patience.

A study conducted on selling indicates that it usually takes around 10 years to master the art of salesmanship. The bottom-line in any business is closing sales and that's exactly what it takes to impress the bosses. Educational qualification has never been highlighted too much when it comes to hiring a good sales person. So for those who have not studied too hard, still got a very good chance of landing a sales job!

The following are guidelines to grow an awesome sales career. Personally I consider them the 10 commandments of quantum salesmanship!

1. Sell a product that you believe and interested with. Selling a product that you are not interested in personally will not do you any good. So try to pick a product or industry that captures your thoughts & imagination throughout your career. This will help you sell the product without much hassle in terms of the knowledge base.

2. Be an expert. Being an expert means that you grasp the subject from all angles & dimensions. Don't wait for your boss to educate your brain instead take some pro-active measures to stay ahead of your competition. This is the reason being for choosing the subject of your interest and choice. Start reading results driven books by experts in order to master your skills before you go out to sell. Your non-interest in a particular product will hamper your ability to close a cold call.

3. It is very critical that you wrap up your apprenticeship before taking a deep dive into the ocean of high paying jobs. It is apparent that a lot of young guns in sales take the short cut to start earning a high chunk of salary. But what they don't realize is the long term picture of a successful career. Switching jobs frequently doesn't look good on your resume as the employers will be scared to hire you with a long term perspective. It's perfectly fine to switch jobs for an opportunity to accelerate your growing curb.

4. Learning from experience is the best way to cut down on your mistakes. Find a mentor in your industry to get a helping hand in growing your career ahead. A mentor should be someone who has been there and done that! You don't necessarily need a coach, who will drill you every time you make a mistake. A mentor will guide you and help in not only the good times but also the bad times too. A good student will always credit his success to his teacher along with the education.

5. You should always be willing to learn under any circumstances. As per the Guru's "Learning is the true essence of a Life time." Your enthusiasm should rub off on everyone working around you as this will create a positive environment wherever you work. Customers will appreciate your positive energy while you are promoting a product. It's ironic but you should realize that the most you will ever learn from is the person that you might not like at all! Hence, you should always keep an open eye and be transparent towards all.

6. You must acquire trust from your customer before you begin your presentation. This means that customers should always feel comfortable around you and you must dress to impress every time you step out to sell. Having a good wardrobe always helps to instill new confidence in a superficial world. Even if you don't like it, you must accept the fact that dressing nice is a vital part of your sales presentation.

7. Managing contacts is an acquired skill that you must develop in order to capitalize on them. You must keep track of how many people you meet along with their contact details. Networking contacts is a great resource that will increase your market penetration. If you maintain enough contacts, you will rarely have to rely on cold calling in order to sell your product.

8. You must set your goals and timelines to achieve them. This is a very good habit that will reward you until you retire from the sales industry. By keeping a plan of development, you will be focused towards your career with a systematic approach. Many a times, a salesman without a strategy, finds himself in career crisis as a result. Developing career should also take in account your hunger for attaining the higher side of the corporate ladder.

9. Keep a helping attitude towards others, as it will increase your reliability in the network of sales people. Giving and getting assistance is part of being a professional and it pays off when you are facing difficult times.

10. "Roll with the punches"- You must increase your adaptability as a sales person. Technology is rapidly changing the way a business is managed, so along with it your ability to evolve should also increase.

If the above commandments are too boring for you to handle then believe me it will be difficult to survive in the sales industry. The toppers in sales have the unique ability to convince their customers and to a certain extent it is a gifted ability. But ones without this gift can definitely learn the art of selling through experience and perseverance. So before you go out there to make a sales call, ensure to read through this article to come out on top of the world!!!