With my over 35 years of experience (initial 18 years in the top management in sales leadership roles followed by recruitment and job search coaching), I know that sales remains an important element of life required to achieve successful results.
Each one of us are selling all the time – consciously or unconsciously. Situations that involve invisible sales are when a wife sells to her husband, a dad sells to his child, a lawyer sells in a courtroom, a doctor sells to patients and so on. Sales is when you are influencing another individual about your proposition by genuinely solving a problem resulting in a win-win situation. And selling someone on your idea or candidature is perfectly fine and it’s is an art which you as a job seeker need to learn.
Let me help you by sharing 6 key similarities between sales and job search which will help in fast pacing your job search.
1] Product knowledge:
Sales professional: Has to understand and be passionate about the benefits of the product he/she is selling.
Job seeker: You need to know all your strengths (core skills) inside out. Taking help of unbiased friends, bosses and family members and listing down all your unique qualities/ achievements is a good idea.
2] Sales tools:
Sales professional: Has aids like a presentation kit, brochures and so on which he/she uses as tools to communicate and excite the potential buyer.
Job seeker: You have a resume, LinkedIn profile, pitch letter which need to be effective to get across to the prospective hiring managers (your clients) which help you receive an interview call.
3] Research:
Sales professional: Without addressing the pain points of the potential customer, no sales person can make a sale. And that comes by doing an in-depth research.
Job seeker: You have to do detailed homework on the prospective employer company and the hiring manager by gathering as much information as possible about the pain point of the job so that you are able to find the connect. You have to put yourself in the employer’s shoes.
4] Sales Pitch:
Sales professional: Develops a sales pitch, customises and practises. A good sales person spends time in working on the script and executes mock calls to handle the objections effectively and win the sales order.
Job seeker: You need to prepare for each anticipated interview question and go for the kill. There is no substitute for practising the pitch which needs to be customised for each job opportunity that you are being considered for.
5] Value based selling:
Sales professional: It is most critical to do value based selling. Unless the potential buyer sees the true value in the product, the sale won’t take place. Once the benefits are totally established, price also can be handled effectively.
Job seeker: You as a job seeker need to focus on the value that you get to the table for the prospective employer. You can address the pain points and show how you can solve the hiring manager’s problems which reflects your worth.
6] Credibility:
Sales professional: Needs to be high on integrity, commitment and be customer focused. One would not like to buy from a sales person who you cannot trust.
Job seeker: Needs to come across as genuine, employer focused and high on commitment and integrity.
Work on the above factors and develop a sales approach to your job search and you are bound to succeed.
I would be happy to answer any questions regarding your job search. Please post your queries in comments below.
Best of luck!!
Sarabjeet Sachar
Seasoned Career Coach, Founder & CEO, Aspiration, Complete job search & interview strategy online course