While some believe that sales can be taught later in life, it is actually the influences on one during childhood which shapes a lot of their sales skills.

Sales Skills Are Taught At an Early Age, Not Later in Life

A friend of mine who lives in Chicago mentors some of the younger sales reps in my firm as a favor to me. The other day we were talking about ways to teach sales skills and came across a blog post written by a sales consulting company discussing how anybody can learn sales. I feel that statement is not entirely true. I understand that as a consulting firm, it is this particular company’s job to sell this idea to their customers, however, I believe that they are making the mistake of misleading some of their clients. My friend and I both agreed that sales is not for everyone. You can’t force sales. You can’t teach sales. Yes, you can teach someone sales techniques, but being a successful salesperson takes a lot more than just following a few simple steps. My friend and I also agreed that if sales is going to be taught, it has to start at the very beginning of someone’s career, if not earlier.

Everything from the way someone is raised and the values they are brought up with to their education and personality have a role in determining whether or not someone will be successful as a salesperson. Let’s begin with the upbringing aspect. Children mimic their parent’s behavior. Therefore, if their parents show them that being rude is acceptable, then they will most likely grow up being poorly behaved. I’ll never forget the day I was driving in the car with my mother and my best friend from grade school, and being reprimanded for using the word “good” as an adverb. My household was not in the least bit strict, however, speaking like an educated, sophisticated person was a hard rule.

Additionally, children are taught at an early age the two most important words that a sales representative has in their inventory. “Thank You” goes a lot farther that one might think. People who are taught to appreciate the actions of others are miles ahead of the game. Those who are not might be able to skate their way through sales for a bit. However, once a client puts $1,000,000 into their product, the purchasing company is going to have a tough time getting any sort of account management service. I try to make my vendors aware of this fact and the only way I know how is to be upfront with them about my expectations and the subsequent ramifications if they are not met.

There are many consulting firms who have statistics about the rise in sales after they help a company. I have two theories as to why this is. The first is that these employees are not top sales representatives or they are made aware as to how much the company just spent on these lessons and begin to move their you know what. Also, when you go in and train a Fortune 500 company, there are too many variables to truly tell who made a difference. I’m not saying that sales consulting does nothing, but it is the personality of the person that counts, and a person’s personality is mostly shaped by his or her family. Eric’s opinion, which I hold in high regard, is similar. Don’t mistake that I am saying that the salesman with the most “best friends” wins. It is the salesman who understands that his or her clients are paying a lot of money for the service which their company provides and they should be treated with respect and appreciation.

Therefore, all the sales people should thank their parents and their friends for making them the sales professional which they are today.

Author Bio: Ken Sundheim runs a New York City sales recruiting firm sales recruiters sales recruitment agencies and marketing staffing company anti virus software

Category: Education
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