Sales & Marketing

The one job that rarely features in a list of sought-after careers is that of sales professional. Sadly it is something that many Service leavers will not even consider until they have been outside the Forces for a little while. However, sales people play a very important role in a huge range of businesses, helping to ensure their commercial success in both domestic and overseas markets, and perhaps working with a host of high-profile brands and products. Indeed, many economists believe the only true way out of the world recession is to sell one’s way out, such is the importance of this function.

Indeed, selling is at the very core of any successful organisation. In today’s dynamic and increasingly competitive business environment, the need for highly skilled, professional salespeople is greater than ever. Even organisations in the not-for-profit sector sell – sometimes quite aggressively.

A great emphasis is placed on the quality of a sales person’s relationship with his or her clients. The field sales person, for example (see box), is a company’s ambassador, often holding business success or failure in the palm of their hands. By working in partnership with clients, a professional sales person can ensure that the client–supplier relationship is mutually beneficial. In order to succeed in this partnership-centred sales environment, sales people need to understand their customers’ business, particularly where a sale includes ongoing maintenance commitments. In this way, repeat business is more likely to follow. They need to be able to think creatively in order to provide their customers with business solutions that are going to make them more effective in their markets.

IS FIELD SALES FOR YOU?

Contrary to what you might think, being a good field sales executive (FSE) isn’t necessarily just about having the gift of the gab. It’s more about being a ‘people person’. You will also need to have a general understanding of business, because sales is about solving problems; it’s about providing solutions. It’s not just ‘Here’s a product, do you want it?’ That sort of sale is now done over the internet or through a contact centre.

Anyone leaving the Armed Forces is likely to have exactly the skills and attributes to make it in field sales. You’ll have the resilience and persistence to keep going, even when faced with rejection on a daily basis, plus you’ll know when a battle cannot be won and when one is worth fighting. You won’t be afraid of hard work, and you’ll understand, innately, the command structures within companies and organisations, and how to deal with them. You’ll also have the self-discipline, enthusiasm and drive to succeed.

Prospects
There are genuine advantages to choosing a field sales job: FSEs enjoy unparalleled freedom thanks to the fact that they’re often responsible for their own schedules. And it really is the case that, the harder you work, the more you’re likely to earn. Most field sales roles boast high commission with a basic salary as well. More often than not, FSEs have no ceiling on what they can achieve financially.

There is a real shortage of good sales people. They flit from one place to another and it’s really difficult to keep the good ones, because people headhunt them all the time. So the potential is great, but you do have to put the spade-work in. You’ve got to understand what you’re doing. It’s not a quick-win situation.

Getting into field sales
Although the sales profession is one that prizes personality and experience, a growing number of employers are beginning to acknowledge the value of sales qualifications, which allow you to combine technical knowledge with your own practical experience. They also say to an employer that you really want to do this, that you actually want to understand what’s involved in this profession. There are still plenty of employers who will take you on without them, but if you want to work with quality companies, and have no sales background whatsoever, a qualification is a great way of saying that you’re really interested in sales – because you’ve taken the trouble to learn about it.

Source: with thanks to business coach Keith Turnbull (www.ktaluk.com) for providing this information

Sales skills gained in the Services
Apart from the UKTI Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO), the successor to the Defence Export Services Organisation, people in the Services rarely become involved in selling, but they do a great deal of buying – from expensive machinery like aircraft and ships at one end of the spectrum to local contracts on operations and exercises abroad. The two functions have many things in common, and nowadays each will often be a stakeholder in the other’s business – trying for the deal that satisfies both and will grow long-term benefits.

Service people also do a great deal of negotiating. Trade-off and compromise are part of such processes; each side starts from its best position and moves – quickly or slowly, depending on culture and custom – towards the middle ground, which is where agreement is possible because there is something for everyone.

Recruiting involves selling, using modern and highly sophisticated sales techniques, and is probably where the Services come closest to business. They are addressing potential recruits, while in competition with one another for their share of suitable candidates. Presentation skills are highly practised in the Services, but the gut feeling against selling possessed by many Service people still needs to be overcome. Selling is neither bad nor embarrassing – it is, quite literally, crucial.

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

The list of personal qualities desirable for sales people will surprise nobody, but it is interesting to note that some of them are very similar to those that people in the Services are supposed to have when they are recruited and that Service life aims to develop. They include:

reliability
determination
excellent communication skills
self-discipline
motivation and ambition
confidence and a positive attitude
resourcefulness
commitment
aptitude for teamwork
flair for relationship building
a good level of numeracy, and perhaps above all
the desire to sell.

Employment areas
There are a number of different areas of sales employment. The main ones include:

advertising and media – persuading clients that an advertisement in a publication or on a radio or TV station, or website will be advantageous for them
product /service sales – including medical, pharmaceutical, cars and financial services; selling directly to a retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer
exhibition sales – using a stand as a form of ‘mobile shop’, often selling and networking to organisations in similar business areas, and building relationships with clients
retailing – the traditional high-street or corner shops with a general or specific product range

As the UK’s largest private-sector employer, employing around 3 million people (11% of the UK’s working population), retailing has created more jobs than any other sector over the last five years. Almost 8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the UK is generated by the retail sector. However, do bear in mind that the retail industry – and, consequently, the jobs within it – are susceptible to economic and consumer trends.

Other major sales functions include:
telesales – on the phone most business days (meeting customers on occasion), surrounded by others, in a call centre
field sales – getting out to meet customers, making visits while running your own diary, presenting and often organising a schedule to meet individuals’ needs and those of their customers
management – a role that opens up to those who have earned promotion through their sales record; sales managers may well then take further qualifications to enter general management.

Finding employment
When looking for your first employer, you should ideally choose a sector or product/company that will offer good prospects. You may need training before being ‘allowed out‘ on your own – either in the field or on the phone. Early training may well be concerned with sales techniques, the company and product knowledge.

Training and qualifications
In order to compete in the current business environment, the sales industry is placing greater emphasis on recruiting better-qualified, more professional salespeople. So, although not essential, relevant qualifications can assist career development.

There are several Sector Skills Councils that are involved with standards and qualifications for sales in their sector, but Skillsmart Retail is the one that focuses most closely on the overall sales function. It has developed qualifications at various levels and full details can be found on its website (see ‘Key contacts’).

The Institute of Sales & Marketing Management (ISMM) is the UK’s only professional body for sales people. It has been the authoritative voice of selling and the custodian of sales standards, ethics and best practice for over 35 years. It is also responsible for establishing benchmarks of professionalism in sales and is the only membership body accredited by the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA) to award nationally recognised qualifications, at various levels, in selling and sales management. Full details of these qualifications can be found on its website (see ‘Key contacts’).

Salaries
Rewards vary enormously and, particularly in the current economic climate, it is very hard to give precise figures, so those given here are intended for very general guidance only.

Starting salaries for sales executives vary, but generally range from £16,500 to £35,000. Those with three to five years’ experience might expect to earn anywhere between £22,500 and £45,000, while at senior levels an amount between £38,000 and £100,000+ could be on offer. In sales, salaries paid are usually based on the individual’s success in meeting sales targets, and therefore sales positions may be advertised with ‘on target earnings’ (OTE).

The average wage of a retail sales assistant is £11,000 to £15,000 a year, while that of a retail sales supervisor is £15,000 to £20,000. Retail managers might start on £14,000 to £20,000. An experienced retail manager might attract between £21,000 and £28,000, while the average salary of the retail manager of a large store might be £40,000-plus.

KEY CONTACTS
The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management, Harrier Court, Lower Woodside, Bedfordshire LU1 4DQ Tel: 01582 840001 Website: www.ismm.co.uk

Skillsmart Retail Ltd, The Retail Sector Skills Council, 4th Floor, 93 Newman Street, London W1T 3EZ Tel: 020 7462 5060 Website: www.skillsmartretail.com Twitter: @skillsmart