‘Salespeople are not liars’

Business development executives are primarily responsible for driving company sales by sourcing new clients, building business relationships with current clients and keeping a close eye on clients’ feedback to ensure that there’s no compromise on quality. Sanskar, who works with Cosmetify, a third party cosmetic manufacturer in India, affirms that salespeople are highly confident and trained experts devoted to solving problems for customers. In an interview, he debunks a few mistaken beliefs about sellers.

Sales requires a talent called ‘lying’

It’s unfair to brand all salespeople liars because of a few bad apples. I agree there are some companies that invade the privacy of individuals by making unsolicited calls to sell credit cards and bank loans. However, sales these days is all about creating and nurturing a relationship with new and existing customers. The effort is to establish long-term relationships with your clients. If you hoodwink them once, do you think they will approach you again? By constantly making false claims you will lose your clients over time. Being transparent, straightforward and honest about every aspect of your business is a hallmark of a good salesman. Regular feedback is equally important. To sum it up, salespeople are not liars.

Sales is all about cold calling

Cold calling is a technique used by salespeople to make first-time calls to leads who have not previously expressed interest in the offered products or services. As a fresher you have to do a lot of cold calling because no company will expose you to the clients before you learn the tricks of the trade. Cold calling provides a great learning experience. Though, once you have proved yourself you will be tasked to physically interact with clients and assign more sophisticated tasks.

Salesperson can’t be casual with clients

Obviously, you have to act professionally. Rude or obnoxious behaviour will not go down well with anyone, let alone your client. However, this doesn’t mean you behave like a robot. The goal is to engage your customers with a human touch and that can only happen if you see them as a person—not just a pay cheque. It helps if you have a good sense of humour or are good at small talks. There are some clients with whom I even go out for movies. Though, the extent to which this personal connection is apt will vary depending on your industry and client type. 

Being proficient In English is vital

The key to success in sales is your ability to provide information in a way that makes your prospect want to do business with you. You also need to be a good listener, be empathetic, good at understanding what’s not being said, being persistent, not pestering and not acting like you know everything. If you have these qualities you can do great in sales. It’s a myth that being good in English will give a substantial edge over others. For example, in the cosmetic industry I regularly interact with budding entrepreneurs and homemakers who are not good in English. Their key is to have clear and transparent communication with them.