Career transitioning - sales

Howdy,

I'd like to transition into a higher level of sales and possibly a different field, have any of you done this? How did you go about doing it?

what do you sell now, and what are you thinking of ? I might be what you are thinking of

I sell luxury retail, I'd like to move into consumer packaged goods. I admire the businesses from an investor perspective. Gt, Is that what you do? I appreciate your thoughts on the subject.

sorry, I have no experience with consumer, either luxury or fast moving, my experience has always been B2B. if nobody with a closer perspective answers, then I'll jump back in

No worries, any insight is appreciated. Cpg in this context would be wholesale.



globetrotter said:

sorry, I have no experience with consumer, either luxury or fast moving, my experience has always been B2B. if nobody with a closer perspective answers, then I'll jump back in

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I always thought you were an "Israeli Operative" ??

I have sold commercial printing since I was about 17. My dad owns a firm with 22 employees, counting me.

It's very cut-throat. I'll transfer a call to the sales manager, and he'll say, "Why should I talk to this person. Does he know me". So he's a little arrogant and still treats me like a kid.

I have found that if you make yourself available for odd hours, you have a good chance of becoming a section leader.

Tom

Bump. I'd like to hear Zach's thoughts on this. I'm slinging booze right now so I'm 80% b2b and 20% customer interaction.

One of the things I'm curious about is building networks outside of your immediate consumer base. I know one of the things most companies want in my work is for you to have a network in place that is in direct line with their goals. I don't really want to be tied to this region, or really even this business. Do you guys have any advice for over coming this hurdle if I'm looking in different industries or markets?

Here's my basic take on it, there are 3 things to look for in a sales person

1. Product knowledge
2. Existing customer relationships
3. Understanding of the sales process and the ability to build the above 2


The trouble is

1. Most sales managers don't understand point 3
2. Point 3 I really hard to identify and quantify


So most sales managers look for one or two. No matter how good you are at 3, for most job interviews in sales they want you to prove 1 and 2.

So the best way to get into a different field of sales, practically is try to think of what else your customer base buys - for example, you sell drugs to doctors, can you leverage that to sell office management software, then leverage that to sell enterprise software? Or you sell liquor to bars, can you leverage that to sell kitchen equipment to bars, then leverage that to sell kitchen equipment to bakeries?

It's hard to jump price points, too - if you have been workin with 100 buck po's it's hard to get somebody to trust you with a 100k po but maybe you jump 100 buck to 1000 buck to 10000 to 50000.

In the end of the day, it's about getting somebody to give you a chance. I took a lot of courses and workshops when I was developing my career, and I still take a couple a year. You can learn different things.

Good luck

Thanks GT I appreciate the insight and breakdown of the thought process in hiring.

goomb - i think globetrotter's advice is very sound. IIRC you work as a SA for a luxury retailer (SF-approved, amirite? )...i think the biggest difference between your current experience and packaged goods is that you'll have to prove that you can generate your own leads and establish long-term, profitable relationships with your accounts, and manage their needs (even as they change over time). in retail you have the relative luxury of having people walk into your store, and just need to close the deal. perhaps if you can prove to prospective employers that you are currently responsible for generating new traffic/interest in your location, and have been successful at it, it would help.

Thanks Hroi, I do work in luxury goods as an SA. That approach sounds like a good one, conveying the sincerity of the 'sales' aspect of my job has been my trouble spot. I do a lot of procuring of new clients, but in all honesty, no one takes it to be serious when you work in retail. I like your suggestions as well as globes, so I will build them into my change in approach.