Like every other field, sales has also evolved past the hackneyed stereotypical image of a sales person, dressed in a hat and a coat, a briefcase in hand, going door-to-door, getting people to buy from them.

                 With the shift in consumer behaviour, increasing diversity in product markets, there is no particular skill set which can be labelled as “essential” while hiring a salesperson. Different products, different customer base demands a different type of skills/traits necessary in order to be an effective salesperson.

            This generalization of an effective salesperson has lead to hiring and NOT hiring many resources which might have been a perfect fit for the situation, barring the fact that they did not fit a particular “image”. The best solution, firms have come up with now is other than an spot interview, which can in no way determine the sales effectiveness, a field test of sorts is carried out, where candidates are evaluated over the course of several weeks, whilst they carry out a project. Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” is one other way of doing things and gaining publicity at the same time!

To conclude:

With the increase in consumer cynicism, sales has become a fine art. One never knows what exactly can put a customer off forever so sales today demands a combination of diplomacy and tact, combined with perceptiveness. In short, being a salesperson demands the same skill set as that of a politician!

Zunaira Omar

MarkiTech