Considering A Career Change - Why Direct Sales May Be For You

By Matt McDonald

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Many people have considered sales as a career. Many more have even tried sales at some point in their lives. And still many more have failed, never to try again because of a bad experience. What a shame. It is a career that is " laden with opportunity yet is fraught with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those who have failed, were they piled one atop another, would cast it's shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth" this quote comes from one of my favorite books, " The Greatest Salesman In The World ", a classic written by Og Mandino. It is a shame because many of these same people are rock star salespeople waiting to be discovered. I sincerely believe that.

Obviously, the main incentive to consider a career in sales is the income potential. The top salespeople are in the top 3-5% of income earners in the country. Note that I said the top salespeople, not salespeople in general. Other than income potential, there are many other benefits to a career sales, especially in this day and age. Many sales positions allow you to work from home, at least part time. Most sales jobs come with a certain amount of autonomy, if not a great deal of it. Which means you won't be micro managed. That means that you'll need self discipline and to be responsible for your results.

Unfortunately, the majority of people who have tried sales and failed, did not fail because they lacked " moxie ", "mojo " or some "magic ingredient". They failed because they were never trained in a sales process. They were given a list of leads, a script and told, "Go get 'em". They were never guided by a mentor who understands how to navigate their way through the minefield that sales can be to the uninitiated. If someone does aspire to be in sales as a career, they need to be coached on expectations, attitude, techniques, prospecting and the rest. And the first thing that they need to be taught is that salespeople are not born. Con artists are born. Salespeople, especially top salespeople, are made. Selling is a learned process. This is where I start in training my associates. The next thing I teach is that sales is a people business, not a commission business. It's about creating, building and maintaining relationships. Successful salespeople understand and are able to wrap their heads around this concept. You need to care about people. Sincerely care.

Since time immemorial, people have been taught that sales is a numbers game. "Pitch" to enough people and you'll make sales. I suppose that there is some truth to this. But sales is much more than a numbers game. It's a people game. And to me, a game it is not.

It's my belief that it is an honor and privilege to promote to be in direct sales. But with privilege comes responsibility. And the responsibility of an organization to it's associates is to train them on a system and process that works, to make them aware that there is work involved, as well as a learning curve. An organizations' associates should understand that yes, you can make mid to high six, even seven figures with in direct sales. It's not pie in the sky and it's not a joke. It can and has happened to many in the industry.. But it doesn't happen in 90 days, And it doesn't just happen. If you think you can just plug in to a system and earn 7 figures, that's not how it works. Business in general, and sales in particular, are contact sports. There are skill sets that must be developed. It is realistic, however, to begin earning 5-10K per month within 90 days if you are coachable and do what we teach. But it takes consistent effort and work.

What sales process do we teach? We teach a dialogue based sales process. A process which, when employed correctly, invites participation by both parties to a transaction. A process that eliminates all the tension, rejection and objections created by traditional selling methods. Would you consider a career in sales if they were no tension, rejection or objections to deal with? These are all actually created by traditional selling methods. I'd like to take credit for coming up with the concept of dialogue based selling, but alas, I can't. It's the brainchild of Michael Oliver. It's called Natural Selling and it's an enlightening read.

So, do yourself a favor and take another look at direct selling as a career choice. You'll be glad you did. You are a sales rock star just waiting to be discovered.