Perhaps you’ve decided that sales might be something you’re good at, and you’d like to start searching for sales roles to see what’s out there.
The good news is, the same 4 steps that we use in selling can also be used for finding a sales career. The only difference is, instead of a product or service, you’re selling something much more important – you!
In my previous blog, Defining Sales: Educate, Ask, Inform, Nurture, I break down sales into a simple 4 step process that anyone can use to “sell”.
Let’s take a look now at how these steps: EDUCATE, ASK, INFORM, NURTURE can be used instead for career hunting:
#1: EDUCATE
When selling a product or service, the EDUCATE step includes getting your product/service out into the world. If client’s don’t know about it, they can’t buy it.
When looking for a sales career you are essentially doing the same thing. Companies that don’t know about you, can’t hire you – and I don’t mean getting out there by blasting your resume out to every company with any role posting that looks remotely what you’re interested in.
I’m referring to the people. Because when it comes to hiring, we aren’t dealing with a company in terms of a faceless entity, but rather the people that make up the hiring process. The hiring manager, HR, your peers etc. Step 1 is therefore to make sure the right people know who you are (and ideally, like you).
Similar to a product/service, this EDUCATE step could include:
- Being more present on social media: Post content that is of interest, provides value to and is relevant to people associated with the career that you’re after. When jobs become available in your area of interest, those right people may remember something you’ve posted and reach out.
- Attending events: There is no better way to form connections than in person, and no better way to meet new people than at an in-person event. I’m not talking job fair – think more broadly. Industry events (there are lots of events for tech, for example), leadership events, women’s events, etc. Rather than using events to look for a particular job, use them to meet new people and expand your network.
- Referrals: Most organizations have a referral bonus because statistics show that new hires from a referral are a better fit and stay longer. So, leverage your network. Reach out to some of your closest colleagues to let them know (educate them) that you are in the market and exploring options. Even if they are at your current company, they may know of a friend who works at another company who is hiring, or have someone they could ask. The people that know you best are also more likely to leverage their own network to help make introductions for you.
Meet people, expand your network, and eventually relevant roles will start to organically present themselves.
The trouble with posted roles online is that many times the organization already has an internal candidate in mind. It’s also extremely competitive because it’s public. By using the methods above and leveraging your network, you can usually get ahead of the curve by finding out about potential roles before they go live.
#2: ASK
Finding a new role/career is similar to entering into a long-term relationship. Which means it’s important for them to want you, but it’s also important for you to want them too! Sometimes when the job market is limited it’s tempting to jump on the first job offer that you receive, and this is why the EDUCATE stage is so important. Make your connections, set the ground work, position yourself as a thought leader, so that when you are ready to jump into a new role you have a variety of options available (or at least leads).
Similar to sales, build your “top of funnel” (your options and potential leads available to you), so that you aren’t jumping on opportunities that really aren’t a great fit and also have backfill in case things fall through.
When you do find yourself with an offer for an interview, this is where ASK is so important. Is this the right role/company/industry/hiring manager for you?
Make a list of every question you can think of that would be important to you in a new career. Reach out to people who are currently in that role (and happy), and ask them which questions they would add. What did they wish they asked and didn’t? Then do your research online and see how many of those questions you can answer yourself before the interview, and then ask the rest.
#3 INFORM
When it comes to software sales, the inform stage is the demo stage. You are showcasing the features and benefits of your solution, specifically tailored to the customers needs, in a very simple and easily consumable format.
When it comes to job hunting, the inform stage is the interview. Many times companies will also ask for some sort of presentation, to gauge your presentation style and initial understanding.
This is where I see many people falter – they are so eager to present well that they talk the entire time. “Talk talk talk – me me me. This is why I am great, this is why you should hire me, this is the product, blah blah blah”. If you did that in a sales presentation your client would be asleep after the first 2 minutes.
So when presenting, whether it’s a client demo or an interview, remember that it’s still a conversation. The hiring manager is also in the room and is an active member of your presentation. Ask informed questions, engage them in your presentation, make your content extremely relevant to them. It’s about them just as much as it’s about you.
#4 NURTURE
Once you find a sales role and are happy, amazing! That doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. Circle right back to the EDUCATE phase and make sure you are building your network, posting thought leadership and attending events to expand your connections in case in the future, you decide or need to make a change.
What does this all mean, practically? What roles are you looking for in sales?
When you are just getting started you have a few options. There are large companies and smaller ones, and if you are just getting started it is going to be a lot easier to move up in a smaller organization. Many salespeople start there – I personally got a role in tech support at a small organization, and then moved directly to an Account Executive. Then, once I had quite a bit of experience and some impressive sales stats I jumped to a much larger company.
Alternatively, you could start as a Sales Development Representative (SDR), which is a more entry level position, used by organizations to generate leads for Account Executives. The natural move after SDR is Account Executive, so it’s a great role if you can land it but it does include a lot of outbound outreach which many people do not enjoy.
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