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Topic: Question for Pam/Foodlit:
| Author | Message |
| h2o_20 | Posted – 7/12/2008 9:32:17 PM | show profile Hi Pam, I am currently a senior in college and am currently looking at future career options. I would like to get into advertising but the ad agency biz is so competitive that I am looking for some other options. I never imagined myself in sales because it I have heard that you have to pressure customers to make sales. However, I was wondering if there are areas of sales that are more consultative in nature and have the same atmosphere as an advertising agency? Thank you so much! |
| foodlit | Posted – 7/13/2008 5:40:18 PM | show profile | email poster Hi there, Sales in general has really fun work environments! Similar energy and feel as marketing and advertising. People who do really well in sales don't ever have to pressure customers. I used to think that too, the image of the sleazy used car salesman came to mind. Sales is all about asking questions of the customer, of identifying what problem they are trying to solve and then offering a solution that will give them the results they are looking for. For instance, when I sold radio ads, it was not appropriate for everyone...some businesses are more suited to it than others. It worked very well when a jewelry store was looking to advertise a sale for instance, or a nightclub was promoting their summer entertainment or a restaurant with a catchy jingle drumming up business. With newspaper/magazine ads, it's very different, and you can advise the client based on what they want to do as to how to advertise, whether it's a coupon special, or brand recognition, etc. It really depends on who their target audience is and if that matches up with the radio station or publication's audience that you represent. When you go to those places in an entry-level job, they train you on how to qualify potential customers and how to identify what they need to do and how to best service them. Success in sales is all about information, finding out what the customer wants and then offering him/her the solution that will give them the appropriate results. It's the same in any sales job...like with what I do now, I don't talk people into a job or sell a company on a client, I just ask good questions and I listen to what is important to both people, and then present them with the right opportunities....and then they close themselves. So, I'm not selling, I'm just helping them get a better job, or my client find a great person....and when I was in advertising, I'd design a great ad campaign to bring them additional business. When you look at it from that perspective it makes the job so much more fun....because you're making things better for everyone. And being rewarded well for it financially too! There's a saying I heard many years ago, and it's absolutely true....."Do what you love, and the money will follow...if you work hard and do well." If you have additional specific questions, feel free to email me directly. I've enabled the link. Pam |
| abqwriter | Posted – 7/13/2008 9:20:24 PM | show profile | email poster Well obviously I'm not Pam, so I hope you don't mind if I comment. I thought I'd add my two cents because I spent seven years in sales. I went in with the understanding that the people I talked to every day had money to spend and it was my job to help them spend it in a way that met their needs and caused them to leave satisfied with the encounter. I made far better money in sales than when I actually started working in the public schools and more than I am now freelancing part-time. Beyond the salary, there was commission, free trips, tickets, etc. from sales contests. I love writing, and freelancing fits perfectly for me now as a stay-at-home mom, but sales was a lot of fun. For a good salesperson, it is never about pressuring someone into buying something they don't want - it's about helping them walk away happy with their purchase. Whether the product is an ad, a designer dress, or a car, there is no need to be smarmy or high pressure. If you like sales, try it. You may find it's the perfect niche. |
| df | Posted – 7/14/2008 10:27:00 AM | show profile one more thing: if you are a female sales person in e.g. outdoor advertising or new business in a larger agency - and you're good, you normally have a competitive advantage. Most sales people are men, and most buyers are men. and that's the one field where it works out fine to be a minority. just in case you happened to be a female. And of course, you make a lot more money than in any other field. if you can do the job and like it, its a great thing. |
