Salesman's Day. What does working in the sales industry look like?
On February 2, we celebrate the Trader’s Day in Poland. This “holiday” is a tribute to the work of all sales representatives, salespeople, account managers and traders, whose competences determine the final success of the company. What competences are we talking about? What are the characteristics of an ideal salesperson? What challenges and obstacles do salespeople have to overcome on a daily basis? Let’s give the floor to Edyta Kowalczyk, Sylwia Michałowska, Mariusz Pysiek and Tomasz Pawluczuk, sales experts at LeasingTeam Group.
“Every salesperson should be patient, specific, flexible, self-confident and trustworthy. A nice appearance is also important. After all, how they see you, that’s how they write the company – says Sylwia Michałowska. – A cheerful disposition is important. An ideal salesperson must be cordial and sympathetic. Among the wide range of soft skills, he should also have communication skills and related negotiation skills – comments Mariusz Pyśk.
The scope of a salesperson’s responsibilities is usually very wide: he searches for and acquires customers, conducts meetings, negotiates the terms of cooperation and maintains good relations with customers, building a positive image of the company at the same time. Therefore, many challenges await him at work, which – in the case of a positive ending – provide great satisfaction. “The biggest challenge is to stand out from the big competition and constantly adapt to the changing business environment ,” says Edyta Kowalczyk. “And when we manage to acquire a developmental customer for our organization or when customers come back to us and recommend our services to others, there is satisfaction and a sense of a job well done ,” he adds. “In addition to winning tender procedures and acquiring large projects for the company, the development of personal competences gives us the most pleasure. Due to the services we provide, we contact companies from various industries and get to know the specifics of their operation, thanks to which we are constantly learning ourselves – says Sylwia Michałowska.
“Nowadays, burnout can also be a challenge in our work, caused by the lack of development or support from superiors and co-workers ,” notes Tomasz Pawluczuk. “A salesperson has to be constantly “against the current”, which affects the level of stress ,” he says. “I would also add inflation to the challenges, which translates into many areas of life, and in our affects the instability of customers. On the other hand, in addition to signing a contract with the client after long and difficult negotiations, satisfaction is given to us by overcoming our own barriers – says Mariusz Pyśk.
The coronavirus pandemic had a major impact on the changes in the work of a salesperson. Traders could forget about the excellent economic situation and breaking sales records. Instead, they limited their activities and looked for new channels of communication with customers. “During the pandemic period, many people started working from home and the number of online meetings increased. It has also become more common to sign contracts and documents remotely – thanks to electronic communication – says Tomasz Pawluczuk. “The slogan “let’s meet on Teams” has stayed with us for longer. Thanks to this, we are often able to get to know and talk to the decision-makers at the client’s site faster. On the other hand, the ability to build long-distance relationships and maintain them in contact other than direct has more power – notes Sylwia Michałowska. “Online meetings have their advantages, because we do not move around and save time. However, we must take care of interpersonal relationships and also arrange face-to-face meetings – sums up Edyta Kowalczyk.
Doświadczony analityk rynku pracy, specjalizuje się w badaniach nad trendami zatrudnienia i zmianami w strukturze zawodowej. Jego artykuły, publikowane w renomowanych czasopismach branżowych, pomagają czytelnikom zrozumieć dynamikę rynku pracy.
