Top 10 Hobbies for Sales Professionals

A career in sales can be a lot of fun but it can also be extremely stressful, so it helps to have hobbies to relax and relieve stress.

Ideally, in addition to bringing more fulfillment to our lives, these hobbies will help us enhance our skills and raise our productivity in the workplace. Here are the Top 10 hobbies for sales professionals:

Fishing: Think about it. There is a salesperson in every fisherman. Originally a form of survival, fishing is now a relaxing pastime in which we “pitch” our lures and bait to fish so that we may catch them. Anglers skilled at recognizing which lure will attract their target fish spend hundreds of dollars on only the best equipment. Similarly, each unique customer requires a different type of sales pitch, an area in which sales professionals excel.

Reading: The importance of reading cannot be overstated. By engaging in this hobby, sales professionals increase their vocabulary and become more interesting to customers. A salesperson can also enhance their capabilities on the sales floor by reading books on the art of selling. Still, any genre that genuinely interests you is encouraged. Furthermore, reading can improve our ability to focus on everyday tasks and make us more knowledgeable.

Writing: As with reading, writing helps us form ideas and then present them in an organized way. Writing improves our ability to communicate with others, whether we’re journaling, blogging, or writing a novel. Professional salespeople write emails, proposals, and, perhaps most importantly, compelling sales pitches.

Cross-Stitching: To maintain their mental vitality, a sales professional may find cross-stitching an engaging pastime. Like sales, this hobby requires patience and accepting the fact that good things take time and persistence. Additionally, cross-stitching allows sales professionals to display their creativity through an infinite number of patterns and designs.

Volleyball: A sales professional may enjoy playing any sport, but volleyball is rated one of the most team-oriented sports because it requires constant observation of your teammates’ actions to prevent the ball from bouncing. In the world of sales, applying your skills in a team setting is not uncommon to ensure that no one is left behind and is up to date with sales techniques on the sales floor. It takes exceptional teamwork to achieve business goals.

Window-Shopping: Yes. Window-shopping is a real hobby. A significant advantage of window-shopping for sales professionals is seeing what your competitors offer and developing more creative and competitive sales pitches. Window-shopping can either be done in a physical store or online, making it a rather easily accessible hobby that can be enjoyed by anyone.

Acting: Amateur theatre or acting classes can help sales professionals develop public speaking and memorization skills. Both are indispensable when it comes to interacting with customers on the sales floor. Not having a good day? Sales professionals understand that it’s okay to fake it until you make it, but not to go overboard or it’ll come off as creepy.

Bowling: Bowling is a great social activity for sales professionals. People usually get together at bowling alleys for a fun night out. As a result, salespeople can brush up on their people skills while having a good time.

Video Games: As players complete in-game goals for satisfaction, video games teach discipline, cultivate persistence, and inspire commitment. In a work setting, sales professionals can apply this determination to “level-up” their abilities.

Yoga: Last but not least, yoga encourages meditation and promotes mental calmness. Sales can be stressful, even for the most experienced sales professionals. We learn how to manage stress, maintain balance in our lives, and control our anger when we practice the art of yoga.

Honorable Mentions: Pickleball, tennis and golf

So, you want to be a salesperson, huh? Congratulations! You’re about to embark on an amazing journey filled with remarkable opportunities at every turn. It is a field where you’ll meet many like-minded people with the same goals as you and one where you will help people decide where their time and money should be invested. Quite a responsibility!

The problem is you can’t become a salesperson overnight. Well, you could, but you probably won’t be very successful at it. Becoming a top-notch salesperson requires more than a nice suit, a briefcase, a nice smile, and the ability to talk to people. How you prepare for your new career will play a large role in determining your level of success. Here is a step-by-step guide to get you started on the right track:

Step 1: Hone Your People Skills

Nobody expects you to be Sir Galahad, but you should definitely be courteous and courageous while interacting with others. In the world of sales, there’s no place for unsociability or time for timidity. Salespeople must be able to maintain their composure in fast-paced and competitive environments.

To convince your clients that your product is superior to your competitors, you must be confident enough to approach clients and promote the brand you represent. Obviously, don’t lie or exaggerate about your product to make a sale but you must be convincing and able to understand how customers behave and actively listen to assist them in making decisions.

Don’t you find it strange when no-one acknowledges you at a car dealership or in a furniture store? It makes you wonder if you’ve made the right decision coming there in the first. Don’t act like an automatic sliding door in front of the grocery store, expecting customers to approach you so that you can perform your duties robotically. To sell your product effectively, you need to take the initiative and share all the knowledge you have with the customer. This way, you can enlighten them on how the product can improve their lives.

Step 2: Develop Your Own Strategy

Salespeople aren’t born good at selling. If you want to be a successful salesperson, you must put in the time to study the art of sales. There are literally hundreds of books on the subject you can borrow from your local library, or if you’re a visual learner, studying sales online might be a better option.

Above all, don’t make the mistake of relying on the company you work for to provide you with all the training you need. While many companies offer excellent sales training to new employees, it doesn’t always cover all the sales techniques you will need to be successful. Worst case scenario: Some companies don’t provide training, preferring to rely on you to pick it up as you go. This is penny-wise pound foolish on their part and disastrous for you if you plan on being a successful sales professional.

Step 3: Research the Product

Trying to sell something you’re not familiar is challenging at best, impossible at worst. You need to know your company’s product or service inside and out if you hope to convince someone else that it is a good purchase. Come across as not knowing your stuff and you will lose that sale. For that matter, not knowing your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses is also going to put you in a tough spot. If you don’t exude confidence in your product or service, why would anyone want to buy it?

As you consider your career as a salesperson, consider what services or products you already have an interest in or know the most about. Going into an area you’re already interested in is going to help you develop more in-depth knowledge which will help you be more convincing when pitching to customers. For the most part, you want to avoid going into industries you know nothing about unless you’re a quick study and want to put in the work to get caught up.

Step 4: Get Comfortable at the Bottom

It is common for new salespeople to jump the gun in the early stages of their careers and start pressing for promotions or bigger accounts that they aren’t ready for. Start your career with entry level positions even if you were relatively senior in your old field. Selling is not easy and there’s a lot more to it than you might think. Ease into it. Find a mentor and develop your skills before you start pushing for leadership positions.

Step 5: Never Stop Growing

One thing all GOATs have in common – regardless of their field of endeavor – is that they never lose the drive to learn and improve. At age 35, tennis great Roger Federer hired a specialist coach to help him improve his one-handed backhand; he worked with him for two years before he was satisfied. When asked at a press conference why he made a move like this so late in his career, Federer appeared not to understand the question. His quest for perfection was what made him such a successful tennis player. In truth, it was the only way he knew how to play the game.

Never become cocky and unteachable because you’ve had a couple of good quarters. Stay humble. Work on your craft and that enthusiasm will come through in your dealings with customers and colleagues. For many people, “continuing education” are the two dirtiest words in the English language. Start your career with a thirst for knowledge and do whatever you need to do to stay thirsty.

Failure to ask the right questions is one of the biggest causes of lost sales. When lack of preparation results in wasting the prospect’s time – and your own – it can be vexing for both parties.

It is only by asking questions that you can be sure you’re pitching the right product or service to the prospect. While some salespeople believe they can read minds during the sales process, assuming anything about the buyer can lead to a world of trouble i.e. failing to close the deal.

Here are the six most important questions to ask during the sales process:

What’s your name?

Surprisingly, many experienced salespeople often skip this step. Not taking the time to get acquainted with your prospects is not only embarrassing but shows you have little genuine interest in them. Making the sales process personable should be your focus, not making a sale. Go the extra mile by asking how their day is going.

What Is your budget?

While asking your prospects what their budget looks like isn’t recommended during the early stages of your pitch, it is something you should get to sooner rather than later. By waiting too long to ask this question, you could waste a significant amount of time pitching products or services that are out of their price range. Handled correctly, you will find most prospects are honest about their budgets and will appreciate not having their time wasted listening to pitches about products or services they can’t afford.

If you must have one feature, what is it?

In this modern age, we often try to source products that can take care of more than one thing at a time. We bundle our cable and internet services and buy phones that are becoming increasingly like computers daily. As a salesperson, you may overwhelm yourself if you ask for everything the prospect is looking for in a product. The list will go on and on, leading you to forget things and panic. Asking them to name one “must have” feature will give you a solid understanding of what they are looking for. Other bells and whistles can be covered later as the conversation deepens. First, you must make sure you can handle the customer’s biggest need.

What other products are you using right now?

Asking this question will help you recommend a product that won’t disappoint your prospect or customers. By doing this, you can also find out more about your competitors, thus giving you the ability to show prospects why your products are a better choice.

Have you done business with us before?

Returning customers deserve the same level of attention you put into gaining new ones. They have taken the time out of their day to give you another shot, you mustn’t assume they know everything there is to know about your current offering. Ask why they’re coming back as this is a golden opportunity to find out what your competitive advantage is over your rivals. Be enthusiastic and appreciative as you welcome them back with your updated pitch. Never forget to go over new products and services with returning customers.

How should I get back in touch with you?

You may find yourself needing to reach back out to a prospect for many reasons. Perhaps, when you first pitched the product, they were not ready to commit. Or, perhaps they needed to get their finances in order. to it or needed time to secure the funding to pay for it. Once you have their preferred contact, create a follow-up schedule, and stick to it. You never know when a little patience and determination will pay off!

Top 10 Movies Salespeople Can Learn From

Without putting too fine a point on it, sales is pretty much a part of almost everything we do every day. Bottom line: If you had to buy it, someone had to sell it!

That being the case, it follows that sales or sales-related themes show up in the movies we watch from time to time whether we are aware of it or not.

Often, the people making the movies don’t get it 100% right because they’re movie makers not sales professionals. However, sometimes they do get it very right, even to the extent that salespeople can learn a trick or two from watching the film.

Here are the Top 10 movies that have gotten it right and provided ways sales professionals can improve their performance:

1. Jerry Maguire (1996)

Award-winning actor Tom Cruise plays Jerry Maguire, a successful sports agent who suddenly questions his purpose in life. After being dismissed from his job for expressing altruistic views about the direction the industry should take, Jerry is forced to try and start his own agency. Getting this new venture off the ground hinges on Jerry’s ability to convince his star client Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) to stay with him. His campaign to keep Tidwell culminates in the famous “Show me the money!” scene which shows the lengths Maguire is willing to go to for his client. Ultimately, the movie shows the importance of going above and beyond to keep customers happy as well as the critical nature of landing that first big fish.

2. The Founder (2016)

In this film, actor Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman who transformed an average fast-food eatery owned by two brothers into the most iconic fast-food restaurant in history … McDonald’s. There is some controversy surrounding Kroc’s character in the movie, but when looking at it from a sales perspective, it’s plain to see he had a vision and was willing to go to great lengths to see it become a reality.

3. Seize the Day (1986)

In this classic 80’s film, Robin Williams plays Tommy Wilhelm, a character in turmoil who is burdened by the loss of his job, financial instability, the separation of his wife, and his relationship with his father, among other things. Seize the Day shows the real-life struggles some salespeople face behind the scenes and how stress can adversely affect a salesperson’s performance.

4. Trading Places (1983)

Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd play two strangers who unwittingly become the subjects of a bet between two hard-hearted millionaire brothers. After having their lives turned upside-down by the brother’s social experiment, Murphy and Akroyd decide to get back at the film’s antagonists by running them out of business. While Trading Places is one of the few movies to provide an example of what short selling is, the film also highlights plenty of other selling skills used by the heroes as they plan and implement their revenge.

5. Door to Door (2002)

William H. Macy portrays real-life salesman Bill Porter, a door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy. This inspirational is a story of perseverance through adversity, as Porter faces the many challenges of being a salesperson, but with additional factors that hinder his performance. It presents a motivational message on what it takes to succeed as a salesperson while shedding light on people with disabilities.

6. 12 Angry Men (1957)

This movie features Henry Fonda starring as Mr. Davis or Juror Number 8. A teenage boy is accused of killing his father, but little in the way of context is provided in the courtroom. Instead of following the rest of the jury in quickly returning a guilty verdict, Davis requests more evidence be provided for consideration. Originally a play, this movie teaches important lessons about the power of persuasion as well as knowing more about your client before pitching to them.

7. The Social Network (2010)

Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield star in this movie about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s college years. While the film highlights the importance of protecting your idea from unscrupulous people who would steal it, it also teaches us what can be done with that idea if you have the right vision and drive. In a lesson for salespeople everywhere, Zuckerberg’s willingness to push beyond his own limits ultimately resulted in the creation of one of the profitable companies in history.

8. Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

This movie tells the true story of a stockbroker named Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Belfort was a successful broker who nevertheless ends up being laid off from the first investment banking firm he ever worked for. While he ultimately becomes wildly successful with his own firm, this movie expresses the dangers of becoming too focused on profits and making poor life decisions as a salesperson.

9. Boiler Room (2000)

The film stars Giovanni Ribisi as Seth Davis, a college dropout who feels pressure to please his father. He lands himself a job as a trainee stockbroker and quickly becomes accustomed to the high income and glamorous lifestyle. However, when Davis realizes something shady is going on behind the scenes, he must choose between keeping his mouth shut to protect his way of life or be honest to protect those who are being taken advantage of. This movie teaches us that honesty should be prioritized over personal gain.

10. Tommy Boy (1995)

Saving the best to last, Tommy Boy is undoubtedly the greatest sales movie ever made! Starring Chris Farley and David Spade at their comedic peak, this film should be compulsory viewing for every rookie sales professional looking to make a splash in the industry. No more analysis necessary. Just go watch it!

What does a football coach and a Sales Operating System have in common? A lot more than you might think!

A football coach spends their time managing players to ensure they are performing at their highest potential. Coaches schedule practices to improve the expertise of the players and run team meetings to promote communication. They carefully plot and organize game plans that will hopefully get their team to a bowl game or even the Superbowl.

A Sales Operating System acts as a coach for your business. It collects, measures, and manages sales activities to help yield far greater results than ever before. They monitor sales to produce reliable profits based on observation and predictability.

Without a Sales Operating System, it can be challenging to attain consistent growth. Your company needs a SOS because:

• Poor decision making for your business could result in obsolete sales techniques
• Inadequate communication between sales members and executive leadership could hinder internal relationships
• Less time spent finding new ways to develop your business could lead to stagnation

Creating a Sales Operating System

With a functional SOS, you can expect to be up to date with fluctuations in demand and better equipped to guide your sales team when communicating amongst themselves and with clients. A SOS will also help you collect important data that will assist with managing your sales team more productively.

To create the perfect SOS, it is important to assess the effectiveness of the different approaches you have when addressing the development of your salespeople’s skills. Your sales team members are the driving force behind your business and your SOS should promote accountability and focus between you and your team.

A common approach when developing a SOS is the APDIR model. Here’s a breakdown of how that model works:

Assess: Begin by observing your sales team members and their current sales process model. By assessing the effectiveness of this model relative to the members of your team, you should start getting a pretty good idea of how your business is currently operating.

Plan: Here is where you develop a gameplan. Gather information from existing key stakeholders through surveys, polls, etc. As you have already assessed your sales team, you can use this new data to see what needs to be provided to each team member to improve their approach to sales.

Design: What is the purpose of your SOS? Do you want to drive more sales for a specific product? Do you want to reach a different demographic? Have you lost business that you want to get back? Maybe you are doing this for the sole benefit of your sales team so that they can improve. Whatever the case may be, it will be easier to tweak and implement your SOS if the goals are clearly defined.

Implement: Resist the urge to heavily commit to your new SOS before testing it. It can be exciting when you believe you have the perfect plan but devastating if your game plan isn’t quite as complete as you thought it was. Test your SOS in a pilot program and closely monitor the results. If your new and improved SOS is showing signs of improvement, implement the changes as soon as possible. If not, revisit the first two steps and take another run at designing the perfect SOS.

Run: Congratulations! Your salespeople are thriving and so is your business. As a last step, be sure to regularly assess the performance of your SOS to be sure it is keeping up with changes in the market as well as to your team.

Finally, never forget that if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed. This management principle is truer today than it ever has been before and yet many businesses struggle because they make poor judgment calls due to lack of organization and poor management.

A well-designed Sales Operating System prevents this and will undoubtedly yield the results your business needs to grow.