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Qualities to work in sales

For the majority of sales roles, pure academic qualifications are secondary to soft skills - specifically the ability to build relationships with customers.

However, many sales roles require an in-depth knowledge of the industry they are working in - i.e. a medical sales representative will need to understand their products to great detail. In these cases, and in highly technical areas, some employers may prefer to recruit candidates with a degree in a particular area.

Many successful sales professionals have moved out of the core industry into a sales role - their background enables them to speak knowledgably to customers and so gain their trust.

Of course there are certain skills that are attractive to potential employers, these include:

• Self-motivated - sales people need to motivate themselves to make that call/visit that customer
• Strong communication skills - in order to effectively outline the products to the customer
• Influencing skills - to persuade the customer to take your product rather than the other company's
• Resilience - no matter how good a sales person you are, some customers will still say no. You need the strength to 'pick yourself up again'
• Negotiating skills - to work with customers and achieve win-win scenarios
• Problem solving - some sales (particularly of services) are complex and require bespoke solutions
• Confidence - customers buy into sales people as much as they buy the product. A confident demeanour is a great start!
• Credibility - to convince the customer they can trust you!
• Product knowledge - there really is nothing more important than knowing your product well

If you're interested in starting your career in sales, contact your local Search office who will be happy to discuss the options available to you.

We look forward to working with you.