What Sales Reps Do & Why They Do It

When we hear the word sales, a myriad of thoughts cross our minds: for some, an image of an ever-grinning middle-age car salesman may appear, or perhaps an auctioneer at a live auction, or maybe you think of one of those geeky workers from the Apple Store.

In the dictionary, a sales representative is described as follows: a person or organization designated by a company to solicit business on its behalf in a specified territory or foreign country.

All of those definitions would seem to paint someone working in sales as inherently untrustworthy and/or interested only in lining his or her pockets.

Having worked as a leasing agent and presently in ad sales, I now feel that I can answer the question: are any of these descriptions accurate to what a salesperson does?

To an extent yes, but many of the best salespeople are so much more than sharks circling their next catch.

Let’s take a closer look at what really goes into a successful sales representative.

Not For the Faint of Heart

While the best salespeople are capable of demanding upwards of $200,000 yearly in both commissions and salary, there is a reason why they get paid the big bucks.

Think back to a time when you were cold-called by an insurance company, or perhaps when your business received emails from 10 different people advertising a way to revolutionize your organization systems.

Be honest: did you ever respond to them in a less than courteous way, or perhaps write them back only to say their efforts were a complete waste of time?

When you believe in a brand and work as hard as the best sales reps do to get it out there, responses like that--on a daily basis--can get very depressing very fast if you don’t have the right temperament for the job.

I dare say that any salesperson MUST have an immense amount of patience and passion for a product in order to justify the letdowns that come with the territory.

It Isn’t Just About Money

By reading one of my favorite books, Donald Miller's Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customer Will Listen, I’ve come to learn that the job is indeed about finding out what the client needs and connecting them with the product or service that will satisfy those needs.

Some salespeople are motivated purely by the promise of a commission, but I (and many of the salesman I worked with) were more interested in finding a customer the right apartment or the right ad deal instead of just making money; put differently, good salesman care about customers and getting them the right product.

This can be seen in the dedication it takes: sometimes pitching the product and making the sale happens quickly, but more often than not it requires multiple calls, emails, texts, and proposals before a deal is made.

As much as it seems that salespeople are out there purely to make a quick buck, building relationships and spending extra time to find the best solution for a customer are some of the most rewarding and motivating parts of the job (the money is still nice, though).

In Closing

The next time you meet a sales rep, don’t try to change the subject or make assumptions, but engage with them.

They would probably love nothing more than to talk about their product, and I’m sure they would appreciate a positive conversation about sales with anyone.