Is 6 months of Sales Experience enough?

Question

I've been doing inside sales for an electronics store for 6 months now and I like it. I'm definately not the greatest sales person but I think I am above average and I give excellent customer service on top of that. Anyways I just wanted to ask if 6 months is enough experience to get a real sales job that will give me some real money? Cars? Loan Officer? What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

It would so help you to stick it out another six months. It's usually a minimum of one year to start ramping up to the higher positions.

You may be in the high part of the season and doing okay; let's see what happens during the low season, for example.

Basically, potential employers want to see you perform throughout the fiscal year. Anyone can sell when the market is hot - try selling refridgerators to Eskimos, and you'll see a tough sale.

Answer 2

I agree with Nick about the persistence. It is the #1 sales tool. Just make sure you know the difference between persistence and being pushy.

To answer your question, yes 6 months is enough experience. If you are looking to get into auto sales, many dealerships will hire and train without previous selling experience. In this situation you are already ahead of the game!

Fine tune your resume to really play up (truthfully!) your selling skills. Also try to get a good reference from your current supervisor, if possible. Show your new employer an eagerness to succeed and you'll land that new job!

Good luck!

Answer 3

You're thinking too small. Think: Stockbroker. Realestate agent. Yacht Salesman. Private Aircraft Salesman. The bigger the ticket, the bigger the commission check. 6 months? You are a baby salesman. But you'll get there if you know the secret.

The secret is...persistance. Not intelligence, not knowledge, not simple hard work but persistance.

Just never accept "no" until they are slamming the door in your face or hanging the phone up on you violently.

Answer 4

If you like what you're doing now, why not stay there for another 6 months at least. If you like selling electronics, stay on and try to look for better opportunities within the store or in the industry.

Answer 5

What impresses a sales manager enough to hire you are the following things:

1. How did you get to him/her - this is important. Do NOT go thru Human Resources. Why? HR only screens out people who don't fit their profile. Their profile may say a college degree required but a sales manager in the company may make an exception if you can show him/her you know what you're doing.

Managers are all insulated for reasons and one of which is to allow them time to do their jobs. This is why they have call screeners & secretarial help.

Show the sales manager you can get thru to him/her and you've got a strong shot at a job! Why? Don't you think your customers are going to be difficult to get thru too? Of course! Thus show this sales manager you're tenacious and you know how to get around screenings to get to a decision maker and you'll impress them enough to want to talk with you!

2. Do research on the business you're interested in - such as "cars". Find out how many automobile owners live in your area. How many dealerships are there? Which dealership(s) advertise the heaviest? How many new drivers turn 16 each year for this area?

If you call up Joe Fabitz at ABC Cars and explain to him that you're interested in a "career" (stress the word CAREER and not 'job') of selling cars by stating that you know there's X amount of licensed drivers in your county and you know that next year there will be X amount of kids turning 16 who'll be getting their driver's licenses and you want to help sell them a car, that will impress the manager a whole lot too!

When you're interviewing, downplay your 6 months experience as a 'stepping stone to a bright future'. Do some research into the field of work you want to be in permanently and tell the sales manager WHY you want to come into it. Don't be dumb and say, "I want to earn a LOT of money!" but rather, "I see great potential here for me to grow and to one day be sitting in your position as a manager!"

You can make six figures in sales at ANY sales job out there. It all depends on you. Insurance agents can make that in under five years and so can stock brokers, mortgage officers, sales engineers, pharmacy sales, copier sales, etc.

But if you prove to them that you know how to get to THEM that will go a long way in proving to them that you're capable of getting to a decision maker. You cannot present to anyone who isn't a decision maker and expect to get a close on a sale.

Resumes are not as important as finding out WHO the decision maker is, their company's history, where the company is headed, the company's clientele and how you can put your own skills to work to help them succeed and grow as you grow and succeed!

Answer 6

yes its enough esp. if you feel confident about it -that's the first step - enthusiasm and knowing what you love to do.

the next step now is improving your selling skills. Read a lot of books , target on a good senior sales person in your dept and observe what makes him tick. Observe as well your customers on what makes them respond positively and what does not.

good luck!

Answer 7

Brush up the resume. Customer service is something you don't learn. You have it or you don't! Sure, you have to learn the product line, but conveying to the customer who has a problem that you're the man to solve it, is like somone who is good in math. You are or you aren't.