There are over 22 million sales professionals in the United States. If you want to have a career in sales, you need to be able to stand out. Becoming a great sales person isn’t something you can just switch on. You have to work at it and you have to constantly be adapting and improving your skills. Hopefully some of these tips will help you on your path from sales novice to sales expert!

• Build Your Confidence — Obviously, being overconfident is bad and can come across as cocky, but if you develop a strong confidence you will be more comfortable around clients, and in life.
• Always Follow Up — Sadly, only 20% of potential sales leads are ever followed up by the salesperson. Follow up with potential leads! What’s the worst that can happen? You lose a client that you never had in the first place?
• Have Proper Training — Going into the world of sales empty-handed can be terrifying, it’s best to take advantage of all the opportunities that are available to you. Sales recruitment agencies can work with you to develop a lot of the attributes that successful salesmen and saleswomen have.
• Always Be Professional — Professionalism is very important in the sales world. Whether it’s when you are meeting with a client, taking on the phone, or simply going to the grocery store, you should always maintain a certain level of professionalism.
• Have Genuine Relationships With Clients — Your clients are smart enough to know when you are being fake, and that won’t get you very far. Try and build actual relationships with them so you both will be more comfortable with each other, leading to more sales opportunities.
• Have Marketing Knowledge — Social media is very important for a salesperson, with almost 80% of salespeople outselling those who did not incorporate social media into their sales strategy. Salespeople with experience in marketing make 25% more profits than those who do not.
• Research Clients — You have to be knowledgeable on your client’s companies so it’s important to do research on each one. Sales recruitment agencies can offer research tips and solid sales career advice in general.
• Stay In Touch — Don’t just drop your client and forget about them once you made the sale. The best sales reps stay in touch with their clients and check in with them periodically to see if they can make their experience with them even better
• Plan Ahead — Salespeople that go into a sale with a strategic and well thought-out plan are 33% more likely to close the sale.
• Be Persistent — Don’t just give up on a sale after hearing one “no” from your client, even though 44% of salespeople do so. Be persistent but make sure to not be too pushy.

Becoming a successful salesperson is difficult, there is no way around that, but if you work towards it, you can have a great career in sales and marketing. Whether you work directly with sales recruitment agencies, or tackle the sales world all alone, if you put in the work and are serious about improving, you can being a great salesperson!