For my SME Interview, I interviewed J.R. (William) Phillips, who has had several sales jobs. With my entrepreneurship game, I feel as though my ability to sell is one of my weaknesses, and I felt that J.R.’s experience would help me better understand how to conduct such activities.
1. Can you brief me on your sales experience?
Advertising sales for a newspaper. Beverage(beer and wine) sales for a distributor. Sales and marketing for a medical diagnostic firm.
2. What was your favorite aspect of sales?
Getting to know my customers and creating relationships. Showing my customers that I’ve done my homework and my product knowledge is topnotch. Gaining my customers trust. And of course, making the sale.
3. What tactics did you learn that you feel like have helped you the most?
Before I’d go and see a customer I’d study notes from previous visits. Things we talked about, birthdays, weddings, products or services, anything that would let them know that I was paying attention to them. I would always have a goal in mind for this particular customer and try to stay focused on that goal.
4. What is your mentality when approaching a client you are trying to sell to?
My mentality was to always believe that what I had to offer was of value to them and that they needed what I had. I would think to myself that they were already sold but just didn’t know it yet, they just needed me to lead them in that direction.
5. What are challenges or obstacles that you had to overcome with your career in sales?
With anything, things can get stale and you can find yourself going through the motions. You can lose focus on your goals and not plan your day/week out as you should. If you call on a customer without a goal or plan in mind and you’re not prepared , you’re setting yourself up for failure. No matter what changes in sales for the industry you’re in, you will always need to be prepared ahead of time to call on your customer. Also, it can be easy to say no, I’m not going to call on that place, it looks like they wouldn’t be interested. Who knows what’s behind that door?
6. Can you recall a situation where someone didn’t want to buy something and then changed their minds? If so, how did that happen?
I was calling on a Doctor’s office that was not using any of our services. I was told it was waste of time but I didn’t believe that and I kept at it. I was like clockwork and called on this office on a regular basis but ran up against a wall for a long time. One day I called on this office and was notified that they had been having a problem with another facility that had been offering the same services we were offering. After speaking with them, they gave us a chance and things worked out well for both parties. This was a case where it wasn’t anything spectacular that I did, it was just my persistence. Sometimes, that’s what it takes.
7. What value do you feel that sales holds in the entrepreneurial process?
I believe it holds a tremendous value in the process. Many times you here of a story of someone who has a product or service that no one seems to believe in or wants but the person selling it does. Selling yourself may be your only shot to move your vision forward. Some may not understand or just can’t envision what you are selling but you have to make them see it. In some cases, you may be all you have.
8. What advice would you give to an individual that isn’t a talented speaker, but wants to get better at and pursue a career in sales?
I would say that whatever you are selling, you will need to know everything about that product or service. Practice in front of a mirror and or a friend/family member. It takes practice to be a talented speaker but always keep in mind that if you don’t know the information, you will not be able to get by with it, you will be found out. With that all said, there is nothing wrong with telling someone that you may be new at this and may be a little nervous. I like to think that for the most part, people are willing cut someone some slack. This is how I would handle it if I knew a sales person was new and a bit nervous. But, as I said before, you will always need to be knowledgably about the product and service you are selling.
