Anyone work in sales?

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I've got an interview next week as a sales adviser for software and computers in a shop. It pays very well so I’m assuming it's not your average run of the mill sales job.

Trouble is, I know nothing about sales, I have never done it before and I’m not really sure that I want to, but a job's a job.

So does anyone work in sales that can give me some advice on what to expect or what might help for the interview?

Cheers
 
I used to work for a high street electrical store.

I'm not the best person to ask as i was 'too nice' but a it helps to get familiar with everything the shop sells. People will ask for the differences between products and these are the sort of things you need to know. Also, learn how to explain things differently so those who don't know a lot about computers will be able to understand. I used to compare a person doing a job and then two people doing the same job to explain RAM. :p

Try and ask a lot of questions about what they want, why they want it and what do they currently own. If they want a base unit, have they got a monitor? A keyboard? A mouse?

For the interview, just smile, make yourself out to be easily approachable, explain how much you know about the shop, what they sell and how much you know about IT. And talk slowly.
 
I did it for years and years whilst at Uni, as it fitted in with my studies.

I was glad to get a proper job after I graduated - the general public are generally rude and obnoxious, management are... interesting (Think about the sort of person that reaches management in retail. It's mostly through either brown-nosing if you are young, or simply being the only left if you are older. The genuine talent doesn't want a career working in a shop and is only there whilst they do something else anyway, so you end up with those happy to spend a lifetime working in a shop as management. Great.........) and it gets boring, fast.

And I dont know what you are expecting because sales in a shop selling computers is about as textbook run of the mill 'sales' as you can get!
 
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retails sales is different as the customers are coming to you and are already looking to spend their money

so all you need:

good product knowledge

polite manner

speak confidently

make recommendations

dont be too pushy

just be yourself.
 
I used to sell fairly high end software (average sale of about £120k) B2B, but I guess that's not much help here?

As Paul11 says, just come off as personable, confident, and polite. I worked in a high-street videogame store for a couple of months one summer, and that was all that was required. I assume you know at least a bit about computers if you're on these forums, so are probably going to be more in the know than your customers (and, I expect you'll find, a number of your colleagues), so be friendly and helpful :)
 
[TW]Fox;17455263 said:
Think about the sort of person that reaches management in retail. It's mostly through either brown-nosing if you are young, or simply being the only left if you are older.

Just because you worked for poor management doesn't mean that it's endemic across an entire industry.
dunno.gif
 
I'd suggest you learn the art of listening before you do much else. So many 'sales people', a word more often than not used inappropriately, forget this vital skill and feel the need to bombard you with data, often data of no relevance or worse, wrong. NEVER assume ignorance in people, learn your trade and do it well and you'll earn more than most doctors, pilot, most bankers and pretty much anyone in business, even if you start in PC World, Argos or McDonald's at the start of your career. Sales is a profession though sadly most people who call themselves sales people don't treat it as such which is why they never achieve with the best.
 
Just because you worked for poor management doesn't mean that it's endemic across an entire industry.
dunno.gif

I'd agree with this.

The managers in our store are pretty awesome. Laid back, easy to talk to, responsible, frank with no bullcrap. Then again, they are generously rewarded and looked after by the company for working long unsociable hours with lots of travelling.

The GM of our store is a multi-millionaire and he's been with the business since leaving school. I'm sure most people would be envious.

As for selling, the only experience I have of that is kitchens and bathrooms which is quite different to software. Generally though, treat customers how you would want to be treated, never promise something you can't deliver and don't act like a **** to your colleagues because you bring in more business than them and you'll be fine.

It largely depends on the company you're working for though. Some promote the pushy sales technique and will only keep you if you meet THEIR targets. Some, like ours, don't.
 
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Just because you worked for poor management doesn't mean that it's endemic across an entire industry.
dunno.gif

It pretty much does, but of course in the context of sales I'm talking specifically about high street retail. Anyone with talent can get a better job thats not in high street retail. Any genuine sales stars can do better selling B2B, or selling cars, or selling.. well anything not on the high street.

So you get left with those that dont make the cut who eventually get promoted to floor manager or something. Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

I appreciate there are exceptions to every rule, there always are.
 
[TW]Fox;17455409 said:
It pretty much does

OK Mr I worked in retail part time for a couple of years. :)

Just FYI, bad managers are present in every type of business.
 
OK Mr I worked in retail part time for a couple of years.

8 years :confused:

Answer me this, if you are a really talented manager, why would you be content to work in a high street shop earning perhaps 20-30k a year? You wouldnt! You'd go elsewhere, and fast.
 
Well sounds like you had a rough ride in that case. There's just as much chance of getting a bad manager in any other job you could get.
 
Are the company looking for people to work with customers to ensure that the customers choose to buy there, buy only what's genuinely a good product for them and thus tend to return for repeat business?

Or are they looking for people to talk customers into buying whatever is most profitable for the business and as much of it as possible?

Two quite different jobs, with different usage of skills required. One problem for you will be that they'll say they want the former anyway, even if they want the latter.

Either way, you'll need product knowledge and people skills.

You have to know your products better than nearly all of your customers do, so that you can answer their questions and thus establish your credentials in their minds. There's no point being there if the customers don't see you as someone with answers. If you don't have the answers, you're just in the customer's way as they make their choices or, more likely, go somewhere else where they can get answers.

You have to be able to assess a specific customer's level of knowledge and intelligence and tailor an explanation to fit them. Get it wrong and they'll see you as either patronising, useless or both. Metaphors can help with people who don't know anything about computers by connecting stuff they don't understand to stuff they do understand. So, for example, RAM is like having stuff written on your hand - you can look at it very quickly, but you can't fit much on and it's temporary, whereas HDD space is like a big notebook in your bag - it takes longer to find the stuff on it, but you can fit a lot more on and it stays there until you rub it out and write something else over it.

Listening to customers talking about what they want (many won't really know) and asking relevant questions to get an accurate picture of what they really want is also key. If they get the impression that you're using your expertise to advise them on what's best suited to what they want, they're more likely to buy.

Customers don't like being pressured into buying add-on stuff (warranties, extra software, etc), but it's profitable. People skills will allow you to manipulate customers into buying stuff whether it's useful for them or not, but they'll also allow you to assess whether it is useful for them or not and explain it to each customer in a way that they will understand so they can choose for themselves.

So the actual job can vary wildly depending on the company's approach to selling, but the same skills apply to both - product knowledge and people skills.
 
That's the good thing about where I work. Most stores have 3 tiers of management and only the bottom tier gets paid around £30k base (depends on the store/department sales), which is actually topped up a fair bit by monthly, quarterly and yearly bonuses and increases with experience. GMs generally get paid above £50k and closer to £100k in a lot of cases and the bonuses at that level are a fair old percentage. I think that's fair enough when the store is making a fair few million a year in pure profit.

If that isn't enough you can always move over into regional/divisional/head office management and make even more.

Most of the managers in our store actually come from food retail backgrounds, but came to DIY because it pays better.
 
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