Salesperson Reflection Paper
There are different types of personalities in the world. As others may fit in the sales career, some would be uncomfortable. Success in the sales career requires the application of several skills to ensure that the products are sold. Kerin & Hartley (2020) highlighted that personal selling encompasses a two-way communication flow between a seller and a buyer, which, in most cases, happens via face to face to influence the purchaser’s decision to acquire the product. As for me, I wouldn’t be interested in going for a sales career. Personal selling has several merits, such as developing relationships with other people, social interaction during sales, improving persuasion skills, high customer attention, and adaptability by anybody. However, some limitations are also attached to personal selling. Such limitations include the ability to attract few customers, high implementation costs, and labor-intensive.
With a reflection on personal characteristics, I would not fit in the sales career. A successful salesperson would require some good persuasion skills, communication skills, objection handling skills, negotiation skills, confidence, and an active listener. For me, the case is so different. Incipiently, I lack persuasion skills, which can help me convince a prospective buyer to purchase my product. Furthermore, I am only good at communicating with friends. Communicating with buyers all over the streets would sound quite ambiguous for me. Additionally, I may be unable to handle objection when received form a client. Nevertheless, I lack the confidence to talk to strangers and negotiate about prices of various commodities. I am also not an active listener; hence, I may be unable to answer some of the buyers’ questions correctly. In a nutshell, my skills are enough to explain how I could not fit my sales career. I would thus expect minimum or zero success when handling any sales-related career.
From the quiz, I found that I am good at recognizing other individuals’ feelings and emotions. In sales, this could be a very important skill. During the sales process, the seller is expected to understand the clients’ facial expressions and body language that would give a forefront on what is in their mind (Okoro, Washington, & Thomas, 2017). Through this skill, the seller can adjust and choose the best way to approach them and deliver the same message. More knowledge would be required to develop the skill further to be a successful salesperson. With these results, I have been slightly surprised. I have never seen myself anywhere near to reading other people’s emotions when talking to them. Furthermore, I have never thought of possessing such a quality trait that would regard me as one of the best salespeople.
Although I might give the results some benefit of the doubt, having success in sales requires a collection of several skills and knowledge. To excel in the sales industry, it would be essential if he applies additional knowledge and experience when making sales. When I look back at my response, I would still agree that I do not fit in the sales career, although the test reveals that I hold one of the most amazing salesperson skills. The sales career would only be a good option for a person who incorporates interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills during the sales process.
Reference
Kerin, R.A., & Hartley, S.W. (2020). Marketing: The Core. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Okoro, E., Washington, M. C., & Thomas, O. (2017). The impact of interpersonal communication skills on organizational effectiveness and social self-efficacy: A synthesis. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(3), 28-32.