Becoming a salesman!

[Alex bAlex]

It is a common theme of the most (if not all) the self books that I read and listens to, and that is THE SALESMAN. Every entrepreneur was at one point a salesman.

I know that even Leo mention that having sales skills is crucial to lead a financial freedom life ( or independence- whatever, none ever exists paradoxically, but you know what I mean).

So the questions; Should I look up for a salesman job at 29?  In my vision, that will help me grow the skills of talking and interacting with people and maybe leading to becoming an entrepreneur. 

Also, my life purpose is to become an emergency nurse, but somehow that doesn't spark my feelings so much as the prospect of working in an office, surrounded by cool people and doing luxury stuff like partying and travelling. 

 

Is this just an ego delusion? 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Alex bAlex

[Richard Alpert]

4 hours ago, Alex bAlex said:

It is a common theme of the most (if not all) the self books that I read and listens to, and that is THE SALESMAN. Every entrepreneur was at one point a salesman.

I know that even Leo mention that having sales skills is crucial to lead a financial freedom life ( or independence- whatever, none ever exists paradoxically, but you know what I mean).

So the questions; Should I look up for a salesman job at 29?  In my vision, that will help me grow the skills of talking and interacting with people and maybe leading to becoming an entrepreneur. 

Also, my life purpose is to become an emergency nurse, but somehow that doesn't spark my feelings so much as the prospect of working in an office, surrounded by cool people and doing luxury stuff like partying and travelling. 

 

Is this just an ego delusion? 

If those are your reasons to become a salesman, i would pass. When has partying been luxury? Every bum can party.

Being a salesman is a grind, a marathon. You are not gonna get rich quick. Being a salesman is not luxurious, it is nothing you see on tv´s and movies.

5-10% of your clients will be whiners and bitches and you have to eat shit from them.

[Alex bAlex]

4 hours ago, Richard Alpert said:

If those are your reasons to become a salesman, i would pass. When has partying been luxury? Every bum can party

Of course not. Those are just icing on the cake(edit: the result of byproduct :edit) . I've been to parties ad nauseam and each time I went home empty (pockets, soul and feelings). 

I am looking to burn all the bridges and even if I have to deal with it whiners and bitches, I will learn to handle it instead of running form it. Sooner or later in life you'll have to deal with it. 

So the main reason, as I see it, is growth and the possibility to become entrepreneur. 

Silly? 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Alex bAlex

[Alex bAlex]

@John Lula Should we start a company then? 

Let's call it telegufies :)) 

[flowboy]

On 5/5/2019 at 3:00 AM, Alex bAlex said:

Also, my life purpose is to become an emergency nurse, but somehow that doesn't spark my feelings so much as the prospect of working in an office, surrounded by cool people and doing luxury stuff like partying and travelling. 

 

Is this just an ego delusion?

I've felt much the same way. It seems nice but feels so unreal at the same time. We don't clearly see ourselves doing it, and don't know many others who live like that. And our environment discourages us.

It took me 26 fucking years to admit to myself that I want to be financially independent. I don't have the self esteem for it (yet) and there's a lot of shame around wanting money.

I know one thing though. If something doesn't excite you, it's not a good idea to pursue it. A traditional career doesn't excite me, although I could pull it off living quite well. The idea of being a successful entrepreneur seems impossible for me, scares me to death but it is exciting. Which means I have a chance of staying motivated.

I'd rather try to do that almost impossible-seeming thing, that actually excites me, and fail all my life, than go for attainable, socially acceptable goals that bore me to death.

That's where I am right now. Maybe you can relate.

Don't know when, don't know how.

But clarity of what you want is crucial.

Read some of thefastlaneforum. I'm reading Unscripted right now.

And if you have guilt about riches being a less "noble" goal than taking care of people, think of how much more you could change the world for the better if you had money, like Bill Gates is doing with his foundations. Dan Peña talks about that, I like listening to his talks.

[Alex bAlex]

18 hours ago, flowboy said:

It seems nice but feels so unreal at the same time. We don't clearly see ourselves doing it

I am kind of sick of hearing again and again, "you have to have a plan, a vision, be a creator..."  I  think I am just mentally blind. Yes, I want to be a millionaire but... ahhh.. nevermind. 

18 hours ago, flowboy said:

If something doesn't excite you, it's not a good idea to pursue it.

The only thing that I chose this life purpose is that in the past I was excited about it but I guess all the glitter fades away with time. I started a Shopify store last year but shut it down after 4 months of work. Wrong niche, no capital.

 

19 hours ago, flowboy said:

Read some of thefastlaneforum. I'm reading Unscripted right now.

Cheers bro, you opened a new door for me. I had a look last night and I get excited about what I found there. Next-ACTION!  *Unscripted is the highest scored book that I've seen so far* 

19 hours ago, flowboy said:

Dan Peña

I've watched some of his videos in the past and today listened to Joe Rogan interview, but IMO this guys is nuts. Is this a mandatory skill to get rich?  :)) 

[Nahm]

@Alex bAlex Yes. Pursue sales. Choose an industry you can work & learn, and then open your own. I rec Think & Grow Rich, and Ask & It Is Given. 

[flowboy]

8 hours ago, Alex bAlex said:

I've watched some of his videos in the past and today listened to Joe Rogan interview, but IMO this guys is nuts. Is this a mandatory skill to get rich?  :)) 

I mean, who am I to say. If someone is that successful and able to help other people be that successful, then it kind of doesn't matter whether I think he's nuts. I have no money and he consistently creates wealth, so whatever he says on the subject that sounds crazy to me, is probably due to me having incorrect beliefs.

Yeah, he's a character. I don't care for his political opinions, nor his rants about violence. But he checks some boxes that many others who speak about business don't, even MJ DeMarco:

• He didn't get his success by teaching how to get success.
• He has nothing to sell now. Rich beyond imagination and retired. Gives away his material for free
• He says a lot of things I don't want to hear. (there's no such thing as work-life balance if you want to succeed, you have to look professional, etc.)

These things make him IMO more credible than many others, who made their money with a book on how to make money (think Kiyosaki), and selling the dream that you can get rich without sacrificing or investing a lot of time. Which people like to believe.

Tai Lopez is also an example of that. He started making books and podcasts about how to get rich, in which he tells you to read lots of books and listen to lots of podcasts, all the while not being as successful as advertised, driving leased expensive cars and living in rented expensive properties. Peña tells people to stop reading so much self help, because it's a way to procrastinate, and just do shit. I find it refreshing.

Edited May 7, 2019 by flowboy

[Inliytened1]

@Alex bAlex Do something that you have a passion for, that excites you, and also something that you find that you might be good at.

 

I.E A person who has very low communication skills may not want to be in sales.

But keep in mind Sales - in order to be successful - may also cause you to against your core values.

A lot of people get out of sales but they say they just don't want to be untruthful to a potential customer about an aspect of the product they are selling.

So if you go into sales make sure it's a product you believe in, and a product that you believe is not going to go against your core values.

Really do the research, and try to be authentic in your sales pitches.  If you find yourself having to lie in order to get a sale, then maybe that's not such a good place to be.

So that's a really big trap to watch out for in any sales type field.

On the plus side it can be very financially lucrative.  But have to balance wealth with morals or you will ultimately find that you are not truly fulfilled.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Inliytened1

[flowboy]

9 hours ago, Alex bAlex said:

Yes, I want to be a millionaire but... ahhh.. nevermind. 

So you don't want it bad enough. That's a problem.

Also a problem I can relate to. I'm waay too comfortable in my 9 to 5.  Sometimes I think I would do better if I quit my job and worked under the fear of becoming homeless, but I don't think that's wise. Rather, I think I have to invent some compelling goals that make it feel urgent, I think.

I was a salesman for some time. So I have investment bias, but I would say that anyone would benefit from having that experience. I wouldn't say I had great communication skills when I started, but they were put to the test. Many beliefs and expectations about how people actually respond were shattered. I still feel like I gained invaluable understanding about customers and marketing thanks to that (shitty) job.

For example, when you start out, you expect that explaining the advantages of a product to a person, will warm them up to buy. It's quite shocking to find out that that is the part that matters the least.

And then it teaches you about yourself. People like to believe that they themselves make decisions based on logical information (bullshit), so they try to sell others that way. And then you wake up: FUCK, I don't even make decisions that way!!

Edited May 7, 2019 by flowboy

[Alex bAlex]

19 hours ago, Inliytened1 said:

A person who has very low communication skills may not want to be in sales.

 

18 hours ago, flowboy said:

I'm waay too comfortable in my 9 to 5.  Sometimes I think I would do better if I quit my job and worked under the fear of becoming homeless,

As you can tell my communication skills sucks and English is my second language so I thought that this will help me to improve, or It will be just a steady way to self-annihilation.

 

19 hours ago, Inliytened1 said:

A lot of people get out of sales but they say they just don't want to be untruthful to a potential customer about an aspect of the product they are selling.

A bit of background: eight years ago, when I was a student, I applied for a job as a door to door sales of satellite dishes and TV packages. I worked for two rival companies. First lasted two weeks, the second four days. 

I suppose to walk for 4 to 8 hours through muddy villages and ask people to sign for a tv satellite contract. This is a period when the satellite tv became something mainstream and people either were already connected or were too poor(most cases)  to afford something like that. So in all my career as a salesman, I guess I sold 4 or 5 contracts(?). But I couldn't do it. I was watching a girl (who pushed me to get into the second company because I was banging at her and she love it- LoL ) how she spent more than 40 minutes trying to convince some poor family to mount a satellite dish on a house that needs urgent roof repairing.

 

So I became disgusted because of this practice. In my view, I couldn't force or trick people to sing for something that they don't need.

20 hours ago, flowboy said:

others, who made their money with a book on how to make money

Don't you noticed that 99% -ok let's cut some down and say 90%- of the entrepreneurs have some kind of family record of starting a business or working on a business or father is already a successful blah blah blah  ... 

And you are here trying to understand why others can stand up so easy and you cannot.

[Michael569]

Perhaps find a Green company that is looking beyond the realm of its bank accounts and market share. All companies need to profit but some aim higher then other. Don't become Jordan Belford type of salesman working for Fortune 500 enterprise.

[Truth Addict]

@Alex bAlex

I worked in sales for over one year, and I hated it.

It felt like being a beggar, only a more professional, well suited one.

You say things that you don't want to say, you have to keep your clients pleased all the time.

It felt like hypocrisy to me, and I don't like being a hypocrite.

On the other hand, my brother is now working in my former position, he likes it, because of the money and reputation.

I don't know what you should do, but I hope that gave you some insight.

❤️

[universe]

You can do sales that have a win-win effect instead of begging your clients for money.

Getting a sales job sounds like a good idea to get the skills.

Otherwise you could sell your own product and service and see how it is. Dont overthink this. Sale > Business. If you can sell something you have a business. You dont need anything else. You can literally have a nice office, employees, website, coorporate identity and great product - If you dont have sales or eyeballs, you dont have a business.

[Proactive]

I worked as a door-to-door sales person last summer. Sold window washing and exterior cleaning stuff; then I would do the job right after I sold it. The job I worked for was 100% commission based; so it may be different from your job. Company might've been a scam; but I learned a lot. It was 10 hour shifts as well. Might as well just buy my own window washing machine and do it myself lol. <-- possibility for you btw. But you should probably get trained first.

I was relatively good at the job. Here are some tips relating to the mindset. Remember the first sales are the hardest. Everyone has their own style of selling so maybe my tips won't be useful for your style. I know someone who was mean to his customers but sold a lot .

•  When starting you'll be given a script. Like hi I'm from company x, and I was wondering if you had a chance to x. As you say it the 90000th time. It is important to still be in the present moment. I think the customers can pick up on it somehow. As you get better; try to start talking to your customers as if they are your friend; be natural. 
• Focus on what you can improve on; such as how your saying your script. Body language. Don't use money as a motivator because some days you'll be lucky and unlucky.(over the long term. Everyone has the same probability so don't blame luck)
• Your goal should be to help the customer. They will pick up on it, then you'll get a fuck ton of sales.
• (BONUS) - I had sold window washing services to people that already had clean windows and they were unhappy about it, or sometimes I didn't didn't deliver what I promised. After a year; I feel really bad about it and don't think the money was worth it. Careful not to scam people you may regret it.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Proactive

[Alex bAlex]

Lot's of good advice here. Thank you guys ?