The world's richest working man's profession

“Congratulations, we’ve chosen you for the job! Now, what are you going to do with it?"

I remember the first time I heard those words, three days after the interview. The phone rang, and the manager at the men’s clothing store called me with the good news – they had gone over all the candidates, and could start in two weeks. My first job in sales. At the time I thought the same as many young people did, and I am sure many still do today. I took a job in selling because it seemed like easy money, and a faster way to get my first car than working at McDonald’s.

And here I am, 19 years later, no longer in retail, but still in sales.

And oh, how I wish I had better used those years.

Don’t get me wrong; I have no interest in looking for something that is not in sales, unless it is writing about it, or working with others to get better at it. However, had I seen then the beauty in the profession, the potential for what it could allow me to do, and had I started to study the wonderful world of sales then, as opposed to 18 months ago, I wonder where I would be today. But as they say, hindsight is 20-20.

And because the West Island contains a wide and ever-growing variety of customer service, sales and telemarketing companies, whose effects spread even to people who aren't in those businesses, this will be our place to discuss, to vent, and while we are at it, become better at being a part of what is known worldwide as the world's richest working person’s profession. Sales.

Ready? Good. The most important thing about this job you are about to begin or have already been doing for some time is that “Sales” is something you have to work at. If you want to make it big and strike it rich (monetarily, socially or personally – the choice is yours), you have to study, listen, ask questions and challenge yourself.

In the process, you will make mistakes, but you’ll get better with every attempt. You may get lucky if you don’t work at it (I used to think that, but trust me, it's not worth the risk). If you want to just get by, have 'satisfied' customers, count your pennies every month and never be in control of your future, do nothing. Cruise.

Congratulations, you have already succeeded!

That's not for me. I study The Art of Selling every day, listen to tapes by the masters as often as I can, keep searching for ways to blow the competition away, and took a shot and emailed an old friend at Transcontinental Media, Marc Lalonde, to see if this would interest them. You see, I am going to learn from this, too. And get better at what I do in the process. Because it is a process.

It takes time, though your boss will want results now. Oh, and if he or she can not wait, go work for someone else. They’ll come crying to get you back once you make your mark.

So here is today’s 'Cold Call': If you want to blow your customers away, be the leader on your sales team, reap joy from selling and in the process set yourself up for financial freedom, it is time to put into your job what you want out of it. Stop spending your nights watching twelve-year old episodes of Seinfeld (funny though he may be), and pick up a book about selling that appeals to you. Then apply one principle you read about the next time you’re speaking to your customer (we will discuss some of these in the future, but you need to start today!). Watch what happens, learn from it, try the improved version. Keep doing it until you have mastered the skill, and it is what your customers expect and love about buying from you.

The choice is yours, see you next week!

(Paul Simard is a Pointe Claire native and has been in sales both in the field and as a sales coach in the Montreal area since 1989. Send questions and feedback to salesxchange@gmail.com)