We hear about the economy everyday and stories of how bad things are for people and businesses nationwide. You can easily get sucked into believing that you are part of this and mentally form a negative attitude trying to figure out whose fault this is or when it will all end. The reality is that it is the best time to be in sales, let me explain. First, the number of people in the sales profession has drastically decreased with the economy, creating less sales competition in most industries. According to NAR, the real estate industry’s largest trade group, they had a membership of approximately 800,000 members a decade ago when real estate sales were about what they are now. Membership swelled to about 1.4 million during the height of the boom and has now decreased back down to 1.1 million. This reduction in sales professionals has happened in other industries as well creating more opportunity for the career sales professional. Yes, the recession has left a long wake of unemployed sales workers — about 1.5 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the market for sales people will likely continue to closely track the broader US labor market.
Secondly, I believe this means more money for you because with so many firms continuing to reduce headcount in other departments in order to beef up sales, competition for the “best closers” — the only kind of hire many sales VPs will make these days — is fierce. They will have to sharpen their sales recruitment efforts and reconsider the harsh stance on sales compensation that has typified negotiations with candidates for the past couple of years.
You see, not only is this a great time to accelerate your sales, it is an ideal time to master your ingredients for sales success. The sales professionals who spend the extra effort to network, self promote and hone their sales skills now, will be the clear leaders when the economy turns upward. People and clients will remember you, you will be miles ahead of new sales competitors, and you will be more confident knowing that whatever happens, you can prevail.
Seek out advancement in your knowledge of sales and build your psyche based on your own expertise. Start with 29i – Mastering Your Sales Psyche, your road map to sales greatness and be the one that recognized this recession as an opportunity to be the best at your profession.
29i – Mastering Your Sales Psyche
29 Ingedients For Sales Success
Available online at www.29ingredients.com or Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Google Books
About Michael Simpson
