mercedsunstar.com :: Selling? Cornered? Friends?

TELEPHONES

Q: I'm graduating in June, with a B.A. in English. All of the books I read indicate that I have the skills for sales. How can I be sure? Seeking Direction

A: Dear Direction, The sales field has diversified so much that people with all kinds of backgrounds are going into it. On top of that, salespeople just love to sell. Ask one if you're qualified. Listen as he "sells" you on "yes."

Yes, it's helpful to be a good communicator if you go into sales. But not all salespeople are good communicators. Many run off at the mouth. Many loathe writing.

A good sales career requires the ability to pick up the telephone and call people. In consumer sales, you call the general public. Business-to-business selling requires calling people in companies. Approaches vary, depending upon the nature of the customer.

You can be trained in effective selling techniques, but here's the bottom line: If you can't pick up the telephone, you'll never make it in selling. Instead, you may get knots in your stomach. You may feel queasy. You may frighten yourself. How comfortable are you and your telephone?

Ring, ring, ring! mlc

THREE YEARS

Q: I've been looking for a job in operations for three years. The work I've been doing has nothing to do with my field. What am I doing wrong? Cornered

A: Dear Cornered, You won't be for long. Ask yourself how many hours per week you've spent on any aspect of your job search. Be unflinchingly honest with yourself. This means:

developing lists of companies where you might like to work;

calling companies, scheduling appointments and interviewing;

getting and exploring contacts and referrals;

researching and responding to ads; and

following up with thank-you notes and subsequent telephone calls.

How many hours are you REALLY job hunting? Less than 10 per week won't make a dent -- except in your future.

"Oh," you reply, "I've sent out several hundred resumes."

Did you follow up after them to find out why you weren't hired? Did you search inside the company for someone who might consider you for another job?

"Most of the ads didn't list company names," you respond.

Does this source of leads sound promising? Get a list of companies to contact directly. Be clever. Dial for dollars. Grab your listener's attention with an imaginative pitch. Get started -- anywhere. Meanwhile, does one of your current employers have an operations area? Volunteer there; pack the information into your resume; and meet all of the people you can. You're off! mlc.

**blogTip**

FAIR PLAY

Are you and a friend hunting for the same kinds of jobs? Wouldn't it be faster to create market reception if you:

Copy and test-drive the friend's resume design;

Lift some of the most vivid, distinctive key words.

Set appointments with companies he's targeting;

Mass mail the industry at your earliest convenience.

Remind yourself that all is fair in love and war.

Hey, buster. This isn't love and war. This is job hunting! Don't be tempted to abuse a friendship, even if your friend wouldn't know. Could you live with yourself, down the road, if you needed to go to that person for help? How desperate is desperate?

Put aside your pride and learn from your friend. Find out what went on during his interviews and what made the last one successful. How did he get contacts? Who were the decision-makers?

Shouldn't this be what friends are for?