Can you work in sales and not be pushy? Of course you can!
When I first worked in direct sales and home party sales, I was very still a shy individual. I really was not comfortable with approaching strangers about having a party or about recruiting them. Still, I knew that there were benefits to a person having a party in his/her home. Our program gave each host/hostess a minimum of $40 free in merchandise of his/her choice. Why shouldn't I share that? Our sales associates earned about $20 an hour when "real" part time jobs only offered about $6 per hour. Why shouldn't I share that?
My solution to being shy and yet still needing to generate sales and parties from people outside my circle of friends, or to recruit new sales associates, was to wear buttons on my clothing. I had one that said, "$40 free, ask me!" I wore another that said, "I love my job! You can too!"
My ex-husband and son (when he was 5 to 9 years old) were not shy at all about telling people about my business. The mister carried my business card and catalogs every where he went. My son would approach mothers with young kids in restaurants and on playgrounds and tell them about my job. I never told either of them to do these things. But it did help my business.
Even when they were not approaching strangers, the mister and my son also wore buttons on their clothing. My son's said, "Ask me about my mom's job." The mister's said, "My wife's job is a party. Ask me." Each of these resulted - at the least - in people inquiring about my job.
Soft selling can work in direct sales. It can also work in the retail setting, even in a department store where sales quotas are rather high. Just introducing oneself to a prospective customer and watching from nearby - while folding clothes or otherwise keeping busy (and not bothering said customer) - can be all it takes for that customer to come asking for you in the future.
For too long, people considered sales as a career for only aggressive (and possibly obnoxious) people. Especially if those sales persons were going to thrive and shine in the eyes of their employers.
But it does not have to be. A soft sell approach wins far more customers than stalking them ever could.
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About the Author
Marilyn Mackenzie has been writing about home, family, faith and nature for over 40 years. She is an author on
http://www.Writing.Com which is a site for Creative Writers. Her portfolio can be found at
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/kenzie.
