and reliable, employment areas.
Individuals interested in browsing sales jobs on a site like reed.co.uk for example, will not find themselves transported back to Sterling Cooper in the 1960s, tumbler of whiskey and never-ending Lucky Strikes in tow.
The sales world is a very different thing from 50 years ago. An increasing monopoly on psychology, market research, as well as attracting some of the world’s best creative talent through large salaries and dependable jobs compared to the arts, means that the ability to sell is a powerful social and economic tool.
Martin Lindstrom has published two books on the subject now, Buyology and the latest Brandwashed. They specifically focus on how corporations and brands manipulate the tricks and tendencies of the brain to encourage consumers towards their products.
But how to be a successful salesman without using branding and massive advertising campaigns? The Harvard Business School has conducted research into this phenomenon of ‘sales appeal’ and struggled to find conclusive answers.
As ever, a good salesman requires a certain X factor, an ability to present an open personality and affability that makes people connect as humans. And it is the human edge of empathy and understanding which is actually the key to making sales.
So how to get people on your side? The classic image of a salesman is of a good talker, someone who can persuade you into anything. In 2011, however, when consumers are in many ways savvier to the rhetorical tricks of the politician and salesman alike, the ability to listen is key.
‘Putting the customer first’ – or rather, in sales, giving the impression of putting the customer first, seems to be the best approach. How does this come about?
Practice and that elusive X factor will be yours.