Tarek Al-Aydi has been working in sales for over 13 years, mostly in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. A retired sergeant in the US Marine Corps, Tarek Al-Aydi is currently working with Cole-Parmer as a field sales specialist.
Sales is a tough job, and people in the business often say that you’re either born with a talent for it or you’re not. If you don’t think you were born with it, here are a few tips to help you succeed.
1. Start with a relationship with the customer. Don’t open with a hard sell. No one likes to be sold to. To be an effective sales rep, you need to build rapport with your customer first. Before you move on to closing, you have to build trust in the educational phase of the relartionship.
2. Always try to speak with customers in person. It’s a lot easier for a prospect to hang up a phone than to quickly conclude a meeting. Whenever possible, look for in-person interactions.
3. Focus on what you can do for that specific customer. If you can convince someone that you’ve got a product that works for everyone else in the world except them, you still won’t make a sale. Find ways to articulate how your solution fits the customer’s particular problem.
