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It’s true that, thanks to the internet and technology in general, anyone can start a business. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone who does start a business is going to be any good at it, and could be part of the reason why so many startups fail in their first year. It does take a special kind of person to run a business successfully, and a lot of the time, these useful traits will be picked up through experience. This is why someone who has worked for someone else will often be more successful in business than someone who has not.
When it comes to sales, this idea does bear itself out. Having a career in sales before moving on to starting your own business can benefit entrepreneurs in all kinds of ways, and here are some of them to think about.
You Will Have Tenacity
Salespeople are known for their tenacity, their ability to set themselves a goal, and to do what it takes to get there. This means being persistent, getting rejected over and over, and ultimately winning through and not giving up. Salespeople know that they need to take chances sometimes to get what they want, and this is what makes them successful.
It is also what makes an entrepreneur successful. You can see that many of the traits that tenacity gives to a salesperson (stubbornness, goal setting, handling rejection, taking risks) are precisely the traits that a good business owner is going to need too.
You Can Teach Your Team
If you have a truly successful business, at some point you are going to need to hire staff to help you; you won’t be able to continue doing it all by yourself. Some of those staff members are likely to be part of your sales team, and you’ll need to help them along, lead by example, and explain to them what you want from them.
This is much easier – and will be listened to much better – if you have a background in sales yourself, as you will be able to answer their questions and understand any challenges they face. Alternatively, if teaching isn’t something that sounds interesting to you, you can outsource this element to Helix Sales Development and then use your own exceptional sales skills to keep your team happy and working hard.
You Can Network
One of the most critical elements to think about when you start a business is networking. The old phrase, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ does indeed seem to ring true, at least in part. Of course, you do need to have a large amount of expertise in your sector, but knowing the right people can help you immensely too, and give you the boost your new business is going to need.
Networking isn’t something that everyone naturally gravitates to, despite its importance. Yet if you have a good background in sales, networking will be something you do on a daily basis, and it won’t phase you at all.
