A salesman career is never an easy one: the challenge of reaching the quota in sales can be nerve wrenching and very stressful. Persuading people that they need what you sell is very difficult especially if you approach them without prior introductions. But some are able to survive and succeed even though their salesman job only offers salary per commission.

Even if you are not considering the career of a salesman, you should research a little bit about their industry. Searching for a job with a promise of a great career could be difficult and landing on that job is harder. The best way that you can convince the company to hire you is when you become a salesman – but only on yourself. To land a job, you have to become a salesman that offers potential employers your skills, your relative experience and even your personality.

But you don’t just walk straight to your potential employer with the intention of selling yourself. A salesman follows certain steps in order to slowly convince potential clients.

Knowing What You Sell

Before you approach the buyer, know what you sell. In this case, know yourself better. Of course, you already have a pretty good idea who you are and what you can do. But what you should really know is how your product (you) can help the buyer (potential employer).

Always have this answer so that you can justify why you have to sell your product to the potential buyer. This is very important since almost every answer that you will have will revolve around the question of why the buyer should purchase your product.

Following Up What You Sell

Selling your skills or services to potential employers oftentimes does not happen on first meeting. This means you should follow up or contact your client the second time after the initial contact. But don’t be too aggressive; calling your potential buyer the day after the initial transaction is annoying.

Wait at least two weeks before getting in touch with the potential buyer. Although the two-week timeframe already means you don’t have the chance of making a sale, following up is basically a form of closure so that you can move on to another prospect.

Searching for a Contact

One of the best methods to get the attention of the potential buyer is through a 3rd party introduction. Find someone that you and your potential buyer know so that you can be properly introduced. When you and your potential buyer mutually know someone, there is a big chance that the transaction will go smoothly since the potential buyer will not treat you as a nuisance but as a new contact.

Note on the Salesman’s Character

If there’s one character that you need to emulate from a salesman, it’s persistence. Even though they are rejected 200 hundred times in one day, they can still look at their list of contacts and move forward. They may feel bad about rejection but they can easily get over it since they know that the next one might be a sale (or a job offer in your situation).