“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesperson, not the attitude of the prospect”

This is a lesson I learned very quickly in my first year of ad sales. being a recent Saint Mary’s university grad and having just less than two years experience in ad sales, I quickly realized that the learning curve in sales is ongoing. knowing the customer, being consistent and persistent, and maintaining a positive attitude (especially towards clients) are some of the key lessons I have learned.

A bit of advice for all of you recent grads and ad boys and girls: don’t think you’ll learn everything you need to know in school or in a textbook.You may learn the basics that way- teamwork, theory, ad models, but the key to being successful in sales is to find a good mentor to continue learning.

My employer and mentor, Jeff brooks, once told me, “you have to make twenty-two calls a day to get five maybes, and out of those five maybes, you might get two sales”. This is another lesson that I would like to pass along tosalesnewcomers:thinkingeveryone will say yes, then getting discouraged when they don’t is counterproductive. knowing your customer starts with knowing yourself. Admitting your knowledge gaps (a hard concept to swallow) will tremendously improve how you interact with your clients.

One last piece of advice: clients know what they want and they usually have a vision in their head. It’s your job to work with them. You can give them advice along the way, but trying to change their vision entirely will only frustrate your client and discourage you if they resist your suggestions.