Sales Reflections: Part 1

I receive a mix of surprise and quizzical expressions when people learn about my background in automotive sales, which is where I got my professional start right after I graduated university in 2016. Especially when they know about my degree in English and professional writing. It doesn’t appear to be a natural mix, but if you ask me I think both the art of sales and writing go hand in hand. After all, each is trying to engage their client or audience in some way, and are carefully choosing the right words and feelings to do so.

I suppose in the end that is why I gravitate more towards copywriting. I love getting the opportunity to teach clients about a brand’s ideology, and revealing the “need” in a product or service. To me it’s more than just “selling” someone on something, it’s about creating that feeling you get when you can see something “fit” into your life or business. At that moment, you’ve found something that will elevate you, and it creates this natural excitement that is more than just bland corporate jargon.

When that feeling is created, a new business relationship is formed; a new connection. That’s pretty cool to me. You also get the opportunity to learn about new topics and people that you otherwise would not have. Content writing, for example, requires a little research about a subject or idea. I realize we can never know everything, but I want to know all I can which is part of the reason why writing is so entertaining to me.

It’s unfortunate that the image of a salesperson has become a little tainted with “sleaziness” over the years, and some have formed more negative impressions of someone who works in a sales environment, due to its high pressure nature. Let me just say that if you see sales as a way to help others, rather than a money chasing “game”, you will succeed if you put the work in. Both writing and sales have the audience’s values in mind. I’ll end with what someone told me once: people go to watch the dolphins, and run from the sharks.