The Motor Industry.

Connotations aside, lots has changed through the years in how salespeople approach, qualify, and convert consumers.

The biggest revelation in the industry was the switch in mindset. Moving away from direct, borderline confrontational selling (old school) versus a consultative approach (new school).

This consultative approach meant that our roles as intermediaries, between customer's desires and our ability to sell them on that desire, required a more delicate and thoughtful application of skill.

Hundreds of hours have been poured into training seminars to remove bad habits and start afresh. This meant analysing the consumer buying journey, how they move from one point to another: awareness, research, explore, consider, and finally, purchase (hopefully!).

Having been familiar with this tactic for some time, the application came naturally to me. I've always been a strong advocate for changing the stigma of sales and proving that honesty, openness, and actually listening to what customers need will take you much further than a quick close.

In light of starting my own business as a freelance copywriter, I recently moved to a part-time position with this employer who has been very supportive and continues to break the mould in their handling of staff and customers alike. A fantastic company to be a part of indeed.

Furniture and Bed Store.

I started a Salesperson here in 2010 and progressed to Manager a year later in 2011.

Christies was my first real go at sales/retail. After a rather unpleasant and brief experience in door-to-door selling (don't get me started) I applied for this position soon after.

Working with furniture and the like, was a fantastic experience for me, and also a great introduction to the world of sales. This was a local independent store with a great range of products and presented me with a chance to learn, hone and refine my skills.

As with most sales-based positions, the roles are similar: Meet and greet, qualify, present and close; but there was a great deal less pressure than you might get with mobile phone plans, for example. This meant that I could skip over learning all of the bad habits associated with sales and build my career from a positive stance, immediately.

As the manager, I was able to become savvy to the ways of retail, marketing, time-management and the motivation of my staff.

My time at Christies (6 years!) has always proved invaluable for the lessons it taught me and I remain, deeply grateful for the opportunity, some 10 years later.