Being able to sell is a bit like having the gift of the gab - you either have it or you don’t. And although you can teach sales techniques to almost anyone, there’s something about a person who can naturally sell that sets them apart.

A sales job is not generally on the aspirational career wish-list for children growing up. Most sales people are a case of ‘falling into’ it and then realising they’re pretty good at it.

Sales people come under lots of guises - sales executive, sales manager, sales associate, sales assistant, sales consultant, field sales… But essentially they’re all doing the same thing. When and if they reach the ‘you could sell sand to the Arabs’ status, in sales, the world is pretty much your oyster!

What makes a good sales person?

Quantifying what makes a good sales person is a tricky question - we know it’s not necessary being the most charming person (although it helps!). And we know it’s not always about being an extrovert - some sales people are actually quite reserved in ‘real life’. What we can say with assurance is that confidence and resilience are both vital to being a good salesman or woman. Quick thinking and resourcefulness are also pretty important - and believing in a product or service is another must have. Ultimately if the sales person doesn’t think it’s a worthy investment, who will?!

While some sales people are motivated purely by the desire to earn, it’s very important to enjoy the job. Like with anything, if you’re engaged with the task in front of you, you’ll probably be better at it.

There’s plenty of other appealing factors about being in sales too that most people don’t realise. Let’s take a look.

The benefits of sales jobs

You’re helping people

You’re either finding a solution to a problem they’ve got, or you’re making sure your customer gets the best deal for their money.

You’re creating opportunity

In sales you often have ideas that the customer won’t have thought of, so suddenly they have access to extra opportunities that they didn’t even realise was available to them.

You’re educating and being educated all at once

By sharing your expertise on a product or service, you’re educating your customer or client about how they can improve their lives or their business. Essentially you are giving them tools to grow.

And talking of education, it goes both ways!

In any sales position you’re continually learning. From seeing what works and what doesn’t in your pitch, to industry developments, you can’t help but absorb information on techniques, new products, service improvements and benefits to the end user.

You’re being challenged all the time

No two customers and no two pitches are the same which means you need to be ready to deal with the unexpected. Sales will always keep you on your toes because you just never know what will come out of a persons mouth next!

You become better at reading people

When you sell for a living, you also gain fantastic insight into psychology and how to read people.

Knowing when to push or knowing when to walk away is a vital sales skill that’s transferrable to every day life too. Being able to persuade has endless benefits when negotiating your way through life, whether it be in relationships or getting a great deal yourself!

You are ‘deliberately’ positive

Some of us are naturally more positive, but in sales you basically have to be.

That’s why sales jobs are perfect for the optimistic among us! These are those that love knowing there are boundless opportunities out there just ready to be grabbed.

A great salesperson knows that the only limits are in your mind and there will always be a fresh chance tomorrow to get closer to your goals.

You build great relationships

Another awesome benefit of being in a sales job is that you get to build lots of positive relationships.

Whether these comes from single conversations or through longer term networking with other people in the industry, these relationships can be hugely beneficial.

Every story we listen to, or insight we gain, or with each piece of shared information we cement that sense of comradery.

You get great at problem solving

Problem solving and overcoming obstacles becomes second nature in sales because you’ll always be confronted with reasons for someone not to buy!

What sales teaches us is how to be confident in delivering solutions, as well as working under pressure.

It’s rewarding in more ways than one

With time sales provides us with skills we don’t even realise we had – from resilience to humbleness and from confidence to transparency. Sales gives amazing rewards well beyond just money.

The sense of reward and satisfaction that comes from being able to sell is huge. Sales is about people connecting to people, which is more than you can ever get with another type of job.

Sales job description

When we look at the definition of what it is to sell it’s to

“give or hand over (something) in exchange for money.”

It sounds easy when you put it like that. But selling, or rather the desire to buy, can be divided into two clear camps;

Because a person wants something
Because a person needs something

In retrospect, both of these options are the ‘easier‘ type of sale because you’re catering for someone when they already have a purpose in mind.

In ‘normal’ sales, you’re working out the pain point of the person so you’re able to offer a solution.

Typical sales jobs

Real estate agent

Selling houses, knowing your marketplace, developing marketing plans for listings, negotiating offers and managing appointments and client expectations

Sales engineer

Selling technological solutions and products to businesses. Promoting new software, tools or machinery as better than competitors and a way to improve business operations

Advertising sales agent

Selling advertising space for any number of industries on television, the internet and on radio

Financial services sales executive

Selling financial products to businesses with the objective of making more money and handling accounts fluidly and accurately.

Insurance broker

Selling insurance to customers to cover life, home, medical and travel.

Consumer goods sales representative

Selling consumer goods to retailers and grocery businesses. Being the go-between for smaller businesses and larger corporations

Retail sales

Selling goods in shops and other venues specific to consumers. This might include travel, cars, perfumes, fashion, tech or anything else that consumers shop for on a daily basis.

But what happens when a person neither needs or wants the thing you’re offering?

Well.. That’s when selling gets really tough! Persuading someone to do something they neither need or want basically means all you’ve got left to offer them is a feeling.

Enter the face to face charity fundraiser

This is perhaps when we can define sales as a tough career choice!

So what can you do when you’ve only got feelings for sale?

All charity fundraising is all about working with emotion over logic.

The donor must feel something in order to want to give and it’s the fundraisers job to evoke that emotion; without guilt tripping and without over emphasising suffering and misery (After all, nobody goes to the shops wanting to be made to feel sad!)

Read about using emotion in charity fundraising

As you can imagine, approaching and telling complete strangers about a cause and then asking them to support that cause by donating money is no mean feat.

And then try doing it in under 5 minutes.

And then try doing it over 80 times a day.

And then smile about it!

The professional fundraiser is trying to solicit donations in the form of a small monthly amount, paid by direct debit every single month.

As well as regular giving, lottery campaigns are another option for donors, where in exchange for monthly donations, they’re entered into a monthly draw.

Professional face to face fundraising still involves all the skills a typical sales job needs, except there are a few additions to factor in.

Like any potential customer, it’s important to work out their motivation. In the case of donating to charity, it’s about working out what motivates a person to give.

While some people give because they can personally relate to a cause, others feel a sense of moral duty. Others might give because they trust the charity will do a good job with their money. Others just give because it feels good!

Learn more about the reasons people give to charity

Experienced F2F fundraisers listen hard and pick up on signals given to them about what matters to the donor. This is what governs the next part of their pitch. Whatever their motivation, it’s the fundraisers role to gage how best to navigate for the best result; a regular, loyal and committed donor for their charitable cause.

So if you’re in sales, you might be thinking that charity fundraising sounds like a challenge. That’s no lie! So why do people do it?

The fact is charity fundraising gives you something that no other sales job can. The knowledge and pride that by doing your job you’re making a real difference to those in need. And that’s priceless.

Why fundraising is the best sales job of all : Fundraising vs regular sales

Let’s recap on how charity fundraising is still a sales job but not quite like the regular sales job.

- Has a product or service
- Can negotiate deals and special offers
- Can identify a pain point in order to offer a solution
- Can use any number of techniques and ‘sales patter’ to close the sale
- Enjoys more money when targets are met or exceeded
- Isn’t selling anything except for a feeling
- Has no deals but may have a couple of options available to the donor
- Can only highlight the need of the charity beneficiaries as their pain point
- Must stay strictly within the code of fundraising practice to avoid non-compliance
- Enjoys more money when targets are met or exceeded
- Enjoys a feeling of having made a difference to charities and our society as a whole

Who we look for at Charity Link

Charity Link is the UKs largest fundraising agency working with some of the best loved charities.

We’re always on the look out for new talent to join our team and are particularly interested in anyone that has a sales background.

What we’ve learned from our in house recruitment team is that although previous sales experience isn’t vital – it really does come in handy!

Most of our top line fundraisers have had sales jobs before and are comfortable with hitting targets, generating leads and initiating conversation.

What many sales people don’t realise is that fundraising can be a lucrative career choice with plenty of opportunity to earn a great wage!

What’s especially great about working for Charity Link is that all our fundraisers are employed on a permanent contract, which means they enjoy all the benefits that come with that.

These benefits include a healthcare plan, shopping discounts, regular incentives and flexible holiday.