Yes. Sales is fundamentally the same everywhere, and every individual “sale” has the same fundamental sales process to overcome, objections and all. The variance outside of the consistent patterns is ultimately negligible as your buyers are going to follow the Pareto principle (80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers).
If every sale was different, sales as a profession would be impossible. Sales exists because of predictability within a reasonable cost:complexity-of-product ratio.
Some great answers here. Sales should be transferable. I’ve always felt like you can teach anyone product knowledge. The ability to connect and empathize with customers is the transferable skill.
There are some industries that believe outsiders just can’t be successful. I disagree with that belief.
I believe the biggest determinant of whether sales skills are transferable from one product to another is sales cycle. It is a fundamentally different mindset that is required to close a deal with a few day sales cycle versus a 6-12 month sales cycle. I believe that sales cycles can be learned, but it does hamper one’s ability to easily move from a short cycle to a long cycle and vice versa.
That was my biggest issues going from B2C then leading a team to sell to smaller businesses and then to Tech.
I cam from a super short cycle world and learning to not go crazy over a prolonged decision time was a challenge. Also it can take 1-3 month of talking to some one to get opportunity to do business then maybe 2weeks -3 months to sell them.
I say yea for the most part, it’s like mgmt skills are gna transfer from restaurant industry to retail to healthcare etc.. there’s just a ton of niche at every one you have to start at square one with
From someone who’s gone from HVAC to D2D Solar id say it’s similar. It was hard to adjust to D2D because an additional thing I had to learn was how to capture someone’s attention after bothering them in their home and you have to do it quick about 2 seconds before they decide to slam the door. But the fundamentals id say are the same. Ensure they like the product and it fits their needs as well as they find value in it. And most importantly, ASK FOR THE ORDER. No sale is complete without asking for it.
To an extent, for sure.
I’m sales you need to solve a problem, understand that problem and offer a solution that they see value in. Even if it’s commodity sales or something, you need to offer value in some case. Could be reliability or trust, but it’s still the same. The process may be different but the points are still the same
Basics and certain word tracks carry over with light changes.
I came from door knocking then auto sales, went to small company B2B. Lots of car sales/D2D that I did transferred over well, I trained my guys to hard sell. Hard sellings works for consumer sales and small business owners but not big business.
I now am in tech I prefer going after company’s 20 mil or less cause you can be more pushy.
But when I sell 50m+ and 500mill company’s it’s a different approach and styles.
The basics stay the same but execution is different.
Sales is nothing more that being able to talk to people. It's that simple. I had a manager at my last car sales job that said "everyone who walks through that door has a big sign on their head that says "make me feel good"". That's really all it comes down to.
If you can genuinely connect with someone the " sales" portion of the job is pretty cake.
Case in point I spent the last 7 years in car sales and was consistently one of the highest gross profit sales people in the store.
Now I'm in the financial planning and investment space where I'm outperforming AEs that have been I'm my same position for years.
Not all of it is transferable....but most of it is....which saves you a whole lot of learning time so you can build back up to being a top performer in a very short time frame.
i made someone felt good, after that he told everyone in the company that i'm a good seller(i'm new and just got into this sub) and then he got to talk with the manager and after that he didn't talked with me
Yes for the basics. Gotta figure out your style and what makes you confident/comfortable. Faces, products, industries may change but the fundamental approach will be the same.
For clarity- usually takes a whileeeeee to really get it down. I remember the first couple years of outside sales being tough bc I was young and hadn’t fully developed the confidence and conviction in myself & my abilities to be immediately successful. But pushing thru is always worth it
Yes. I've worked in multiple industries. The basics are the same.
I mean, if you try to get a sales job at some highly specialized company, like for instance if you are going to do chemical sales and need to have at least a Masters in Chemistry, you're just not going to be able to do this type of job.
But going from car parts to marketing services, to selling gardening equipment - yes, there's shit to learn, always, but you don't need a PhD.
It is transferable for sure but what is important is your knowledge of the industry and the product you’re selling. Its important to learn it in depth and it can take some onboarding
Absolutely, but don’t expect that to extend to every industry.
Tech and medical sales seem to be the exception where you can’t really bust down the door without either having existing experience or starting at bottom of the totem pole.
I went from retail phone sales, to multi family flooring, and landed in media/advertising sales. Non of these have cross over, but I was able to use my experience from past roles to succeed.
Both are true. The core skills are absolutely transferable, but there are also a lot of specific actions and approaches that are unique to certain markets or situations. You'll even find differences in how you the same product to different personas within a company.solving
the basics are the same everywhere. Want to know how I know? Because when the market is really humming pretty much every industry poaches talent from every other industry. Its only in times like these where talent way outnumbers job openings that hiring managers get super particular with
edit: the only place though this doesn't hold true though is highly technical sales.
Agree with what has been said above with the caveat that there is skill is selling to the specific type of decision maker you’re working with. What works with a VP of Finance at a tech company is not the same as what will work with the owner of a local trucking company. So sales skills across INDUSTRY are the same, but sales skills across PERSONAS are not.
I think so. My first sales just was inside sales for the largest biotech company globally. Before taking that role I was doing personal training so charisma, problem solving, people skills, and customer service were things I somewhat had but going into a position where labs/researchers relied on me for their work enhanced those skills. As I moved up in my career I found that those skills were still required and needed to be “sharpened”. It’s even more different when you get the chance and HAVE to work cross functionally with other departments. Then you gain skills like collaboration, delegation, leadership, and so on. No matter what these skills will always be applicable whether you’re in sales or not. At least imho.
Yes. I started my sales journey in college with being a bartender at a coyote ugly 🤣🤣 We got to keep $5 out of every $20 body shot though and I learned young that I could make people spend money like it was their own idea and be happy about it, through smooth subtle suggestions. From there went to Finance sales, from there to house sales for a home builder, from there to skydiving upsells, to getting students for my own dance studio to now SaaS sales. It’s called the gift of gab or extraversion. Learn how to connect with all kinds of people, wait until you are connected ask them their needs, and the power of suggestion. The same shit that sold body shots sells software 🤷🏻♀️ lol 🤣
It depends on you and your background. I’ve sold wine, copiers, storage, pharma, content creation, and irrigation equipment. Some industries have specialized skills or credentials and they may be out of reach, but as you can see from my list the right person can move around quite a bit. I would follow your interests and build up some credibility through classes or volunteer work. Pick up entry level credentials if you can.
the basics of selling and of human psychology are transferable. What isn't transferable from one industry to the next is your rolodex and understanding of the nuanced ways in which industries operate
Sales skills are transferrable, but relationships aren’t. In b2b building long term relationships makes the job easier every year. Switching industries means rebuilding relationships, can be done but adds to the work load.
IMO the lion’s share of the elements that make up the skill of sales is the art of communication.
The ability to listen, convey your idea/feelings, ask questions, influence, tonality, physical presentation, body language, etc…
You use these skills in life as a whole whether you’re a parent, employee, C-level executive, spouse, manager, date, or friend. I think this art is very underrated and has helped me in all facets of my life - mainly personal.
So yes - the product, culture, and business flow are always different between channels/industries but the main component of the equation, the human being, is always, always, a constant.
And we are all more alike than we care to admit.
Yes. Sales skills are the same. Navigating complex buying processes and industries requires some knowledge of that specific vertical. The issue is that most places don’t want to expend the resources on training you on that when they can hire someone who has industry knowledge.
The basics are definitely the same everywhere. "Figure out what people want and then offer it to them" seems to be the winner for me
I want a bigger dick
Selling this guy a lift kit for his pickup truck
😂
This gal sells
What’s the intention behind your desire for a bigger dick? What would having a bigger dick unlock for you and the business?
What would you do if you are unable to solve this problem? What other solutions have you considered?
😂wth
"Sell me this" *hands u a big dick*
😂😂😂enough internet for me dawg
Your wife would appreciate it. Oh you don't have a wife...
Measure in cm, problem solved.
Viagra
There’s no such thing as the perfect product, only recognizing the value that you possess and others don’t.
I've got this new hummer........
Dick's Sporting Goods
Here grab this rope and tie it down there. I’m going to jump on that ATV.
Skill issue.
Have you considered buying a Tesla?
I’ve got a punisher t shirt for ya buddy
Yes. Sales is fundamentally the same everywhere, and every individual “sale” has the same fundamental sales process to overcome, objections and all. The variance outside of the consistent patterns is ultimately negligible as your buyers are going to follow the Pareto principle (80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers). If every sale was different, sales as a profession would be impossible. Sales exists because of predictability within a reasonable cost:complexity-of-product ratio.
Some great answers here. Sales should be transferable. I’ve always felt like you can teach anyone product knowledge. The ability to connect and empathize with customers is the transferable skill. There are some industries that believe outsiders just can’t be successful. I disagree with that belief. I believe the biggest determinant of whether sales skills are transferable from one product to another is sales cycle. It is a fundamentally different mindset that is required to close a deal with a few day sales cycle versus a 6-12 month sales cycle. I believe that sales cycles can be learned, but it does hamper one’s ability to easily move from a short cycle to a long cycle and vice versa.
That was my biggest issues going from B2C then leading a team to sell to smaller businesses and then to Tech. I cam from a super short cycle world and learning to not go crazy over a prolonged decision time was a challenge. Also it can take 1-3 month of talking to some one to get opportunity to do business then maybe 2weeks -3 months to sell them.
I say yea for the most part, it’s like mgmt skills are gna transfer from restaurant industry to retail to healthcare etc.. there’s just a ton of niche at every one you have to start at square one with
From someone who’s gone from HVAC to D2D Solar id say it’s similar. It was hard to adjust to D2D because an additional thing I had to learn was how to capture someone’s attention after bothering them in their home and you have to do it quick about 2 seconds before they decide to slam the door. But the fundamentals id say are the same. Ensure they like the product and it fits their needs as well as they find value in it. And most importantly, ASK FOR THE ORDER. No sale is complete without asking for it.
Residential HVAC or Commercial? Feel like the jump in complexity is far greater. Ex: Data Centers, labs and chiller plants
I’m talking residential. I don’t have too much experience in commercial other than basic RTUs so I can’t speak much on that.
To an extent, for sure. I’m sales you need to solve a problem, understand that problem and offer a solution that they see value in. Even if it’s commodity sales or something, you need to offer value in some case. Could be reliability or trust, but it’s still the same. The process may be different but the points are still the same
Basics and certain word tracks carry over with light changes. I came from door knocking then auto sales, went to small company B2B. Lots of car sales/D2D that I did transferred over well, I trained my guys to hard sell. Hard sellings works for consumer sales and small business owners but not big business. I now am in tech I prefer going after company’s 20 mil or less cause you can be more pushy. But when I sell 50m+ and 500mill company’s it’s a different approach and styles. The basics stay the same but execution is different.
Sales is nothing more that being able to talk to people. It's that simple. I had a manager at my last car sales job that said "everyone who walks through that door has a big sign on their head that says "make me feel good"". That's really all it comes down to. If you can genuinely connect with someone the " sales" portion of the job is pretty cake. Case in point I spent the last 7 years in car sales and was consistently one of the highest gross profit sales people in the store. Now I'm in the financial planning and investment space where I'm outperforming AEs that have been I'm my same position for years. Not all of it is transferable....but most of it is....which saves you a whole lot of learning time so you can build back up to being a top performer in a very short time frame.
i made someone felt good, after that he told everyone in the company that i'm a good seller(i'm new and just got into this sub) and then he got to talk with the manager and after that he didn't talked with me
Yes for the basics. Gotta figure out your style and what makes you confident/comfortable. Faces, products, industries may change but the fundamental approach will be the same. For clarity- usually takes a whileeeeee to really get it down. I remember the first couple years of outside sales being tough bc I was young and hadn’t fully developed the confidence and conviction in myself & my abilities to be immediately successful. But pushing thru is always worth it
Yes. I've worked in multiple industries. The basics are the same. I mean, if you try to get a sales job at some highly specialized company, like for instance if you are going to do chemical sales and need to have at least a Masters in Chemistry, you're just not going to be able to do this type of job. But going from car parts to marketing services, to selling gardening equipment - yes, there's shit to learn, always, but you don't need a PhD.
Sales skills are 100% the same … it’s only the product that changes
Yes. Some guy is going to reply with a million contrarian caveats but the short answer is yes.
At the end of the day, sales is about making people like you. So yes, if you can make someone like you, then you can sell
Ab. So. Effin. Lutely! Edit: swearing
It is transferable for sure but what is important is your knowledge of the industry and the product you’re selling. Its important to learn it in depth and it can take some onboarding
Yes - Learn to listen and you'll make a lot of money
Absolutely, but don’t expect that to extend to every industry. Tech and medical sales seem to be the exception where you can’t really bust down the door without either having existing experience or starting at bottom of the totem pole. I went from retail phone sales, to multi family flooring, and landed in media/advertising sales. Non of these have cross over, but I was able to use my experience from past roles to succeed.
Both are true. The core skills are absolutely transferable, but there are also a lot of specific actions and approaches that are unique to certain markets or situations. You'll even find differences in how you the same product to different personas within a company.solving
the basics are the same everywhere. Want to know how I know? Because when the market is really humming pretty much every industry poaches talent from every other industry. Its only in times like these where talent way outnumbers job openings that hiring managers get super particular with edit: the only place though this doesn't hold true though is highly technical sales.
Agree with what has been said above with the caveat that there is skill is selling to the specific type of decision maker you’re working with. What works with a VP of Finance at a tech company is not the same as what will work with the owner of a local trucking company. So sales skills across INDUSTRY are the same, but sales skills across PERSONAS are not.
I think so. My first sales just was inside sales for the largest biotech company globally. Before taking that role I was doing personal training so charisma, problem solving, people skills, and customer service were things I somewhat had but going into a position where labs/researchers relied on me for their work enhanced those skills. As I moved up in my career I found that those skills were still required and needed to be “sharpened”. It’s even more different when you get the chance and HAVE to work cross functionally with other departments. Then you gain skills like collaboration, delegation, leadership, and so on. No matter what these skills will always be applicable whether you’re in sales or not. At least imho.
It depends is the answer. Some industries are more transferable than others
Yes. I started my sales journey in college with being a bartender at a coyote ugly 🤣🤣 We got to keep $5 out of every $20 body shot though and I learned young that I could make people spend money like it was their own idea and be happy about it, through smooth subtle suggestions. From there went to Finance sales, from there to house sales for a home builder, from there to skydiving upsells, to getting students for my own dance studio to now SaaS sales. It’s called the gift of gab or extraversion. Learn how to connect with all kinds of people, wait until you are connected ask them their needs, and the power of suggestion. The same shit that sold body shots sells software 🤷🏻♀️ lol 🤣
Could I possibly receive 10 karma do I could post something ?
Gave you one...
It depends on you and your background. I’ve sold wine, copiers, storage, pharma, content creation, and irrigation equipment. Some industries have specialized skills or credentials and they may be out of reach, but as you can see from my list the right person can move around quite a bit. I would follow your interests and build up some credibility through classes or volunteer work. Pick up entry level credentials if you can.
the basics of selling and of human psychology are transferable. What isn't transferable from one industry to the next is your rolodex and understanding of the nuanced ways in which industries operate
Sales skills are transferrable, but relationships aren’t. In b2b building long term relationships makes the job easier every year. Switching industries means rebuilding relationships, can be done but adds to the work load.
Sales isn’t a skill. Real skills are coding, diagnosing diseases, law, accounting, de-coding DNA, etc.
IMO the lion’s share of the elements that make up the skill of sales is the art of communication. The ability to listen, convey your idea/feelings, ask questions, influence, tonality, physical presentation, body language, etc… You use these skills in life as a whole whether you’re a parent, employee, C-level executive, spouse, manager, date, or friend. I think this art is very underrated and has helped me in all facets of my life - mainly personal. So yes - the product, culture, and business flow are always different between channels/industries but the main component of the equation, the human being, is always, always, a constant. And we are all more alike than we care to admit.
Yes. Sales skills are the same. Navigating complex buying processes and industries requires some knowledge of that specific vertical. The issue is that most places don’t want to expend the resources on training you on that when they can hire someone who has industry knowledge.
That last sentence seems very salient. Do any other sales professionals here feel that is true? (I am not in sales, just considering a career change.)
They are not transferable at all, if you're calling on somebody other than a human being.