Guest Speaker Erin Sweet

This past Friday, Professor Sweet’s daughter Erin came to talk to our class. She explained her job at Uline and gave us some helpful advice to those of us who are planning to have a career in sales.

Erin explained how she works at a large company (Uline). She emphasized how important it is to know the company and its products to sell; and in the chance you don’t know what the client is talking about, you need to be smart about it and figure out what their needs are. She explained when you have a sales call, there are four important things a salesperson need to do: (1) ask how their experience has been, (2) contact map, (3) learn about their purchasing process, and (4) ask operational questions. Erin also explained that it is important to make the customer feel like they are the only person in the room, without sucking up to them. Clients want to feel like they can trust you and like the salesperson is not trying to manipulate them. It is important that you can figure out the client’s needs and empathize with them. Erin then explained how there are four categories of clients’ “buying personalities.” The first one is the Driver, which is the person who is the hardest to sell to because they are in a hurry and don’t have the time to sit down for a full pitch. They take control of the situation. The second one is the Harmonizer, which is a nice, relational buyer who takes their time and tells you everything they are looking for. The third is the Social Influencer, who is in a hurry, but is outgoing and social. They usually have a lot of connections and if they can’t buy from you themselves, they have a lot of connections to people who will buy. The fourth category is the Analytical buyer, who is very price-conscious and always wants a better deal. Erin concluded her talk by emphasizing that as a salesperson, it is very important to be responsive and attentive to the buyer because that is how they know that you care about their needs and them as a person.

Overall, Erin’s talk was very motivating to me. It was nice to hear from someone who is already successful and has been out of college for less than two years. And, it was great to get advice from someone who has been in our shoes and has had the same concerns about graduating and getting a job.