The Atypical Salesman

Pretty much every one of us has an idea of what the typical or traditional salesperson looks like. Usually it is a man in a suit. More often than not he is pushy, annoying, and many other negative qualities. Hardly anybody has a good view of a traditional salesman. But, as Daniel Pink points out in “To Sell is Human,” most of the sales world is not the traditional salesman anymore. Rather the world of sales is everyone, moving, influencing, and selling. There are many salesman still in a traditional sales position, however, there are many people who find themselves selling in addition to other position responsibilities. Most people do not think of themselves as sales people at all, however, in reality, most people are more of a salesperson than not. I have had personal experiences with selling in a position that is definitely not your traditional sales.

Over the past summer I was a Truck Team Member for 1-800-Got-Junk? in Pittsburgh. The company does mostly residential jobs, however, commercial jobs occur as well. Most customers use the service to take away furniture they don’t know what to do with. At Got-Junk everybody was meant to be a part of the sales process. The entire service is based on giving the best customer service possible and to be professional as possible in an industry where you would not expect it. We weren’t supposed to show up, throw some stuff in the truck, and leave. We were paid to chat with the customer, show great care and respect while moving stuff through their home, and most importantly, we were the ones who explained our pricing and needed to close the sale. Most people assume our job is mostly regarding the manual labor portion. However, the most important part, and what we are trained most in, is how to sell to a customer and provide great customer service. 1-800-Got-Junk?’s main salesmen are not traditional men in suits making 6 figure salaries. They are the laborers that are out on jobs day after day.