Need to blow off some steam

organ

Well, I've been very busy and didn't have much time to visit the forum in the past few weeks. And now I'm back to blow off some steam.

This is a post about getting into sales in Audio shops.

I've been handing out resumes in many audio shops. Low end, mid level and high end. Selling audio equipments is a dream job for me but there's one problem. As good as my resume is, I have no previous experience in sales.

I'd start by walking into the store and take a look around to see what kind of gear they sell. After a few minutes, I'd ask one of the employees if I could drop off my resume. And of course, they gladly accept it and thank me. Then I'd ask "is there any position available right now?". I get the same response everytime I ask this question now matter which store I'm in, which is "Oh, we're always looking for people". I feel like I'm having a conversation with an answering machine. So that's the answer you'll hear from just about every store.

Some stores asked me if I have prevous sales experience. I reply by saying no, but I know a lot about electronics/home theater equipments and I want to get experience in sales.

My resume clearly states that I have excellent knowledge of electronics/ht equipments but is missing that final ingredient....sales experience! Everyone have to start somewhere right? Are these people too lazy to train new employees?

From what I see around these electronic stores is that the "passion" for audio and great sound is completely lost! Equipments aren't set up right for a good demo and the sales people don't know **** about audio and what they're selling. It's embarassing when a customer knows A LOT more about audio than the person trying to sell them. Of course, I'm not talking about all audio shops but the majority of them. I mean, I could've embarassed the sales guy who sold me my Klipsch when it comes to audio knowledge, and this is in a mid-high end shop.

From what I see, these stores would rather hire a guy who used to sell microwaves and don't know jack about audio than someone who is passionate about audio but have no previous sales experience. So sad.

So this is the end of my rant. Thanks for reading. If you have any tips on getting in, please let me know.

Maurice

dorokusai

Maurice - They are probably just afraid of someone with actual knowledge being an employee.

Chin up man, don't sweat the small stuff, it always works out in the end.

shack

Go get some sales experience elsewhere...a bigbox like, CC or BB or ANY retail sales job then go back. Sales experience first. They are not in the business of giving out audio knowledge...they are in the business of SELLING audio gear. Just because you know about the gear does not mean you can sell it. Prove you have sales skills...then the audio knowledge may be the deciding factor between you and the next guy.

dragon1952

Maurice....I know you've sold audio equipment before and you've bought it also. That gives you experience in audio sales if I'm not mistaken! You wouldn't actually be LYING
Make up some place you've worked before like Polk's Audio Barn in San Diego. You can give them my address....I'll cover for ya

janmike

Maurice,
If you want to sell, start by selling yourself. Don't **** around with the employees. Ask to speak to the Manager, the Owner or who ever makes the decisions. The employee you hand the resume to may read it, feel threatened with your experience, and fire it in the deep 6. Use your audio knowledge as a credentialing tool to land the job. Show the decision maker how your audio knowledge, your customer service skills and your team approach can help improve the business. Sale people are a dime a dozen. If you have narrowed down your search to a few high-end shops that you would like to work for, be persistent. If you end up meeting the decision maker, drop off your resume and schedule an appointment to go back and meet this person a second time to discuss your resume and any opportunities within the business. Managers are busy and they do not always have the time to stop and interview someone impulsively. That way he/she begins to recognize your face and indicates that you are hungry and are respectful for his time. This is what sales people do. How bad do you want the job? Do you have any free time that, when asked appropriately, could land yourself a few hours in the shop of your choice. I have known people that said to the owner, "Try me for a week, a day, or an hour. I don't want paid, I just want to prove to you have what it takes to be part of your team and help you drive your business." If there is no response from the boss after this period of time, move on to the next. Persistence is the key to success.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "Procrastination is the Assassination of Motivation." Good Luck!

My .03 worth.

RuSsMaN

Go straight to the Manager as stated, or find out where the corporate office is, and walk RIGHT into HR and start shaking hands.

You have experience selling, you just don't realize it. You have horsetraded audio gear here with guys for what, 3 years?

I haven't met you face to face, and I'm not making any judgements, but don't show up in your AC/DC Tee, torn blue jeans, Chuck Taylors etc, with rock star hair and a bunch of metal objects lodged in your face.

Cheers,
Russ

Early B.

I have known people that said to the owner, "Try me for a week, a day, or an hour. I don't want paid, I just want to prove to you have what it takes to be part of your team and help you drive your business."

This is the most important thing you can do.

Ask yourself, "What does a manager want?" They want someone who is reliable and can make them look good (translation: consistently generate lots of sales). Talk about how you would approach a customer, identify their needs, and not merely make a sell, but create a long-term customer.

Lastly, don't ever tell anyone you don't have sales experience. That's probably not true. Look at every job you've ever had and I bet you there's a sales component in most of them, especially if these jobs dealt with customers at all, even if those "customers" were company employees.

Early B.

If you need to blow off some more steam, check out the babe thread...:p

RuSsMaN

Originally posted by Early B.
Lastly, don't ever tell anyone you don't have sales experience. That's probably not true. Look at every job you've ever had and I bet you there's a sales component in most of them.....

Ed Zachry.

The words SALES and MARKETING could, and should, be in most resumes. Spin baby, spin.

Cheers,
Rooster

PolkThug

I applied to work at Circuit City online, and they hired me the next day.

I think a resume would be too fancy for them.

Toxis

My employer seems to love to hire newbies with no sales experience... along with no electronics experience. I have had to train people HOW to sell on top of the industry (audio AND video). Talk about one hell of a feat.......when I'm only given a week with each newb. Oh well... good luck!

BTW, we don't have any locations in Canada otherwise I'd refer ya.

danger boy

Originally posted by Early B.
If you need to blow off some more steam, check out the babe thread...:p

Waaaaaaaaaa!

good one.

ntculenuff

what janmike said

this is pretty much how i got into the place i work at.dropped off 3 or 4 resumes filled out 3 apps. just frequented the place as a customer and was persistant. after a while you get to know certain sales people and finaly one guy for me was like your trying to get a job here and took my stuff and gave it straight to the manager and i got a call the next daytook about 6 month but it was worth it. this was done with no "sales experience" just sold my self to the right guys

steveinaz

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
Ed Zachry.

The words SALES and MARKETING could, and should, be in most resumes. Spin baby, spin.

Cheers,
Rooster

+1, absolutely. If you've ever sold anything on the flea market, you've got sales experience.

List something in your summary about your "people skills" and ability to communicate well....

shack

I hope all of you guys that are suggesting that he "exaggerate" or even outright fabricate sales experience are kidding...because if you aren't...you are doing him a disservice. Any employer worth working for will check the references. I know that any time I see an application or resume with unverifiable or obviously false info it gets canned immediately. The old "once I get in the door and they see how good I am even though I lied they will keep me" logic doesn't help a career... It really doesn’t get viewed as initiative. As some have suggested, make sure you are talking to the right person (managers - not other sales people), be persistent, sell them on what you CAN do and what your skills ARE, offer a short term trial (not for free but maybe on a commission only basis) where they can tell you to walk at any time…just be honest. Take it or leave it for what it's worth from someone who hires people.

steveinaz

Well, unfortunately hiring managers are not always in touch with what is really important to the position. If they were, he'd be hired already, right?

I agree, you do not lie about your skills/abilities, but you "embellish" if necessary and use key words that may spark interest in the potential employer. Relate similar skills to what they are looking for when you don't have "direct" experience. The key is the proper wording, so it doesn't come off as a cheesy attempt to over-qualify yourself.

I've been on selection boards for Government positions, and you can spot a phony a mile away, but many people are able to relate similar experience effectively when written well.

The key is to score the job, then prove your worth; at least in my opinion.

An example:

Relate your audio knowledge to the fact that an informed customer is a comfortable customer; and comfortable customers buy things. You get the idea....you share your knowledge with the customer where they feel comfortable with the purchase. They don't feel like they're buying something they know nothing about. Your general audio knowledge gets them into the "comfort zone" of possibly buying the item.

PolkThug

Organ, you can put on your resume that your audio system is featured on the Polk Audio web site (system showcase). Its not a lie and you will be suprised at how many people this will amaze (even though you are the one that uploaded it here )

Willow

Don't they say the employer knows if they will hire you with in the first 10 secs? even before they see your resume. Learn about that particular store and their products

Early B.

I hope all of you guys that are suggesting that he "exaggerate" or even outright fabricate sales experience are kidding...because if you aren't...you are doing him a disservice.

Organ mentioned that he did not have sales experience, and we are merely pointing out to him that he has a vast amount of sales experience that he may not even recognize. No one told him to fabricate his resume by putting jobs on there he never had. No one told him to lie. That would be foolish and unnecessary.

I hire people all the time, too, and if someone showed half the initiative that I believe Organ is gonna do after he consumes all of this great advice he's gotten on this thread, I'd hire him in a heartbeat.


BTW -- Yo Thug -- I love the system showcase idea. Nice touch.

danger boy

really, how much if any sales experience do most of the sales people on the floor at say.. BB or CC have? To me... it appears that some of them this is probably their first sales job. Some are more passionate about audio/video/music than others of course.

To me it appears that a good number of the sales people in the above mentioned stores have on the job training. I think Maurice would be miles ahead of most of the other sales people if given the chance.

good luck. it'll happen for you guy.

NCrewson

Keep going... When I got my first sales job I didn't know S*&T about selling. I had to start in the big box store also. When I decided to switch jobs and industries I faxed out about 140 resumes AND cover letters. A good or great cover letter will make all the difference. If you are able to articulate how you will benefit the company, show that you are aggressive/confident and stand out from the crowd. Also, please don't be afraid to discuss earning potential at a store, Managers like people who have high, but realistic, goals as far as income goes. Think of it this way.. if you only need $1500 a month, and I need $3000 a month. If we're equally (un)qualified as far as experience goes and both show enthusiasm for the job, most managers will hire me because I need the money more and therefore "have to work harder". I know it's not fair but that is unfortunately reality. A realistic goal in BB or FS in canada by the way is in the $40 - 60K range. Realize you won't make that much every month, and definetly less at the start, but the money is there for those who know their product, have good customer service skills, and can convince customers to buy. This means sometimes selling stuff you would never buy because that's what the customer wants. But it also means a lot of chances to introduce people to quality gear that they would have never see/bought otherwise. Good luck and keep trying.



P.S. 140 resumes and 2 job offers. That's almost 1.5% success rate OR it's one more job offre than I needed.

Willow

Hey bud you say 40-60K thats good considering the business. Thats for a regular sales staff?

NCrewson

Willow,

$40-60K would be a "Good" sales preson. I know some who making more, and lots who are making less. I would say company average for home theatre sales at FS when I was a manger would be around $30 - 40 for anyone with more than 1 year experience. My best sales guy would make about $5K pe month and from 7-11 during Christmas. But he moved alot of product, was fairly knowledgeable, and always tried to sell the whole package, not just the TV or the receiver, but the whole HT system.

organ

Thanks you so much for the help guys. I learned a lot from each one of your replies.

I'm running out of smaller shops here so it's time to start looking at Future Shop (Canada's equivalent to CC) and Best Buy. I think it's best that I get at least a few years sales experience from the big chain stores before I start looking at the smaller high end shops. I'm going to keep checking their website for a sales position to come up. I've done the 'online interview' at Future Shops website several times for 'sales associate' but haven't received a call. The position was available in the menu but they weren't looking for any new people at the time I applied. If anyone is working for Future Shop, do you know around which months they usually start taking new people?

Maurice

NCrewson

Unfortunately FS does most of their hiring from Sept. - Nov. but they are usually looking for some people this time of year as they are finding out that some of the staff they kept after Christmas isn't as good as they hoped. Unless things have changed significantly since I left, the online applications are not that effective as very few managers even look there when they're hiring. Go speak to the department sales manager at the store and explain what your looking for. Make sure to tell him that though you have good PK you are looking to learn how to sell. And don't forget to mention your desire to make a good living. As I mentioned before, they like those who are money motivated.

organ

NCrewson,
Thank you so much for the help. I went down to FS before work yesterday with my resume. I walked in and talked to the sales manager. I first told him that I've been trying to apply online but there haven't been any postings since Sept 2004 and asked if I could leave my resume with him. He told me that they're full right now and took the resume and began to read over it. I told him that I have no sales experience but it's something I really want to get into and that I know a lot about electronics.

Then I told him that my system is featured on Polk's system showcase (Thanks for the tip, PolkThug) and BAM, next thing you know, we're talking about Polk Audio for the next 25 minutes! He's a big fan of Polk also but doesn't visit Club Polk. Just subscribes to the newsletter and checks out new models. He also helped a friend set up a pair of LSi25. I was explaining to him about vacuum tubes and seperates and talking about how power hungry the LSi are. He showed me the new RTi8's and told me that he's planning on getting them. I had a blast. I told him to join the forum not only for the discussions but also great deals on gear from other members. Hope he'll join us. He was a great guy and loves audio and Polk speakers.

When we were done talking he shook my hand and told me that he was very impressed with my audio knowledge and coming in to drop off my resume. He told me that he'll give me a call when a sales position comes up. Told me he won't forget because he's also a big Polk fan. Hope I get to work there in the future.

Again, thanks for the help NC.

Maurice

janmike

Nice work Maurice. Make sure you go back to this store if this is a place you would like to work. Remember that Polk Canada is located in Brampton, Ontario (my home town). The managers name is Walter Moser. Networking lands more people more jobs than any other method.

Early B.

Cool, organ. Next step is to send him a letter or email ASAP about how you enjoyed meeting him, reiterating your knowledge of audio and your desire to work there. Maybe even include the link to the Polk Forum (unless you don't want him to run across this thread). :eek: And, as janmike mentioned, go back to the store (at least weekly) and hang out in the audio section until you get the job.