This document discusses how sales techniques can be applied to job searching. It outlines that successful salespeople are able to bounce back from rejection by listening, understanding customer needs, offering solutions, and maintaining a positive outlook. These same skills are important for job seekers - knowing your own strengths and value, preparing thoroughly, following up on applications, and viewing rejections as opportunities to improve. The document recommends job seekers treat their job search like sales and have multiple options in progress.

1. CAREER
SALESMANSHIP
How to apply sales techniques to the
job search
Bob Podgorski
R.P.P. Enterprises

2. Career Salesmanship
 “The one thing I’ve always admired about
salesmen is their ability to bounce back from
adversity, reluctance and rejection!”
Lee Iacocca
An Uncanny Ability To:
 Regroup
 Rethink
 Reconnect
 Re-approach
 Recover
 Re-present ….. In an Instant!

3. Career Salesmanship
In other words -
To turn adversity into opportunity –
“To turn lemons…
into lemonade !”

4. Career Salesmanship
 How do they do this ?
 Hard Selling…?
 Being Pushy…?
 Ignoring rejection…?
 Back-dooring the Customer…?
 Offering unethical incentives…?
 Pleading/begging…?

5. Career Salesmanship
 They do it by…
Listening !!!!
Then…..

6. Once they fully understand
the need
 Repeat - connecting on the same level
 Ask key questions to clarify
 Then offer further connections showing deeper
understanding
 Followed by a real solution / value proposition
It is no different for an employment candidate

7. As a candidate
 Requires you to connect on the same level
 Ready to ask key questions
 Prepared to show examples of past
successes and experience
 Showing your value and relevance to their
need

8. Career Salesmanship
Salesmen also show -
 Resilience
 Stick-to-it ism
 Tenacity
 An ability to place unfavorable circumstances
in perspective
 To move forward
 Try again
 Remain positive, energized and enthusiastic

9. Placing Rejection in Perspective
 Have multiple leads to pursue
 A “NO” means a customer need more relevance,
information and value
 Or, it may be the wrong buyer
 View rejection as a single instance
 Analyzed to determine what went wrong – vow to not
do it again
 Seen as an opportunity to learn to do better
 A re-buffing is only accepted when you have tried
your best with the customer, repeatedly to show
realistic value

10. Skills that relate to the job seeker
 Have many irons in the fire
 Apply to the Hiring authority for the greatest
appreciation of value
 Learn from experience – analyze how it could
have been done better
 Improve Interview to Interview
 Follow-up to assure the full story is told
 Thank You Letters
 Reference key interview points
 List of attributes

11. Skills That Relate To a Job Search
Excellent Salesmen…
 Know their product
 Believe in their product
 Understand it’s perceived and actual value
 Practice the presentation of value
 Gathered documentation of the value
proposition
 Prepare for the Sales Call
 Interject Shortfall mitigation

12. For the Job Seeker
This means…
 Know yourself – intimately
 Know your likes / dislikes
 Know your strengths
 Know where you need improvement
 Show you’re…..
 There are additional slides to this
presentation. Contact RPP Enterprises for
this or additional career topics for your
next meeting. www.rppenterprises.com