It takes a certain type of person to choose sales as their career, and a totally different type of person to survive an entire career as a salesperson.

Whether in the office or out calling on customers, in the average day of a salesperson he or she will hear the word NO more than any single word. "No the job will not be delivered on time. No I did not award the job to your company. No I cannot see you today. No way I’m paying for those changes! No you are not ready to be a sales manager. No, No No!"

As is often rumored, salespeople do not actually spend their entire day on the golf course, devouring fine foods with clients and decimating company profits with overly inflated entertainment budgets. A career in sales, in spite of all the misguided beliefs and myths originating in the minds of business owners and Customer Service Representatives (CSR), is not the Life of Riley.

Much of the time salespeople play the role of actors. They spend their days moving in and out of the multitude of roles and characters they must play in order to close deals. It is rare that the salesperson ever gets time to actually be themselves. This is part of the reason good sales people are hard to find and harder to keep. Many become moody, due to the stress of crying kids at home and screaming significant others who can’t understand why an Art Director or Designer needs them at midnight. Ah, the life of a salesperson.


The Client: The Hidden Cause of Most Strokes

Certainly there are clients every salesperson loves. But there’s nothing that can kill the pain of spending a two-hour lunch listening to the monotonous rants of a client going on and on about how unhappy they are at their job. "Let me tell you what happened at our office today... Please help me get a job somewhere else...”

Some print buyers marry themselves to printing organizations based upon the relationship they have with their salesperson. This relationship can transcend “buying print”. In some cases, how a salesperson deals with the clients’ personal issues can determine how long the “marriage” will last.

Thousands of books have been written on the sales process and what it takes to be a great salesperson. However, none prepare salespeople for their real role of Mother, Father, employment recruiter and psychiatrist. Most books detail the role of the salesperson and the importance of building relationships. Salespeople I know spend more time playing the role of Dr. Phil - not sales representative from Acme Printing Company. Ah, the life of a salesperson.


The Wrath of an Angry Customer Service Representative (CSR)

When a salesperson is not dealing with clients, there’s the sometimes dysfunctional relationships that exist inside the belly of the printing company. The CSR waits with anticipation the return of their salesperson, like a salivating Bette Davis waiting the moment she would finally kick Joan Crawford down the stairs in the movie Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Quite often the relationship between a salesperson and CSR has much more in common with a bad marriage. If the salesperson returns from a victorious sales call, the CSR turns on the, "Hey Joe remember me? While you were out of the office all day living the life of Riley, earning millions in sales commissions, golfing and stuffing your face with food bought with company funds, I am here! Taking care of you and your clients. That’s right, me - Ms. Under-appreciated, the overworked, underpaid person in this relationship who holds the entire company together.”

If the salesperson returns without any work then the CSR turns on the "What is wrong with you? We need more work. That’s your job! Bring in the work! Stop playing golf and try working for a living like the rest of us." Ah, the life of a salesperson.


The King of Pain: The Owner

The salesperson’s real King of Pain is the owner of the printing company. In many cases, the relationship between the salesperson and the owner is emotional and sometimes combative. Many owners have DNA from General Patton along with a slight case of paranoia.

What makes the overall relationship so intense is that some owners live on Planet X. The owner is deeply convinced that he is a true leader with unbelievable people skills. He has a deep connection with employees, combined with the years of craft experience enabling him to tell everyone - "Salespeople are lazy order takers who can’t sell, and clients know absolutely nothing." Ah, the life of a salesperson.


In The End

No matter how difficult the day before may have been, the salesperson marches on. Like a politician on the way to meet constituents, the salesperson must always show confidence with a glowing and modest smile.

Ah, the life of a salesperson.