The selling personality: analytical plus

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 1985 by William Abbott

Diversify your skills

It also helps to keep from becoming a single-industry expert. I've seen many highly competent people fail to live up to their maximum potential because they insisted on taking the easy route. They became experts in a specific category rather than in their own business: the marketing and selling of advertising. And while this may have made them extremely valuable to their employer, it was a personal disservice to their careers. Not only did it place them in a career cul-de-sac when it came to advancement, it also stifled their learning experiences. Single-industry specialists trade potential advancement for job viability because there is always someone seeking that "liquor salesperson" or "cosmetic maven."

Of course, the road to success in advertising marketing is through knowledge of the client's business, but the wise salesperson will diversify: he won't become restricted.

The advantage of becoming versed and articulate in many categories is the subsequent ability to cross-utilize marketing ideas. These vary from industry to industry, and what is old-hat to one may be a sparkling new concept to another-which will make the person proposing it something of a star.

* Opportunistic: Finally, salespeople should learn to recognize and seize upon opportunity. This isn't as difficult as it might appear if one has adhered to the systematic approach as outlined above. Each step in the creative sales formula makes the source of business more apparent and lights the path of achievement.

and, if you're ever tempted to regard a great sales accomplishment as a stroke of luck, keep in mind the fact that, more often than not, luck is the residue of design.