Guy, need some job advice please!

[dragonsofwinter]

hello everybody,

i am one month and 1 day into this new job, with job scope as follows:

- Generating/Prospecting sales lead
- Meeting inbound/outbound clients
- Packing and Delivery of received orders
- Any other activity that entails a sale

Its a sales position and being a fresh diploma grad, i feel very lost in the job and i feel that there isn't enough training or guidance given, probably due to the small size of the company.

I report to a manager that reports to the MD/Owner/boss.

Company deals with expensive and very specialized industrial equipment for various industry catering to clean rooms, oil and gas, aerospace and general manufacturing.

Main problem with the job i believe is that i don't 100% believe in the products, and their ability to create value for customers.

Company has been relying on inbound sales and boss has other projects not related to the product to keep the company profitable but now they want to do focused outbound sales and marketing hence that is where i come in.

Inbound sales are mostly from companies that have strict health and safety regulations or specific requirements for controlled environment with explosion risk like factories or hangars and cleanrooms.

However boss likes to give one or two worded instructions like "go sell" and i am at a loss although i have a basic grasps of the idea - cold calling for appointments and to do on site visit.

I have made small achievements like attaining two appointments with prospects after cold calling a list of companies that i think may have use for our equipment. But after short introduction and giving rough price range, they tell me that they will KIV and contact should they want to buy.

Well my concern is should i keep persevering on until i see value and believe in the product or move on because i feel very quite useless that i am not able to help customers with their problems with my products and that i am most certain not able to get through probation.


TL;DR: new sales job, fresh dip grad, little training, unable to see product value, feel useless and pressured to deliver results. Continue or move on?


Thanks alot guys!

Hang in there! Weekend is coming!!

Hi Bro Junior,

Every sales job is tough and that is why not everyone can do it in the first place.

If I were you, I won't quit on the job unless I have given it my best for at least 6 months to a year.

As a fresh graduate, it is important to keep your first job as long as possible. This is how your future boss will view you, on whether you are a job hopper or cannot take stress (for sales).

For sales job, always remember the 20/80 rules, the number of prospects that you have, you might have 20% of them buying from you. So, if you have a sales target, do your sum properly on how to achieve your target. If additional customer place order to you, it is a bonus.

Looking at your JD, the KPI should be generating sales (if you cannot generate sales, prospecting would be quite useless, frankly speaking). One of the skill for sales position is to close sales fast. I have colleagues whom have many sales lead, but cannot close. It is quite useless.

Look into the marketing aspect of your customer and products. You need to work along side with the marketing department (if you have), if not, go and get a marketing book to read and look for market segementation. It will help you to find the suitable prospects with regards to your company's products.

Give it your 100% and if it really didn't work for you, maybe you are not cut out to be a sales person. No one knows. But it will be tough at the beginning, becoz at the end of the month, figure counts. You need to justify for your salary with contribution to the company's bottomline.

All the best.

Originally Posted by dragonsofwinter

hello everybody,

i am one month and 1 day into this new job, with job scope as follows:

- Generating/Prospecting sales lead
- Meeting inbound/outbound clients
- Packing and Delivery of received orders
- Any other activity that entails a sale

Its a sales position and being a fresh diploma grad, i feel very lost in the job and i feel that there isn't enough training or guidance given, probably due to the small size of the company.

I report to a manager that reports to the MD/Owner/boss.

Company deals with expensive and very specialized industrial equipment for various industry catering to clean rooms, oil and gas, aerospace and general manufacturing.

Main problem with the job i believe is that i don't 100% believe in the products, and their ability to create value for customers.

Company has been relying on inbound sales and boss has other projects not related to the product to keep the company profitable but now they want to do focused outbound sales and marketing hence that is where i come in.

Inbound sales are mostly from companies that have strict health and safety regulations or specific requirements for controlled environment with explosion risk like factories or hangars and cleanrooms.

However boss likes to give one or two worded instructions like "go sell" and i am at a loss although i have a basic grasps of the idea - cold calling for appointments and to do on site visit.

I have made small achievements like attaining two appointments with prospects after cold calling a list of companies that i think may have use for our equipment. But after short introduction and giving rough price range, they tell me that they will KIV and contact should they want to buy.

Well my concern is should i keep persevering on until i see value and believe in the product or move on because i feel very quite useless that i am not able to help customers with their problems with my products and that i am most certain not able to get through probation.


TL;DR: new sales job, fresh dip grad, little training, unable to see product value, feel useless and pressured to deliver results. Continue or move on?


Thanks alot guys!

Hang in there! Weekend is coming!!

Originally Posted by dragonsofwinter

.....i feel very lost in the job and i feel that there isn't enough training or guidance given,

... However boss likes to give one or two worded instructions like "go sell" and i am at a loss although i have a basic grasps of the idea

Well my concern is should i keep persevering on until i see value and believe in the product or move on because i feel very quite useless ... Continue or move on?

You seem to be a very typically average local grad, having been spoon-fed with knowledge for over a decade. Regardless of academic achievement (CAP score 5 or whatsoever), to excel and stand out from your fellow peers, you need to think and behave more independently. You may expect to join a company that provides proper training. On the contrary, many employers would expect you to get the solutions by yourself. Many would also adopt the On-the-Job training approach (OJT); you learn as you work and you make progress as you learn from your mistakes.

If you can't function without receiving proper step-by-step guidance from your superiors, you would probably be evaluated with the same potential assessment as the rest in your batch. Just remember that many employers are seeking people who can really think and get problems solved, not robots/machine waiting to receive source codes.

It's time to change your mindset/expectation or risk falling behind your peers.

Just my 5-cents worth experience.

Make friends with your inbound contacts and seek out who are their competitors and cold call the latter.

[dragonsofwinter]

thanks guys for the encouragement. i think i just have no confidence in the product and more importantly myself.

Company is small, 6 staff all together including me, with one receptionist and 2 in accounts.

Boss takes hands off, eyes on approach while he handles other external projects of his, manager is very busy being boss' PA while handling complex/troublesome inbound, and that leaves me with all the outbound sales.

Frankly speaking, that is why they hired you for.

For small company, if you can succeed, it shows your capabilities and when the company grow in size, you will be one of the pioneer to recruit and train other sales people (but that will take time).

A person can find a lot of excuses when he has decided on his mind, it is all up to you on whether you want to stay put or not.

You can also share among your friends on how to succeed and ask them about your opinion of quitting, since you guys share the same aspiration.

Success is not easy, but turning away is easy.

Originally Posted by dragonsofwinter

thanks guys for the encouragement. i think i just have no confidence in the product and more importantly myself.

Company is small, 6 staff all together including me, with one receptionist and 2 in accounts.

Boss takes hands off, eyes on approach while he handles other external projects of his, manager is very busy being boss' PA while handling complex/troublesome inbound, and that leaves me with all the outbound sales.

Originally Posted by dragonsofwinter

thanks guys for the encouragement. i think i just have no confidence in the product and more importantly myself.

Company is small, 6 staff all together including me, with one receptionist and 2 in accounts.

Boss takes hands off, eyes on approach while he handles other external projects of his, manager is very busy being boss' PA while handling complex/troublesome inbound, and that leaves me with all the outbound sales.

Don't waste time on such a small company, esp when the boss is so hands off. Very little prospect.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't waste time on such a small company, esp when the boss is so hands off. Very little prospect.

I say, give it a shot. Like the 1st reply, (1) it doesn't look good on your CV and (2) you have some time in your probation to get some ob sales. Assuming your probation is 3 or 6 months, do you best in this period and try to get some sales. Who knows maybe you'll compete with your own boss one day. He must have learned the trade from someone else.

TS, did you think back as to why you wanted to join this company in the first place or why you chose to take up the offer?

Sales ppl usually need to be dynamic and articulate. Are you like that?

Were there no other jobs that you could have taken up that you would have been more confident and interested in?

These are some points you can ponder on or let us know more details.

Cross this hurdle and you will up 1 level...