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I’ve been sitting in on interviews with sales people lately, and feel I have to give props to people who practice that black magic art. Whereas John Q Public might not draw much of a distinction between sales and marketing, those of us in the biz know that each is its own distinct field.

The guys who impress me most are the ones I think of as Paratrooper Salesman. In other words, you could drop them in by air to any place in the world armed with nothing but some hair gel and toothpaste, and within weeks they’d have a Mercedes. It really is impressive to see a good salesman at work. One of the guys I spoke to this week said “I don’t sell, you buy.” The idea being that his whole job is to make you want whatever it is he’s selling. Pretty soon, he’s not pushing it on you at all– you’re chasing him down the street trying to buy it from him.

The consistent themes I hear from all of the sales people I talk to are these:

• Persistence is critical
• So is enthusiasm about and knowledge of what you’re selling
• You sell by building relationships. People buy from those they know and those they like. So you need to create a relationship with them so they both know and like you.

Personally, I prefer the marketing side of the equation. I like to build the plan, determine the angles and craft the message. But I do admire those who put their feet on the street to execute the sales.