That’s it! You’ve finally landed your dream job! You’re finally about to start your first sales experience, meet clients, and make your first sales. But after the good news, comes the time for questions (and anxieties). How can you make this first experience a success? How can you be sure to reach your goals, meet your appointment and sales quotas? What will allow you to deliver and show what you’re capable of? To help you launch your career, we asked experienced salespeople.

1. Always listen

All the salespeople interviewed were unanimous: listening is the number one quality of any good salesperson, regardless of their experience.

Beyond the metaphor, active listening is your best weapon: when your prospect explains their need, quickly learn not to respond . Instead, dig deeper with them into what they just said, asking further questions. We see far too many salespeople who add to their arguments, interrupt, and offer hasty solutions because they think they understand their interlocutor’s problems.

Take the time to ask discovery questions and explore your client’s challenges. The better you understand their real needs, the better you’ll target your sales pitch, and the more likely you’ll be to make the sale.

Practical exercise: During your upcoming first sales meeting, try to implement the 4 phases of active listening for 5 minutes.

2. Stay humble

When you’re starting out, it’s normal not to know and understand everything. And you often want to prove yourself. This is a mistake we often see during first experiences: too eager to show what they can do, young salespeople quickly launch into their first projects… and fail.

Remember the first tip? During your first month, try to learn as much as possible from your colleagues. Customer objections are always the same. Price, timing, benefits… Do this exercise once and for all and you’ll see that you’ll quickly differentiate yourself from other salespeople.

 3. Get to know your customers

Over the coming months, you’ll be spending time with your clients. A lot of time. So one of the first things you should do when you start your first job is get to know your client portfolio (if you’re lucky enough to land one, of course).

History : find out about sales already made, purchasing habits, commercial conditions negotiated, level of satisfaction with the last service, etc. This exercise can be done using the CRM or the salesperson who previously dealt with this customer.

The current need : Ask the customer directly about their expectations. Problems change very quickly, and a note left in the CRM by the previous salesperson three months ago can quickly become obsolete. Start your discovery from scratch, as if it were an unknown prospect.

Every customer has a specific need that must be understood. Not all of them bought the same product or ordered for the same reasons. As mentioned earlier, practicing active listening during your meetings will help you identify each person’s purchasing motivations! Knowing your customer also means understanding their requirements, goals, and challenges.

The best way to connect with your audience is to speak the same language they speak. To capture their attention and spark their interest, you need to tailor your message to the person in front of you . Getting to know your customers, tailoring your message, and maintaining a good relationship with them will give you a significant advantage in the long run.

4. Be curious

Sales techniques are constantly evolving. You’re probably familiar with the SONCAS method, but have you heard of the Spin-Selling method , BEBEDC , SPANCO, or Challenger Selling ?

If these acronyms don’t mean anything to you, that’s a good sign: you’re about to learn the most effective sales techniques of the moment!

The best salespeople are always questioning themselves in order to modernize their sales techniques and adapt them to market developments.

5. Don’t hesitate to take initiatives and accept challenges

Even if you don’t have 20 years of experience, you have skills and knowledge to bring to your company. You’re probably much more up-to-date with the latest technology than some of your colleagues who have been doing sales the same way for years.

Practical exercise: Prepare constructive feedback for your manager after three months and offer to help if necessary to improve what you have identified. You will inevitably notice things over the weeks that are not optimal (the lack of impact of the pitch on certain interlocutors, the absence of a tool in

You now have all the information you need to get off to a great start in your new job. Keep in mind that these tips will be useful throughout your career, so it’s essential to apply them today to build good habits that will make you a successful salesperson! Having a solid framework is essential for success in sales; you don’t need decades of experience as long as you apply the right methods to develop your know-how and soft skills.