Over the past decade, we’ve all seen selling styles evolve from traditional techniques into modern channels like social media engagement, viral videos, and the like. While it’s easy to identify some of these new tactics as “sales”, it’s not so easy to recognize the more subtle side to selling and the roles that we all play in it.
While I don’t currently consider myself to be a salesperson in the conventional sense, it’s impossible to ignore the benefits of having worked directly in the field and how the skills I’ve gleaned over the years contribute to my present gig in interactive marketing. If you work as a bartender, in retail, foodservice, or any customer service/sales position and wonder how this experience will help you grow into a more conventional career, then I hope my story will inspire you!
Like so many others, my first “real” job was in retail. Little did I know that the stocking, cashier-ing, customer service, and even bookkeeping I was doing in high school would give me my first glimpse into the world of subtle selling. From there, I moved on to foodservice, where I took my smile-and-”how-are-you-doing-today?” skills to the next level. By then, I was in my second year of college and beginning to grasp the concept of “real world experience”. 
Fast forward a few years and I entered the wonderful world of restaurant work! The best servers and bartenders are pros at customer service, anticipating the customers’ needs, and emulating their personalities to provide the highest amount of satisfaction, which of course equals tips. Sound familiar? These are basic sales techniques that differentiate people who sell, and people who were born to sell. The best salespeople are the ones who leave you unaware of the game.
Post-college led me from behind the bar to my very own desk as a Customer Service Manager at a manufacturing company where I learned Quickbooks, filing, and the basics of corporate life. Using these skills, I eventually left for an even better job as part of the customer service team at an art-based manufacturing company. Using the building blocks I had acquired over the past years allowed me to easily transition from customer service into sales and eventually copywriting for the marketing department after a short while.
It was easy to have a leg up in sales due to the familiarity with our products that was required for anyone talking to customers. Knowing the product catalog inside and out was basically inevitable – when you answer detailed questions and problem-solve for people all day long, it’s impossible not to become intimately familiar with what you’re “selling”. With that knowledge and experience anticipating customer’s needs and requests, marketing was a natural segue. Who better to write about products that those closest to them?
It’s easy to see now just how the path of customer service, sales, and copywriting ultimately led me to my current career path of interactive marketing. You may trivialize your early experiences in the workplace, but it’s essential to recognize the value those early days to chart your track of upward mobility and glean the most from each and every trade you have ever been a part of.
I’ve identified some specific skills that I feel are too often overlooked on resumes that truly set the good marketers apart from great ones.
Ability to anticipate needs. Customers want their water filled without asking. Clients want to see ROI without checking in.
Product knowledge. Whether it’s just knowing the menu from A-Z or being able to recall detailed product specs at the drop of a hat, people who have sold products are naturally going to be better at marketing them.
Empathy. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Truly think about what their needs are, and whether it’s more ketchup for their fries or social media support for their upcoming campaign, this forward-thinking approach will hugely benefit you and them.
Build on every experience, whether it’s directly related to marketing or not. There’s value in every job.
If you’re employed, there’s a 99.99% chance that you work in sales. No matter if you’re running a neighborhood lemonade stand or heading a multibillion dollar global conglomerate, virtually everyone’s bottom line is getting somebody to spend money on your product, brand, or service. Knowing how to use salesmanship in different aspects of all my jobs has allowed me to become a better marketer, and it’s clear now that no task was too small. Look for the value in whatever you’re doing and use it as a stepping stone towards where you want to be!
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Beth Demmon grew up outside of Washington, D.C. and earned a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 2008. After moving to San Diego, California and working her way through customer service, sales, and copywriting positions, she landed at Thunder SEO as Content Manager in 2013. When she’s not writing for Thunder, she’s homebrewing beer with her husband, making salsa for Salsacraft, or finding printed typos with great relish. You can reach her on Twitter at @iheartcontent.
