How Can Marketing Experience Benefit Salespeople?

Before starting a sales internship in the summer of 2021, I was asked by my prospective manager why I chose to apply for sales while studying marketing. I was prepared for this question, as I have thought extensively about how my experience studying marketing has taught me to be creative in the way that I articulate my ideas and address problems. I have learned through school and extracurricular experiences how to communicate properly to others in many different contexts. From large scale advertising for a wide audience, to individual discourse, studying marketing communications has improved my ability to empathize and make human connection with relatable and people-oriented language. 

Language and ability to generate relationships with others is a massive part of a career in sales. Customer service goes beyond just being the person on the other end of the line. Through every step of every sale, each person involved in making the sale must be able to ensure positive customer experience by being genuine, trustworthy, and showing compassion for the client. From generating a lead, all the way to closing the deal, a uniform demeanor and use of language is essential. Providing clarity, expressing trust, proving urgency, showing focus, and giving respect are all ways in which I as a salesperson can build positive relationships with clients. All of these forms of reassurance come from a place of empathy for the other party and their concerns. According to my father, one of the most important factors in working a sales job is to always stay even, and to always put yourself in the shoes of the person you are negotiating with. I notice that I am often using empathy to find ways to meaningfully communicate. I believe that even if I am not speaking on the behalf of a corporate conglomerate through an advertisement, I understand what it takes to empathize, and to make connections with other people using this core value of mine.