(Clearwisdom.net) After I graduated from college with a hotel management major, I took up a job in middle management. But when the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, I was immediately suspended from my job, and was later forced to leave. After many unsuccessful attempts at getting another job, I managed to find employment working in the offices of a building materials factory. My boss gained confidence in me over time and arranged for me to go out with him to learn about sales and how to find potential clients.
I went to visit architects, people in real estate, and construction sites to introduce our products. When I returned to the office, I told my boss everything that happened in the meetings. He then gave me some feedback and we discussed how I could follow up on the sales call. I remembered very clearly that each time I knocked on the door of a potential client and introduced our products, I was nervous, fearful and was actually unwilling to go out and promote our products.
After a few years in this job, I was forced to resign. Then in 2006 I decided to work on my own and choose some products to promote, and try to find a market for them among the various construction sites. While I was doing this, I met an old classmate who was a practitioner. He suggested that I concentrate on promoting stone materials, and I have been helping him ever since.
I made a database of all the customers who worked with us, and within a year I noticed a certain pattern. Most of my clients were referred to me from their friends or people they knew. Very few customers were won by cold calling. When I thought about the importance of having time to do the three things Master requires of us, I decided to change my method for doing sales, and I promoted products only to companies that had been recommended by a friend or someone whom I knew. If there was nothing else to do, I studied the Fa at home and dealt with the everyday matters in life. Most of my time was spent validating the Fa.
When I did the math, I realized that I was only doing about one to two months of work per year, but have no problems in making ends meet. When I meet with clients now, I feel at ease and have greater confidence in discussing things with them.
I remember what a practitioner once said when asked the question, "What should I do to know what the customer is thinking?" The practitioner put it very well and said, "You must first let the customer know what you are thinking." How to know what the customer is thinking is a frequently asked question by those starting out in sales. I previously just visited potential clients whenever I knew there was a construction site being set up. When I returned from the meetings, I recalled what I said and then decided what was right or wrong about it, and whether it was a good visit. But when the client was able to see my heart of sincerity and truthfulness they were moved, and doors slowly began to open.
For overseas practitioners who do sales work for the media entities that do truth clarification, if their hearts are open to the Fa, their results will be much greater with less effort. If what we do is righteous and pure, we will be able to control the environment around us. Master and the righteous gods can help us to break through barriers and open doors that weren't possible to open before.
A person in sales should also pay attention to their image. First impressions count! Our attire need not be expensive, but does need to be appropriate. It may be difficult to differentiate, but if we ask the opinions of others, we will understand what is appropriate and what isn't. We should then evaluate our clients. If they are people of a higher status, they will pay more attention to our attire, dress, social etiquette, and manners. If we don't pay close attention to this, they will not have a good impression of us.
Another thing is perseverance, which is reflected in our attitude and determination. During the first few years, my income was not enough, and I had the intention of totally changing my career and starting an antique business. But I finally decided to stay with the same job. During this period of time, Master gave me many hints. When overseas practitioners do sales work within our media, they should pay attention to this point. When the going gets tough, it is a test, and we should reflect on the situation and look inward to improve. The situation will definitely get better when we improve our xinxing.
