If you’re an excellent communicator and enjoy interacting with people, you could be the ideal candidate for the role of sales executive in Trinidad and Tobago. The job involves sells an organization’s products and services to individuals and/or corporations, as well as attempting to win new business and keeping existing clients happy.
Sales personnel main responsibilities
If you decide to become a sales executive in Trinidad and Tobago, please note that there are two distinct kinds of role. You could be selling goods to businesses or individuals, and the duties vary depending on which job you choose. However, no matter which role you pick, you can expect the following to form part of your regular duties:
• Reviewing your sales performance and look to meet and exceed your targets.
• Negotiating the cost of products and services, their specifications and delivery details with managers and purchasers.
• Staying in touch with suppliers to find out the status of existing orders.
• Recording data relating to orders and sales.
• Representing your firm at exhibitions, demos, and trade events.
• Building good relationships with your customer base.
• Responding to inquiries whether they are via email, phone or face-to-face.
If you work in B2B sales, duties include the following:
• Understanding the needs of your clients and addressing any fears/objections they may have.
• Researching the market to find related products.
• Presenting the product/service to the client face-to-face in a professional manner.
If you work in B2C sales, the role includes the following:
• Listening carefully to customer requirements and tailoring your pitch to make a sale.
• Cold calls to arrange meetings in a bid to win new business.
• Maintaining and developing relationships with customers via email, phone, and face-to-face to ensure they provide you with repeat business.
• Negotiating agreement terms and closing the sale.
• Responding to all customer queries in a timely and polite manner.
• Keeping a record of the quantities of goods that are on display and in stock.
• Advising customers on product developments and discussing any special promotions/discounts.
Skills required to succeed in sales
If you wish to succeed in the fast-paced world of sales, you’ll need the following:
• Excellent literacy & numeracy skills.
• Outstanding communication skills and the confidence to make sales.
• A high level of resilience as there will be occasions when prospects reject your overtures. You have to bite the bullet, review where you went wrong and try again.
• The ability to work independently or as part of a group.
• A high level of self-motivation and determination.
• A willingness to travel.
• The capacity to thrive in a competitive industry.
Education required for a Sales job
It is possible to become a sales executive without a degree although, in positions in medical and technical fields, employers prefer candidates with the relevant qualifications. Otherwise, a Bachelor’s Degree in any field will help you climb the ladder faster although a degree in Sales, Marketing or Business is preferable.
If you don’t have a degree, gaining work experience in any commercial area that involves contact with customers is useful. Larger companies in Trinidad and Tobago may have on-the-job training although some only offer it to graduates. That’s why we suggest you can search for educational courses in Trinidad.
Depending on the organization, you may be placed in a short ‘induction’ course which will cover the firm’s products and services along with the sales administration methods used by the company. You should receive a ‘probationary’ period after induction where you have the opportunity to learn everything you can about your field without the pressure of meeting sales targets.
In most instances, you’ll work with an experienced sales representative and gradually take over calls under supervision. Ultimately, there will come a time when the ‘training wheels’ come off, and you’re expected to meet specific sales targets. While training differs depending on where you work, most companies will show you how to:
• Close sales.
• Negotiate with clients.
• Deal with customer objections.
Growth Opportunities in sales: Short, Medium & Long Term
As the largest economy in the English-speaking Caribbean Community, Trinidad and Tobago has enormous potential for anyone looking to forge a career as a sales executive. The versatility of the role, coupled with the nation’s open investment climate, means there are a huge number of availabilities.
You could work in the following sectors:
• Technical: Automotive, IT, and Construction.
•Financial: Banks and financial services providers.
•Advertising, Communications: Websites, television, and radio.
•Fast-Moving Consumer Goods: Tobacco, alcohol, food, and drink.
•Pharmaceuticals: Medical supplies & services.
Regardless of your qualifications, career progression ultimately depends on results. If you perform well, a promotion is likely in the short to medium term. If that happens, you’ll end up with the following responsibilities:
• Larger and more lucrative client accounts.
• A greater level of responsibility for key products and services.
• Taking a lead role in national accounts which involves selling to retailers and wholesalers.
From a position as a leading sales executive, you can expect to become a sales manager which means you’ll be in charge of a team of employees. If you work in a large organization, you’ll find that the firm probably has a clearly defined promotion structure which works as follows:
• Sales executive
• Area or regional sales manager
• National sales manager
• Sales director
If you would prefer to go down another route, perhaps you could move away from sales and into the field of training, education, and recruitment? You also have the option to move into a field related to sales such as marketing, advertising or Public Relations (PR).
