If you are in sales for a career you sure better like it. It can be a tough profession with big challenges that can really bruise your ego. But I definitely like the challenge of sales, and even more so the rewards.
Maybe that’s why I like fishing so much too, or maybe I like sales because I like fishing. I find the two to be very similar.
Let me preface these remarks by saying that I’m actually a creek and river fisherman. I generally like to wade and fish using light tackle, or maybe a small boat to float a waterway.
Here’s some of the similarities I find between sales and fishing:
• First of all when you go fishing you want to find a place where there’s a reasonably good chance of catching something. This could be a place you’ve heard about or a place that seems to have the right habitat for fish. Same goes for sales. You want to seek prospects in a type of business that can use your products, seem to be doing well financially, and in my case like to market. You wouldn’t go after businesses in areas that are really depressed right now…at least not typically. There are always exceptions.
• Second you want to make sure you have the right equipment for fishing. Fishing on the ocean, lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds all require different types of rods, reels, line, and tackle to do it properly. Those big old poles you use deep sea fishing wouldn’t work well on a little creek. You’d likely need a boat in some instances, not in others. Also you want to have the right equipment in sales. That would likely involve a good lead source, contact management tools, sales materials, etc.
• Of course with either fishing or sales you better know what you are doing, or know your product. If you are fishing for small mouth bass you should know their feeding habits and where they like to hang out. That would be the same for any type of fish. If you want to be successful in sales you need to know all about your product, your competition, etc. The more you know the better prepared you are.
• Now here’s where I find the two are very similar. When you are fishing, a lot of the time you cannot see the fish. So you are casting your line into areas where you believe you will be successful, using baits that you believe will lure them in. Isn’t that the same as cold calling on clients? You bet it is.
• How you present is also important in fishing and in sales. A good sales presentation will really help make a sale. How you present your bait to the fish makes a huge difference too. They’re not dumb you know.
• Having a fish nibble at your bait and having a client interested in your product or service are very similar too. You don’t quite have your catch yet in either case, so you have to be very careful in how you reel them in. In fishing this means setting your hook and reeling them in without the line breaking or your catch getting away. In sales it means making sure you answer all objections well and to their satisfaction, or they’ll get away.
• Then comes the big reward…the catch! There’s few things in life as exciting as reeling in that price fish and actually getting it off the hook (I fish for sport so I throw them back). And in sales there’s nothing like landing that big sale or account. In both cases it makes all the work worthwhile.
• So what do you do after that? You start all over again whether in fishing or sales…because you just can’t get enough.

What other hobbies or pastimes do you think are like sales?