Every Job Is a Sales Job

How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work

By Cindy McGovern

"Every Job Is a Sales Job" (2019) emphasizes that selling skills are crucial to career success, no matter your job title. It discusses how adopting sales strategies can enhance your everyday interactions and reveals ways to identify opportunities for selling that you might not notice.

About the author

Dr. Cindy McGovern, a renowned speaker and sales consultant, founded Orange Leaf Consulting. She has trained numerous organizations and individuals, significantly increasing their revenue and attracting new clients.

Learn How to Unleash Your Inner Salesperson

Have you ever considered why you don't always get what you truly desire? We often accept what's handed to us rather than demanding what we deserve. This happens in our professional and personal lives—we settle because we fear rejection.

However, this summary teaches you that achieving your desires, from landing that major promotion to requesting a simple favor, is within your reach. You just need to master the art of selling. You'll uncover the strategies of Dr. Cindy McGovern's five-step sales process and learn how effective selling can propel you forward in every aspect of your life. 

Discover why you shouldn't leave selling to the experts and find easy ways to promote yourself, your company, and your ideas.

In this summary, you'll discover:

• why kids are natural sales experts;

• how to make every interaction an opportunity for a transaction;

• the most effective strategies for networking events.

Selling Is Already Part of Your Everyday Life

Have you ever convinced a child to eat their vegetables or negotiated a raise with your boss? If these scenarios ring a bell, you're already a salesperson—you didn't realize it.

You might think selling is for professionals, but you're constantly engaging in it. Whether interacting with colleagues, customers, or your boss, you essentially sell something.

Sales isn't just about products; it's about pitching ideas and methods or even promoting ourselves.

Before becoming a sales consultant, Cindy McGovern was a university professor, a role seemingly unrelated to sales. Yet, she had to persuade students to attend her classes and submit assignments on time. 

Despite lacking experience, she successfully sold herself to a sales company when she decided to leave academia for a sales career.

Every attempt to influence someone's opinion is a form of selling. For instance, a middle manager convincing her team to adopt weekend shifts is selling a new initiative, not a tangible product, yet the stakes are high.

If you're surprised to learn this, don't fret. You've been honing your sales skills since childhood.

Children are adept at persuading; they tirelessly argue for sweets or a new pet. However, as adults, we often hold back from asking for favors or pushing back against a "no," conditioned to believe it's impolite. This hesitancy means we need to fully utilize our innate ability to sell, leading us to miss out on achieving what we truly want.

In Cindy McGovern's book "Every Job Is a Sales Job," she outlines a five-step sales process designed to help individuals effectively sell themselves, their ideas, or their products. Here's a brief overview of each step:

1. Planning: The first step involves preparing and planning your approach to selling. This includes identifying your goals, understanding what you want to achieve, and outlining the steps necessary to get there.

2. Looking for Opportunities: After planning, the next step is to seek out opportunities to sell actively. This involves recognizing moments in daily interactions where you can present your ideas or services.

3. Engaging and Building Relationships: Building rapport and establishing trust with potential clients or stakeholders is essential. This step focuses on engaging with others effectively and fostering relationships that could lead to sales opportunities.

4. Making the Ask: This step involves making the sales pitch or request. It's about clearly and confidently asking for what you want, whether closing a deal, pitching an idea, or requesting a promotion.

5. Following Up: The final step emphasizes the importance of follow-up after making a sale or receiving a positive response. This could involve expressing gratitude, providing additional information, or offering further assistance to ensure continued engagement and satisfaction.

These steps are designed to be applicable in any professional scenario, not just traditional sales roles, emphasizing the universal importance of sales skills.

Now let's explore each one in better detail