Superskills and Sales In Particular

My dear friend Lav surprised me with “The Last Safe Investment”, a book on contemporary life, a few years ago. One of the most interesting things in it is the exploration of so-called superskills. Those are the skills that are universally applicable and can bring astonishing returns. One of them is particularly interesting: sales.

It’s one of the most rewarding ones. Everyone should learn it. It’s a colossal investment.

First of all, it’s quite universal. The world will always need salespeople because sales is what makes the economy work. Any industry needs it. Any business needs it. Market cries for skilled salespeople. You can practice in your streets, selling candies. I am not kidding 🙂 Great salespeople can become really wealthy. If that’s your goal.

You don’t have to be a salesperson, it doesn’t have to be your career choice. It can be stressful, and it doesn’t fit the character of many. Sales skill is probably the greatest multiplier of all skills. No matter what you are good at and what your passion is, add a sales superskill to it and everything will be multiplied. Academic? Publish your Ph.D. work in top media publications and that’s a few thousand $$ more. Programmer? How about earning 3 times more? It’s sales. Student? Get that prestige scholarship and paid internship. Entrepreneurship is mostly about sales. Sales get you better hires and media hype. 

What is sales? Series of actions that lead to the desired transaction. And, if you think about it more deeply, everything is a transaction. Date,  your salary, any pitch, no matter how naïve or big.

For more on superskills you should read the book. Definitely recommending.