PR Start by Nick Lucido

I’ve been working for the past three years at The State News, Michigan State University’s newspaper. It’s  a particularly interesting time to be at a newspaper, especially with a public relations background, but I’ve found that the skill sets in a sales job translate well into a public relations job.

Here are 10 ways you can make a sales jobs just as valuable as a public relations internship:

1. You learn client management. In sales, you work with clients and you learn how to work with them. This transitions well for public a public relations career. Managing client expectations, learning how to communicate with a client and knowing when you shouldn’t be selling are all key things to develop while in sales.
2. You learn communication skills. Though you’re not writing press releases, you learn how phone conversational skills, how to communicate clearly and effectively, and how to write precise messages — all of which are important in whatever line of work you go into.
3. You learn time management. You can never get good enough at managing your time effectively; working in sales is one more way to enhance this skill. You learn how to balance your client work with your administrative work.
4. You learn how to motivate yourself and others. I think attitude plays a huge part in how you’re perceived in the office. There’s no better way to develop motivational skills than when you work in sales, especially if you take on management positions.
5. You learn how to explain. Though it might sound silly, you really learn to explain why. For me, it’s why my client should be advertising, why a recession is an opportunity and why it’s important to distinguish between competitions. As a public relations counselor, you’re always going to be explaining why. Knowing why for yourself will always be helpful.
6. Pitching new business will become a breeze. In an agency, corporate or nonprofit setting, chances are you’ll have to pitch to start a new campaign or program. In sales, you’re always looking for new business and pitching becomes a breeze. It’s the presentation and communication skills that develop here.
7. You learn the correlation between work and money. Part of sales is working partly or solely on commission. This means the more you work, the more money you make. The bad part is the less you work, the less you make. Sales will train you to always be on top of your game and looking for the next opportunity.
8. You learn teamwork. In college, we’re trained to hate working with people, but working in sales, you’ll learn to trust your team even though you’re probably competing with them.
9. The failures will happen and you’ll figure out how to deal with them. I’ve been hung up on, cursed at and insulted during cold calls and prospecting, but you’ll develop a thick shell from these “failures.” In your career, you’ll make mistakes, and it’s OK. Make sure sure you’re learning from them.
10. The customer isn’t usually right, but you learn how to make them feel like they are. And in the process, you learn how to show how valuable you are.

For me, sales has filled in the gaps of my internship experiences. I’ve also had a blast working with the people I do. Oh, and let me know if you’re interested in advertising with The State News.

Is there anything to add on this list? What other kind of experiences fill in the gaps of a PR education? Anything else help you in your career?

Photo by tofslie on Flickr.