How can someone from a different field transition to sales?

First off, for those serious about a career change to sales, I would start off by building (or rebuilding) your network. This can be done is a number of ways including:

- attending conferences and industry training events (virtual or in person)

- focus on joining relevant industry and/or company groups on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Slack

- do an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Successful sellers are not born overnight and constantly are curious on how they can improve themselves. In your current role, you may possess traits similar to those individuals, but you will likely have weaknesses that you need to address before you can start that growth.

- take a training course. Trust me, you indeed can teach an old dog new tricks...especially because these types of training experiences come in many forms to suit your taste, including 'on demand'/'just in time' training (think LinkedIn Learning/Coursera) and of course 'in person' options.

- work on your 'executive presence' and 'relationship building' skills. In today's selling environment and competitive landscape, customers have a multitude of options to choose from, and sales has really become about building and maintaining strong relationships. No doubt an actual deal involves your business selling something of value, but that doesn’t happen unless you have a strong relationship with your potential buyer.

Everyone is in sales, whether you have an Account Executive title or a Product Manager title. Even engineers have to sell what they're working on and why they're working on it. Document your wins. The definition of sales is the exchange of a commodity for money. As humans, we do this everyday whether we like to admit it or not. Think back to your best sales moment as a human. There was value in your life and you pulled out your wallet.

If you're looking to transition into sales, remember to document how natural of a sales person you have been in previous exchanges. Sell your stories and why you want to be in sales longterm as your career choice.