3 Reasons to Learn Sales the Affiliate Marketing Way
A little story first.
I often wondered why leaders were said to be lonely, then I moved up into a leadership position, I realized right away why everyone says – leadership is lonely – I never really understood it until I was there. They are always thinking, working on a problem, quiet when time allows, so nobody bothers them. I always envied the leaders I had. They were charismatic, stylish, tough, had stories galore, and always knew what to say to fix the situation. They even knew to close the deal. They were salespeople and I did not know it.
Let us back up a bit. The reason for this blog is to share the #1 reason I became an affiliate marketer and entrepreneur.
To learn sales!
That is it! To learn sales. Here is why.
Before I became an affiliate marketer and entrepreneur, I was in the trades, trained and licensed as a plumber. It was awesome the camaraderie was there. The pay was good. The lack of holidays was a bummer, but I could get over that. There was a ton of overtime, which was good but came at a cost, time with family was limited. The real bummer was that the union I was with went under. That is right, all that time and energy to shore up a brotherhood went out the window at the first recession I experienced in 2009.
Plus, to make this situation worse, the percentage of union positions in the US is only at about 10% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). That is not a great situation to be in when looking for a job. Only 10% of the workforce are union members, which is troubling to compete against that tight of a market when looking for a job. I ended up having to take a non-union job at half the pay I was making just to make ends meat. I was devastated.
Fast forward to now.
I realized I needed to have better odds when in the market for work. In comes entrepreneurship and affiliate marketing, and really sales. Now let us talk about the compounding effect, because I wanted to learn sales there is a triple effect of what will come from learning sales.
1. 16.5 % of all US adults are entrepreneurs (Lin, 2023)
2. 80% of brands say affiliate marketing “is an important source of revenue” and on the side note there are roughly 500,000 brands. Do the math, 400,000 brands are looking for affiliate marketers (Wildwood, 2024).
3. 13% of all jobs, in the US, are sales jobs (Williams)
That sounds better than the 10% I was playing with before, right?
With these numbers, the market is ripe for new affiliate marketers, which is why I jumped in.
So how has it helped so far, well I now know what it takes to start a small business, which is valuable when discussing any product with a client or owner. Because I want to succeed, I want them to succeed. We have a shared vision. Also, the expanse of brands means there is always a product that someone is looking for. No longer any I pigeonholed to one skill/product/service to sell or perform. AND there is the money.
Since the start, I have started a business, run two websites, and partnered with a few affiliate programs for the variety of the products. We all buy products, why not get a little of the profits? If you are looking for more reasons you should check out this article – Top Reasons Why I became an Affiliate Marketer.
The chance to change your trajectory for yourself and/or your own company is to learn sales through the eye of affiliate marketing. Take for example, if you do not have a strong social media game at your company you will not like this next stat – “78% of salespeople using social media outsell their peers” (Williams).
Learning the social media method of sales is what will push your company through the roof of clients AND sales.
The link that set my company on huge improvement is below. The proof is in the graph next to it.
Learning sales through the lense of affiliate marketing
Here is the link that got me started, Passive Buddies Affiliate Marketing or shoot me a message. Either way make the call that will boost your company or your life to the next level.
I suggest jumping in 2024 right away, getting that training, getting those sales, close those deals.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, January 23). Union Members - 2023. Retrieved from bls.gov: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf
Lin, Y. (2023, Jan 28). 10 Entrepreneur Statistics You Need To Know in 2023. Retrieved from oberlo.com: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/entrepreneur-statistics#:~:text=16.5%20percent%20of%20all%20US%20adults%20are%20entrepreneurs%20(GEM%2C%202022,made%20(CNBC%2C%202019).
Wildwood, L. (2024, January 3). 31 Latest Affiliate Marketing Statistics for 2024: The Difinitive List. Retrieved from bloggingwizard.com: https://bloggingwizard.com/affiliate-marketing-statistics/
Williams, B. (n.d.). 21 Mind-Blowing Sales Stats. Retrieved from Brevet: https://blog.thebrevetgroup.com/21-mind-blowing-sales-stats
