Who is a merchant and how to become one?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

What is associated with the word "merchant"? Business, trade, sales, entrepreneurship and even speculation. That's right: merchants are, in a general sense, people involved in trade. But does this mean that any worker in this field can be called this way: from an individual entrepreneur to a sales assistant? Is there such a profession and where is it taught?

Special Profession

If in Soviet times there was a unified directory of professions, now they don’t come up with any kind of positions. However, it is hardly possible to meet a person who officially works as a merchant and that is exactly what is written in his work book.

Besides, the Russian population, which was once Soviet, has not the most pleasant associations with this word. Once upon a time, speculators were also called merchants, who were believed to deceive honest citizens.

However, there is a speci alty, after studying which it is written in the diploma that a person has the qualification of a "merchant", exists. According to the all-Russian classifier, these are commerce by industry (code 080302) and trading (080301). True, in the second case, the diploma qualification sounds like a “specialist in commerce.”

If the name is not important, then for masteringprofessions are quite suitable faculties of management, economics, commodity science.

Be born a merchant

When talking about who a businessman is, it should be noted that this is more a way of life than a profession. In a broad sense, this can be called anyone who deliberately bought something cheaper and then sold it at a higher price. The closest modern synonym is “entrepreneur”. A merchant must not only sell, but also have the skills of a manager, marketer and merchandiser at the same time.

Such a specialist needs to be able to organize and manage the processes of buying and selling, promoting goods on the market, selling products, choosing an assortment, managing inventory, analyzing the results of work.

The areas of application of these skills are varied. A merchant can work as a sales manager, advertising specialist, marketer, logistician, sales representative, head of relevant areas, etc. The work is not only interesting, but also monetary. Often the salary of a "salesperson" is directly related to the result: the more goods sold, the higher the income.

Necessary qualities

Now that it has become a little clear what a businessman is, let's find out if everyone can do this profession.

There are many effective sales techniques. Large companies develop scripts for their managers - scripts that describe in detail how to interest a client and convince him to make a purchase. These can all be learned and mastered to some degree.

Together withwithout certain character traits, working in this area will be unbearable. For example, a rare sales manager sits quietly in the office from nine to six, peacefully drinking tea. It must be a mobile and easy-going person.

A businessman has to keep a lot of things in his head at the same time, so he needs to be collected, have a good short-term memory and be able to make decisions quickly.

Also, a merchant sometimes deals with difficult clients, and deals sometimes fail. It is important to have strong nerves and be an optimist. A novice businessman cannot afford to give up at the first setbacks. You should be persistent and purposeful, otherwise you will not achieve success in this area.

If you can't, but really want to

From the above, it is clear that with poor he alth and increased fatigue, it is unlikely to work as a merchant.

If you don't like to often interact with people on work issues, you have difficulty communicating and you find it difficult to make new acquaintances, then it will be problematic for you to become a businessman.

On the other hand, if you do not know how and do not want to sell, this does not mean that the path to this area is ordered for you. Arguing above about who a merchant is, we mentioned merchandisers and marketers. These are also, in a sense, merchants, and they are closely connected with trading activities, but they are not directly involved in the process of buying and selling. A trader in the Forex market is only engaged in what he buys and sells, but he hasthere is no need to wander around the city and communicate with people.

Do you want to change yourself and become a good salesperson, despite critical shortcomings? Learn to sell. Do it constantly. Every day sell to yourself in front of the mirror any items that catch your eye. Convince your friends of your point of view (just don't impose yourself, distinguish between these concepts). Finally, give a brilliant answer to the most annoying interview question: “Why should we pick you?”

So we figured out who a businessman is and who has a chance to become one. Try it, suddenly this is your calling!