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Can a salesperson be a good UX designer, as compared to who are not?

I just want to know, if a person who knows how to play with users mind, OR read the users mind would be a good UX designer as compared to who dont?

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Well, my experience with interviewing sales staff is that they are generally good at thinking what type of basic content that should be on the web site, since they have a lot of contact with the customers. – Tony Bolero Mar 27 '12 at 18:26
Thank you for answering. the reason i asked, is I have plenty of work experience in web sales and now i am a web designer. I am now interested in either UX or UI designer. – jj1 Mar 27 '12 at 18:34
What do you mean by 'UX Designer'? This could mean many things - someone who gets the requirements from the client, someone who writes specifications, someone who builds prototypes, someone who produces the visual designs, someone who creates the front-end of the site, someone who codes the website... – JonW♦ Mar 27 '12 at 19:20
Marketing/Sales are a different focus than User Experience. But a person could certainly be good at both. – DA01 Mar 28 '12 at 0:21
A salesperson can convince people that he's a good UX designer. Works best at agencies, not so well in-house. – Vitaly Mijiritsky Mar 28 '12 at 13:22
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closed as not constructive by dnbrv, DA01, ChrisF, Ben Brocka♦ Mar 28 '12 at 14:14

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2 Answers

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Having a deep understanding or empathy of users’ needs is a necessary skill for being a good UX designer and for being a good salesperson.

There are some factors that may inhibit a salesperson becoming a good UX designer in the general sense, but they depend more on the kind of salesperson the person was; a very competent used car salesperson may be very unethical and not have the customer’s best interests at heart, focusing instead on misdirection and deceit.

Being a good salesperson doesn’t make someone a good UX designer, but it doesn't preclude them from being one either. Being a salesperson, as with any other vocation, provides a person with a set of skills.

Developing skills as a UX designer requires more than being a competent sales person, but being well-rounded is never a bad thing.

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You can promote yourself that,

  • you have deep understanding with the end users

  • Understanding their needs and know how to communicate effectively to end users

  • Can interpret what end users need by observing them Gather

  • Gather requirements effectively from the users.

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