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Career Profile: Sales

Sales is an integral part of any business function as it is the department responsible for producing money. Every industry, whether implicitly or explicitly, has a sales department and sales people, even if it is only the business owner on a solo venture. As a profession, sales is not about pushing a product or service on a potential buyer just to make a sale, quite the contrary. Instead, a good salesperson consults with potential buyers about their needs and wants and concludes as to whether or not the service or product they are offering is a good match for the customer.

Many seasoned sales people can attest to the importance of consulting with your prospective buyer, which means listening. In fact, industry insiders assert that the one trait that distinguishes a good salesperson from a bad one is one who listens more and hears what the buyer needs. Bottom line: salespeople are in the business of meeting a demand and fulfilling a void by presenting their product or service to a buyer for purchase. Though not always easy, a career in sales can be extremely rewarding both professionally and monetarily for those who excel. Similar to other professions such as attorneys or doctors, salespeople must learn to become an expert in their designated field.

Career Tracks:

Whether they are selling business lines of insurance, pharmaceuticals, or consulting services, a salesperson needs to be intimately familiar with their industry so that they may communicate with a buyer on the many reasons why their particular product or service helps them. Professional salespeople can work under a variety of circumstances and formats, depending on what direction in sales they choose to lead their career.

For instance, outside salespeople mainly find their days filled with visiting clients, emailing from their Blackberry, and working out of a home office. Inside salespeople, on the other hand, spend the majority of their time in a corporate office interfacing with clients over the phone and email. Similarly, the type of people sales professionals market to differs according to their product or service. Business to business (B2B) salespeople deal exclusively with businesses, not individuals. Examples would include selling telecommunication equipment or office furniture. On the other hand, business to customer (B2C) sales involves a salesperson approaching a consumer. Examples such as retail clothing or homeowners insurance qualify as B2C sales.

Career tracks for salespeople vary according to the industry and type of sales environment they pursue, but for the most part, most companies have parallel organizational charts. Like other professions, most salespeople begin in entry-level positions where they learn the business and the profession. From there, most move into account executive positions or account representative roles where they work directly with clients and are responsible for building their client base. For sales individuals who have leadership aspirations, many move on to become district sales managers, regional managers, or vice president of sales.

Outlook:

Overall the job outlook for sales professionals through 2014 are comparable to the overall job growth for all other industries, about 11%. However, high-growth industries are more likely to have greater growth because of market demand in areas such as business services.