It’s very unfortunate that our education system limits the career options for our kids. Students are taught the very basic subjects and are expected to pick a career out of those limited options. Students are taught about being an engineer, doctor or an accountant, but there are so many options out there, that if taken seriously can help one earn as much money as any other graduate.
Sales is one of the best example, it is called the default career because usually people end up in the field by default. You will hardly find someone who might have gotten into field because he or she wanted to. But why is that so? Sales’ is such a versatile job where you can easily earn much money and fortune. So, if you are looking some career options we would totally suggest you consider sales at least once.
Breaking the myth:
One of the biggest myths’ that is associated with the career is that sales’ is a job for an extrovert or loud person. But, one needs to have these three skills to excel in the field of sales.
- You must be a good listener; it is proven that for good communication, you must a good listener first. Being able to understand what the customer wants and expects from you can help you in selling your product.
- You must be an intuitive person; again, it is very important that you must be able to predict a person’s response and reaction so that you would know how to handle each person.
- You must not fear discussion, when you would be dealing with your customers, you might sometimes have to discuss some sensitive topics and for the satisfaction of the customer you must be able to address and participate in those subjects.
In short, sales are more about making a connection with your customers, so that they would trust you and your product or service.
Types of jobs:
There are two basic types of sales one is business to business (B2B) and the other is business to consumer (B2C). As the name suggests in B2B you are expected to deal with other business and companies, while in a B2C job you are supposed to sell your product and services to a customer, a single person. Very clearly in a B2C deal you might not be able to generate much money per each sale while in a B2B you can easily generate big money on each sale.
There are two sub-types of B2B sales, outside sale and inside sale. Inside sales transactions are usually performed through phone or emails. While outside sales are expected to be conducted in face to face meeting thus it involves traveling. But sometime inside sale, personals are also expected to conduct face to face meetings, but the ratio is very low as compared to the outside sales job.
Thus, before you say yes to any sales job, make sure you understand what the job wants and expects from you.
Companies that you must target:
Sales jobs usually offer commission against each sale; thus, it’s recommended that you apply for some high margin profitable companies as they pay higher commissions. Software companies are ideal for such jobs as they have higher profit margins. Beside software you can also look for jobs in real estate, Financial Services, Insurance and Telecommunication companies.
Things you should consider first:
Sale jobs sound very easy, thus people do take job offers without thinking much. There are some important factors that you must consider before you say yes to the job. First and foremost is salary, most sales job would suggest you a high percentage of commission with no basic salary, never settle for such deals as they are too risky, in spite go for job which offer a fixed basic salary even with low percentage of commission. This way you will always have some sort of insurance about your earnings.
Another important thing to look for is the company’s policy towards employees. There are many companies that encourage and participate in the employee’s self-development and for that they do conduct several trainings. You should always prefer companies that do so, this way you will not only be earning for your present but will be learning something for your future too. Trainings are important as they will help you move forward in your career or one might end up in the same position forever.
Conclusion:
To conclude, sales can be a very ideal career, it is high money-making career. If planned properly one can easily get into the managerial side through these jobs. There are many sales and marketing related graduate programs that can provide you with the knowledge and skill to enhance your skills of the subject. Remember if you really want to make a career out of it, then you must always try to learn more and more about the subject, the more learned