What to Know About Sales Jobs Before Taking One

Before you take a sales position, you should know a few things about them. Don’t worry if you’re thinking about a career in sales; this article will walk you through EVERYTHING you need to know about working in sales.

 

The truth is that most individuals have no idea what it’s like to work in sales. This isn’t something you learn in school. Most people learn about professions such as finance, accounting, science, and engineering. You are frequently introduced to the option since schools cannot (or do not) teach sales methods. So let’s get this party started… Before you take that job, here’s what you should know about sales!

Everything There Is to Know About Sales

Sales careers are a well-kept secret…

I can’t think of many other jobs where you can earn millions with just a bachelor’s degree, and I’ve seen numerous salespeople make seven figures with “odd” bachelor’s degrees like History, English, and so on.

You can also disregard the assumption that a profession in sales necessitates an outgoing or extroverted disposition, as this is not true. On the contrary, being a good listener is a valuable talent when working in sales.

 

So those are some of the benefits or advantages of working in sales. However, there are also many myths…

Working in Sales Isn’t What It Seems.

Here are the top five abilities needed to succeed in a sales job:

  • Excellent listener
  • High levels of emotional intelligence/empathy
  • Intuitive and capable of reading people’s emotions
  • Not hesitant to confront difficult topics as they arise or to delve further to discover someone’s actual emotions on a subject.
  • Tough-minded and able to recover from rejection or persevere through a difficult day or week

Forgot about the movies you’ve seen, such as Boiler Room. Nowadays, very few people do cold calls. Forget about ‘Always Be Closing.’ ‘Always Be Building Relationships and Earning Credibility/Trust’ should be the motto. That does not necessitate an outgoing or loud personality.

How Much Can a Salesperson Earn?

In B2B (business to business) sales, it’s not uncommon for someone to earn more than $100,000, and occasionally several multiples of that amount. This is achievable since many sales roles are compensated with a percentage of the deals they close in addition to a base wage. This generates an infinite upside in terms of prospective earnings.

Sales are one of the best ways I’ve ever seen to make money without a college diploma and without ‘paying your dues’ and climbing the corporate ladder for years, if not decades.

Sales are a few careers where you are compensated based on the outcomes you produce rather than the amount of time you spend in the office. If you’re not sure why, here’s an article I published explicitly about it.