The benefits of a career in sales A sales career offers the opportunity of financial success and provides a sense of accomplishment and pride with each new sale. A number of people may see a sales career as a default career choice but there are many benefits and rewards to a career in sales that far outweigh the often misrepresented view of this profession. What are the benefits of a career in sales?
Transferable skills, creating a challenging careerThe skills developed in a sales career are abundant and provide a desirable career path for many professionals. Unlike many other careers you will not feel pigeonholed in one industry; once you have the skills to sell successfully you can transfer your skills and move between industries providing new challenges and the opportunity to move your career in the direction you desire. Great earning potential"The financial rewards can be significant and if you are willing to create new opportunities and have the drive to succeed the earning potential can seem limitless." - Nick Louca, Associate Director, Robert Walters, New York. The pay structure will vary at each company but will generally involve a base salary plus commission, bonus and additional benefits. FreedomA day in sales is what you make of it and there is little time for clock-watching and a nine-to-five mentality. A job in sales provides a freedom where you can generally structure your own day and manage your own time, whether you are in the office or out on the road meeting clients. Meet a wide variety of peopleA career in sales provides the opportunity to meet a variety of people from internal stakeholders to product developers/suppliers to clients. It is almost a guarantee that each day you will talk to someone new, from a different walk of life, that will teach you something interesting you didn’t already know. As a salesperson, you create for yourself a great career network that will provide vast career opportunities. Continual learningThe earning potential may be unlimited but so is the learning potential. From the vast networks of people you will meet to the continual changes in areas that impact your job, like the economy and technology, you’ll never get time to feel uninspired in the career you’ve chosen. Nick Louca continues: "One of the best parts of a career in sales is that it is undefined - it’s hard for any sales person to describe their typical day because there is no typical day." A day can involve researching new clients, meeting with clients, nurturing relationships with existing clients or strategizing sales growth with internal stakeholders. So, as you can see it’s a varied profession and rarely boring. SatisfactionThere is a great deal of satisfaction that comes from successfully closing a sale or ‘sealing the deal’. Satisfaction can come in a variety of ways from professional satisfaction, usually generated from tangible rewards and the acknowledgement of a job well done, or personal satisfaction that provides self-confidence and pride. So if you are considering a career in sales you can see there are many benefits which make it a successful and rewarding career.