Sales Careers

Every once in a while, you like to sit back, take a deep breath, and reflect on your glory days. Back when you were eleven years old…President and CEO of Trevor’s Lemonade and Pretzel Emporium, at the end of your parents’ driveway.

Man, you sold a ton of lemonade. If someone told you they weren’t thirsty, you made them realize they were. If someone only wanted one cup, you explained to them why they needed to purchase two. You could have sold an umbrella to a tortoise.

Unfortunately, things get a bit tougher out there in the real world. Kindly old Mr. Campbell, who bought a dozen lemonades off you out of sheer pity, isn’t going to be as interested in purchasing a vacuum cleaner off a thirty-year-old, balding door-to-door salesman. Although he may still invite you in for a cup of tea and a cruller.

Being a great salesperson ain’t easy, because it really takes a very well-rounded individual to pull it off. You’ve got to be a smooth-talker, able to use your powers of persuasion to convince a stranger of how badly they need this whatzit or that thingamabob; you have to be highly motivated and have great persistence, as around 90% of your potential customers won’t take the bait; you have to be something of a math whiz, so you can set the ideal price and maximize profits, while not driving prospects into the open arms of your competitors; and you have to understand people, so that you know when you’re pushing too hard, and when all someone needs is a little bit of hand-holding in order to feel comfortable making a purchase.

As far as the marketplace goes, the range is exceptionally wide. On the low end you’ve got your cashiers, who are technically salespeople, but really more just professional button-pushers. They’re lucky if they can take in 20k in a year. Those in retail sales make a tad more, real estate and insurance sales agents make in the 40k-50k range at a minimum, and then you have your commodities and financial services sales agents, who can rake in well over 100k a year. For those in high-end international sales, the sky is pretty much the limit.

And keep in mind that there’s a difference between selling something you really believe in, and just being a pushy, company goon. If you’re a globetrotter-turned-travel-agent who gets an incredible thrill out of setting people up on their dream vacations, you might find the work rewarding. On the other hand, if you’re a used car salesman at a shady dealership, you might lay awake every night, turning over in your head all the questionable sales tactics you put into action the day before. Maybe you shouldn’t have threatened that one woman’s family.

But if you’ve never loved anything as much as hocking that lemonade to any sucker who would pass by, then go get ‘em. And don’t let Mr. Campbell off too easy. He needs that vacuum cleaner. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Careers In This Field