People from all walks of life, and at all stages, from college, university, post graduate or well into working life are attracted to sales as a career option. Sales can offer a lucrative, versatile life with exciting challenges and the potential for great rewards, financial and otherwise, along the way.
If you are wondering about the benefits of a sales career, then look no further, as we explore why and how you can get started or develop an existing career in sales.
What can your career path look like in sales?
The versatile nature of sales means that you can pick up valuable skills in
other areas that could help you on your way to higher positions in sales, marketing and advertising, as well as business development, management and even towards a directorship or starting your own company. Salespeople either have or learn tenacity, persuasiveness, negotiation, people skills, determination and how to think on your feet.
Other positive character traits that sales professionals can hone while building their career include stamina, tact and imagination. All highly sought-after further up the business hierarchy. Managers who have experience dealing with the ‘sharp end’ of customer interactions will be better leaders as they can understand what is involved in securing valuable sales. They can also enjoy better success selling their ideas for business development to their colleagues, superiors and teams.
Here are five more reasons to consider building a career in sales and some of the benefits of a sales career.
1. Money
A sales career is often highly lucrative, especially if you can return excellent sales figures time and time again. Many companies offer attractive financial incentives for meeting and exceeding sales targets and you can also enjoy added benefits, such as company cars, health insurance, childcare vouchers and more.
Companies need skills sales people to survive and this puts a professional sales person in a strong bargaining position. Many new graduates thinking about their financial future and the prospects of early house ownership, repayment of debts etc. will be attracted to sales for this reason.
2. Job security
Closely tied with career paths is the advantage of relatively strong job security. While no-one’s job is ever totally guaranteed to remain constant, unchanged and unthreatened for ever, companies are unlikely to make sales people who are successful redundant. They need a strong sales force to keep bringing in the money and retaining good customer loyalty and interest.
However, if you do lose your job through no fault of your own, it can be pretty easy to find another one – most companies need sales resources to help spread the word about their products and services. Your sales skills will make you a highly sought-after commodity and a valuable sales job candidate for companies of all shapes and sizes across all sectors.
3. Freedom and control
Pursuing a sales career can take up a lot of time and energy, but a huge 
advantage is the relative freedom that the job can offer. You can control your own time, schedule your own appointments and run your day in the way you think best, so long as you secure great results.
This gets greater as you climb the ranks. Top sales people can choose where, who and when to work, meaning that they can combine a more flexible lifestyle with a lucrative income, both in the UK and abroad. More freedom comes in the form of a huge range of sectors to choose to enter in a sales role.
You can specialise and expand your skills through training and finding courses to study that cover selling to specific industries, or using different techniques and avenues, such as online, face to face and over the telephone.
4. Learning opportunities
Getting out on the road and learning about your company’s products, services and customer base can offer you a unique chance to really get to know about your chosen industry and how it fits in with the wider world. You will learn how to deal with different types of people and how to cope with unexpected situations.
Furthermore, taking on a sales role will teach you a lot about yourself and how you can cope in a challenging business environment. You may well find your new job sparks an interest in a hobby, geographical location or wider cause that you have not thought much about before. Such is the versatility and scope of the sales profession.
5. Friendship and fun
Ok, so having fun may not be top of the list of priorities when you are looking for your next job, but it is important to be happy and fulfilled at work and to form bonds with your colleagues if you can. Most sales teams encourage friendly competition among their members and there is usually an element of professional rivalry in one form or another, but sales teams are usually the first people to socialise and support each other, thanks to the propensity for sales people to have outgoing characters and an excellent ability to read people and sense when they may need each other’s support. Sales people often get to travel a lot and attend exciting industry events.
Finally, the euphoric feeling of being able to solve a customer’s problem by selling them the exact thing that they need should never be underestimated.
Is there a downside here?
In amongst the benefits, there are certain challenges that sales work can present no-one would suggest that the work is easy. For every sale you make, there will be many rejections and you need a thick skin to deal with that.
Developing a sales career takes a lot of effort, time and energy, but the rewards will be worth it if you persevere and succeed. You will also be judged almost exclusively by your results and a bad day can often overshadow past successes.
Being an unsuccessful sales person can be stressful, so you will need to build on your achievements and keep on trying to beat your own results. However, a certain type of person will thrive under these conditions and revel in the fact that no two days in a sales role will ever be the same.
Want to find your ideal job in sales?
SalesNet has been recruiting top-performing sales people for many years. Our expert team of sales recruiters have developed a keen understanding of how to match talented candidates for sales roles with exciting, ambitious companies. If you are a new graduate looking for your first sales job, are looking for your next sales
challenge or step on the career path to round off 2019 the right way, then get in touch with us today to see how we can help you find your perfect sales position and prepare you to give an amazing interview that sells your skills and ensures that you receive the right job offer your next employer.