The world’s toughest sales jobs

Think your January targets are hardcore? Try taking on some of the world’s hardest sales jobs…

Survey upon survey has found that sales jobs are among the hardest to recruit for among generic recruitment companies. The truth is that sales comes with a niche market, no matter who you’re recruiting for. There isn’t such a thing as generic sales jobs. Perhaps that’s why recruiters have such a tough time. In this article, we look at some of the hardest sales jobs around.

Some sales jobs aren’t just hard to recruit for, they can be tough to work at too. Luckily the world is never short of salespeople who are up for a challenge. Where would be without you!

The upcoming brand or product pitch

In this world, there are products that sell themselves. People buy them because they want them, even before they hit the shops. Right?

Well…actually, you’re wrong there champs and champettes. No product or brand ever got to be embedded into the public’s collective need cortexes without some seriously good sales and marketing patter. To begin with, Apple was just another computer company. HTC made BREW PDAs. Mattel didn’t open their shops with Barbie – she came almost 15 years later. Companies need great A&R and R&D but they also need champion sales and marketing departments to make sure that whatever it is they’re selling actually sells.

It might be a piece of cake to sell a brand new iPod, but imagine introducing the first gen. to a public pretty happy with their CDs. MP3 what? That has to be one of the best examples of a pretty tough sales gig.

Sales Managers

It’s tough being a sales manager. Once a member of a busy team of eager, motivates salespeople, it’s now their job to motivate their own team, gain results and take responsibility over their team’s targets, attitude and actions.

Earnings can be lower than top salespeople before bonuses are taken into consideration and hours can be long. One more thing – have you tried telling salespeople what to do lately? It’s a tricky game that only the best can play well. What makes salespeople good – their tenacity, their confidence and their gift of the gab – also makes them notoriously hard to control with traditional methods of management.

According to many it’s the toughest job in the world, but can also be incredibly rewarding, especially when that team you’ve built from scratch hits home all their targets and starts winning company awards. Crushing it never felt so good.

Selling a brand that previously tanked

Imagine working in the safe haven of a sales department tucked away in the cosy rafters of a company who’s profits just get better every quarter. Ahh, bliss. Now imagine something goes terribly wrong with your company’s product or brand. Suddenly you’re not every client’s favourite person anymore. It hurts.

Last year, airliner company Boeing suffered this exact fate after two of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft suffered major technical failures in Japan, home to one of the company’s most loyal customer bases. Sending their Sales Chief John Wojik straight to the Pacific rim in person to attempt to straighten out any potential deals, they were met with two problems: Their customers had seen first-hand evidence of two separate product failures, and their competition was already knocking on the door with sterling track records clutched in their hands.

Rather not be Wojik? Well, we don’t blame you. As a seasoned pro at orchestrating comebacks, however, he’s worked closely with R&D and opened Boeing up to questions from customers, on anything from safety features to figures and design points. So far, it seems to be working. Problem solving, keeping a clear head and always being there for the client are his modus opperandi. That’s why we’re using the phrase “WWJWD?” around the office (and you should too).

Selling out of season products

Whether you’re trying to flog tyre chains in July or fishing rods in Temanrasset, sometimes there’s a time and a place for products and no matter how good you are, you’re never going to have an easy day of sales.

This video sums up the woes of a seasonal salesperson’s life fairly accurately:

What do you think are the toughest sales jobs in the world? We’d love to hear your thoughts – join the conversation on our LinkedIn group or comment below.

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