Attractive salaries, commission and the opportunity to work in a varied role, are just some of the reasons why graduates choose a career in sales. 

Sales forms the career of every business, and if you excel in this profession, it can be lucrative. In this blog, we take a look at working in sales and why it’s a common move for graduates entering the working world.

 

What is sales?

Sales is mainly about building relationships with customers to help them solve problems they have with their business or everyday life. Salespeople tend to pitch their services or products to others in the hope that it can be useful to them. Done correctly, solving problems in this way develops positive relationships and in return your customers will value your service.

 

Why should I work in sales?

 

Networking

Working in sales provides the opportunity to speak with lots of people from all walks of life. Whether it’s over the phone, via video call, or in person at a meeting or event, the opportunity to network brings alot of variety to your career. You’ll be better informed about changes and opportunities occurring within your market. Being better informed will also enable you to prepare for any sudden changes which could affect you or the industry you’re working on behalf of.

 

Job security

As part of a department generating revenue for a business, your role will likely be more secure than those in other departments. In the event that you ever lost your job, demonstrating a track record of sales in any previous jobs will help you land a new role. 

 

Be in charge of your own workload

As long as you can hit your targets, you are free to be creative with how you go about doing it. Using your own initiative will go down well when developing relationships, and it shows you’re willing to go the extra mile. As long as you can produce the required results, the commission will keep rolling in.

 

Career progression

If you’re a successful salesperson, you might also be considered for management roles in sales. Opportunities might include becoming a team leader, or sales manager for example, but you could also work towards becoming a sales director too, once you’ve built up a significant amount of experience. Most chief executives and sales managers started out as a sales executive, so if effective management is something you can offer, career progression is definitely available.

Is a career in sales for me?

A career in sales isn’t for everyone. You will face rejection, so if you take it to heart, this might not be the job for you. 

You’ll also need to be a hardworker. Slacking could affect your ability to generate business, so ask yourself whether you could work in a fast-paced environment. 

You will also need to be able to hold yourself accountable, as the business you generate is solely down to you. You’ll be expected to achieve certain levels of performance, and if you don’t do this, it can be very easily traced back to your efforts.

A role in sales is very demanding, so if you don’t like the idea of being on call for any emergencies or last minute hiccups, sales might not be the career for you. As the face of your company, you’ll be the only person your customer knows. So any issues will come straight to you.  

Where to find graduate jobs in sales

If you’re considering a career in sales, you can find career opportunities for graduates on the Simply Sales Jobs site. 

[simplyjobs site_url=”https://www.simplysalesjobs.co.uk/” placement=”post” site_name=”Simply Sales Jobs” username=”SEO_TEAM” password=”fmgseo” feed_identifier=”blog_graduate_sales” category=”Graduate jobs”][/simplyjobs]

The sales interview – getting better results

The sales interview – getting better results

Looking for a new sales role? Throughout 2011, the job market has become more and more competitive so as we prepare for 2012, it’s important that you present yourself correctly to stand out from the crowd. Often, the most confident of interviewees believe they can still simply ‘blag’ an interview by putting on a good performance, but fail to put in the legwork and preparation beforehand. The old adage definitely applies here – ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’! So first of all, give yourself plenty of time before your interview, if not your actual application, to research your target organisation.

How recruiters use social media to recruit

How recruiters use social media to recruit

Social media has seeped into many facets of modern life. It is used to break the news and make the news, form brand identities and build fan bases, communicate and entertain. A study commissioned by DLA Piper discovered that a majority of...

Eight characteristics of a good sales person

Eight characteristics of a good sales person

Salespeople, along with customer service representatives, are the heart and soul of a business and can make or break a company. They can often be the difference between happy returning customers and unhappy customers who will complain to all...

Mastering the art of cold calling

Mastering the art of cold calling

Cold calling is, it seems, universally accepted as invasive, unwanted and irritating. With such a poor image, how can you master the art to generate sales and ultimately, keep your manager happy? As with most types of sales pitch, you are...

Perfecting your powers of persuasion

Perfecting your powers of persuasion

Improving your selling techniques is easy once you understand that selling is often just persuasion. Essentially, you are simply persuading your customers that your products or services are the best and they should buy from you. With this...