If you've never pictured yourself--or even casually considered--making your way in sales, you may be making a mistake. Instead, think about how working in sales might benefit you and how it might be different from what you think you know about sales.
More than widgets
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that the only things being sold in the marketplace are products, and useless ones at that. As one job seeker I worked with put it, "I won't do sales. I don't want to go around talking to people and trying to sell them stuff they don't want."
You may sell a product if you go into sales, but you might also sell a service, or even a cause of some sort. If you find a product, service, or cause you believe in and then take it to people who might also believe in it, you could find yourself in a gratifying career.
Sales experience is applicable everywhere
Business leaders, many of whom started out in sales, believe that if you can succeed in sales, you can succeed almost anywhere. Sales is often viewed as the training ground for the business standouts of tomorrow. Why?
Sales is all about understanding a product (or service, or cause) in depth, teaching other people about it (using your written and verbal communication skills), and showing those people how they would benefit. No matter where your career may go in 5, 10, or 30 years, the communication and persuasion skills developed in sales will be crucial to your success.
Evergreen opportunities--even in a slump
No job is truly recession-proof, but sales careers come close. Why? Because when organizations are struggling, they typically need to increase revenues, decrease expenses, or do both to survive and, eventually, thrive again.
Sales professionals should increase an organization's revenues, so they're less likely to be laid off in times of struggle. They're more likely to get hired during the tough times, too.
Sales can be lucrative
While it may not happen immediately, if you become skilled at selling you can easily earn more than $100,000 a year. The secret may be a sales job that offers not only a salary, but also a commission on the sales you make.
Don't dismiss a sales career out of hand, without at least exploring the possibilities in some depth. If you do, you may well be selling yourself--and a potentially rewarding profession--short.
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