When I was younger, my neighborhood would hold a yard sale one Saturday each Spring. It would start at the crack of dawn, and I’d jump out of bed those mornings knowing it was my time to shine. The more things I sold, the more money I’d make. And the more money I made, the more candy I could buy! My first tactic was to get people “in the door” by yelling out that I had fresh hand-baked sticky buns for sale for $1.00 each. Turns out nothing grabs attention like the allure of breakfast in the morning. After I’d hooked folks with my food, I’d ask them what they were looking for, hunt my most similar item down for them, and bargain over the final price. That was my introduction to sales–a job function in which a person helps to sell goods and services to new or current customers.
Photo Credit: Flickr user dennis
A sales person tries to sell products, services, or facilities to people who might be interested in them. Sales is a function that can be found in nearly every organization in some form. A salesperson’s goals is to teach potential customers learn more about the product or service and help them overcome any objections they may have to making a purchasing decision. Sales jobs can range from the retail level where you convince someone to buy a particular cell phone to the enterprise level where you are hammering out multi-million dollar contracts between businesses.
There are two types of sales jobs–one is called “outside sales” and the other is referred to as “inside sales.” Outside sales representatives generally sell goods outside of the office–this could range from going door to door to flying across the world to make a pitch. People in outside sales typically focus on bringing in entirely new business or at least opening up the opportunity for a business relationship in the future. People who work in inside sales primarily close over the phone or e-mail, and their job is geared towards closing new sales with current customers. This may mean upselling, convincing a client to renew a contract, or closing a sale with a warm lead.
The day of a Sales Associate is dominated by communication with prospects–this may be over the phone, by e-mail, or in person. Depending on what is being sold, the time spent on an individual prospect could be minutes or weeks (for instance some companies will require employees to make 200 calls a day or schedule 20 meetings a week). This means that there is a lot of variance in the day to day activities of someone in sales, but the days typically consist of following up on previous interactions, searching for and researching new prospects, and reaching out to these new prospects. Some businesses provide their salespeople with leads, while others require their sales team to find new prospects on their own.
The most successful salespeople are able to understand their customers’ problems and then frame the product they are selling as the best solution. The key to selling is overcoming a customer’s objections, so people in sales typically need to excel at reading people and asking questions. Jobs in sales are heavily shaped by what is being sold, but the skills that are most important in the job span across all industries.
A sales person on average makes $52,000 per year. But that can range a bit depending upon what industry you’re selling in. For example, in advertising sales, the average person makes $43,000 per year, but in medical sales, the average sales associate makes about $67,000 per year. There are endless possibilities for growth, as you can expand across industries, or add on additional territories within your current industry to become Regional Sales Manager ($50,000-$160,000), Sales Director ($45,000-$210,000), and National Sales Manager ($50,000-$165,000). Many Sales jobs come with relatively small base salaries and significant commission structures or performance bonuses.
These hot spots have the highest salaries for salespeople:
To work in Sales you’ll need to develop specific skills like good listening, exceptional self-confidence, and persuasiveness. It’s also important that you’re self-motivated, and a real people person. On top of that, beyond a basic college degree (which isn’t always required) you’ll probably need to undergo some company specific training, so that you can learn the products you’re pitching inside and out.
If Sales still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Sr. Interaction Designer | San Francisco, CA |
| Ad Trafficker / Analyst | San Francisco, CA |
| Strategist / Copywriter | San Francisco, CA |
| Sr. Interaction Designer, Content | San Francisco, CA |
| Visual Designer, Web | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Physical Therapist - Home Health - (PT - HH) | San Jose, CA |
| Senior Technical Consultant - Java | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Full-time Math Teacher | Wyoming, MI |
| Graphic Design Intern | New York, NY |
| Administrative Assistant to Store Planning & Construction Team | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Marketing Intern | Herndon, VA |
| Outside Sales-Well funded Internet Startup (Online Ad Sales) | Herndon, VA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Scrum Master - Relocation to Panama City, FL | Phoenix, AZ |
| Plastics Set-up Technician | Greeneville, TN |
| Project Manager | Longview, TX |
| Corporate Paralegal | Mountain View, CA |
| Market Leader | Melville, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood Sales Manager, Washington, D.C. | Washington, DC |
| Graphic Design Intern | New York, NY |
| Expansion Market Research Intern | New York, NY |
| NY Market Research Intern | New York, NY |
| Loyalty Marketing Intern | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Process Technician | Springfield, MA |
| Big Data Expert | Austin, TX |
| RTB Product Manger | San Francisco, CA |
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | Grand Rapids, MI |
| Welding / Robotics Programmer | Saint Paul, MN |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Business Insights Manager | Brea, CA |
| Trade Planning Analyst - Corporate | Charlotte, NC |
| Movie Extra - part time work in Nitro, WV | Nitro, WV |
| Movie extras wanted (flexible hours) in Nitro, WV | Nitro, WV |
| TV Extras wanted in Nitro, WV | Nitro, WV |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Senior Product Designer - Footwear | Irvine, CA |
| Senior Product Manager - Running Apparel | Canton, MA |
| Senior Product Manager - Outerwear Apparel | Canton, MA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Marketing Intern | San Francisco, CA |
| Gear and Apparel Buyer / Merchandising Manager | San Francisco, CA |
| Video Editor Intern | San Francisco, CA |
| PPC Marketing Manager at ZOZI | San Francisco, CA |
| Gear/Ecommerce Marketing Intern at ZOZI | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Database Integration Technician | Provo, UT |
| Fast-paced tech company seeks Android Mobile developer | Provo, UT |
| Summer Camp Internships | Farmington, PA |
| Game Designer - Content | Los Gatos, CA |
| Game Designer - Systems | Los Gatos, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Building Maintenance Technician | Waukegan, IL |
| Advertising Sales -- Print & Digial | Phoenix, AZ |
| Senior Mechanical Engineer | Lombard, IL |
| Software Development Engineer | Alpharetta, GA |
| Sales Administrator | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Skilled Nursing Facility Occupational Therapist | Waldorf, MD |
| School Experience Required Occupational Therapist | Washington, DC |
| Skilled Nursing Facility Physical Therapist | Washington, DC |
| Outpatient Facility Physical Therapist | Waldorf, MD |
| Telemetry Registered Nurse | Clinton, MD |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| 2013 Summer Internship Program | Miami, FL |
| Special Events Coordinator | South Lake Tahoe, CA |
| Event Coordinator | Washington, DC |
| Special Events Coordinator | South Lake Tahoe, CA |
| Event Coordinator | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Flexible Fashion Consultant | Long Beach, CA |
| Flexible Fashion Consultant | San Francisco, CA |
| Fun and Flexible Positoin | San Jose, CA |
| Outside Sales Consultant | San Francisco, CA |
| Fun and Flexible Position | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| LA Copywriting Intern | Los Angeles, CA |
| Marketing Intern | Chicago, IL |
| Content and Copywriting Intern | Chicago, IL |
| Graphic Designer | Chicago, IL |
| Web Application Designer | Chicago, IL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Copywriter | Detroit, MI |
| Copywriter | Detroit, MI |
| Research Assistant | Santa Clara, CA |
| Research Assistant | Santa Clara, CA |
| Creative Intern | Detroit, MI |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| PR & Content Intern | New York, NY |
| PR & Content Intern | New York, NY |
| Business Development Intern | New York, NY |
| Management Assistant Intern | New York, NY |
| Creative Director | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Global Production Planning & SAP Analyst | Barrington, NJ |
| Temporary Associate Buyer | Barrington, NJ |
| Software Engineer, Java Job | Santa Monica, CA |
| Web Application Developer | Barrington, NJ |
| Vice President, Business Development Engineering Consulting | Gainesville, FL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Associate/Intern, Business Development | Evanston, IL |
| Intern, Marketing & PR | Evanston, IL |
| Sales / Marketing Executive | Savannah, GA |
| Associate, Sales | Chicago, IL |
| Associate, Client Management | Chicago, IL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Investment Banking Analyst Position | Palo Alto, CA |
| Marketing Specialist (Miami, FL) | Miami, FL |
| Senior Research Analyst | Purchase, NY |
| M & A Investment Banking Intern | Rockville, MD |
| Head of Marketing for Global Private Bank | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Washington, DC |
| Designer | Washington, DC |
| Software Engineer | Washington, DC |
| Senior Software Engineer | Washington, DC |
| Product Manager, Mobile | Washington, DC |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Ballistics Structure Research (MS & PhD) | Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
| WiT Summer Intern | Nashua, NH |
| NonTechnical Intern 2 | Burlington, MA |
| Senior Instructor | Fort Bragg, NC |
| Outside Sales Representative | Tucson, AZ |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Education Content Development Specialist III | Burlington, MA |
| Sr. Technical Trainer | Burlington, MA |
| Software Engineer | Burlington, MA |
| Principal Software Engineer- Java, Swing, GXT / GWT | Burlington, MA |
| Technical Support Engineer | Burlington, MA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Mobile Developer, Windows 8/Phone (Austin, San Diego, Orange County) | Santa Ana, CA |
| Director Product Marketing Property Managers and Owners | Austin, TX |
| Online Marketing Analyst | Austin, TX |
| Statistical Analyst – Marketing Analytics | Austin, TX |
| Director, Global Marketing Operations | Austin, TX |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Patient Care Coordinator, RN | Kokomo, IN |
| Physician Assistant (CCC-1156) | Boston, MA |
| Outside Sales Consultants | Maryland |
| Sr. Investment Strategies Analyst | Fort Wayne, IN |
| Training Operations Manager | Palo Alto, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Administrative Assistant | Seattle, WA |
| Digital Production Assistant (North America & Amsterdam) | Seattle, WA |
| Market Development Representative (North America & Amsterdam) | Seattle, WA |
| Accounting Assistant | Seattle, WA |
| Customer Success Representative (North America & Amsterdam) | Seattle, WA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Senior Network Contract Manager | Signal Hill, CA |
| DRG Validation Reviewer | Manhasset, NY |
| Network Contracting Manager | Boise, ID |
| Senior Network Contract Manager | Orlando, FL |
| Senior Financial Analyst, 1.0 FTE | Bremerton, WA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Digital Advertising Account Executive (Outside Sales) | Des Moines, IA |
| Major Gift Officer III | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Senior User Interface Designer | Glen Allen, VA |
| Graphic Designer (Web Graphic Design Experience Required) | Minneapolis, MN |
| Content Marketing Manager | Redwood City, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Speech Therapist (Home Health) | Winter Haven, FL |
| Physical Therapist & Physical Therapy Assistant (PT & PTA Home Health) | Spring Hill, FL |
| Project Manager | Boston, MA |
| Technology Consulting Public Sector Oracle P2P Senior Associate | McLean, VA |
| Business Systems Analyst | Columbus, OH |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Prepared Foods Clerk | Carmel, IN |
| BUSPERSON - GRAND WOK | Las Vegas, NV |
| Commercial Cooking Equipment Technician | Harwood, MD |
| FT Runner Restaurant | Carefree, AZ |
| PT Runner Restaurant | Carefree, AZ |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Regional Account Director - Dayton, OH | Cincinnati, OH |
| Regional Account Director | Dayton, OH |
| Communications Coordinator | Centennial, CO |
| Research Analyst | New York, NY |
| Human Resources Specialist | Centennial, CO |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Online Marketing Specialist | Westlake Village, CA |
| Online Sales/Customer Service | Clarksville, IN |
| Retail Inventory Auditor | Denver, CO |
| Financial Analyst – Risk Management – Banking | Fitchburg, WI |
| Retail Sales (Pawnbroker) | Indianapolis, IN |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Project Manager | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Marketplace Specialist | Northbrook, IL |
| Market Research Intern | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Online Marketing Specialist | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Market Researcher | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Business Development Manager | Dallas, TX |
| Software Sales Representative | Raleigh, NC |
| Full Stack Engineer | Raleigh, NC |
| VP of Engineering | Raleigh, NC |
| Business Development Manager | Dallas, TX |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| 2013 ECSE Long Term Sub Teacher, 1.0 FTE, MCEC (Dates: 10/9/13-12/20/13) | Minnetonka, MN |
| Client Consultant | New York, NY |
| Business Development Intern | New York, NY |
| 2013-14 Special Education EBD/LD Teacher, 1.0 FTE, Minnewashta | Minnetonka, MN |
| 2013-14 Grade 5 Long Term Sub Teacher, 1.0 FTE, Scenic Heights | Minnetonka, MN |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Social Media Intern | New York, NY |
| Social Media/Marketing Associate | New York, NY |
| SEO Strategist | New York, NY |
| Business Development/Capital Advisor | New York, NY |
| Sales and Marketing Intern | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Supervisor / Production Floor Supervisor | Marietta, OK |
| Freelance Journalist | New York, NY |
| Executive Assistant/Paralegal | Roseville, CA |
| Senior Medical Editor - Promotional/Pharmaceutical | Raleigh, NC |
| Litigation Paralegal | Charleston, SC |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Designer | New York, NY |
| Design Intern | New York, NY |
| Jr. Brand Strategist | New York, NY |
| Brand Strategist | New York, NY |
| Account Coordinator | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Production Assistant A&E/BIO (Freelance) | New York, NY |
| Producer, Social Media - Freelance | New York, NY |
| Marketing Specialist/Webmaster (Freelance) | New York, NY |
| Taxonomist | Stamford, CT |
| Sales Assistant/Sales Planner | Troy, MI |
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