5 Reasons Why Your First Job Should Be In Sales
1) Everybody sells
Everybody needs to sell something -- not just salespeople. In a business meeting, you need need to sell the logic and reasoning behind your opinions to the other participants. In a job interview, you need to sell yourself and your track record to the hiring manager. Entrepreneurs need to sell their vision to investors and early employees. The ability to concisely and convincingly advocate for your point of view is an invaluable skill that will pay dividends along any career path, and a skill you’ll hone every day as a salesperson.
On the flip side, if you do want a career in sales, pretty much every company needs to sell! All organizations need someone to buy their product or service. While most people when they think of sales might imagine a sleazy car salesman slinging beat up pickups, the top companies in the world employ incredibly talented senior employees as salespeople. Facebook sells ad space to corporations and small businesses, SpaceX sells rocket launches to governments and telecommunications companies, and Amazon sells its web services to enterprise companies and startups. If you crush your first sales job, you’ll have top companies beating down your door to hire you.
2) Learn to overcome rejection
Most people are (irrationally) motivated more by fear of rejection than hope for success. It’s why little setbacks can sometimes make us give up on our goals entirely. But stubborn persistence, grit, or tenacity are some of the most important traits that determine career success. Persistence is so important that it’s often cited as the single most important trait for potential entrepreneurs. 90% of all startups fail, so the ability to accept your failures and learn from them is instrumental in building a founder's mentality.
"You learn more about yourself in [a sales] role than any other. It forces you to use your creativity to overcome rejection, [and that] is a skill that transcends all industries and is extremely applicable. [At ForUsAll,] they treat you as if you are a founder of the company and encourage you to take control of your craft." --Gian, Sales Associate at ForUsAll
Not every sales opportunity will close -- in fact, almost all of them won’t -- so you’ll quickly learn to push through rejection, not take things personally, and treat each “No” as bringing you one step closer to “Yes.” That winning mentality will stick with you long after your first job.
3) Fast learning curve
In order to sell your product or service, you'll need to learn everything about your industry and become on an expert on what you're selling. A sales job will force you to do a deep dive on many topics you're not familiar with, and keep you learning new skills as your industry evolves. You'll gain a strong understanding of organizational hierarchy, and how multiple agents interact at different companies to reach decisions. Having conversations every day with senior employees will sharpen your knowledge and teach you about more varied subjects than you could learn from only working with your internal team.
"Sales has given me the ability to utilize my communication skills and the opportunity to gain exposure to multiple businesses throughout different industries. Sales drives the revenue of almost every company, so as a salesperson, you get a firsthand understanding of how a business operates and grows." --Matt, SDR Manager at Vettery
"One of the main reasons I like sales is that it's a great way to learn about a business. In order to be able to sell our product, I have to be an expert on the product. Additionally, because I'm on the front lines, I get to work with many different internal teams including Marketing, Product, and Client Success to ensure client feedback is heard.” --Sean, Sales Development Representative at Namely
4) Direct impact
Some jobs are behind the scenes, where you can work hard for months but not get recognized. Not sales -- no other job has a more direct impact on a business's bottom line. You’ll track your metrics closely, get to claim specific dollars amounts as your work, and can feel confident knowing that what you do every day really matters to overall business success. Businesses often use public leaderboards to showcase how salespeople are doing, so everyone will share in your successes and congratulate you when you close a big sale.
5) Sharpen your people skills
Small talk not your cup of tea? A job in sales is the fastest way to get comfortable talking to just about anybody. You'll speak with C-suite decision makers, hiring managers, engineers, and marketers.
“Sales is a great way to enhance your public speaking skills -- I'm on the phone throughout the day with people from so many different industries and positions, it's definitely helped me learn to speak clearly.” --Sean, Sales Development Representative at Namely
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