[Arobin]

I'm looking to get a job in sales and I'm interested to know if anyone has advice for someone new to the field. I have no sales experience, but I want to get into it because it seems like the skills you develop in sales are highly applicable to any career and many aspects of life. It also seems like there's a high degree of overlap between game and sales and I love working game and figuring out ways to improve it. My background is in software and I ultimately want to return there because that's my passion, but I feel like I'd get a lot of useful experience from 1-2 years in sales.

I have two main questions:

What would get someone to hire me?
As I said, I have no real sales experience and the last job I had that was customer-facing was non-sales and a part time job 4-5 years ago.

I see my selling points as (in descending order of importance):
-Went to an Ivy League school and had a solid GPA. (intelligence / hard work)
-Worked as a software developer for a respected and well known software company and was promoted 2x in 3 yrs. (hard work)
-Started my own small software company to sell a software product I created. (though honestly it's a very niche product that sells very little) (aggressive / self-starter)
-Backpacked alone through South America for almost a year and met people without any existing connections. (independent / sociable)
-Have written and performed comedy for several years. (sociable)

Does this seem reasonable? Are there things I should omit / reprioritize?

What kind of companies should I try to work for?
Are there companies that would be especially good for someone new to the field? Are there red flags / shitty deals employers will offer I should look out for?

I've been looking for companies that emphasize a good ongoing sales training program, but I'm not sure how much importance I should be giving that. I don't want to do telemarketing or retail. I'm leaning towards software or finance because that's where I have background and genuine interest in the product, but at the same time I feel like sales is sales and it ultimately doesn't really matter what you're selling as long as you're a good salesman.

I had an interview this morning with a credit card processing company that actually turned out to be a group interview / cattle call where they seemed willing to hire everyone on 100% commission basis. The other people interviewing had several years sales experience and told me after we left that it was a terrible offer and anyone trying to get you to sign on 100% commission is basically trying to scam you, but I'm not sure how true this is. I also interviewed with a life & casualty insurance company that provided no leads and no salary, which seemed like a pretty shitty deal as well. I have interviews lined up with some commercial real estate companies as well as a small energy company, both of which seem to have potential.

Any feedback on these questions or general advice to a sales rookie from guys with sales experience would be greatly appreciated.

[xmlenigma]

Speaking from experience in the industry.. Start moving towards Business development/ Pre-sales / consulting kind of roles in your company or existing ones. How fast or slow you are able to move into that direction, can only happen with talking specifics. PM me if you want with your info. Maybe I can help.

[sylo]

I was in sales before I quit to travel. Outside sales is awesome, I absolutely loved my job, and if you work for a good company, thinigs can go very well for you. I would say as far as interviewing, your degree will get you in the door, and so might your experiance (maybe specifically not yours, but if you sell, you can spin your past experiances to show you will be good at outside sales. The biggest thing aside form experiance or degrees, is your personality. Make sure your really outgoing and confident in the interviews, because thats what they will be looking for. But also make sure thats your personality in real life, because sales can kick your ass harder than gaming.

Once your in, if you are working for a big company, you will soon realize the immidiate perks to sales jobs...almost every single woman working with you is extremely attractive. I had to go to my office in socal every Friday, and I swear, I liked hanging out there sometimes more than going out in the field. *Sales field.

Good luck man I highly recomend outside sales.

[Caramel Communist]

I worked in sales for 2 F500 companies...Business Development

Advice...do it short term...but plan to leave it after 2 years...otherwise you will get tagged as a salesman all your life...if their not talking management after 2 leave and do something else...

Reasons to hire you
I can overcome objections
I can build relationships
I can handle pressure
I can CLOSE = YOU MUST SAY I LOVE TO CLOSE and say it with authority
If they ask you how you make a sales call say:
-I do research for prospects by internet, crm, databases, referrals
-I cold call and do a situational analysis
-I identify ops to upsell, crosssell, retarget, bundle or extend
-I make a presentation with decision maker and/or influencers in attendance
-I handle objections and answer questions
-I CLOSE THEM and get order
-I follow up

Anybody can sell software....not everybody can close....be a closer...get their name on the dotted line...

[Freedom]

I feel the same way, having worked as a developer, starting online services, and marketing them. I can tell you the best book I've read on sales so far is "The Ultimate Sales Machine" by Chet Holmes.

I would like to think you can qualify to be a great salesman just by reading that book. Chet also describes how you can manage a sales team. As the title states, you can probably just launch your own sales force if you have a product.

Good Comments by Caramel Communist.

I could go into more detail, but I don't want to make this post sound like a sales page

Let me know how it goes.

[G Trooper]

Good choice on deciding to go into sales. I've been in sales for 2 years now and it has changed my life. I've upgraded EVERYTHING because of it.

It is not easy by any means, but the fact that we can earn the same income as lawyers and doctors, makes it amazing, without the 3 - 8 extra years of schooling and residency .

Hunt down the good sales industries, like you said software jobs, medical device sales, pm me for more on my industry, anything where there is potential to earn well into the 6 figures. Don't waste you're time with the BS ones.

Best of luck and the only thing you really need to remember once you get the job...is something I was told by my football coach when I was 14 and thinking about giving up.

"Don't quit, because if you do you'll regret it for the rest of your life." (motto plays out tenfold)

[mofo]

(01-30-2012 09:18 PM)G Trooper Wrote:  

Good choice on deciding to go into sales. I've been in sales for 2 years now and it has changed my life. I've upgraded EVERYTHING because of it.

It is not easy by any means, but the fact that we can earn the same income as lawyers and doctors, makes it amazing, without the 3 - 8 extra years of schooling and residency .

Hunt down the good sales industries, like you said software jobs, medical device sales, pm me for more on my industry, anything where there is potential to earn well into the 6 figures. Don't waste you're time with the BS ones.

Best of luck and the only thing you really need to remember once you get the job...is something I was told by my football coach when I was 14 and thinking about giving up.

"Don't quit, because if you do you'll regret it for the rest of your life." (motto plays out tenfold)

Hi!

Could you share all the industries where you believe that one can make six figures or 7 figures by selling?

[jdelisi]

(01-30-2012 09:23 PM)mofo Wrote:  

(01-30-2012 09:18 PM)G Trooper Wrote:  

Good choice on deciding to go into sales. I've been in sales for 2 years now and it has changed my life. I've upgraded EVERYTHING because of it.

It is not easy by any means, but the fact that we can earn the same income as lawyers and doctors, makes it amazing, without the 3 - 8 extra years of schooling and residency .

Hunt down the good sales industries, like you said software jobs, medical device sales, pm me for more on my industry, anything where there is potential to earn well into the 6 figures. Don't waste you're time with the BS ones.

Best of luck and the only thing you really need to remember once you get the job...is something I was told by my football coach when I was 14 and thinking about giving up.

"Don't quit, because if you do you'll regret it for the rest of your life." (motto plays out tenfold)

Hi!

Could you share all the industries where you believe that one can make six figures or 7 figures by selling?

I worked in software sales for 10 years, working at a few different companies in healthcare and telcom. While you can have some great years, there are also stretches when you barely get by. It can be cut-throat, there are companies that fire the bottom 10% of the sales force every year, no matter if you have 1 or 20 years seniority.

If you do go for a job in sales and things don't work out, don't feel any shame in moving on to another outfit. Most will try to get you to "drink the kool-aid", but when things get tough they will easily do lay-offs, to "trim the fat." It happened to me four times.