Is sales no longer an attractive job?
Discussion
I currently have a number of good but junior or entry level sales positions on my books. However it seems to be increasingly hard to find good (read any) candidates even with no or little experience wanting to move into IT sales, B2B sales etc.
I realise that the since 9/11 sales have been down in most industry sectors but now things seem to be on the up (IMHO).
If grads are not interested in Sales positions any more what are they doing work wise?
Don’t tell me they are all going to be Plumbers?
I realise that the since 9/11 sales have been down in most industry sectors but now things seem to be on the up (IMHO).
If grads are not interested in Sales positions any more what are they doing work wise?
Don’t tell me they are all going to be Plumbers?
samn01 said:
If grads are not interested in Sales positions any more what are they doing work wise?
Don’t tell me they are all going to be Plumbers?
Well you can hardly blame them, with most plumbers charging between 20 and 60 pounds per hour, and you hardly need to be a rocket scientist to know how to bend a few pipes....
They don't even need to know how to "wipe a joint" these days........
Six months at night school and your in business...
simpo two said:
Why do you need a degree to sell things?
...because the standard of education in this country is now such that a degree is the minimum level at which you can be reasonably confident of finding someone with basic literacy and numeracy. I have just sacked someone with a HND in Building Technology and an A-level in maths who couldn't spell words like 'Chinese' and 'design' or convert feet and inches to millimetres (even with a calculator)!
mungo said:
Qaulifications mean jack shite in sales - You can either sell or you can't.
Spelling and attention to detail mean heaps though
Sales is tough if you dont have the mentality - full stop. Rejection I'm sure Mungo experiences regulary on a Friday night but when you've heard it all day its not a problem - am I right mate?
samn01 said:
Don’t tell me they are all going to be Plumbers?
Why not? Mine are either expensive or usless. There is a distinct lacking of good manual labour around. If I had a kid who was 16 thats the way Id push them. Learn a trade and then manage your mates you met at college.
>> Edited by Broccers on Friday 30th January 00:45
steviebee said:
Equally, few companies have the turnover and cashflow to spend the time training someone up from scratch or provide the support needed to do so.
too true. I am looking for jobs now, since as of an hours more work, I am officially unemployed... *hint hint*
Most of the positions I have seen want x number of years experience but to gain the experience you need to gt the job which you can't get without the experience.
I am often horrified by the level of literacy and numeracy amongst people my age. On the first year of my degree there were people who couldn't spell basic words, and even more that had never touched a computer. IT was compulsory in our school! IN this day, you will struggle to find a profession that doesn't need a level of IT competence, I'm sure even plumbers use computers for storing records, ordeering parts etc!
Our next-door neighbour is a plumber and he's only just bought a fax!! Plotloss said:
Sam, what can someone with little or no sales experience expect to make first year in general IT sales?
With no sales experience your first Sales role would be an internal sales or telesales position, which would mean qualifying leads, doing research and booking appointments for the field sales guys (and girls).
Internal Sales roles pay about £16-22k basic with a realistic OTE of 25-40k year depending on whom you work for and weather it is SW/HW/etc you are selling.
After a couple of years of successful Telesales you may move onto a field sales position.
OEM's (Original Equipment Manufactures) pay sales people much more than VAR's (Value Added Resellers). They are also much more specific about their requirements when it comes to recruiting and look for the cream of the crop when it comes to candidates.
SW sales also pays much more than HW sales generally.
The average salary for an account manager in SW sales is probably £45-60k base with an OTE of 100-120
and as you go up through the ranks to global account manager, global account director etc you get closer to the 7 figure packages.
If you ever want to be at the top end of the sales earnings you need to manage your career very carefully from day one. Who you work for and what you sell is very important.
I do not agree with Mungo saying you can either sell or you can’t although I know what he means. You can be born with “the gift of the gab” and a good communicator but sales is something you are always getting better at as with each proposal / deal etc you learn something new.
Hope that helps
Sam
Wacky Racer said:
Well you can hardly blame them, with most plumbers charging between 20 and 60 pounds per hour, and you hardly need to be a rocket scientist to know how to bend a few pipes....
They don't even need to know how to "wipe a joint" these days........
Six months at night school and your in business...
My friend owns a plumbing firm, and he can’t find skilled staff for love nor money. Potential earnings of £500 to £1k per week yet he can’t find staff! I won’t tell him that ‘bending pipes’ is easy but I can tell you that being a plumber is a hell of a lot more skilled than being a sparky for example.
Let’s all leave school and become an ‘IT’ person, even though there are no decent jobs. Unless you have some serious skills and excel at maths etc I wouldn’t even bother these days.
On another note, I am looking for 2 sales reps to cover Surrey / Kent selling our range of golf products. Earnings of £40 - £50k are not unrealistic. I don’t give a monkeys about qualifications as our sales positions rely on building relationships, therefore personality is more important than anything else. Anyone interested?
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