Sales Jobs Are Legit Options For New Graduates

What would be your ideal job? In many surveys, graduates discuss the characteristics they’re looking for: being part of a team, doing something meaningful and having an impact on the organization.

My career in sales has provided me with fulfillment in all of these areas. I act as an integral part of a team, I create impact within the organization and through helping the company achieve its mission I am doing meaningful work.

Many new graduates overlook sales as a potential path in starting their career, yet in reality it can be one of the best paths to start down. For those who are ambitious, it is often the quickest path to promotion and management.

Sales Jobs Misconceptions

The media has a tremendous influence on our culture. When people think about joining the air force, do they think about all the men and women who repair and maintain aircrafts? The individuals who sort out logistics, or even cater the vast number of air bases around the world? No – they are thinking about Top Gun, right? The percentage of pilots in the air force is a tiny, tiny number yet it is still this image that draws people to the field.

It’s the same with sales.  If you think of sales guys on television, your mind might wander to Jim or Dwight from The Office.  One is reluctantly trudging through a sales job he does not see as a career, while the other is that somewhat dimwitted suck up we all recognize from our own lives. Or perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in The Wolf of Wall Street, who is seen building his career by lying and ripping off clients in penny-stock scams. The media paints a picture of sales, but it’s far from reality.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are over 12 million people working in sales in the US alone. (Why only half of all salespeople are using LinkedIn, is a whole other story.) The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there so many new sales jobs that companies are having trouble filling them.

Sales represents a huge opportunity for new graduates. Let’s break down the three reasons why a career in sales is ideal for a new graduate.

Sales Is A Team Sport

For those of you who were forced to read A Death of A Salesman in high school or college English, you need to keep in mind that it was written over 60 years ago! Sales is different today. Companies use sophisticated tools and technologies (like Spiro’s stellar app) to help you identify the right potential customers and provide you with the skills you need to be successful.

A big part of sales is acting as part of a team. A sales team is probably more like your fraternity or sorority than you realize. Sure there can be some good-natured competition to see who is the top gun, but the sales organizations I’ve worked with are typically a band of brothers who help each other out.

One sales guy that I had the pleasure of working with would often spend time mentoring the new guys on how they could improve their game. He did this on his own time. He had made so much money and built such a good life for himself that he felt like he needed to give something back.

When you work in sales, you become part of a team. This team can help mentor and train you, and those relationships can be pivotal in advancing your career forward.

Sales People Do Something Meaningful

Sales is not about convincing a potential customer to do something they don’t want to do. Get that out of your head! Sales people identify problems that others are having and help them find a solution to them.

One of my past customers was a large medical device manufacturer who was facing new competition that was selling roughly the same product for almost half the price. They faced a real crisis.

We sold them a new approach to help them forge better relationships with doctors to enable them to fight off the competition. The approach worked great and it saved the company countless jobs. If we weren’t there selling them our approach what would have happened?

The sales team has the ability to make drastic change in the world. If you believe in the product you are selling, and you know it will help others then sales can become one of the most meaningful positions you can have.

Sales Has A Major Impact Internally

One of the best things about sales is that you can see the results of your efforts immediately. Let’s say you pick another honorable career in a company, perhaps accounting. Sure, getting a company’s financial accounts straight and providing analysis can be satisfying for some, but does it really bring the company forward?

Contrast accounting with winning a new customer. Or working directly with customers to get feedback and input on product design. Or creating customers who are so pleased with your product or service that they agree to be a reference.

The influence you have in sales is much higher than in any non-managerial position. You are the direct line of communication with the customer and you are building genuine human relationships.

Graduates, Investigate Those Sales Jobs

Sales is a rewarding career. I know hundreds of career sales guys, and though they sometimes fall into the trap of sounding like a salesperson, I think they’d echo my comments here in this post.

Sales allows you to be part of a team, have influence on your company, and do meaningful things. Look into a career in sales, you won’t regret it.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Maryland GovPics.