Sales is a tricky career with many ups and downs. Sometimes the pros are the good years where commissions are strong and your are getting paid on your work effort. Other years work effort might have to be more and you get less commissions. The biggest issue with this career is it is not recession proof, if I could do it all over again I would be an educator.
I started my working career as a product development chemist, shifted to technical service and then to Market Development of an industrial product and in the final-prolonged- phase , worked as a Marketeer of a bunch of industrial products ,in the sector of Petrochemicals.
I will certainly advice people to consider pursuing a career in the last phase of my journey.Industrial products are quite different from consumer products,just as Marketing is from sales.There is scope here to apply your innovative ability and help sell the products on pure cost/advantage basis.The job can be enjoyable and I guess, rewarding.
I feel sure that people have a good idea of industrial products. A lot of technology goes into their making and selling them to users, who add value to it and reach them to a consumer is a challenging and interesting job. One should have a lot of perseverance; a 'fly by night' attitude won't do in this career.
To be exact, I am in Customer Service. If you are an outgoing, pleasant and team oriented person, it will suit you. However, the job nature is rather passive where you are serving either internal or external customers. You got to have excellent communication skills. This career is more suitable for female rather than male because you do need good attention to details.
Following graduation from college with a marketing degree I had a vision of a dream job in a prestigous marketing or advertising firm. Then, reality slapped me in the face and I ended up in sales. Certainly not what I had in mind but it hasn't been a total disapointment.
Hard work can lead to great financial rewards. I am able to be out in the field rather than stuck behind a desk all day and my schedule is somewhat flexible.
Be prepared to have your ego smashed. Clients are not always friendly and most people really do not want to talk to you.
While I personally plan on changing careers in the future, a career has helped to develop many professional and personal skills that will help in whatever career the future holds.
What I like about it is the freedom it avails to me in managing my own time. What I don???t like about it at times is that some rather mundane paperwork must be done, which is common in many positions. (ex Warranty, Service) My advice to others considering going into this field is to have a positive attitude and be able to accept a certain rate of rejection.
Only 70% of the total cost of employment in the U.S. goes to pay wages and salaries -- the rest goes to pay benefits and employment taxes.
Did you know...
With the Undergraduate Query Tool you can search our college profile database by setting specific criteria, such as location, admissions test scores, cost, type and size!