Sales jobs

[BWillie]

I've finally updated my resume and cover letter and have posted it on careerbuilder. Haven't really got around to applying for many positions yet, but it seems like every call I get is either a shitty job that pays less than mine or a sales job that is 100% commission and it just seems really shady. They say you will make 150K a year, but I know better.

My question is how do I sort out what sales jobs are BS and which jobs are legitimate opportunities?. I know 90% of these jobs out there are scams, but I never know. I don't have enough time to waste going to six interviews a week to just waste my time. I know there are good jobs out there..my dad is in sales and makes 150-175K a year, and one of my buddies who failed out of college and who I swear cannot read has one for about 75K a year. Seems all of my college friends make less than the friends that didn't go to college, and they are all in sales. I know you need to have a knack for sales, but I have excelled in every position I have ever had, and I know I could do almost anything given the proper tools to succeed.

Whenever you look for jobs it's like they want to keep it top secret how much you make. When they call and I ask they still don't really tell me. Even if they told me some sort of definite range like "75% of our first year candidates make X". That is all I want to know, bottom line, how much will I make. If I'm not going to make more than I make now, why on earth would I waste my time. They would be wasting their own time as well when they get to the end of the interview and go and this job starts at $37,000 a year.

[BIG_DADDY]

One more thing, small fast growing companies provide you with opportunity. You don't want to go some place where someone needs to die in oreder for you to move up.

[macdawg]

If you believe in the product and enjoy talking to people you can succeed. I recommend finding some companies/industries your extremely interested in and trying to get into their sales departments, opposed to posting a resume on careerbuilder and letting every insurance company in town offer you a 100% commission sales job where top performers make 175k.

[Mojo Rising]

Most sales jobs require hunter skills vs. farmer skills. With this in mind you need to create a strategy in your search.

Figure out what you want to sell and then find the best companies that do it in your area. Call them and ask for their VP of Sales and introduce yourself and let him/her know you would like to come in for an interview.

If it is an industry that requires experience in the field then take an inside sales job to learn the ropes.

If a company does not offer a salary and training then they are not investing in you and you will be disposable. This sounds like the kind of calls that you are getting.

Sales requires the ability to take rejection. When cold calling you have to have the mentality that the person who just hung up on you or blew you off could be standing next to you later that afternoon while getting your lunch and won't even know it.

Headhunters and commission only jobs are good when you have industry experience and relationships that you can bring with you.

[Pablo]

I'll be out of college next year with a degree in Economics and a minor in International Affairs.

I have no fucking clue what I want to do with this degree. I've thought about Life Insurance/Annuity sales...is there anyone on the board who specializes in this line of business, and any advice? Is it any different than other types of sales careers?

[KCChiefsMan]

I went to an interview with this marketing/sales firm called KBN Promotions. I went for this interview, showed up 10 minutes late because I couldn't find it. She sat down and asked me a few questions, then I asked her a few questions and she told me to come back tomorrow for a 9 hour 2nd interview. I told her I would be there and then went online and found a bunch of complaints that they brought them out in the field for this 2nd 9 hour interview and went to a gas station and tried to sell car wash crap to people trying to pump gas and other crap like that.

I didn't show up for that one.

[Mojo Rising]

Originally Posted by GonzoRox88

I'll be out of college next year with a degree in Economics and a minor in International Affairs.

I have no fucking clue what I want to do with this degree. I've thought about Life Insurance/Annuity sales...is there anyone on the board who specializes in this line of business, and any advice? Is it any different than other types of sales careers?

These days it is more difficult than other types of sales jobs (vs. biz 2 biz) thanks to the do not call list.

You can cold call businesses all day long for services for them. You can't call individuals if they are on the dnc list.

You will be reduced to networking and other passive types of marketing strategies.

Plus, are the annuities/life insurance for investment reasons or risk management? If they are for investment reasons you should be able to find a better product to sell.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsMan

I went to an interview with this marketing/sales firm called KBN Promotions. I went for this interview, showed up 10 minutes late because I couldn't find it. She sat down and asked me a few questions, then I asked her a few questions and she told me to come back tomorrow for a 9 hour 2nd interview. I told her I would be there and then went online and found a bunch of complaints that they brought them out in the field for this 2nd 9 hour interview and went to a gas station and tried to sell car wash crap to people trying to pump gas and other crap like that.

I didn't show up for that one.

I ended up appling to a company here in KC that was the exact same thing. They claimed they a sports marketing company, which is my major and it was in KC so I was thinking score. Went to an interview said they liked my resume could back for a second which was a job shadow. Thought okay that sounds alright, well I spent eight hours going around Kansas City going door to door at strip malls while trying to sell these gift cards. Basically it was solictiating and it was horrible. I knew it was going to be bad when we to a gas station and the guy I shadowed with bought a pack of cigargettes so he would act like he was smoking not to get busted by security for the strip malls for solicating. Just say I didnt take that job.

[KCChiefsMan]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

I ended up appling to a company here in KC that was the exact same thing. They claimed they a sports marketing company, which is my major and it was in KC so I was thinking score. Went to an interview said they liked my resume could back for a second which was a job shadow. Thought okay that sounds alright, well I spent eight hours going around Kansas City going door to door at strip malls while trying to sell these gift cards. Basically it was solictiating and it was horrible. I knew it was going to be bad when we to a gas station and the guy I shadowed with bought a pack of cigargettes so he would act like he was smoking not to get busted by security for the strip malls for solicating. Just say I didnt take that job.

ya, I knew better to even go to the 1st interview, but I always saw them on careerbuilder. Which was a big red flag, but I went basically on curiosity and job interview practice. What a sham, they advertise "recent college grads!" "Sports marketing!" "work in sports!" I also majored in sports management, I can't get a job in that field.

[kcfan82]

Just remember that if you get into any kind of information technology/application sales, be sure to know more than 1/10th of what a product can do. Don't just say it will do something, even though you have no clue if it will, just to make a sale.

Just a little sound advice

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsMan

ya, I knew better to even go to the 1st interview, but I always saw them on careerbuilder. Which was a big red flag, but I went basically on curiosity and job interview practice. What a sham, they advertise "recent college grads!" "Sports marketing!" "work in sports!" I also majored in sports management, I can't get a job in that field.

I had to take a down graded position to work in sports. I work for a sporting goods company now, I'm taking classes as well to finish up on another degree I had so it works out pretty well hopefully this winter I cant get back into professional sports. Pay isnt the greatest but I enjoy going to work so that is more important to me anyways.

[burt]

I haven't had to look for a job in 20 years, but when I did, there were "group interviews" ..... Avoid them at all costs(if they still do it), those are for scams.

As for not telling what the pay is, I always tell what the spread is and what I would expect someone to make when I interview a potential candidate. BTW, we ARE hiring now.....

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

My question is how do I sort out what sales jobs are BS and which jobs are legitimate opportunities?. I know 90% of these jobs out there are scams, but I never know. I don't have enough time to waste going to six interviews a week to just waste my time. I know there are good jobs out there..my dad is in sales and makes 150-175K a year, and one of my buddies who failed out of college and who I swear cannot read has one for about 75K a year. Seems all of my college friends make less than the friends that didn't go to college, and they are all in sales. I know you need to have a knack for sales, but I have excelled in every position I have ever had, and I know I could do almost anything given the proper tools to succeed.

I feel you dude, I got my MBA last spring and was looking for a NONsales job in finance. I used Monster and got precisely 0 legitimate calls. A lot of "financial companies" sell insurance. Some even pretend to do financial planning to support it. Terrible.

I'm no salesman, but I did think about doing financial planning, which is sales for 3-5 years and then you get to do financial planning. I interviewed several companies and decided that I think I would be one hell of a financial planner, but couldn't grow my business for shit, so I looked elsewhere. But from that, I got to look at how several different companies handle you.

My advice to you is early on find out how they will support you. If you have to try to build a client base from people you know, it is going to be a tough row to hoe. But if they throw some bones your way, or a paid mentorship (best IMO), that is something you want to look into. Also, you HAVE to believe in what the company is selling, or it will absolutely reflect in your interaction with potential customers. I would say that maybe 1-2% of salesman can effectively sell something they don't believe in.

If you want to go into financial planning, let me know, I'll tell you what I know about the companies I looked into. As far as where you should go, I agree that you should call the companies you know you want to work for and can believe in their product and try to apply. That goes for any job, not just sales.

Originally Posted by GonzoRox88

I'll be out of college next year with a degree in Economics and a minor in International Affairs.

I have no fucking clue what I want to do with this degree. I've thought about Life Insurance/Annuity sales...is there anyone on the board who specializes in this line of business, and any advice? Is it any different than other types of sales careers?

I admit I don't know anything about you or what you want to do, but if I were you, I would try to get some experience elsewhere first. A lot of corporations are hurting for astute kids that have some education. If I were you, I would send some applications out for jobs that sound interesting. It doesn't necessarily have to deal with econ either. I've got a buddy that is a Training Manager for Cabela's, but got his Master of Accountancy. Not really sure how he got into training, but it seems to work out for him.

The reason I say to try to catch on in a company first is because you can ALWAYS go into sales. At any point in your life, if you feel like going into sales, you can drop what you're doing and go into sales. But typically, sales skills aren't all that applicable in most business settings. Accordingly, 5 years experience in sales won't wow a lot of employers.

Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING against salesmen. In fact, I have a tremendous respect for the ones that do it correctly and provide value for both sides. But it seemed like when I got out of school, if you couldn't program, all that was available was sales, and its really not like that. There are a lot of companies out there looking for good, talented, ambitious people. But the turnover is so high for a lot of sales positions, that they go after ambitious college kids and hope one sticks.

Best of luck, guys. Finding a job/deciding on a career is a trememndous decision and it blows.

EDIT: This is all JMO, from my experience in defining my career.

[Spott]

I've never found jobs directly from careerbuilder, monster, etc. but I have used it as a good search engine. Just put in keywords to search what you are looking for, then find the name of the company that is hiring, then go to that company's website and apply directly with them.