Why Choose A Career in Sales and Marketing – How to Start?

By Andrew L. Adler

Are you considering a career^[1] in sales and marketing? 

It can be a rewarding and lucrative field, but it’s not for everyone. 

Before making the switch, it’s important to understand what a career in sales looks like and weigh the pros and cons.

On the plus side, it’s relatively easy to get a job or internship in sales, even without a formal degree or experience. 

And if you’re good at it, the potential for career growth is endless, with the possibility of a high base salary plus commission. 

Sales and marketing also offer a certain level of autonomy and the opportunity for a lavish lifestyle if you’re successful.

But there are some downsides to consider as well. 

The stress and anxiety of working in sales can be intense, and it can be hard to turn off after a long day. 

There’s also a risk of ruining relationships if you don’t maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

Additionally, being too honest can be detrimental in sales, as sometimes a bit of manipulation or omission of information is necessary to close a deal.

So, should you pursue a career in sales? 

Only you can decide if it’s the right fit for you. If you’re willing to put in the work and can handle the pressure, it could be a great opportunity. 

But if you’re not up for the challenge or don’t feel comfortable with some of the ethical considerations, it might be best to explore other options.

First Thing First – What Does A Career In Sales Look Like?

Have you ever wondered what a career in sales looks like? 

Well, buckle up because it’s a wild ride! Sales professionals operate at a million miles an hour, always working on something new and exciting. 

This constant pressure can be overwhelming, but it’s also what makes sales such a fulfilling job.

One minute you’re feeling on top of the world, closing a deal or walking out of a meeting feeling confident and accomplished. 

Then there are those lows, the stress and anxiety that come with the job. 

If you’re someone who thrives under pressure and can handle a bit of stress, then sales might be the perfect fit for you. 

But if you’re someone who struggles with high levels of pressure, it might be best to consider other career options.

Sales is one of those jobs where, if you put your mind to it, there are endless opportunities for growth and success. 

If this sounds like something that would appeal to you, then I encourage you to give it a try!

The Pros and Cons Of A Career In Sales

Sales can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows, making it difficult to put the pros and cons of the job in some bullet points. 

But I’ll do my best to break it down for you, so you can make an informed decision about whether or not to pursue a career in sales.

Pros of a Career in Sales 

• Getting your foot in the door with a job or internship is quite easy, even though not the highest of quality.

• Can get the job without a formal degree or experience.

• Career growth depends entirely on you. If you’re good, your growth can be astronomical.

• How good you’re at it can be measured in numbers. The number being the money you brought for your company.

• Very good base salary + the commissions can be ridiculous amounts when you become really good at it.

• Autonomy – at the beginning you will work how your supervisor wants you to work but at the end, when your training is done and your supervisor shoves you in the wild to fend for yourself, you and the customer you’re bringing will fix how things go.

• The lifestyle – we all know how Hollywood exaggerates right? Not when it comes to salespeople. They do lead an exorbitant life after becoming good.

• Every minute and every interaction in your life can bring you money if you’re dedicated enough.

Cons of a Career in Sales 

• This career is not for the faint hearted. If you can’t take an abnormal amount of stress and anxiety, get ready for endlessly crying in the shower.

• Sales can be addictive, and it can be difficult to turn off the “sales mode” once you’ve been doing it for a while.

• If you don’t understand work-life balance, you can ruin every relationship you have for the sake of more sales/money.

• Being too honest can be detrimental in this career. You have to understand sometimes a bit of lie or omission of information is needed to close the deal.

• It’s important to know when to turn on the charm and when to back off – if you can’t get the balance right, you might come across as sleazy or miss out on sales opportunities.

• You must be by the people, for the people and for the people. Understanding your customers goes without saying but if you don’t enjoy it, this awesome job is the ugliest job in the world.

• Have to have the heart to take NO. Nomatter who you are, Gary V or Jordan Belfort, getting a NO from your prospects is as common as brushing your teeth. So be ready.

Basics Of Becoming A Great at Sales For A Successful Career In Sales

Sales is a process, and anyone can be great at it if they understand and take responsibility for the process. If you want to be great at sales, there are a few things you need to do. 

First, you need to sell yourself. This means having confidence in what you are selling and being able to articulate why what you are selling is the best. 

Second, you need to take responsibility for your sales. This means tracking your progress and always following up with your leads. 

Lastly, you need to be able to handle stress and anxiety like a Champ.This means having a positive attitude and staying calm under pressure. 

I’ve written about them in much greater detail below. Read it, memorize it and if you can do these, you’ll be well on your way to being awesome at sales.

A Career In Sales: How to Start

To be successful at a sales career, you first need to understand what you’re selling and who your target audience is. 

After you understand these two things, you must have a process and a sequence that you will follow when meeting with customers. Then that should be broken down into smaller segments so that the customer can better understand what they are buying. 

Also, it’s important to give information that goes beyond the obvious to educate the customer and show that you know your stuff.

Once you have a relationship with your customer, the next step is to build trust. This can be done by arranging solutions for their issues or simply being there for them. 

You must also be willing to go above and beyond in order to seal the deal. If you are able to do all of these things, then it will result in a successful sale.

First Secret of A Career In Sales : Taking Responsibility 

Taking responsibility for your sales success is one of the most important things you can do. 

This means that you are responsible for your own actions and results, and you must be willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve success.

There are many sources of sales information, including talking with customers, veteran salespeople or others who have bought the same thing you are selling.

By gathering this information, you can better understand what works and what doesn’t when selling what you are selling. 

This knowledge will help you sell more effectively and efficiently.

One of the most important things you can do to increase your sales success is to develop a plan. 

This plan will outline what you are going to do and when you are going to do it. By sticking to this plan, you will be less likely to make mistakes and more likely to get the results you want.

You must be willing to put in the effort to make the sales a success. 

Take control of your own career by setting goals, planning for success, and holding yourself accountable. 

By doing this, you can learn what works and what doesn’t so that you can get better at it as needed.

Do not let others dictate what you should do or how you should behave in order to succeed. 

Most Important Secret of A Career In Sales : Selling Yourself

Selling yourself is one of the most important skills you can have. 

Success in sales depends on your ability to connect with and sell to people on a level. This means getting to know potential customers, earning their trust, and getting past any objections they might have.

There are a number of ways to get better at your ability to sell yourself. 

First, develop a positive attitude. Be self-assured and believe in your abilities. This will allow you to act with confidence and not be influenced by others.

Also, take the time to learn about your potential customers. 

Find out what their needs and concerns are, and then come up with solutions that address those issues. By understanding your customer, you can build trust and rapport early on in the sales career.

Lastly, learn as much as you can about your field by reading articles, going to seminars, or taking online or offline classes. 

When selling something that you know well, you will be able to demonstrate all of the qualities that make people successful in sales: knowledge, skill, passion, and responsibility.

A Successful Career In Sales: Handling Anxiety And Stress Like A Champ

There will be a lot of NO, there might even be a lot of insults at first. 

Even when you’re a pro, you will regularly see a deal go wrong in a matter of seconds that you might have worked on for a year.  

Remember what our Champ Rocky Balboa taught his son.

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! ”

As tacky as it sounds, this is a good rule to live by, period. 

A Successful Career In Sales: Bullet Point Of Success

There are four bullet-point summary talking points that I’d like to share with you:

1. Sales skills can be learned, and in time they will become automatic.

2. The best way to learn how to sell is by practicing, practicing, and practicing some more!

3. Salespeople need good self-confidence in order to be successful.

4. Must conquer your stress and Anxiety.

Secrets Of A Successful Career in Sales 

Ok, we have covered the basics. The mindset you need, the battles you have to take, the skills you’ll have to keep honing till the day your career ends and the bare minimums for success. 

So let’s now get down and dirty with the secrets that will give you an edge over your competition.

These secrets didn’t come from some internet research, they came from years of experience as a career consultant and talking to my clients. 

I’m giving away these secrets totally free in this article, which my clients have paid thousands of dollars for. I know these tips would work because they worked for me, and they also worked for at least a thousand of my clients who switched their careers to sales.

Most Underutilized Secret Of A Career In Sales: Dress for success 

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” 

That statement only works in fairy tales my friend, we’re all judged by our looks. 

At least our first impression is based on that, and at an early career stage, that’s the only impression we’re going to get. First impressions are lasting impressions.

You don’t have to look like George Clooney to be good at sales, although it might help.

I don’t know many women who will say no to George Clooney, no matter what he’s selling haha.

But in all seriousness, you have to look good to be good in sales. Unless you’re Gary V. and you’re trying to con a frustrated generation by giving them false hope and having a laidback look is the only difference you can offer at that moment.

And I’m not taking a dig at him for being ugly, I’m not a masterpiece myself but did quite OK with my career. Being handsome or pretty does open some doors that will be closed to us normal people forever but that’s not the end of the world.

By looking good, what I actually mean is wearing a suit, trimming your beard in a fashionable way or keeping it clean shaved, smelling nice, walking upright, and getting some nice shoes.

I know these are difficult times, but tell me who you’d rather buy a printer from: a George Clooney-looking fella or a hobo looking fella? 

The hobo looking guy might be the most knowledgeable in the world but you’ll disregard him just by looking at him.

The clothes make the man, the well-groomed man in a suit appears more professional and trustworthy. 

Even if the hobo was offering a 20% discount, I wouldn’t buy from him because he’s not trustworthy. I can’t believe anything he’s saying about his service, even though he might know more about it.

Look at it from another angle, most of the trainers are Jacked themselves. 

It’s mostly a low level job and no matter how knowledgeable they are, they won’t get hired without their bulging muscles. 

Now look at the trainers who train professional athletes, it’s been years since most of them have seen their feet while standing.

Are the athletes too poor to hire a Jacked macho man?

No, those trainers have years of experience and knowledge under their belt and they are at a level where they don’t need to look the part anymore. 

They can look like a hobo and not follow the rules they teach themselves and a professional athlete will still grovel to them for their service.

If Elon Musk comes to you to sell anything, will you care if he’s in his underwear? (you should though, why he’s in his underwear while talking with you)

When you’ve reached a level in your career where people know how useful you are, the importance of your looks seems to keep fading. But at an early stage of your career, you must use looks to your advantage if you want to be perceived as someone of value.

Someone who can be trusted enough that people agree to buy what you’re selling. You don’t have much else working for you at the beginning, so why not work with whatever you can to get the upper hand.

All my clients reported drastic changes in their careers when they finally started looking the part.

A Successful Career In Sales: Be Available All The Time

By All The Time, I really mean ALL THE TIME.

No Exceptions; no IFs and BUTs. 

Burn the midnight oil, your potential customers want to ask a question about your service at 3 a.m.? 

Good, pick up the phone and conduct yourself in a professional manner, like it’s 12 p.m. Don’t be sassy and don’t sound rude or irritated. 

By calling you, the customer has just shown interest in becoming your customer, not just for what you are selling but also in you.

These are the opportunities that will determine your success in your career. Be nice, you’ve got a client who will buy from you a hundred more times. Be rude and that’s a bullet in your foot.

I’m a career consultant and a digital agency owner. I haven’t directly talked with my clients in years, but they still come to me when they need me. Most of my potential clients and projects come to me via email sent to me by my managers handling my business.

I dictate what to do or what to say by email or phone call at best and they handle the rest. My clients don’t even care anymore because they know who I am and how my system serves them best. 

The only time I directly talk with my clients is when my managers mess up and even then, only by email. Their email comes through in a similar manner, is vetted by my assistant, and the system is actually quite the same. 

I was directing everything anyway but I found clients feel much more relieved when they know the owner himself is talking to them directly, so I try to do my best to stay connected by email.

How do you think that came to be?

My clients are usually very high-paying, and even the most basic deals my white label agency takes start at ten thousand dollars.

Usually, a career consultant has to put all his time into the clients, and running a white label digital agency is a full time job in itself.

So, how do you think I can run two successful full time businesses while trying to learn how to put my years of experience on the internet through blog writing?

The answer my friend – is the 3 am calls.

When I started my business, I didn’t just pick up the 3 a.m. calls; I never let my clients say sorry for calling late at night. I said sorry for not picking up the phone after the first three rings.

I’ve been seeing many internet gurus and celebrities talk about how you should have a boundary and how they let go of any client that is too much of a hassle. 

Let me tell you, they either say it to look good or they have completely forgotten how they achieved their first success IF they achieved it on their own.

Me and almost all of my successful clients who are self made had to go through the same process, NO EXCEPTIONS.

In the beginning, no one knows you; they don’t know if you’re here for a long relationship or are here just for some quick cash. 

So if a client calls you at 3, don’t just pick up the call; be ready to go meet and finalize the deal if they want to.

And don’t try to be Batman, who works for other people’s interests silently. Don’t be a jerk, but let your bosses and clients know how much trouble you’ve gone through for their sake.

It’s a harsh world; if you do something good for people, they think it’s the norm and you’re supposed to do it. Don’t let that happen or all your hard work has just gone to waste.

A Successful Career In Sales : Be Persistent But Don’t Grovel

Never Ever let your clients see your desperation. It’s ok to be desperate, it is actually the thing that will make you better than your competition, but it is NOT OK to show that to a potential client.

No matter how important the sale is for you and how friendly the client looks, the moment they see your desperation, you’re nothing but a money-hungry freak trying to gobble up all their money.

But that doesn’t mean you can be too relaxed, because you need to close the deal and are desperate.

Be tactful and persistent. If you know for sure they need what you are selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to them again with an updated service contract or new features of the commodity, even when those are actually not there. Play of words works better than updated features anyway.

It can also be a new study on the usefulness of your service, testimonial of a client who bought the same thing to solve almost the same issues your potential client has or a viral video.

Be ready to use anything and everything to your advantage.

Don’t be a soulless monster who harms others for a small cut and tries to sell a skateboard to a nice old lady. 

But if you know that old lady has a grandson whose birthday is coming soon, don’t stop until the birthday party stops.

Your persistence will determine your worth in the long run.

A Successful Career In Sales : How To Get A Job In Sales

Remember how I told you that sales jobs are easy to find? Sorry to let you know, there’s actually a catch.

Most of the jobs that you can get easily are quite bad. Pardon my French, but the industry term for them is not BAD; it’s SH*T.

But there’s another catch, remember how I listed “How good you are can be measured in numbers” under the Pros of a career in sales?

That’s it. These low-level jobs can’t give you the mansion of your dreams, but they will yield much-needed experience that every company requires.

Plus, I’ve already told you the secret steps to becoming a great seller. Try practicing them at your job and you WILL get better at selling. Keep trying and make a system that works for you.

Because sales is a numbers game, the numbers you bring will determine your worth to you and the employers at your dream job.

If you can do something even marginally good where you were not supposed to, both you and your next potential employer will gain confidence in YOU.

A Successful Career In Sales : Where to Get The Sales Jobs

Be ready to do anything but know your limits. Getting a job that requires six hours of travel might not be a good fit.

It may be a good trade-off for better sales prospects, but it’s often better to save your energy for the sales process and look for jobs locally.

Job fairs are good for entry level jobs if you’re young but if that’s not an option you can swallow your pride and meet old friends at any Alumni Event. Many of your friends have already succeeded or are trying to run their businesses, and every business needs a salesman, so look there.

If all else fails, try going to the local businesses and directly approaching the owners and managers. Your first career move in sales can be to sell yourself first.

To be honest, your first sales job won’t be that good and it won’t be too hard to find if you’re confident and professional, so don’t worry about it much.

Your main job target is the second or third job. Don’t be job hopping aimlessly; at least your third job should be decent enough. 

For this, you need to network, and there are many ways to do that. In-house, offline or online—whatever works.

A Successful Career In Sales : In-house Sales Job Search

I’m guessing you already have a job somewhere. So try to find out if your current company needs any salespeople. If you are somewhat social in your current job, this should be easy if there is actually any opportunity.

Letting your client colleagues, friends and family know about your wish to try a new career in sales can also be useful.

A Successful Career In Sales : Offline Sales Job Search Or Offline Networking

The most traditional way of finding jobs and networking with people who are able to offer you a job still stands strong.

Attend local charity events, volunteer in your community, attend conferences, training programs, and local cultural or community events; all of these can help you network for your ideal second or third job.

A Successful Career In Sales : Online Sales Job Search Or Online Networking

This is my favorite. Although I’m not that active online till now and have made my career with offline networking, I’m actually writing a handbook on online networking.

It’s not based on my experience but on the experience of my successful clients who managed to land their dream jobs with online networking. 

Rest assured, all of the information gathered from my clients is legit, and I’m only taking notes from the most successful ones.

After that, all the information is vetted by the people in my agency.

I already got the data and the integrity of the data is 100% assured, the only problem is that I don’t know how to write ebooks, so it’s taking some time. 

Stay connected through our newsletter, because my subscribers will, of course, get a nice discount when this is out.

But in short, join prominent Facebook groups and have a nice LinkedIn profile. 

From there, you can get into some exclusive chat groups, Slack room or Telegram chat.

A Successful Career In Sales : Conclusion

In conclusion, a career in sales can be a rewarding and lucrative field, but it’s not for everyone. 

It requires a certain level of dedication and stress tolerance. 

If you’re willing to put in the work and can handle the pressure, it could be a great opportunity for career growth and financial success. 

However, if you’re not up for the challenge, it might be best to explore other career options. 

Ultimately, the decision to pursue a career in sales is a personal one and should be based on your own strengths, interests, and values.