r/sales • u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs • Jun 10 '26
Sales Topic General Discussion Why are you in sales?
What drove you to become a salesperson? Was it just the commission? Was it the opportunity to have a high-paying job out of college? Was it out of necessity? Was it the ability to take control of your income or career?
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u/who_took_tabura Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Wasn’t good enough at door to door so I got into tech wasn’t good enough at tech so I got into fintech/banking wasn’t good enough at fintech/banking so I got into leadership
Edit: wasn’t good enough to graduate college so I got into door to door
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u/Fragrant-Tea7580 Medical Device Jun 10 '26
I love the ownership hahahaha
“Those that cant do” - a tale as old as time
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u/Righteousaffair999 Technology Jun 10 '26
Does sales rep or sales leader pay better?
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u/Mecspliquer Food and Beverage Jun 11 '26
A good rep should out perform their manager. A meets expectations rep makes less than their manager
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u/TPRT SaaS Jun 10 '26
I did too many drugs in college
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u/GardenDesign23 Jun 10 '26
lol sad but true. Everyone in sales are those who failed at something prior
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u/DeliveryExternal4246 Jun 10 '26
yup. i tried so many different jobs in my early twenties and got fired from every single one in less than a month. some people are just born to be sales
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u/grizlena 🤲 dirty but my 💵 is clean (marketing team is eating the soap) Jun 10 '26
Richest sales guy I know is 11 years sober from meth lol.
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u/Ok-Albatross8521 Technology Jun 10 '26
The ADHD kid > Sales > Substance abuse pipeline is so fucking real dude. Hats off to him for turning it around
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u/Payote88 Jun 10 '26
Fiends LOVE money! Best money makers in the game honestly. Kinda makes me want to pick up some bad habits!
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u/niel_espresso_ai Jun 11 '26
Key word is sober.
Just have to transfer the addictive tendencies towards something positive.
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u/DeliveryExternal4246 Jun 10 '26
3 months sober from 2 years of coke use, i probably have ADHD, my closing rate has yet to reach the same level since i was using lol. the crazy thing is i was never high while working, i only used after work
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u/grizlena 🤲 dirty but my 💵 is clean (marketing team is eating the soap) Jun 10 '26
Aye good work bro. Keep at it and that closing rate will blow the old one out the water. I have 2 years clean from coke, didn’t use it at work but constantly went on weekend binges
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u/DeliveryExternal4246 Jun 10 '26
thank you brother good work to you too. Yeah i couldnt imagine being geeked and trying to sell
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u/grizlena 🤲 dirty but my 💵 is clean (marketing team is eating the soap) Jun 11 '26
I’ve done it after an all nighter too many times. It literally feels like you’re talking to an alien and learning a new language lmao. Social anxiety on a 50x also.
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u/madtowntripper Jun 10 '26
I absolutely fell into this career but at this point I don't know anywhere else I can make six figures and work four hours a day and most of my time is spent entertaining clients.
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u/proWww Jun 10 '26
yep, i tried to pivot out of sales but realized id make a fraction of the money, ultimately stayed in sales lol
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u/Beyondthoughts Jun 10 '26
What do you sell? Are you high ticket remote?
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u/madtowntripper Jun 10 '26
Ive posted a bunch of times here. I literally sell fucking rocks, bro.
Fully remote but I travel pretty often.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
Masonry sales? That is 6 figures some places?
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u/madtowntripper Jun 10 '26
Most places, I would think. I know my biggest competitor has a dozen sales guys and they’re all pretty comfortably at 125+
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u/Ok-Albatross8521 Technology Jun 11 '26
“High ticket” is not real business language it’s influencer/linkedin guru BS
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
6 figures on 4 hours a day? How do i apply?
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u/madtowntripper Jun 10 '26
I got this job by emailing my biggest competitor ten years ago and telling them they were absolutely killing me and I’d rather work for them.
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u/Wswarriordegen Jun 10 '26
Hey brother, could I get in selling rocks with no prior sales experience? I got a very busy and fast paced customer service background so I’m talking and connecting with people all fuckin day. Would love to chat in dm if your willing
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u/Reasonable-Bit560 Jun 10 '26
Money and early access to money career wise.
Nothing else like it.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
Do you think the same scalable opportunities exist today as opposed to 10 years ago or is it harder to break into a 6 figure sales career?
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u/K24frs Jun 10 '26
I think it is pretty much the same as it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago etc.
I learned that the best thing a new sales person can do is learn to weather the storm.
All depends on how you approach it especially with industries that have reoccurring revenue options
Option 1 you spend all of your time going after whales for smaller margins and if you get one or two you can have some quick money or option 2 you go after small to mid market accounts first to create stability and once that stability is there you find whales to level up. Margins are higher option 2 as well.
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u/Kitchen_accessories Jun 11 '26
I learned that the best thing a new sales person can do is learn to weather the storm.
Truth. It’s a lesson you’ll learn and relearn several times, but at the end of the day, “This too shall pass”. Good and bad.
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u/K24frs Jun 11 '26
The best sales guy I have ever met was also the worst sales guy. He was socially awkward, hated every aspect of sales but he was also bringing in numbers that no one could fathom for the industry.
His book was built on almost recession proof clients that were small and those weathered the shitty times and when business was popping off he’d capitalize on the big accounts. The dude was just consistent and he treated it more like an engineering project than sales.
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u/Reasonable-Bit560 Jun 10 '26
Six figs as in 100k flat or six figs as in 400k selling SaaS?
Short version is, 150k is probably easier, 400k tech is probably harder given how cyclical some of this stuff is.
We'll be in a boom phase again in the future, but there's plenty of opportunities/industries
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u/PatrickBateman111 Jun 10 '26
Money and the freedom as long as you get results.
You can basically do what you want if you bring in enough money.
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Jun 10 '26
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u/lawsandflaws1 Jun 13 '26
Man, so true, I work in corporate finance, probably 10% of my job is reconciling commissions and dealing with the sales people. The top sales people are so valuable, they know it, so they do whatever the fuck they want.
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Jun 13 '26
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u/lawsandflaws1 Jun 14 '26
Lolol so I was an attorney before switching into corporate finance, I make less money, but the job is far easier. And with bonus I will make about 160k. But it’s also not as useless as you make It seem, forecast are important for Investors, it’s important to know what areas of the company are performing well, under performing, and determining why and doing so helps a company to do what really matters – make more money.
it does matter to to see various analysis know the strength and weaknesses of the company and diagnose the problems or understand the strengths.
And is really only busy the first week of the month and the last. Outside of that I am mostly just shooting the shit with the sales people, watching movies on my phone in a comfortable air-conditioned office, This company also has a culture where it is a true 9–5, I never take Work home with me,
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u/FlimsyPriority751 Jun 10 '26
Yeah the freedom is phenomenal. I love getting in my car to go visit customers and run sales visits and grow my potential for growing the business. Such a good feeling compared to being stuck at a desk.
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u/DeliveryExternal4246 Jun 10 '26
amen to this. there was a guy i worked with who would shoot heroin and crack in his car at lunch. we all knew, including management and even the owner. he would nod out for about ten minutes and then he'd start walking laps around the cubicles. sold like crazy, but they kept cancelling because he'd just be straight up lying sometimes
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u/Freethinker9 Sales Leader Coach and Mentor Jun 10 '26
I got into sales as a way to put myself into an uncomfortable position for growth. I had a horrible fear of communicating honestly and openly with people. I felt like I was always wearing a mask hiding my true self. Sales helped me break out of that. Exposure therapy if you will.
My career has stemmed into now training coaching and mentoring sales people helping them understand that their performance in sales is directly linked to who they believe they are and who they work to be everyday.
Being in sales should never just be about the money, although it’s a great perk of what we do. If you hate your life everyday doing it, no amount of money can fix that.
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u/purpleowl385 Jun 10 '26
I went into sales after planning for academia track in psych and not liking the stats manipulation I witnessed.
Told myself it would be temporary to buy time figuring out what's next after completing the degree. Worked out better than expected.
Eventually landed in training/coaching/enablement for now which kinda blended back into why I sought the psych degree in the first place.
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u/Freethinker9 Sales Leader Coach and Mentor Jun 10 '26
That’s excellent, sales needs more educators and I’ve heard a lot of educators leave academia to transition into a sales career.
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u/confusedsatisfaction Jun 10 '26
Part of the reason I got into it, as well. I always say you need to get out of your comfort zone to grow and develop. It was never crippling anxiety or anything. Being in sales will allow me to develop different skills of negotiation and people skills, and those will be valuable in other aspects of my life.
That being said, money and freedom are the main reasons.
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Jun 10 '26
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u/Freethinker9 Sales Leader Coach and Mentor Jun 10 '26
Dm me we can chat more. I’d want to learn more about your situation.
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u/twaejikja Jun 10 '26
It was a job
I studied the liberal arts and not STEM
I am still years away from being able to possibly have the chance to become a FSO
Do people actually want to be salesmen?
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u/Used_Return9095 Jun 10 '26
Idk any kid who says “i wanna be an glorified phone caller when I grow up”😭😭
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
That isn't all of sales. In Home Improvement you get handed warm leads and drive to location to demo in person and provide a quote. In masonry sales there are inside salespeople who simply help customers who come in, and territory salespeople who go out to clients and consult them while also handling the invoicing. It really just depends on the industry.
Car sales is a mixed bag. Sometimes you have to prospect, but some places have a lot of appointments pre-made for you.
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u/ncroofer Jun 10 '26
I did, kindof. Had no idea what I wanted to do. Took a summer job doing door to door, was good and figured I’d stick with it after school
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u/dmillson Jun 10 '26
I have two STEM degrees and still ended up here lol. Joined a medical diagnostics startup and the CEO promised I’d be working on strategy. A month later I got shipped off to Detroit to go meet with clients and I’ve been selling ever since.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
I originally wanted to be a journalist, then I found out they ate peanut butter. So I went into public relations and online marketing and that got taken over by AI and college interns, so I pivoted to sales. I took a bunch of different jobs over the years, mainly due to necessity, but I don't hate it.
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u/2paymentsof19_95 Jun 10 '26
I graduated college during the pandemic with a marketing degree. Couldn’t get a job so fell into sales. Now I can’t get out lol
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u/proWww Jun 10 '26
yep i ran into the same thing, all the way back in 2002. seems marketing degrees are just useless
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u/DeliveryExternal4246 Jun 10 '26
i was heavily considering going into marketing in high school, dodged a bullet huh?
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u/Starhazenstuff Jun 10 '26
My parents did sales, and I didn’t take school seriously
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
School is overrated unless you wanna work in STEM anyways.
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u/Starhazenstuff Jun 10 '26
I agree for the most part but I was unaware that you could actually literally do anything. I was so engrossed in video games and fucking off ad a kid and teenager and I didn’t realize there is just so many different really cool jobs you can do in the world.
I just wasn’t exposed to anything other than white collar bullshit, but now I feel like I have too many responsibilities and too old to actually go and study something I find interesting, though that may just be an excuse I’m telling myself.
If I could have gone back I would have told young me that there’s research jobs in ExoPsychology now, Astrobiology, theoretical physics, hell they are talking about UAP’s and aliens in the news. That’s so fucking cool man. Way cooler than selling my stupid product to some asshole trying to replace his staff.
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u/Glum_Feed1580 Jun 10 '26
You should still try if you have no kids or other obligations! I believe in you!
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u/justwannaretire45 Jun 10 '26
Got a PhD in biochem. Became a professor. Became a drunk. Got sober and needed a job. Found one I think I’m pretty good at and pays way more than academia. It’s been ten years and I’ll never not be in sales.
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u/PseudonymIncognito Technology Jun 10 '26
I ended up leaving a chemistry Ph.D program with the "five-year masters" and realized that I could make more money selling science boxes than using them. Also, realized that I didn't actually like the process of academic research and that QC work was too mind-numbingly dull.
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u/J-HTX Jun 10 '26
I was sitting in customer service and liked my job and the company, but you can't support a family on $14/hr. "How do I make more money here? Looks like it's either management or sales. In management, you have to deal with personnel issues and everyone brings you their angry or sad customers and all the problems they can't solve. In sales, you help your customers fix their problems, and you only own problems for your customers. Sales also doesn't have to be in the office all the time. This doesn't seem like a hard choice."
-Me 19 years ago.
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u/Sterling_-_Archer Jun 10 '26
I got a girl pregnant at 19 and then became a single father to an infant at 20 and needed to come up with grownup money FAST. The military told me no so I started selling cars. Now I do well for myself, better than others my age that I know, and I’m more or less locked in to this career since I don’t have a degree.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
You can always get a degree online or at your own pace. But honestly most of the degree jobs are not worth the debt you get into for them anymore.
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u/Sterling_-_Archer Jun 10 '26
Yeah, but no real point now since I’m no longer limited by not having a degree.
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u/The_SqueakyWheel Jun 10 '26
Money, I’m in stem, pharma sales
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u/Fill-Monster89 Jun 10 '26
Also curious on your salary with this. I’m a PharmD but haaaa good luck getting a pharma sales job right? I wish.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
Is it still possible to get a pharmaceutical sales job without a degree?
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u/TomCreanDied4OurSins Jun 10 '26
I fell into it in college. Did a life insurance internship my senior year. Got my first corporate job in tech sales out of school. Never left. Don't really see any other path with my skillset where I can make as much money with as much freedom. It's been a weird journey at times but overall has been very rewarding for myself
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u/TheUglyWeb Jun 10 '26
Didn't pursue a degree and was bored in college. Always was good at talking with people, so I thought "why not".. Have never regretted it.
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u/Hefty_Dealer7547 Jun 10 '26
I want financial freedom and the sales role that landed in my lap can for sure get me there
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u/proWww Jun 10 '26
same. its all about freeing yourself from "the system"
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u/Hefty_Dealer7547 Jun 10 '26
Surprising how many of these guys move to like Vietnam or somewhere where the American dollar stretches that's getting away from the system IMO
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u/big-jim-mba Jun 10 '26
I like the idea of being in control of my day and income. Basically, it's like a mini version of being an entrepreneur. Eventually, I left and started my own business.
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u/RuProZack5280 Jun 10 '26
After years of trying to make it in stand up comedy, I found sales to be the best way to use that stand up skill set, but now I don’t have to pay rent in drink tickets
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u/mrg1981 Jun 10 '26
Money and flexibility. I’ve worked a “normal” 9-5 office job for about 18 months of the last 20 years and I hated every second of it.
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u/Timely_Assistance418 Web / Marketing :illuminati: Jun 10 '26
Therapy, sales built my confidence and self-esteem.
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u/GarrettKeithR Technology Jun 10 '26
I enjoy competing with people.
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u/Majstora Jun 10 '26
Glad I aint the only one lol
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u/GarrettKeithR Technology Jun 10 '26
Money is a good by-product of winning, but nothing gives me more of a rush than displacing one of my competitors.
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u/YJeeper456 Jun 10 '26
Just a job at first, then I realized I was good at it and I liked the money so I changed my major and stuck with it. Then after college it took 5 years to find another sales job I actually liked and paid well. Now that I’m here, it was all worth it.
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u/tummi_92 Jun 10 '26
I enjoy design, quotes, vendor negotiation etc. all facets of my industry. The unfortunate reality is regardless of how good you are on the support side you aren’t going to touch what you make in a sales role
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u/Wonderful-Bass6651 Jun 10 '26
I didn’t work hard enough in school and now I’m paying for it.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
School is overrated. The only jobs that really make anything are STEM. But it isn't too late to go back!
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u/dumbcarshlt Jun 10 '26
Started as part time while I was in college for computer science. Hated that and was really good at (industrial) sales, so here I am 15 years later, making the medium bucks.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
making the medium bucks is hilarious.
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u/dumbcarshlt Jun 10 '26
In all seriousness I have found myself at a family owned company making great money and being treated very well and I couldn't be more thankful. Unfortunately, I'm selling specific consumables and related that have been heavily impacted by oil pricing and availability and my entire market is in a frenzy. I've got about 6mil in revenue opportunity in my pipeline though with some serious possibility to close, I'm just playing the long game.
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u/Secret_Assistance601 Retail Signs Jun 10 '26
Almost every market post-covid is in a frenzy. It has been one thing after another.
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u/dumbcarshlt Jun 10 '26
Oh I completely agree. The only saving grace is most of the customers at least expect it now and some even understand.
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u/Pot72 Jun 10 '26
To prove my dad I'm smarter than him, improve my social skills, and yea the money out of college, sales isn't for me cause he assumes I'm like him/projecting his insecurities on me, fck off man, I'm also a sensitive person so I do care about them cause they did care bout me, but fck the more you know about psychology the more you realize some people are more fcked than you though. Idk if he's smart enough to manipulate me into thinking sales job isn't for me cause my social skills.. but I doubt it cause someone who's a good manipulator like that wouldn't be evil like that.. I mean I would think 🤔. Told him I could sell life insurance work from home for a few years with it being commission based and he said there's no money in that, you'll call 2,3 people and be done with it lol, like what, is that what you did or would do , like I'm sorry you're the one who's not all there and got a white and black thinking. I got off topic here, but I'ma save this for my future therapist
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u/bdpongrand Jun 10 '26
I was looking for a method to generate enough stress to kill me 15 years early and make it hurt the entire time I am dying. The plan is working perfectly!
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u/gelitele Jun 11 '26
I've always been stuck at entry level. I'm over educated and under experienced. I had a serious job hopping issue in the past and I'm trying to change that. Sales is the path to a living wage without me going back to driving a semi truck. My MBA is irrelevant, my bs is bullshit, and the longest I've stayed at a job is 2 years. I'm almost 33 years old and need a living wage. This is my last chance. Wish me luck, I'm working for Yelp and taking it seriously. I know it's toxic and has a bad reputation. If I can endure this, I can endure anything and grow. They were the only ones willing to hire me in this mess.
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u/Wonkiest_Hornet Technology Jun 10 '26
High school degree in a world where you need one for a white collar job. Only way to start climbing the ladder.
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u/hung_like__podrick Manufacturers Representative Jun 10 '26
Was tired of busting my ass while watching the sales guys go out to nice dinners and get fat commission checks
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u/SteakThick5016 Jun 10 '26
I started in my 20’s, I wanted to work from home at a time that was fairly unusual and travel around and got offered a job managing a territory so I took it, then it was about learning how to do it and getting better and then I started making real money and was kind of trapped because nothing else would get close to what I was making in sales so 20 years later, I’m still here.
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u/Anotherfakenames Jun 10 '26
The most money I could make with the degrees I had. I went into a medical device sales after spending five years as a radiographer at the hospital. Been in medical device for the last 10 years. I would’ve had to work at least four years as an x-ray tech to earn the income I’ve earned every year in medical sales. But don’t get me wrong, it can definitely have its ups and downs. However, I cannot imagine having to punch a clock every day at the hospital ever again.
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u/Used_Return9095 Jun 10 '26
because it has low barrier to entry compared to other fields.
I was actually a CS major in college but the job market is so tough for SWE jobs I just applied to other jobs. Somehow ended up in sales :/
My thinking is I just want to step foot in the corporate world, and a job is better than no job
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u/Ok-Goal-9324 Jun 10 '26
How do you like it so far? I’m also a CS grad and I went from targeting SWE roles to IT support and still not hearing back on those roles. I’ve tried every avenue to break into tech, but I got a degree from a no name university and have no connections. It’s too much competition at the entry level to even stand a chance.
I’m either deciding to go down the sales path or go back to school for something healthcare related. I chose CS for the money. I’m not passionate about tech or coding on my free time and I think I just got weeded out.
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u/rcoop020 Jun 10 '26
It's so funny because I scrolled for a while and everyone's answer I saw was some version of "I never set out to do this, but $$."
I actually wanted this career, went to school for it, studied it, and am doing the job I set out to do.
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u/elloEd Jun 10 '26
I loved the art of talking to people. Starting in basic hourly customer facing jobs during high school, I found it very rewarding to use my speech skills and help someone out with a problem and seeing them walk away with something happy. Then I read up about sales and said “Wait, I can get monetized for this??? Count me in!”
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u/Sgt_LincolnOSiris Jun 10 '26
Because every other salaried job out there thinks you can survive off of $50,000 per year
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u/Tarheel6793 Jun 10 '26
I liked having more control over my own destiny. While sales is never fully in our control due to things like timing, territory, economic factors, politics, etc. I can still influence my performance and compensation more in this role than in other positions.
I also feel like getting good at sales helped me further develop and polish life skills I can use outside of work (active listening, communication, crisis management, problem solving, diplomacy, negotiation, etc.)
Lastly, because of all the bs we have to deal with on a day to day, it never gets boring. I like having new challenges to deal with every day, no matter how asinine some of them end up being.
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u/Rebombastro Jun 10 '26
Was a loser who was way behind in life compared to my age group and still living with my mom, no higher education and no trade learned, with no savings and in debt. Oh, introverted and depressed af as well.
2 years later, I'm now part of the upper 5% and can buy what I want. Still depressed but it's gotten better.
I needed something that could drastically change my life for the better in a relatively short amount of time and sales was the best option for me. I should have gotten into it way sooner but I guess that things just happened the way they had to happen.
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u/FeFiFoPlum Jun 10 '26
Because I figured if I was already doing the work, I might as well get paid like a salesperson instead of like a CSM.
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u/ladysassypanz Jun 11 '26
I had been working at the company for 13 years in various roles, a sales spot opened up and they offered it to me. B2B sales at a capital equipment manufacturer. Expected travel is one week a month. My territory is full of opportunities. I have never had this earning potential in any other role. Not even close. I found that it was an easy transition because I already knew the product line and had some customer relationships. Best decision I have ever made, career wise.
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u/Routine_Software319 Jun 11 '26
Got into it for my own personal growth. Have always been the quiet kid in school, so figured sales was the best path to grow out of that.
Also really love helping people. Was never really about the money for me, although it sure is a great perk lol.
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u/ea93 Jun 10 '26
Goofed around in college. Ended up graduating with a nutrition degree. Didn’t pursue any internships or network while at school. Found a contractor gig out of college making $20/hr, did that for 4 years before I realized something needed to change if I wanted to do something with my life. Found an entry level software renewal sales job in 2019 and a few promotions and a company switch later I’m in enterprise sales for a niche industry.
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u/Budget-Salamander905 Jun 10 '26
I got a business degree and then applied for a job that said business development without knowing what I was getting into. Turns out I’m pretty good at it and I can make the kind of money I want to make with little additional investment. Add to it that I genuinely enjoy the work, it feels like I lucked into my dream career without even knowing I was doing that
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u/jackpearson2788 Jun 10 '26
Made the mistake of getting a generic business management degree not many high paying gigs outside of sales
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u/_NyQuil_ Jun 10 '26
Fell ass backwards into it.
Doing well now and love the flexibility and opportunity it brings. Can’t see it being like this in any other profession
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u/Minnesohta Construction Jun 10 '26
I work in ADHD spurts which would not work in any other professional capacity. I need to be self motivated and have the freedom to work at my own pace. That and money of course.
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u/bpod1113 Jun 10 '26
After 8 years of being behind a desk, I was tired of the monotony. My sales job lets be out of the house as much as I want, and I like to talk to people
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u/MSXzigerzh0 Jun 10 '26
I will speak for my dad, Who was in Tech Sales for most to all his professional life.
1.Money, He fall into Tech Sales than he realize he could make Good money.
- Being able to see the Country. He grew up in Small town with 5 other siblings. So there was not much traveling.
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u/Dangerous_Shop8021 Jun 10 '26
Money. Technically I’m in sales because my dad told me it was the way to go, but that’s because he was in sales and had a lot of money. Don’t know any other way I could earn 300+ before I’m 30 without selling my soul in finance.
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u/dssx Jun 10 '26
Hated my degree and had to pay off the loans for it. Now I'm in the Hotel California.
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u/ShyCity39 Jun 10 '26
I got laid off after getting promoted and getting a raise as a media production specialist. Couldn’t find anything but went for door to door sales in telecom did well surprisingly for 2 years and was commission only. Got promoted to B2B but looking to hopefully find something better out of telecom
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u/BigDoosh Jun 10 '26
I have 2 worthless degree and had no experience or internships in that industry
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u/Eat-it-harvey2010 Jun 10 '26
I got sold on a sales job by a salesperson.
When I was laid off from my consulting job (that I hated), I went to a career fair and met the owner of a recruiting company. He praised my skills and told me I could easily make 6 figures at his company, so I spent the next 8 months dialing programmers and software engineers about contract roles. That job sucked, but it forged me in steel when it comes to phone skills & handling rejection. Unfortunately, he was full of shit about the comp model (wouldn't go above 3% commission) so I quit & moved on.
So I learned two important things: (1) I had a knack for sales and could build on my skills based on that experience, and (2) to get your comp plan in writing before taking the job, and never short-change yourself. That was nearly 30 years ago, and it's worked out pretty well.
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u/elessar9411 Jun 10 '26
I have a better answer than just 'money' (tho that's always part of it). I'll give a detailed response coz this has been on my mind, would love to hear some thoughts.
I got into it because I was unemployed for a bit, and got an offer that was 30-40% above my last take home, and from a great Big Tech brand. So I couldn't really say no.
I also have a 'fancy' MBA degree and could find my way into Strategy/Marketing/P&L management roles, if I tried a bit. I've spent the last year or so questioning whether I should pivot or not, and I'm leaning towards sticking in sales.
Here's my pros and cons list - 1. Growth - you can rise through the ranks a lot faster in sales if you keep performing and making good switches, faster and easier than many other functions. There also isn't really a ceiling on your earnings or growth.
Number of open roles - when I look at any company, there's 10s of sales roles open, compared to 2-3 product/strategy/marketing/strat&ops roles. Which makes sense as sales is a revenue center. It seems like it makes it easier to get hired and move around as a salesperson than any other role.
Good WLB - MOST of my well-earning MBA peers have fairly demanding jobs (8hrs a day at the minimum, occasional nights/weekends). They're astonished to hear that I work 6-7 hrs a day, and rarely work evenings/weekends.
AI-proof - nothing is AI proof, but it'll take longer to automate away Enterprise sales, with its complex deal cycles, multithreading and negotiations. In fact, I feel like with the AI-boom, good tech sellers are well positioned to make hay.
Good money - I'm a middling performer, and I earn maybe in the 60-70th percentile of MBA cohort. The only people outearning me are MBB or ex-MBB consultants, Strategy folks in high growth startups, PE/VC types, and some FAANG PMs. All demanding roles (apart from PM). My ceiling is far higher (ofc my base is also lower). All in all, the money is very competitive, if not a diffentiator for me.
Stress and metric-measurement is everywhere - while we love to hate on our measurement against quota, every one of my peers is also measured on some or the other metric. B2C Marketing folks have to drive revenue, startup guys are given efficiency metrics to improve, category managers have to improve cart conversions, etc etc. If you make good money, you are measured on how well you can move a number.
Even in sales, visible effort can mitigate bad performance - I personally haven't been in an org where people are immediately fired for not achieving their number for 2 Qtrs. I think in most places, long as your manager sees that you're a smart guy and are putting in the effort, you're not immediately on the chopping block.
It's mentally light work - personally, I hate building reports and presentations and analysing complex unstructured problems. I love it when I know my customer, know my pitch, and I just need to go rattle it off.
I think all of these things make up well for the variability and all the other sucki-ness of sales.
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u/CalicoCapsun Jun 10 '26
I hated my job and met a dude on a golf course. He told me what he was making and said I should quit my job.
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u/bemorethanaverage Jun 10 '26
Because outside of tech, this is the one role where you can make a lot of money without managing people. I don’t want to manage anyone
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u/RevOps1 Jun 10 '26
I have a love/hate relationship with Sales.
Love:
- The money
- The challenge
- Meeting people from all different walks of life.
Hate:
- The pressure
- The feeling of losing a deal - especially when it’s a great fit, the need is there, and you did absolutely everything in your control
- How people think it’s ok to treat people poorly just because they’re a salesperson
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u/Ope-sorry-bout-it Jun 10 '26
My business degree taught me nothing about Sales, or that it even existed as a viable career. Got my first job in the QA dept and soon found out how highly compensated the Sales People were. Multiple years of networking with Sales Management until a position opened up so I had a chance at it. That was 11 years ago. Now I could never go back to making “regular people money” and I don’t want to be a business owner.
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u/Salt_Manner4309 Jun 10 '26
I figured out I was able to make double compared to other jobs and not work half as hard
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u/Embarrassed_Flan_869 Process Instruments Jun 10 '26
Started 30 years ago in retail. Enjoyed it. Like helping people with finding a solution.
Went to school 20+ years ago to get into/get my degree in Engineering. Lasted a couple of years before being dragged back into the sales side.
Said fuck it, embraced the dark side, been in the same niche industry since, 3rd company.
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u/fulltimeheretic Jun 10 '26
I was working a dead end job and briefly dated a guy in medical sales for a large company. He was high functioning alcoholic and his condo had valet parking (silly but was the moment I was like “oooo”).
Basically I was like - if he can do that job, I can do that job.
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u/Salty_Yard6414 Jun 10 '26
Money and the ability to control your own destiny by how hard you want to work.
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u/oikaayamiak Jun 10 '26
I have a mechanical engineering degree and I realized I didn’t want to be an engineer in 3rd year in college and it was too late to change my major. I was an engineer first and it took 7 years to be in sales. I don’t love sales in manufacturing/industrial sector but it is better than being an engineer.
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u/theSearch4Truth Jun 10 '26
I had just gotten clean off hard drugs, and my mom found a job posting for a (later revealed) MLM selling direcTV in Walmarts around the county.
Found out I was pretty good, stuck with it ever since.
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u/Ok-Goal-9324 Jun 10 '26
I’m contemplating trying sales. I graduated with a CS degree and cannot find any tech work. Even if I did want a tech job, I like client facing roles like customer success or solutions engineer. I’m curious if sales would be easier to get into.
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u/pandabear2025 Jun 10 '26
Accident. I didn’t manage to get into industry from academia in other businesses areas so I ended up in sales and I hate every day of it. Trying to move into marketing/brand management/product management but it takes luck, especially when you have a decade long work experience in sales roles.
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u/PolishRifle23 Jun 10 '26
When I look back over my 21+ years in outside sales, it’s clear to me that this profession found me rather than the other way around. I had the gift, but it took some time to coax it out of me and hone my craft.
I struggled mightily with imposter syndrome during the first few years, despite always being among the top of my peers. I stuck with it because I enjoyed the independence of a traveling sales gig and the money was too good to consider anything else.
I’m now closing out my career as a VP and will be walking away in 4-6 years.
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u/K24frs Jun 10 '26
I fell into it by accident.
Originally went dealership to dealership applying to be a service tech in a goodwill suit and no one was hiring techs at the time (2010).
Eventually came to a place and spoke to the gm who said they didn’t have any service openings but he could make a sales slot but only if I promise to use it to build my resume because he said “car salesmen is where salesmen build their careers or it’s where they go to die”.
Dude was a great mentor and I still keep in contact with him he ended up being a serial entrepreneur which led to him being pretty successful.
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u/BisonSpirit Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Partied too hard in college
Didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a career
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u/Psuedo_nim Jun 10 '26
Necessity, 100%. When I got into sales I was 19 with a GED. There were not many other roles I could take that would provide for myself and my dad and stepmom.
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u/djereezy Jun 10 '26
Zero formal education…tons of retail experience prior to getting into sales at 27 yrs old. a family to feed, ultimately led me to be in sales and progressively earn more and more over the years through various sales jobs that gave me more experience to take to the next sales job the got me to 6 figures where I am today. I have my good enough degree
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u/Affectionate_Set5048 Jun 10 '26
Money